Remodeling Around the Holidays: What to Start Now

Every year we get the same call in early November: "Can you redo our kitchen before Thanksgiving?" Sometimes the answer is yes. More often, the honest answer is that the project would have needed to start weeks earlier. Holiday remodeling is entirely doable — it just runs on a calendar most homeowners don't think about until it's tight.

Work backward from the date guests arrive

Pick the day you want the house finished and count back. A cabinet refinish typically runs one to two weeks. Flooring through main living areas is usually a week. A full bathroom is two to four weeks, and a kitchen with layout changes can stretch past six. Then add a buffer — materials get delayed, and older Shawnee homes tend to hide surprises behind the drywall.

Material lead times are the real bottleneck

Labor can usually be scheduled. Special-order cabinets, countertops, tile, and custom vanities cannot. Slab fabrication alone often takes two to three weeks after templating, and templating can't happen until cabinets are set. Ordering early is the single biggest thing you can control.

Projects that fit a short holiday window

If you're already inside 30 days, focus on high-impact work that doesn't disrupt the kitchen or the only bathroom: cabinet refinishing and new hardware, interior painting, luxury vinyl plank in the living areas, updated lighting and fixtures, a deck repair, or fresh trim and shiplap on a fireplace wall. These change how a room reads without taking your house out of service.

Projects better scheduled for January

Full kitchen gut jobs, moving plumbing, additions, and anything requiring inspections are better started after the new year. January and February are also our lighter months, which usually means faster scheduling and a project that isn't competing with a holiday deadline.

Living in the house while work happens

Set up a temporary kitchen station somewhere — microwave, coffee maker, paper plates — before demo day, not after. Agree up front on work hours, dust control, and which rooms stay off limits. A little planning keeps a remodel from turning into a month of frustration.

Don't forget the systems

The holidays put extra load on a house: more people, more hot water, more cooking, and the first real cold snap of the season. A furnace tune-up in the fall is cheap insurance against losing heat the week family is in town.

We handle kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, fences, and decks in-house, and financing is available on larger projects. If you have a date in mind, call us early — we'll tell you honestly whether it fits.