Pakenham kitchen reno timeline - week by week.
A typical Pakenham estate kitchen runs 4 to 6 weeks from demolition to commissioning. Here is the week-by-week breakdown, the order trades land, where the lead-time risk sits (cabinets every time), and the buffer days we build into every programme so a wet winter or a backordered slab does not turn a 4-week reno into a 10-week reno.
The full programme - week by week.
Before week 1 on site, we have already burned 3-4 weeks of pre-construction time: design sign-off, cabinet shop drawings, deposit clearance, DBI insurance confirmation (mandatory in Victoria for contracts over $16,000, costs roughly $1,000-$1,800 depending on contract value), and the appliance order. We do not start demolition until cabinets are 7 days out from delivery - that sequencing rule is what stops you cooking dinner on a camping stove for two months.
Week 1 - demolition and rough-in.
- Day 1: demolition of existing kitchen, dust-sheet living areas, set up temporary kitchen zone (kettle, microwave, toaster, fridge usually moved to laundry or dining).
- Day 2-3: licensed plumber rough-in. On a slab-on-ground home (most Pakenham estates 1995-2015) the sink stack is set in the concrete; we can relocate within ~1.5m without chasing the slab, beyond that the cost adds $1,800-$3,500 for slab chase and re-pour. AS/NZS 3500 drainage gradients apply throughout.
- Day 3-4: A-grade electrician rough-in - oven circuit, cooktop circuit, dishwasher GPO, rangehood, under-bench general GPOs, downlight or pendant lighting circuit, USB-C points if specified. AS/NZS 3000 wiring rules.
- Day 5: plasterer patches walls and skims any new openings; carpenter installs nogging where needed for wall-mounted cabinets.
Week 2 - surfaces and prep.
- Day 6-7: plaster patches dry, painter does ceiling and walls in first coats. White ceiling, walls in the trim colour to match the rest of the house.
- Day 8-9: flooring if changing - hybrid planks, tile, or polished concrete refresh. We try to extend existing flooring under the new cabinets when feasible (saves money, future-proofs the kitchen for layout changes).
- Day 10: final clean of the construction zone before cabinets arrive.
Week 3 - cabinets land.
- Day 11-13: cabinet install. Two-person crew, 2-3 days for a typical 8-12 linear metre kitchen. Carcases first (levelled, plumbed, screwed to walls and to each other), then drawers and doors fitted, hardware adjusted.
- Day 13: stone template visit - the stonemason measures the actual installed carcases (not the drawings) for the benchtop, splashback if it's stone, and any waterfall ends. This is the choke point that decides the rest of the programme.
- Day 14-15: plumber and electrician second fix the items that don't depend on benchtop (range-hood ducting, lighting, GPO faces).
Weeks 4-6 - finishing and commissioning.
Week 4 - the stone window.
The benchtop is being fabricated at the stone shop. On site we do painter second and final coats, tile prep on the splashback wall, and handle any cabinet snag (door alignment, drawer runner tweaks). For a porcelain ultra-compact slab or a natural stone, the fabrication is 7-10 days; compliant low-silica engineered stone is similar. This is the week most clients say "it feels like nothing is happening" - the work has moved off your site to the stone shop, and the on-site trades are waiting on the benchtop to do their final connections.
Week 5 - the finishing run.
- Day 22: stone benchtop install - usually a single day on site. The stonemason brings the slab in pieces, dry-fits, joins on site, polishes any visible joints, silicones around sinks and walls.
- Day 23-24: splashback - tiler if it's a tile job, glazier if it's toughened painted glass, stonemason for a continued-run stone splashback.
- Day 24-25: plumber final connections (tapware, dishwasher, sink waste, isolating valves). Compliance certificate issued for the plumbing work under the Plumbing Code of Australia.
- Day 25: electrician final connections (oven, cooktop, dishwasher, rangehood). AS/NZS 3000 compliance certificate issued. Gas work, if any, certified under AS/NZS 5601.
Week 6 - appliances, clean, walkthrough.
- Day 26-27: integrated appliances (built-in fridge, integrated dishwasher, microwave drawer) fitted and commissioned. Door alignment to cabinet panels is the finicky part - usually a 2-3 hour exercise per integrated unit.
- Day 28: full builder's clean - cabinet faces wiped, stone polished, floor mopped, all dust-sheets removed, skip taken away.
- Day 29: client walkthrough. We bring the appliance manuals, warranty paperwork, AS-compliance certificates, stone care guide, and DBI policy documents in a single folder. Any final snag items are listed and rectified in the 7-day post-completion warranty period.
- Day 30: final progress payment cleared. Job closed.
Where the buffer days sit.
Three days are built in across the programme: one mid-week 1 (rough-in always finds something not on the drawings - old plumbing, hidden electrical, slab chase decisions), one in week 4 (the paint shop in summer, or a stone slab needing recut), and one in week 6 (appliance commissioning quirks). We don't mention them in the day-by-day above because they're spread across the schedule. A 4-week reno uses 1-2 of them; a 6-week reno uses all 3.
FAQ.
Why does the timeline stretch on older Pakenham homes?
Pre-1995 builds typically have stumped sub-floors rather than slab-on-ground, which means plumbing relocation is easier but the kitchen footprint is often smaller and walls aren't square. Allow another 3-5 days. Heritage homes (rare in Pakenham, more common in Beaconsfield) can have heritage overlay considerations that push the design-approval phase.
Can the reno start before DBI insurance is in place?
No. DBI is mandatory in Victoria on residential building contracts over $16,000, and the cover starts before the first physical work. The certificate takes 5-10 working days from application and costs roughly $1,000-$1,800. We won't book in demolition until DBI is confirmed in writing - that's the legal sequence, and it also protects you (your deposit is insured the moment cover starts).
What happens if appliances arrive late?
If the appliances are not on site by week 5, we install temporary blanking panels in the appliance openings, finish everything else, and return for the appliance install when they land. The kitchen is usable in the meantime - sink, tapware, lights, stone all work. We avoid this by ordering appliances at design sign-off, not at site start.
Do you work in surrounding suburbs to the same timeline?
Yes - Cardinia Lakes, Lakeside, Heritage Springs, Officer, Beaconsfield and Pakenham Upper all run the same programme. Our supply chain (cabinet shop, stone fabricator, appliance suppliers) is based on this corridor, so logistics don't extend the timeline. The one variable is access - long-driveway properties in Pakenham Upper occasionally need a smaller truck for the cabinet delivery, which is a half-day not a programme issue.
Lock your Pakenham reno into a real programme.
VBA-registered builder, HIA member, DBI on every Pakenham, Cardinia Lakes, Officer, Heritage Springs and Beaconsfield reno. Free in-home design and programme consultation.