Kitchen remodel checklists

Before hiring. Verify the contractor's license directly with your state board and get insurance certificates emailed by the insurer, not the contractor. Have a written scope with an explicit exclusions list. Have three itemized bids on identical selections. Have a contingency reserve set aside. Have a payment schedule tied to milestones, not dates.

Before demolition. Cabinets ordered and lead time confirmed in writing. Appliance model numbers final and rough-in specs handed to the installer. Permits pulled by the contractor and posted. All selections made and delivered or scheduled. Temporary kitchen set up somewhere else in the house. Photos taken of the existing space.

During the job. Photograph open walls before they close, with a tape measure in frame. Keep every change order in writing with its price and schedule impact. Do not pay ahead of completed work. Note punch-list items as you spot them rather than trying to remember them at the end.

Before the final payment. Every inspection signed off. Every appliance run through a full cycle, including the dishwasher and the ice maker. Every drawer and door opened, closed, and checked for alignment. Under-sink connections checked dry after running water. All warranty documents, manuals, model numbers, and touch-up paint collected. Punch list closed. Then pay.

How to choose

Verify license and insurance at the source

State licensing board website for the license; certificate emailed by the insurance agency for the coverage. Photos of cards prove nothing.

Write the exclusions list, not just the inclusions

Ask each bidder in writing what is not included. That list is where change orders are born.

Order before you demolish

Cabinet lead times run whether or not the old kitchen is out. Never lose weeks living without a kitchen for no reason.

Run every appliance before final payment

Full dishwasher cycle, ice maker, every burner, the oven, the disposer, the vent. Problems found before the last check are fixed; problems found after are negotiated.

Collect the paperwork on the last day

Manuals, model numbers, warranty documents, care instructions, signed inspection cards, and touch-up paint. Scan it all into one folder immediately.