What New Cabinets & Countertops Actually Cost and How Long They Take in Fort Myers
New cabinets and countertops in Fort Myers run $14,000-$45,000 for a full kitchen, with most of the jobs we do landing in the $22,000-$32,000 range when you’re replacing both at the same time. You’re looking at 2-4 weeks from the day we start demo to the day your sink is hooked back up, depending on whether you’re keeping the same footprint or moving things around. Call us at (844) 638-7249 for a written estimate that matches your exact layout - every quote we give is a fixed number, not a ballpark.
How We Handle a Cabinets & Countertops Job From Start to Finish
Most homeowners only do this once, maybe twice, in a home they plan to stay in. You want to know what actually happens and when you’ll have a functioning kitchen again. Here’s the sequence we follow on every cabinets and countertops project in Fort Myers, with realistic timeframes.
Day 1-2: We strip the old kitchen down to the studs
We remove existing cabinets, countertops, sink, and any soffits or bulkheads that are coming out. The plumbing gets capped at the wall, electrical boxes stay in place unless you’re moving them. We haul everything away same-day - you won’t have a pile of debris sitting in your driveway for a week. At this point your kitchen is bare studs and subfloor, and we do a quick walkthrough to confirm no water damage or framing issues behind the old cabinets that would change the plan. If your home is one of the older concrete-block builds along the McGregor corridor, we pay close attention to how the wall furring strips are anchored - that’s where we’ll hang the new uppers.
Day 3-5: Rough-in adjustments and drywall patches
If you’re keeping the plumbing and electrical in the same spots, this goes fast - we move or add outlets, run a new circuit if you’re adding under-cabinet lighting or a dedicated microwave line, and patch the drywall where old soffits came out. If you’re changing the layout (moving the sink to the island, for example), this stage stretches to include running new supply lines and drain through the slab or floor joists, which adds 2-3 days and roughly $1,200-$2,800 to the job. We give you a yes-or-no decision at the estimate stage, never a surprise change order mid-job.
Day 6-10: Cabinets arrive and installation begins
Your cabinets ship from the manufacturer fully assembled - we don’t do flat-pack on-site assembly because it never comes out as square and true. The lowers go in first, leveled and shimmed on every base. Then the uppers, anchored into studs or blocking. Crown molding and light rail get installed at this stage, and any filler panels or end panels get scribed to your walls. If you’re doing a full Kitchen Remodeling in Fort Myers, this is the point where our kitchen remodeling crew coordinates any other trade that needs wall access before countertops go on.
Day 11-14: Template and countertop fabrication
After cabinets are locked in, the countertop fabricator comes to template - they use a laser measuring system to capture every wall bump, corner, and overhang exactly. Fabrication takes 5-10 business days depending on the material and the shop’s backlog. Quartz moves faster; natural stone with a specific vein-match sometimes takes an extra week. Once the slabs are cut, polished, and seam-matched, the install crew delivers them and sets them in place in a single day, including the sink cutout and any cooktop cutout.
Day 14-21: Sink hookup, plumbing reconnect, and walkthrough
Countertops are in, so the plumber reconnects the sink, disposal, dishwasher, and any pot filler or instant-hot you added. We run the sink, check every connection, and do a full level-and-gap check on all cabinet doors and drawer faces. Any adjustment gets done right then. You walk the kitchen with Derek or your project lead - if something isn’t right, it gets fixed before we call the job done, and it’s covered under the 730-Day Done Right Promise either way.
The Real Choices You’ll Make on Materials
You’re not just picking a color. Every decision here has a cost difference and a durability difference, and we walk you through the trade-offs at the estimate appointment so you spend money where it matters and save where it doesn’t.
- Cabinet construction: stock, semi-custom, or full custom. Stock cabinets come in 3-inch-width increments, set depths, and a handful of door styles - they’re the most affordable at $4,000-$8,000 installed and work well in a standard galley or L-shaped kitchen. Semi-custom lets you modify heights, depths, and interior pull-outs, and runs $8,000-$13,000. Full custom is built to your exact dimensions with any wood species and finish profile - good for older Fort Myers homes where no two walls are square - and starts around $13,000 and goes up from there. We spec solid-wood face frames and dovetailed drawer boxes on every tier; the price difference is in the door profile, finish, and interior hardware.
- Countertop material: quartz vs. granite vs. quartzite vs. solid surface. Quartz (engineered stone) is the most popular choice we install - non-porous, no sealing required, consistent color, $55-$95 per square foot fabricated and installed. Granite is natural stone, every slab is one-of-a-kind, needs annual sealing, $45-$75 per square foot. Quartzite is harder and more heat-resistant than granite with a marble-like look, but it’s $90-$130 per square foot and the slabs are heavy enough that some older Fort Myers cabinet boxes need reinforcement. Solid surface (Corian-type) is seamless, repairable, and lands at $40-$60 per square foot, though it will scratch more readily than stone.
- Edge profile and sink mount. A standard eased edge is included. Ogee, waterfall, or mitered-edge profiles add $15-$30 per linear foot. Undermount sinks are standard on stone; if you want a farmhouse apron-front, the cabinet base and countertop cutout both change and that’s $300-$600 extra depending on the sink material.
- Door style and finish level. Shaker and slab doors cost less than raised-panel or inset doors because of the machine time. Painted finishes (especially darker colors) show wear sooner than stained wood or thermofoil, but they’re what most homeowners want right now. We’re upfront about which finishes hold up best in a Florida kitchen where humidity and cooking grease are both in play year-round.
What Cabinets & Countertops Cost in Fort Myers, FL
A full cabinets and countertops replacement in Fort Myers runs $14,000-$45,000. The spread is wide because kitchens range from an 8×10 condo galley to a 20-foot open-concept space with an island and wet bar. Here’s what pushes the number one direction or the other.
Kitchen size and linear footage of cabinets. Every additional lower cabinet base adds $300-$700; every additional upper adds $200-$500. A kitchen with 20 linear feet of cabinets costs roughly double one with 10, all else equal.
Layout changes. Keeping the sink, range, and dishwasher in their same locations avoids plumbing and electrical rough-in work. Moving the sink across the room means cutting the slab in a Fort Myers slab-on-grade home, running new drain line, and re-venting - that alone can add $1,800-$3,200. Moving a 220V range line adds $400-$900.
Countertop material and slab count. A single slab of entry-level quartz might be $2,200 fabricated. Two slabs of quartzite with a waterfall edge on the island can hit $7,000-$9,000 before the cabinets even factor in. Natural stone with dramatic veining also generates more waste in seaming, which you pay for by the square foot.
Existing condition issues. In Fort Myers, we regularly open walls behind 30-year-old cabinets and find water damage from a slow sink drain leak or termite channels in the furring strips. That remediation is scopable but not knowable until demo day - we show you exactly what we find, give a fixed line-item price to fix it, and don’t proceed without your approval.
Every estimate we write is a fixed-price, line-item document. No “allowances” that balloon later. Call (844) 638-7249 and we’ll come measure your kitchen and hand you a number in writing. The estimate is free, and you keep the paperwork whether you hire us or not.
What Fort Myers Homes Throw at a Cabinets Job That Other Cities Don’t
Fort Myers is a post-Ian market, and that changes how we approach every interior project, even one that seems as straightforward as cabinets and countertops. The permitting reality matters: if your kitchen is part of a larger rebuild or you’re in a flood zone where finished floor elevation came into play during the FEMA remapping, your cabinet installation may need to align with an elevation certificate and the permit set. We pull permits on every job that requires them - Lee County doesn’t mess around after the wave of unlicensed contractors that flooded in after the storm, and neither do we.
The housing stock here runs the full spectrum. Out in Gateway and newer master-planned communities, you’re working with post-2002 code construction, square walls, and standard stud spacing - cabinets go in fast. In older neighborhoods off McGregor or around the Edison Park area, you’re dealing with 1950s-1970s concrete block homes where the interior furring strips create uneven wall planes, and we’re scribing filler panels to a wall that might be a half-inch out of plumb over four feet. We’ve done enough of these to know how to make it look right without a fat bead of caulk substituting for craftsmanship. If your home is in Fort Myers proper, we’re likely working within one of these two build-era realities, and we’ll tell you at the estimate which one applies and what it means for your timeline.
Homeowners in Fort Myers often pair a kitchen upgrade with a bathroom refresh while the crew is already mobilized. We frequently see this job done alongside a Walk-In Showers & Shower Remodeling in Fort Myers or a Tub-to-Shower Conversion in Fort Myers, especially in homes where one bathroom was gutted by Ian water intrusion and never fully brought back.
Serving Fort Myers, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Fort Myers area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
Frequently Asked Questions About Cabinets & Countertops in Fort Myers
Two to four weeks from demo to final sink hookup. The biggest variable is countertop fabrication time after templating - quartz usually ships in 5-7 business days, natural stone can take 10-14 if the slab yard is backed up. If you’re keeping the same kitchen footprint with no plumbing moves, the two-week end is realistic.
If you’re swapping cabinets and countertops in the exact same locations without moving plumbing or electrical, most jurisdictions in Lee County do not require a standalone permit. The moment you move a sink, add an outlet, or change the kitchen’s electrical load, you need one. We pull permits when they’re required and the permit cost is a line item in your estimate - never a hidden fee.
Our fixed estimate includes removal and disposal of existing cabinets and countertops, all new cabinets delivered and installed, countertop fabrication and installation, sink and faucet hookup, and a final walkthrough. It does not include new appliances, moving plumbing or electrical locations, drywall or flooring work outside the cabinet footprint, or structural repairs to framing discovered during demo. Any repair work we find gets priced separately and approved by you before we touch it.
Yes, we do both standalone cabinet installation and standalone countertop replacement. Countertop-only jobs in Fort Myers run $2,000-$6,500 depending on material and linear footage. The one caveat: if your existing cabinets aren’t level or structurally sound, we’ll tell you before we template - setting new stone on a failing cabinet box is a warranty claim waiting to happen, and we won’t do it.
The cabinet manufacturer warranty covers materials and finish defects, typically for the length of time you own the home. The countertop fabricator warranty covers seam failure and material defects. On top of both, Groundwork Construction Co. covers the entire installation under the 730-Day Done Right Promise - if something isn’t right, we make it right, for two full years after the job is done. That covers drawer glides that stick, doors that drift out of alignment, and any installation-related issue.
Get a Fixed-Price Estimate for Cabinets & Countertops in Fort Myers
Call us at (844) 638-7249 and we’ll schedule a time to come measure your kitchen, talk through the material options that fit your budget, and hand you a written, line-item estimate with no obligations attached. A live person answers the phone - no voicemail black hole, no waiting until Monday. The estimate is free, the pricing is fixed, and the work is backed by the 730-Day Done Right Promise. If you’re ready to see what new cabinets and countertops actually cost for your specific kitchen in Fort Myers, that call is the fastest way to get a real number.
Written by Derek Hollenbeck, Owner at Groundwork Construction Co., serving Fort Myers with fixed-price cabinets and countertops installations.