Semi-custom cabinets ordered in mid-January 2027 arrive between early May and mid-June at the 16 to 22 week lead times Phoenix kitchens are running, which puts a New Year start closer to Memorial Day than to Valentine’s Day.
That math surprises homeowners in Chandler, Gilbert, and Ahwatukee every fall. They plan to “start after the holidays,” and the holidays turn out to be the last window for the decisions that set the whole calendar. This piece walks through what has to happen between now and January so a spring kitchen or bathroom does not slide into summer heat.
Why Does a January Start Need Decisions Made in October?
A January construction start needs the cabinet line and layout locked by mid-November, because semi-custom cabinets run 16 to 22 weeks from order to install. The Cabinet Manufacturers Association’s lead-time reporting has tracked semi-custom production in that range, and each manufacturer confirms an actual ship date once the order is placed. On a Chandler kitchen ordered on November 15, the boxes land between early March and mid-April, which is right when demolition, framing, and rough plumbing are finished and the room is ready for them.
The same order placed on January 15 lands in May or June, and the kitchen sits half-built or waits to begin. We would rather spend October and November on design than spend April waiting on a truck.
If your project is a bathroom, the order of operations is the same, with a shorter list. Vanity lead times are generally shorter than full kitchen cabinet runs, but tile, plumbing fixtures, and glass all have their own dates. Our bathroom remodeling process starts with the same selection meeting for that reason.
What Gets Decided Before Demolition Day?
The layout, cabinet line, countertop material, plumbing fixtures, appliance package, and lighting plan all get decided during the design phase, before a fixed price is written. The National Kitchen and Bath Association’s Kitchen Planning Guidelines are the reference we check a layout against, and they call for a work aisle of at least 42 inches for one cook and 48 inches when two people cook at once. On a 1980s Ahwatukee galley kitchen, that single measurement often decides whether a new island fits or whether the wall behind it has to move.
Every one of those decisions has a downstream date attached to it. Our design phase produces 3D renderings so you can see the layout before anything is ordered, and the selection meetings turn the renderings into an order list.
What a Selection Meeting Covers
On our projects the selection process runs as three walk-throughs and then an order, and that sequence is the part of the calendar homeowners can control. The first walk-through settles layout and cabinet style. The second settles countertop, tile, and plumbing fixtures. The third checks every choice against the fixed price and the lead times, and nothing is ordered until you sign off on that list. A third walk-through that slips past the holidays pushes the cabinet order, and the order date sets the rest of the calendar.
What Stays Open Until Later
Paint colors, cabinet hardware, and decorative lighting can be finalized closer to install because their lead times are short. Appliances need their cutout dimensions early, even when the final model is chosen later.
How Do You Check a Contractor’s License Before Signing?
You check a contractor’s license by searching the company name or license number on the Arizona Registrar of Contractors website at azroc.gov, and the lookup takes about five minutes. The ROC record shows the license class, whether it is active, the bond on file, and any complaint history. A Gilbert homeowner who runs that search in early November has the answer in hand weeks before a January contract signing, and our own ROC #313636 can be verified the same way.
Run the lookup for any contractor you are seriously considering, and read the license class against the work described in your proposal. Our FAQ page covers the other questions we hear most often at this stage.
A Rough Calendar From October to a January Start
These windows are approximate and shift with the size of the project, but they show how the pieces stack up for a January construction start.
- October: Hold the discovery call, set a budget range, and measure and photograph the rooms involved.
- Early November: Approve the design and layout, review the 3D renderings, and run the ROC license lookup.
- Mid-November: Finish the selection walk-throughs, sign the fixed-price agreement, and place the cabinet order.
- December: Confirm ship dates, finalize the schedule with your project manager, and clear the work area.
- January: Demolition begins while the cabinets are still in production.
If financing is part of the plan, our financing partner Hearth is where we send homeowners to see monthly payment options before they sign. The cost guide on our site gives project-level ranges to set a budget against before that conversation.
Design-build does not eliminate every unknown. It eliminates the expensive ones, and a mid-November order date is one of the planning steps that does most of that work. A holiday-season delay in design still moves the whole calendar, so a realistic January start depends on how many walk-throughs are finished by Thanksgiving.
One Thing to Do This Week
Measure the room, photograph it from every corner, and write down the three things that annoy you most about how you use it. A room with wall-to-wall measurements, a photo set, and a short written list lets the first design conversation start on real information. Add a budget range you are comfortable with, and the discovery call can focus on layout instead of basics.
A note on how this article was written: we use AI to help draft and research pieces like this, then a human on the team edits for accuracy and voice. Here’s how and why we use AI at PHR.