From Design to Install in 8 Weeks
Custom cabinets don't have to take months. This guide maps the real timeline — design, ordering, build, and installation — week by week, so you know exactly what to expect.
📄 Download the 8-Week Guide (PDF)
The key phases
- Weeks 1-2: Design, measurements, material selection
- Weeks 3-4: Ordering and fabrication
- Weeks 5-7: Cabinet construction and finishing
- Week 8: Delivery and installation
Ordering now means your kitchen is done before the spring rush — get your free Montgomery estimate today.
What slows the build down
Two delays cause most 8-week projects to slip: waiting on finish decisions, and structural surprises in the prep phase. Decide species, finish, and hardware before fabrication starts, and budget the 10% contingency for prep. Ordering in winter avoids the spring capacity crunch entirely — same shop, better attention.
Guide slides
What happens in each phase
- Weeks 1-2 — Design: measurements, layout, and lock-in of species, finish, and hardware. Indecision here is the #1 schedule killer — every week you delay the finish choice adds a week at the end.
- Weeks 3-7 — Fabrication: boxes cut and assembled, dovetail drawers joined, finish applied in multiple coats. If the shop offers progress photos, take them — they show the plywood boxes and dovetail joints that define quality.
- Week 8 — Install: leveling, scribing, alignment, full open-close test, countertop fit.
What slows the build down
Two causes slip most 8-week projects: finish-decision delays and structural surprises in prep (unlevel floors, plumbing moves). Lock decisions before fabrication starts and budget the 10% contingency for prep work — that's the whole game.
Quality checkpoints before sign-off
- Boxes: 3/4" all-plywood
- Drawers: solid wood, dovetail, soft-close
- Finish: catalyzed, multiple coats
- Install: level, scribed, every door tested
Ordering in winter avoids the spring capacity crunch — firmer quotes and better attention from the same shop.
