Full Kitchen Remodel in Irvine, CA

What a Full Kitchen Remodel Costs in Irvine

Orange County pricing in 2026 falls into three clear bands.

Most Irvine full remodels land in the mid-range band. The two line items that move the number most:

• Cabinets. Priced by the linear foot, and prefabricated against custom is the single widest spread on the proposal. On a typical 20 linear foot kitchen that one decision moves the total more than any other.
• Countertops. Priced by the square foot and by slab count, so material grade and how many slabs your layout needs both matter.
• Appliances. The package range is enormous; panel-ready and pro-series units drive the top end.

Everything else, meaning demolition, plumbing, electrical, drywall, flooring, paint and labor, is comparatively predictable once the scope is set. That is why our proposals break allowances out separately: you can move the cabinet or slab decision and watch the number move, instead of getting one lump sum you cannot interrogate.

What "Full" Actually Includes

A full remodel is not a bigger refresh. It is a different scope.

• Demolition to the studs where required, including soffit removal
• New plumbing rough-in, including any sink or dishwasher relocation
• New electrical rough-in to current code: dedicated circuits, GFCI, under-cabinet and recessed lighting
• Framing changes short of structural work
• Drywall, texture and paint
• New cabinetry, installed level and scribed to the walls
• Countertop template, fabrication and installation
• Backsplash
• Flooring
• Sink, faucet, disposal, appliance set and connection
• Permits and inspections where the scope requires them

If your project needs a wall removed, that is our open concept kitchen remodel scope. If it needs square footage added, see kitchen expansions and additions.

Cabinets: The Decision That Sets Your Schedule

Cabinetry is the largest line item and the longest lead time in almost every full remodel. Nothing else on the job starts moving until it is ordered.

Two constructions. Face frame cabinets carry a 1.5 inch wood frame across the front of the box. It is the traditional American build, and it is the more forgiving one in an older house where the walls are not square. Frameless, also called European or full-access, has no front frame, so the door overlays all but roughly 1/16 inch of the box edge. You get more usable interior space and a flatter, more contemporary look.

Substrate matters. MDF is the correct core under a painted finish because it will not telegraph grain through the paint. Plywood is the stronger choice where the box carries a heavy stone top. For stained doors we work in maple, oak, birch, cherry, ash and alder.

Standard base cabinets run 24 inches deep and 34.5 inches high. Wall cabinets are 12 inches deep at 30, 36 or 42 inch heights, and the National Kitchen and Bath Association recommends no less than 15 inches of clearance between the counter and the uppers. Widths step in 3 inch increments, from 9 inches for base and 12 inches for wall units.

We also build in the storage hardware that makes a small kitchen work: lazy susans in corners, blind corner pull-outs to reach the dead space, and pull-up mixer shelves. Details on our custom cabinet installation page.

Countertops

Engineered quartz is roughly 93 percent stone aggregate to 7 percent polyester resin, which makes it the most stain-resistant common household surface and means it never needs sealing. Granite is second most stain resistant, and current oleophobic impregnating sealers stretch resealing intervals to roughly five to ten years rather than annually.

We also fabricate marble, quartzite, porcelain slab, solid surface, butcher block, concrete, stainless and tile. Slab thickness runs 2 cm or 3 cm; 3 cm is standard for an island without a substrate. Sink mounting is undermount on stone and solid surface, or self-rimming on laminate, since an undermount requires a carefully finished cut edge that laminate cannot provide.

Full comparison on our kitchen countertop replacement page.

How Long It Takes and What Happens When

A standard full remodel in Irvine runs four to six weeks on site when the job is prepared properly. About two months is the realistic figure for a larger scope with relocated plumbing or custom cabinetry. The controlling variable is cabinet lead time, which is why we lock selections in the first two weeks rather than the fifth.

We set up a temporary kitchen area on day one: a working sink location where practical, the refrigerator relocated, and counter space for a microwave and a kettle. Six weeks without any of that is miserable and unnecessary.

Irvine Homes We Work In

Irvine holds 119,215 housing units across 65.92 square miles, laid out from the late 1950s by William Pereira and Raymond Watson and developed under the Irvine Company after incorporation in December 1971. The 2023 median household income was $129,647.

That master-plan history is useful to a contractor. Woodbridge, Northwood, University Park, Walnut and El Camino Real were built in repeating floor plans, so we already know where the plumbing stack runs and where the bearing wall sits before demolition begins. Fewer surprises after demo means fewer change orders on your invoice, which is the practical difference between a contractor who has worked in Irvine and one who has not.

Full Kitchen Remodel Areas We Serve

All Irvine ZIP codes, including 92602, 92603, 92604, 92606, 92612, 92614, 92618 and 92620, plus Newport Beach, Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, Aliso Viejo, Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel and Dana Point.

Services Related to Full Kitchen Remodel

• Luxury kitchen remodeling in Irvine
• Condo and townhome kitchen remodels
• Cabinet refacing
• Kitchen island installation
• Back to Irvine kitchen remodeling