What a Full Kitchen Remodeling in Marco Actually Takes, and What It Costs
A full kitchen remodeling in Marco means taking the room down to the studs and floor joists, reconfiguring layout, replacing every surface and appliance, and bringing the electrical and plumbing to current code. Most projects on the island run 8 to 14 weeks from demolition to final walkthrough, and the cost lands between $14,000 and $45,000 depending on square footage, structural surprises, and the finish level you choose. Call (844) 638-7249 to get a written estimate scoped to your home, not a ballpark guess.
We work on the kitchens inside those concrete-block ranches you see all over the island, the ones Deltona put up in the sixties and seventies. That housing stock is the starting point here, and it shapes every part of the job. When we open a wall on a Marco kitchen, we do not assume anything: we check for corroded tie-down straps, see whether the slab has settled enough to matter, and verify that what looked like a simple wall move on the plan is not about to trigger a flood-compliance conversation with the county. That local reality is what drives the process laid out below.
How We Do a Full Kitchen Remodeling in Marco, From First Cut to Final Paint
Every full kitchen remodeling follows a sequence, and the more a homeowner understands that sequence, the smoother the job goes. Here is how we stage it. None of this is a surprise, and none of it happens without your approval at each gate.
Stage 1: Demolition and discovery (Days 1-3)
We protect the travel path with floor covering, seal off the kitchen from the rest of the house, and take everything down to the framing. Cabinets, soffits, drywall, flooring, plumbing fixtures, and the electrical that feeds them all come out. On a Marco slab home, this is the moment we confirm what we could not see before: whether the slab is level, whether the existing drain stubs are located for the new layout, and whether the exterior walls show any corrosion on the embedded metal connectors. If we find water intrusion or framing damage from forty years of canal humidity, we address it here before moving forward. You make no finish decisions during this stage; this is purely structural ground-truth.
Stage 2: Rough-in and framing changes (Days 4-12)
With the room open, we move or add walls if the layout is changing, frame any soffit or bulkhead changes, and run new electrical circuits, plumbing supply lines, drain lines, and any gas piping for a new range location. In Marco, the rough-in inspection with Collier County is the critical gate. Because most island kitchens are in homes built before the post-Andrew wind code and current FEMA maps, the inspector will verify that any structural changes do not weaken the existing lateral load path, and they will check that new electrical is to the NEC edition Florida has adopted. This typically takes one visit plus any corrections. You will have chosen your appliance locations at this stage so we can place outlets, vents, and gas stub-outs precisely.
Stage 3: Drywall, flooring, and surfaces (Days 13-25)
We insulate any exterior walls, hang and finish drywall, mud and sand to a Level 4 finish, and prime. If you are doing tile floors, we pour any needed self-leveler on the slab, lay an uncoupling membrane, and set tile. For hardwood or LVP, we install after the drywall dust is fully cleaned out. Cabinet delivery is scheduled so it arrives as soon as the flooring is down and cured. In Marco, this is also when we pay close attention to moisture: a slab-on-grade floor in a canal-adjacent home can transmit ground moisture, and we test before laying anything that could cup or warp. Cabinet style, finish, hardware, countertop slab, backsplash tile, flooring material, sink and faucet type, and paint color are all locked in before we reach this stage.
Stage 4: Cabinet install, countertop template, and trim (Days 26-45)
Cabinets go in first, shimmed level on your slab floor. A countertop fabricator comes to take a digital template once the cabinets are fixed, and stone fabrication usually runs 7 to 14 days. While that is in progress, we install door and drawer fronts, trim moldings, under-cabinet lighting, and any decorative panels. When the countertops arrive, we set them, install the sink and faucet, and hook up the dishwasher and disposal. This is the stage where the kitchen suddenly looks like a kitchen again, and it is also the one with the most concentrated contractor traffic in your home. You will walk the layout at cabinet-set to confirm everything before the template appointment.
Stage 5: Backsplash, finish electrical and plumbing, punch list (Days 46-final)
Backsplash tile goes on, outlets and switches get their cover plates, the range and hood are connected, under-sink plumbing is finalized, and we caulk and touch up. We do a full walkthrough with you, write down every item that needs a second look, and work that punch list to zero. Final building inspection happens once everything is complete. In some Marco homes, the final electrical inspection triggers a panel labeling update or a grounding check that adds a half-step; we schedule it into the timeline so it does not surprise you at the end.
This entire process is what falls under Kitchen Remodeling in Marco, start to finish, and we run it with a single project lead so you are not tracking down three different crews.
The Options You Will Choose Between for a Full Kitchen Remodeling
Every full kitchen comes with a set of big decisions. You will pick a path on each of these; we lay out the honest trade-offs so you know why one choice costs more and what you get for it. No surprise upcharges later.
- Cabinet construction: Stock cabinets get you a kitchen fast and keep the number low, but the boxes are particleboard and the size options are limited to standard widths. Semi-custom gives you plywood boxes, soft-close hardware, and better finish durability, and you are not stuck filling gaps with filler strips. Custom cabinets, built to the room, cost the most but solve odd angles and maximize storage in a small Marco kitchen where every inch matters.
- Countertop material: Laminate is still available and runs the low end of the budget, but it does not hold a hot pan or resist a knife. Solid surface is seamless and repairable. Quartz, which most Marco homeowners choose, is non-porous, does not need sealing, and handles humidity without any maintenance. Natural stone is beautiful but requires regular sealing in our salt-air environment, and acidic spills etch it.
- Flooring: Porcelain or ceramic tile handles Marco moisture best and sits well on a slab, but it is hard underfoot. Luxury vinyl plank is warmer, quieter, and waterproof, and it floats over minor slab imperfections that would crack tile. Hardwood is doable but needs careful moisture testing on a slab grade, and we steer most island clients toward engineered wood if they want the wood look.
- Appliance configuration: Where you place the range, refrigerator, and dishwasher dictates the plumbing and electrical rough-in cost. Keeping everything in roughly the same footprint is the lower-cost path. Moving a sink across the room, or adding a gas line where one does not exist, adds real labor and material cost. We help you weigh the layout benefit against the rough-in bill so the decision is yours with clear numbers.
Our kitchen remodeling crew works with solid, mid-grade brands like Quikrete for any floor-leveling work, and we partner with material suppliers across Fort Myers who stock the finishes Marco clients choose most. You get access to the full spectrum without waiting on specialty freight.
What Full Kitchen Remodeling Costs in Marco, FL
A full kitchen remodeling in Marco runs $14,000 to $45,000. The low end is a smaller kitchen, kept in the existing footprint, with stock cabinets, laminate or basic quartz tops, and mid-range appliances, no structural changes. The upper end is a larger kitchen with custom or semi-custom cabinetry, stone countertops throughout, higher-end appliances, relocated plumbing or electrical, and some wall or soffit rework.
Here is what pushes a quote from the bottom of the range to the top:
- Kitchen size and cabinet count. A 10×10 galley kitchen costs less to outfit than a 15×20 open-plan space with an island, simply because of the linear feet of cabinets and countertops. Every additional cabinet box, drawer base, and countertop square foot adds cost proportionally.
- Plumbing and electrical relocation. When the sink, dishwasher, or range moves to a different wall, we are running new supply lines, drain waste, and 240V circuits through walls that are already closed on the other side. On a Marco slab, a relocated drain line often means cutting the slab to move the stub, which adds days and dollars.
- Wall or soffit changes. Removing a load-bearing wall to open the kitchen into the living area requires a beam and engineering, plus a county plan review. Non-load-bearing walls still carry electrical and may have vent stacks inside. The wall itself is cheap to take down; what is inside it is what costs money.
- Countertop and backsplash material grade. Quartz varies widely by manufacturer and color series. A basic white quartz costs less than a premium marble-look slab. The backsplash cost depends on tile choice, layout pattern, and linear feet. A simple subway layout in ceramic is the lower-cost option; a glass mosaic or full-height quartz slab backsplash moves the number up quickly.
- Existing condition and code compliance. This is the Marco-specific factor. When we open the wall and find wiring from 1965, or corroded straps, or a panel that is already maxed out, we bring it to current code. You cannot put a new kitchen on top of old, unsafe infrastructure. This cost is invisible until the wall is open, and we show you photos and a line-item price before we touch it.
Every estimate we write is line-item, fixed-price, and scoped to your kitchen. You see the exact cost for cabinets, countertops, labor, permits, and any rough-in work. Nothing is lumped into a mystery number. The price you approve is the price you pay, no change orders hiding behind “unforeseen conditions” language. That is what upfront pricing means at Groundwork Construction Co.
What Marco Homes Specifically Do to This Job
Marco kitchens, in practical terms, sit inside concrete-block ranch homes that were built fifty to sixty years ago by a single developer working at scale. Those homes have flat slab floors, block walls with furring strips for drywall, and original electrical and plumbing that predates modern kitchens and modern code. When we open those walls, we find things that inland Fort Myers homes do not show us.
The salt air here is the quiet problem. Canal-front and Gulf-adjacent parcels expose embedded metal connectors, outlet-box screws, and the steel in the slab edge to years of airborne salt, and we regularly pull out metal junction-box covers that are rusted through. Any fastener that will live inside a wall or under a finished surface gets upgraded to corrosion-resistant specification whether code demands it or not. It is one of the reasons our Marco projects average higher on the materials line than an identical floorplan built five miles inland. We also know which neighborhoods and which specific streets sit in VE zones where a kitchen remodel can inadvertently trigger flood-compliance questions. Under Collier County’s substantial improvement rule, if the project cost exceeds 50% of the structure’s assessed value, the entire building must be brought to current FEMA flood elevation. For a lot of older Deltona slabs sitting below BFE, that means the kitchen cannot legally happen unless the house gets elevated - a conversation we have had more than once with a homeowner who called us for cabinets and ended up rethinking the whole property. We will flag that threshold before we draw a plan, not after the permit office calls it.
Homeowners in Marco often pair a full kitchen remodel with Full Bathroom Remodeling in Marco or a Walk-In Showers & Shower Remodeling in Marco when they are already living through a construction zone, and we can run both scopes under one project schedule to minimize disruption.
Serving Marco, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Marco 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 - Full Kitchen Remodeling in Marco, FL
Eight to fourteen weeks from demolition day to final walkthrough is realistic. The spread comes from the variables: whether the slab needs leveling, whether you are moving plumbing, and how fast your countertop fabricator’s current queue is moving. The longest wait is usually stone fabrication, which runs one to two weeks after the template appointment. We build a schedule with dates for every gate and you get weekly updates. A kitchen you can cook in is the finish line and we do not rush the last 10% to meet a calendar date.
Yes. Any project that involves electrical, plumbing, or structural changes requires a permit from Collier County Building and Plan Review. A full kitchen remodeling always touches at least electrical and plumbing, and often structural if a wall comes out or a beam goes in. We pull every permit for you and our name goes on it. The permit cost is a line item in your estimate, not a surprise, and we handle the inspections from rough-in to final.
Yes, and on Marco slab homes this is one of the biggest cost controllers. Keeping the sink, dishwasher, and range in roughly the same positions avoids cutting concrete to relocate drain stubs and avoids running new electrical home runs across a finished house. You will still get new cabinets, counters, flooring, and appliances, but the rough-in bill stays low. If the layout works for you, we will never push you to change it just to drive the number up.
Every full kitchen remodeling we do is covered by the 730-Day Done Right Promise: if it is not done right, we make it right, for two full years from completion. That covers our labor on cabinets, countertops, tile, drywall, plumbing connections, and electrical work. Cabinet, appliance, and fixture manufacturers have their own warranties that run in parallel, and we handle the claim coordination if something fails. Call (844) 638-7249 if you want the written warranty terms before you sign.
We price what we can see, and we tell you before you sign what the most common hidden items cost on a Marco kitchen of your era: corroded plumbing, undersized wiring, slab cracks, and tie-down repairs. If we open the wall and find something we could not have known was there, we show you photos, give you a fixed price to fix it, and you approve it before we do the work. No unexplained line items, no “we had to do it to keep moving” surprises. The price you pay matches the price you approved plus anything you chose to add. That is what no-hassle upfront pricing means.
Get a Written Estimate for Your Full Kitchen Remodeling in Marco
A full kitchen is one of the largest investments you will make in your home, and you should know exactly what it will cost and how it will unfold before you commit a dollar. Call (844) 638-7249 to schedule a free on-site estimate. We will walk your kitchen, talk through layout and finish options, and send you a fixed-price, line-item proposal. On the call you reach a real person - no voicemail, no call-center maze. From foundation to finish line, we put the plan in writing so you can make a decision on real numbers.
Written by Derek Hollenbeck, Owner at Groundwork Construction Co., serving Marco since 2014.