Short answer: before you call a contractor, decide what’s wrong with the kitchen you have, what you must keep, a budget range you’re comfortable with, and whether the layout stays or changes. Those four answers shape every estimate you’ll get. The rest of this checklist helps you walk into the first meeting ready. Print it with your browser’s print button.
1. Goals: why this remodel?
- ☐ The three things that bother you most about the kitchen today
- ☐ Who cooks, how often, and how many people are in the kitchen at once
- ☐ What must stay (a window, a range, a built-in, original trim)
- ☐ How long you plan to stay in the house
- ☐ Photos of kitchens you like, and one or two you don’t
2. Budget
- ☐ A range you’re comfortable with. Our recent Portland kitchens: refresh $20,000–$45,000, full remodel $45,000–$95,000, custom or structural $95,000+ (what drives the number)
- ☐ A contingency for an older house, set aside for what opening up the walls can reveal (how we handle that)
- ☐ How you’ll pay: savings, a loan, or a mix
3. Layout
- ☐ Keep the layout, or change it? Moving the sink, range, or walls adds plumbing, electrical, and permit work (how to decide)
- ☐ Island or peninsula? Seating for how many?
- ☐ Walls you’d like to open, and whether you know if they’re load-bearing
4. Cabinets and counters
- ☐ Paint, reface, or replace the cabinets? (how to decide)
- ☐ Storage you’re missing: deep drawers, pantry, pull-outs, trash and recycling
- ☐ Countertop material: quartz, granite, butcher block, or other
- ☐ Backsplash: how high, and what material
5. Appliances, lighting, and power
- ☐ Appliances you’re keeping, and model numbers for any you’re buying
- ☐ Gas or electric cooking, and the ventilation you want over it
- ☐ Lighting: overhead, under-cabinet, over the island
- ☐ Outlets you wish you had, including on the island
6. Floors and finishes
- ☐ Flooring: keep, replace in the kitchen only, or run it into the next room
- ☐ Paint colors, hardware finish, faucet style
7. Timing and living arrangements
- ☐ Dates the kitchen must be done by (holidays, a move, a new baby)
- ☐ Where the temporary kitchen goes: a microwave, the fridge, a place to wash dishes
- ☐ Plan for 1–3 weeks of design, selections, and a typical permit before construction (longer if walls move or you choose custom cabinets), then 4–8 weeks of construction for a full remodel (the full timeline)
- ☐ Order long-lead items early. Custom cabinets can take 6–12 weeks.
8. Questions to ask every contractor
- ☐ Is your Oregon CCB license active? (Check it on the CCB license search.)
- ☐ Who manages my project day to day?
- ☐ Is the estimate itemized, and which items are allowances?
- ☐ Who pulls the permits, and which inspections will we need?
- ☐ What happens if you find something behind the walls?
- ☐ What’s the warranty, and is it in the contract?
More on this in how to choose a general contractor in Portland, and once the bids come in, how to compare estimates.
Bring this list to a free consultation
We’ll walk the kitchen with you and turn your answers into a line-item estimate.
