Cabinetry and slab lead times decide your start date

Almost nobody expects the calendar to be set by a factory rather than by a crew. What is ordered first, what can still be changed after it is ordered, and where the weeks actually go before demolition.

On most kitchen and bathroom projects the crew is ready before the materials are. The start date is almost never limited by our schedule. It is limited by the two items with the longest factory lead times: the cabinetry and the slab.

What actually sets the date

Cabinetry for a typical GTA kitchen runs four to eight weeks from the day the order is confirmed. Custom or semi-custom ranges sit at the longer end; stock lines can be quicker, but the moment you change a box size, a finish or an interior fitting, you move into the longer bracket. The countertop cannot be templated until the cabinets are installed and the walls are finished, so the slab order sits behind the cabinetry. Another two to four weeks is normal for fabrication and delivery once the template is approved.

Add the time needed for selections, drawings and the signed quote, and the gap between the first measure and the first day of demolition is often six to twelve weeks. The crew could start sooner. The materials cannot.

What is ordered first

The sequence is fixed:

• Layout and elevations are drawn and approved.
• Cabinet order is placed (doors, boxes, interiors, hardware).
• Long-lead appliances and fixtures are confirmed if they affect the cabinet sizes.
• Cabinets arrive and are installed.
• Countertop is templated on the finished cabinets.
• Slab is cut, finished and delivered.
• Final fit-out begins.

Anything that changes after step 2 usually costs both money and time. A different door style, a taller fridge, an extra drawer bank or a shift in the island size all trigger a new shop drawing and a new production slot. The factory does not hold a place for “maybe”.

What can still move after the order

Very little. Once the cabinet order is in production the box sizes are locked. You can still change some internal fittings or handles, but the carcass dimensions are fixed. The slab is more flexible until the template is approved – after that the stone is already cut. Changing the edge profile or the sink cut-out after templating means a new piece or a difficult site modification.

The only reliable way to protect the start date is to finish the selections before the order goes in. That is why we put real samples in front of you at the measure and walk the layout in the simulator: so the decisions that affect lead times are made while they are still free.

Where the weeks go

A realistic timeline for a standard kitchen looks like this:

• Measure and first discussion – week 0
• Design, selections and signed quote – weeks 1–3
• Cabinet production – weeks 4–9
• Site preparation and any permit work – overlapping the cabinet lead time
• Cabinet install and template – week 10
• Slab fabrication and delivery – weeks 11–13
• Final fit-out, glass, paint, electrical trim – weeks 14–16

The on-site construction portion is often the shortest part of the calendar. The long stretch is the quiet period while the factory is working.

Bathrooms follow a similar pattern when custom vanities or large-format slab walls are involved. Stock vanities shorten the gap; anything made to order lengthens it.

What to ask at the measure

• Which cabinet line are we pricing, and what is its current lead time?
• Are any of the appliances or fixtures long-lead items that affect cabinet sizes?
• Can the slab be templated from shop drawings, or must we wait for the cabinets to be installed?
• If we change a finish or a box after the order is placed, how many weeks does that add?
• What is the realistic earliest start date if selections are finished this week?

Bring the appliance model numbers if you already have them. They are the single biggest source of late changes to cabinet dimensions. Twenty minutes spent confirming those numbers at the start keeps the factory slot you were given.

The crew is rarely the reason a project starts later than planned. The order date is.