I love summer and I hope that I won't have anything tying me to my home by then! I want to be outdoors then, not fussing over silly kitchen stuff ;) . At this time of year when it's cold outside and we are still nesting, it works well. I BBQ year round in the PNW though.

It would be good to be done by the time school starts. I know for me with the kids, Fall is super hectic and a time of fresh starts. Here in NorCal, the weather is actually pretty mild and so starting demo by March shouldn't that big of a deal. You should be back in by Fall then. Your kids are young enough that remodel shouldn't be such a huge deal with regard to finals week and all that. I'd start a bit earlier if I were you.

All I can say is DON'T do it when we did. We were originally going to start at the beginning of summer but due to life, we started framing on the first day of school. (We added on to our house) so the entire school year so far we have been remodeling and I am hoping we will be finished by the end of the school year. My poor kids, they are definitely ready for us to be done.

So yeah, I would say start in spring and be finished before summer ends.

Thanks everyone! This is looking to be a fairly straightforward remodel with no walls moving, no additional space being added, no plumbing or venting moving. Our contractor has been under our house in the crawlspace already for the bathroom remodel (and we replaced all the pipes for the house, except for the connections up to the hall bath and the kitchen then) and he installed the existing vent hood. So surprises should be minimal. He's thinking two weeks. He was overly optimistic on the bathroom so I am mentally doubling the time to a month. So if we start in the spring we should be done before summer break.

And NOT before Thanksgiving/Christmas (like I ended up doing), because EVERYONE wants their kitchens finished before the holidays, and the contractors are going crazy trying to get things done!

I can't believe some of the stories I read here about how long it takes some contractors to get a remodel completed.

My wife's former employer would pull the front end alignment machines out of a GM plant, remove the concrete, place new, and install new front end alignment machines over a TWO WEEK shutdown.

I drove past a nearly vacant lot this week that will be a new hospital in a year.

What are these jokers doing? What's taking so long? How are they making any money?

If my wife could turn over the keys to robots in two weeks, any fairly competent contractor should be able to complete any kitchen on earth in a month, tops.

I agree with Trebruchet! I also would not allow any demo until all the components are in and inspected, cabinets, sink, appliances, etc. Once the base cabinets are in and templating done, you can use plywood until the countertops are installed. What really makes things drag on and on is waiting for things to be delivered and having to replace damaged or wrong items. If everything is there ready to go before demo, those delays are minimized. Good luck with your remodel!

I am SAHM too. What worked for me is that we started in late March and were finished before school was out. I didn't want to juggle kids, summer vacation and renovation all at once. We enjoyed our great new kitchen all summer!
Plus, contractors are busy in the summer, and the good ones are all booked up.....