Living Through a Kitchen Remodel in a Scottsdale Summer
A kitchen remodel in Scottsdale, AZ usually runs for several weeks, and the room that disappears is the one the household uses most. The work itself is the contractor's problem. Living in the house while it happens is the homeowner's, and it goes better with a plan made before the first cabinet comes off the wall.
How long is the kitchen actually out of service?
The kitchen is not usable from the morning of demolition until the sink, a working countertop and at least one outlet circuit are back. That is rarely the whole project. A typical order is demolition, framing and rough-in, inspection, drywall, cabinets, countertop templating, countertop install, plumbing and electrical finish, then paint and tile. The long gap is the wait between cabinet install and the countertop, because stone and quartz are cut to a template taken after the cabinets are fixed in place.
Ask the contractor to mark on a calendar which days the water is off, which days the power to the kitchen circuits is off, and which days a stranger will be in the house for inspection. Those three dates drive everything else in this article.
What goes into a temporary kitchen?
The best temporary kitchen is built in a room with a floor that can take spills, an outlet that is not on the kitchen circuit, and a door that closes. A dining room, a garage bay with the car moved out, or a covered patio with a cord run from a bedroom are the usual choices. Garages in the Phoenix metropolitan area can pass a hundred degrees for months, so a garage kitchen is a winter and spring idea only.
- A microwave and a toaster oven, plugged into separate circuits so neither trips the other.
- A single induction burner or hot plate, if the household cooks from scratch.
- A slow cooker or electric pressure cooker for one-pot meals.
- A small refrigerator, or the old one moved to the garage and kept running.
- A folding table with a plastic cutting board and a plastic tub for washing up.
- Paper plates for the dirtiest weeks, and a real set of plates for the rest.
Do not run a hot plate and a microwave from one extension cord. Counter appliances draw a lot of current, and the cord is the weak part. Plug directly into the wall.
Where does the dishwashing happen?
This is the question that wears people down by week two. With the sink gone, dishes go to a bathroom tub, a laundry sink or a utility sink in the garage. A laundry sink is the best of the three because it has a real drain and a faucet at a usable height. Wash with dish soap, rinse, and set the dishes on a towel over a baking rack to dry. A plastic dish tub inside the sink keeps the water level manageable.
If the household is going to be without water for a full day, fill a few jugs the night before for drinking and teeth brushing. Water for the toilet can come from a bucket if the shutoff lasts longer than expected, which sometimes happens when a plumber opens a wall and finds a corroded valve.
How do you keep dust out of the rest of the house?
Drywall dust is fine enough to ride the air conditioning. The contractor should tape plastic sheeting over the doorways with a zipper door, and cover the return air grille nearest the work. Some crews run a fan in a window to hold the kitchen at slightly lower pressure than the rest of the house, so air flows into the work area, not out of it.
The homeowner can help in three ways. Change the air filter before the job starts and again when drywall sanding is finished. Close the doors and vents in any room that does not need cooling. Wipe horizontal surfaces on the outside of the plastic every day so the dust does not get a chance to settle and then be tracked around the house.
The Sonoran Desert adds its own problem. The dry air carries silt, and a house in the valley near the Indian Bend Wash already has a fine film on every ledge in summer. Remodel dust sits on top of that film and is harder to see until the light is low in the afternoon.
What should be moved out of the kitchen before demolition?
Everything. Pots, pans, plates, the pantry and the small appliances come out, even the things in the highest cabinets. Crews unscrew cabinets from the wall and tilt them forward, and anything left inside can fall. Wrap breakable items in towels, label bins by contents, and store them in a room that will not be used for work.
Photographs help. Take pictures of the wall behind the range, the inside of the sink base and any exposed wiring or pipe before the walls open, so there is a record of what the room looked like. Photograph each wall again after the crew opens it, before insulation or drywall covers the rough-in.
How hot does it get when the air conditioning is on the same circuit?
This catches people during a Scottsdale summer. Some older houses share a breaker between the kitchen and a part of the house, and when the electrician shuts the kitchen circuit for the day, a bedroom or the hallway goes dark with it. Ask the electrician which rooms lose power and when, and plan around those hours. The thermostat and the outdoor condenser should stay on a separate circuit, but confirm it before the first power shutoff, because a house that loses cooling for a day in July becomes hard to live in quickly.
Keep the blinds closed on the west side of the house during the afternoon. A crew working in a kitchen with open walls lets hot air into the house, and the air conditioner works harder than usual.
What about food safety with a small refrigerator?
A cramped temporary refrigerator holds fewer items, so plan meals around fresh food bought in smaller amounts. Keep a refrigerator thermometer on the middle shelf. The refrigerator should stay cold enough that milk does not turn within a few days, and the freezer should hold ice cream solid. If the old refrigerator is in the garage, a summer afternoon can overwhelm it, and a unit that cycles constantly may need a spot with shade and airflow around the coils.
Raw meat gets its own bin on the lowest shelf. The temporary kitchen has no real counter space, and cross contamination happens faster when a board is shared between the cutting of chicken and the slicing of fruit.
How are pets and children kept safe around the job?
A kitchen under demolition has open nail strips, loose staples and sometimes exposed wire. Pets should stay behind a closed door on work days. A dog that has chewed a drywall corner can swallow a sharp screw. Children should have a clear rule about the plastic door, and the crew should close it behind them every time.
Fine dust on a dog's paws goes everywhere. A damp towel at the door for wiping paws keeps it contained.
What happens when the schedule slips?
Schedules slip, usually for reasons that are nobody's fault. Cabinets arrive with a damaged panel, a countertop template needs a second visit, or an inspector reschedules. Ask the contractor on day one how delays will be communicated, and keep the temporary kitchen set up for a week longer than planned. A homeowner who has already moved the household back into the kitchen emotionally, and then has to cook on a hot plate for another ten days, is the one who gets short with the crew.
Homes in Maricopa County that predate the 1980s are the likeliest to show a surprise behind a wall, from ungrounded wiring to a drain that runs the wrong way. A surprise adds days. A plan that already holds a spare week turns it from a crisis into an inconvenience.
What is worth doing before the crew arrives?
A short list covers most of it. Clear the kitchen and the path from the front door to it. Move cars so the dumpster and the material drop have room. Tell the neighbors that a dumpster and delivery trucks will be on the street, particularly on a block near the McDowell Mountains where driveways are shared. Set up the temporary kitchen a day early so the household can test it with a real dinner.
The kitchen comes back eventually. The week to week routine in between is what a good plan protects.