Common questions. Straight answers.

Cabinet installation and refacing: $6,000-$32,000. Small or basement kitchen remodels: $10,000-$38,000. A full gut with stock or semi-custom cabinets: $20,000-$65,000. Custom or luxury remodels run higher. Price is driven by cabinets, counters, and how much the layout changes. We confirm flat-rate after the in-home consult.

Yes. We quote flat-rate per project after the design consult. The number we give you is the number on the invoice, with no surprise change orders for work we scoped in.

The in-home design consult is free for new remodel projects. We come out, measure, listen, sketch a layout, and put a flat-rate quote in your hands within a few business days.

Cabinetry, countertop material, and structural changes. A 200 square foot kitchen with stock shaker cabinets and quartz counters can land in the $30,000s. Older cast iron plumbing runs and any foundation-related subfloor repair in pre-1960 homes add cost on top of that.

Reface if the boxes are solid wood, square, and the layout works. Replace if the layout fights you, the boxes are particleboard, or the boxes near the sink and dishwasher show water damage. A reface runs $6,000-$14,000 versus $16,000-$32,000+ for new boxes.

Stock cabinets are fixed sizes, fastest lead time, most affordable. Semi-custom lets you change dimensions, finishes, and storage accessories. Custom is built to the room, your storage needs, and your style. We work with all three and recommend based on layout and budget.

Plywood boxes hold up better than MDF near the sink and dishwasher, especially in older homes without steady climate control. MDF swells and delaminates faster where it stays damp. We spec plywood boxes on the wet side of the kitchen and let budget decide the rest.

Custom cabinet lead times in Greater Topeka run 6-12 weeks from approved shop drawings, depending on the shop and finish. We build that into the project timeline at signing so the install window is locked in.

Yes. Built-in pantry walls, coffee stations, appliance garages, and pull-out spice racks are common add-ons. We design them into the cabinet elevations so the look matches the rest of the kitchen.

Inside Topeka city limits, yes for any plumbing, electrical, or structural changes, including most wall removals; the City of Topeka Development Services division runs permitting and its own Class A/B/C contractor licensing program. Outside city limits, most of the smaller counties in this footprint have no licensing board at all, so we confirm requirements with the local county office before writing the scope. Pure cosmetic work (paint, refacing, counters on existing boxes) usually does not need a permit.

A structural engineer or architect makes that call, not a guess on site. Most exterior walls and any wall running perpendicular to the floor joists is suspect. Your matched crew gets the engineering letter and the permit before anyone opens the wall.

Current National Electrical Code provisions as adopted locally. Two small-appliance branch circuits, GFCI and AFCI protection on most circuits, dedicated range and oven circuits, and 20-amp small-appliance circuits are standard.

Northeast Kansas sits in Tornado Alley, with peak severe weather season running March through June, so we build scheduling buffers around that window for demo and material delivery. Expansive clay soil and freeze-thaw cycles can also cause foundation and subfloor movement in older homes; your matched crew checks for settling cracks near the kitchen slab before flooring or cabinet work proceeds.

For any load-bearing wall removal, yes. A licensed structural engineer visits the home, sizes the new header, and stamps the plan. The permit will not pull without the engineer letter on file, and your crew coordinates that step before demo.

You call us. We do a free in-home design consult, sketch a layout, and put a flat-rate quote in your hands. If you sign, we assign a project manager and a vetted local crew that handles demo, cabinets, counters, plumbing, electrical, tile, and finish.

We are a referral and project management service, not the licensed contractor. The crew on your job is a vetted, insured local team that does kitchen remodels full-time, not a general handyman. You can verify a City of Topeka contractor license, or check the Kansas Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division for work outside city limits. We do the design, scope, scheduling, and quality control; they do the work.

We are happy to share design layouts, finish schedules, and a written scope you can hand to a contractor of your choice. The design consult and scope are useful even if you never hire us to run the project.

Most in-home design consults are scheduled within 1-2 business days. Once you sign the scope, lead time depends on the work: cabinet refacing and counter swaps can start in 2-3 weeks. Custom cabinet and full gut projects run 4-6 weeks out for first demo day, with a phase-by-phase schedule from there.

Quartz wins on stain resistance, color consistency, and low maintenance, and it holds up well against hard well water without resealing. Granite is heat-tolerant and has natural variation but needs occasional sealing. We help you pick by use case: busy family kitchens lean quartz, while cooks who put hot pans down lean granite or quartzite.

Subway in 3x6 or 4x8 sizes is the workhorse. Zellige, handmade-look ceramic, and large-format porcelain slabs are trending in 2026. We bring samples to the in-home consult so you can see them against your cabinet and counter choices.

LVP (luxury vinyl plank) is the most popular choice for water resistance and cost. Porcelain tile is the most durable. Engineered hardwood looks great but needs more care near sinks, dishwashers, and any door leading outside, plus it is a poor fit right where seasonal humidity swings are strongest. We spec waterproof underlayment at the dishwasher and sink on every job.

Light cabinets, light counters, a single undermount sink, and a slim pantry pull-out instead of a wall oven. We also remove soffits, add under-cabinet LED runs, and spec open shelving where it does not kill storage.

Yes, in Central Topeka's pre-1960 homes especially. We assess original cast iron drain stacks and galvanized supply lines before finalizing the layout, since moving a sink or adding a dishwasher line often means coordinating with older plumbing rather than a simple swap.