The Cut List · Process
From Consult to Install: An Honest Custom Cabinetry Timeline
"How long will it take?" is the second question at every consult, right after price — and it's the one where this industry has the worst honesty record. So here's the real custom cabinetry timeline, stage by stage, including the parts other people leave out: the queue, the decisions that stall projects, and why the answer is measured in weeks, not days. Short version: from approved design, most of our projects run 8–16 weeks to installed and finished.
Stage 1 — The consult (week 0)
Free, in your home, about an hour. We look at the space, talk through what you're imagining, and get honest about budget early — it shapes every design decision and wastes nobody's time. You'll get a realistic ballpark and a read on our current queue before we leave. Booking one commits you to nothing.
Stage 2 — Measure & proposal (1–2 weeks)
A detailed site measure — walls, floors out of level, every quirk your house has been hiding — then an itemized proposal: each cabinet, materials, finish, hardware, and install. Not a per-foot estimate; the actual build, priced. (Why that matters: What Custom Kitchen Cabinets Really Cost in New Jersey.)
Stage 3 — Design (2–6 weeks, mostly up to you)
Drawings, revisions, and the decisions: door style, species, finish colors, hardware, interiors. This stage moves exactly as fast as decisions get made — the couple who picks their paint color in a week hits install a month before the couple who doesn't. Working with an architect or designer? We build from and improve professional drawings; that usually shortens this stage.
Stage 4 — The queue (the part nobody mentions)
A small shop builds one project at a time — it's why the work is good, and it means your project waits its turn. Depending on the season, that can add weeks. The honest move (ours) is telling you the queue at the consult. The practical move (yours) is booking the shop early: cabinetry should be one of the first trades you lock in a renovation, not the last.
Stage 5 — The build (4–10 weeks in the shop)
Lumber and sheet goods arrive, and your kitchen exists for the first time: cutting, joinery, drawer boxes, doors hung and fitted, then the finish room — sanding, sealing, and hand-spraying coat by coat with real cure time between. Finish is the stage most tempting to rush and the one that decides how the piece looks in year fifteen. We don't rush it.
Stage 6 — Install (2 days–2 weeks on site)
The same long-tenured crew that built your piece fits it: cases set level and anchored, faces scribed to your walls, doors and drawers tuned, hardware set. A single built-in is a couple of days; a full kitchen can run two weeks. We leave when it's right, not when it's close.
The two things that actually delay projects
- Open decisions. An unchosen appliance can stall a whole kitchen — we can't size a cabinet around a range that hasn't been picked.
- Site readiness. Cabinets install after floors, drywall, and paint-prep. If the renovation around us slips, install slips with it.
Neither is fixed by a bigger factory. Both are fixed by planning — which starts with a conversation.
Planning a project for this year? Find out where the queue stands now — the consult is free and books you into nothing.
Book a free consultFAQ
How long do custom cabinets take start to finish?
Typically 8–16 weeks from approved design through install, plus the design phase (2–6 weeks) and any queue time up front.
Can the timeline be compressed?
Decisions made fast and a site that's ready compress it more than anything a shop can do. Finish cure time is the one stage we won't squeeze.
When should I call the cabinet shop?
Early in renovation planning — cabinetry drives appliance, plumbing, and electrical decisions, and good shops book out months.