Renovations
Kitchen renovations in Calgary
A kitchen is the most trade-dense room in a house. Demolition, framing, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, drywall, paint, flooring, cabinetry, stone, and tile all have to happen in a particular order, and every one of them is waiting on the one before. Sequencing is most of the job.
Reference image
Design direction.
These are references — the standard and the aesthetic we work toward with clients, not photographs of OPCLAR projects. Our own project photography will appear here as work completes.
The scope
What a kitchen renovation includes.
Design and decisions
Layout worked around plumbing stacks and load-bearing walls · Appliance specifications confirmed before cabinets are ordered · Cabinet, counter, tile, and hardware selections · Lighting plan with considered switching · Written scope and line-itemed quote
Rough work
Demolition with containment and floor protection · Framing changes and blocking for cabinets and hardware · Plumbing relocated for sink, dishwasher, and any island · Circuits, appliance feeds, and lighting by licensed trades · Range ventilation ducted to the exterior
Fit-out
Drywall, taping, and paint · Flooring run to the correct extent under cabinets · Cabinets set, levelled, and scribed to the walls · Countertops templated after cabinets are set · Backsplash, hardware, and fixture installation
Completion
Appliances installed and tested · Inspections passed where permits apply · Adjustment of doors, drawers, and soft-close hardware · Post-construction clean · Walkthrough and deficiency list
How it runs
Layout and what cannot move
The plumbing stack, the load-bearing walls, the gas line, and whether the range can vent out the wall you want it on. The cheapest change is the one made on paper.
Selections and ordering
Cabinets and stone have lead times, and appliances have exact rough-in dimensions. Models are confirmed before cabinets are ordered.
Strip-out
Containment up, floors protected, old kitchen out. In an older house this is where the surprises are, and we look before committing to the rough-in.
Rough-in and inspection
Framing, blocking for uppers, plumbing moved, circuits pulled, ventilation ducted out — all inspected before anything is covered.
Drywall, paint, and flooring
Finished before the cabinets arrive, because painting around installed cabinetry is slower and never as clean.
Cabinets, counters, and finishing
Cabinets set and scribed, counters templated to what is actually there, then backsplash, hardware, appliances and a walkthrough.
What moves the price
What decides a kitchen's price.
We don't price kitchens by the linear foot of cabinet. Whether the layout moves, and which appliances you choose, shift the number more than the finish level does.
Whether the layout moves
Keeping the sink, range and appliances roughly where they are keeps plumbing and electrical simple. Moving the sink across joists does not.
Cabinetry
The largest line in most kitchens, and the widest range — stock, semi-custom and custom are three different budgets.
Countertops
Material, edge detail and the number of seams matter more than square footage.
Ventilation
A range hood ducted to the exterior is the correct answer and sometimes the expensive one, depending on how far the duct has to travel.
Electrical capacity
Modern appliance loads and lighting often need circuits an older panel does not have spare.
What is behind the walls
Undersized wiring, tired plumbing, or framing notched by a previous trade. Priced and approved before the work proceeds.
What sets the schedule
What sets a kitchen's schedule.
Which is why we won't put a number on it until we've seen the room. The estimate says what your kitchen involves, not what an average one does.
Cabinet and stone lead times
Whether the layout moves
Appliance availability
Permit turnaround at the City
Whether you are living in it
Permits
When a kitchen needs a permit.
Most kitchens need permits for the electrical and plumbing work even when the layout stays put, and a building permit as soon as a wall moves. We establish which apply before you commit, and book the inspections.
- Building permit where structural changes are involved
- Electrical permit for new or altered circuits
- Plumbing permit where supply or drainage moves
- Gas permit for a relocated range connection
- Rough-in inspection before close-up
Show us the kitchen. We'll show you the sequence.
Or just call. Nothing here has to start with a form.