Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
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After
Before
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AfterFast, Reliable Kitchen Remodeling Across Key Largo
A full kitchen remodel in Key Largo typically runs $14,000 to $45,000, with small and partial remodels landing between $9,000 and $20,000. The price difference depends almost entirely on one thing most mainland contractors never ask about: whether your stilt home’s existing pile grid can carry the load of the new island or stone countertop you’re planning. We’ve been doing Kitchen Remodeling on homes here long enough to know the answer usually comes from an engineer’s letter, not a showroom brochure.
We serve all of Key Largo, from the Buttonwood Bay area down to the 33037 stretch along the Overseas Highway, and our crews know what a real Monroe County permit review looks like. Call (877) 610-1318 to schedule your free estimate. A live person answers the phone, day or night.
Why Barrett & Sons Construction Is Key Largo’s Preferred Kitchen Remodeling Company
Tom Barrett started this company in 1998 with his name on the truck, not a franchise name an out-of-state office sent down. For 27 years we’ve built kitchens in Key Largo that survive salt air, hurricane seasons, and county inspectors who’ve seen every shortcut in the book. We carry KraftMaid and Cambria because those are brands you can call and verify, and we put every scope and allowance in writing before a single nail moves.
Ask anyone who lives near John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park or down by the marina what happened the last time a fly-by-night contractor promised them a “simple” kitchen update without HVHZ paperwork. We hear those stories weekly. Our crews are background-checked, uniformed, and live close enough that we see you at the hardware store on Saturday. Tom’s sons are the ones pulling your permit and signing your inspections, not a subcontractor we’ve never met.
We’re the Kitchen Remodeling in Key Largo team that shows up with a written change order for every adjustment, a 90-Day Done Right Promise on the contract, and a phone number you can actually call to get Tom back out if something isn’t right. Scheduling and dispatch are coordinated from our South Florida metro office, but the crew that walks into your kitchen is local, licensed, and accountable by name.
Our Kitchen Remodeling Services in Key Largo
Full Kitchen Remodeling in Key Largo
A full kitchen remodel here means more than swapping cabinets. On a Key Largo stilt home it starts with confirming your existing pile grid and continuous load path can support the new layout. We review that before we order the first cabinet, because adding a heavy stone island on a 1970s wood-frame stilt without supplemental piling will fail HVHZ uplift inspection and could void your flood elevation certificate. A typical full kitchen remodel in Key Largo runs $14,000 to $45,000 depending on structural scope, cabinet line, and countertop stone.
Cabinets & Countertops in Key Largo
Key Largo salt air is unforgiving to cheap hardware. Standard electroplated fasteners on cabinets rust within a few years, drawer slides bind, and load-bearing connections corrode enough to fail inspection sign-off. We specify hot-dipped galvanized or stainless hardware as baseline, not upgrade, and we pull from KraftMaid’s catalog so every cabinet line is one you can verify. Cabinet work here typically runs $4,000 to $13,000. Countertop stone like Cambria quartz or granite runs $2,000 to $6,500 for most Key Largo kitchens.
The island itself is where Key Largo differs most from a mainland remodel. On a CBS stilt home, cutting into the floor for plumbing or electrical without locating the piling tie beam can sever structural steel. We bring in an engineer to certify any island addition that loads the floor system beyond original design. Island installation runs $3,000 to $10,000 depending on whether supplemental piling is required.
Backsplash, Tile & Flooring in Key Largo
Humidity near the water means we recommend moisture-rated backer board and tile rated for high-humidity exposure. Standard drywall behind a backsplash fails faster within a mile of Florida Bay than it does inland. Backsplash installation runs $800 to $2,500. For flooring we look at what’s already handling the house’s movement, because stilt homes flex differently than slab-on-grade construction. A tile floor that’s perfect on the mainland can crack here if the substrate wasn’t engineered for piling movement.
Kitchen Design & Layout in Key Largo
Layout decisions in Key Largo start with structure, not style. Before we talk about where the range goes or whether the island faces the water, we map the existing pile grid and confirm what the continuous load path allows. That’s the single biggest difference between working with us and working with a mainland contractor who’s never lifted a subfloor on a 1968 CBS stilt home. We design within what your house can actually carry, then pull permits that pass the first time.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Key Largo
We’re a dealer for KraftMaid cabinets and Cambria countertop surfaces, which matters when you want to look up the warranty yourself. Schluter waterproofing and uncoupling membrane systems are what we use under tile in high-humidity Key Largo kitchens, and GAF roofing products often factor into kitchen-to-exterior transitions on homes where the kitchen wall carries roof loads. We stock common replacement parts locally, which cuts turnaround time when a hinge or drawer slide fails during a punch-list walkthrough.
Common Kitchen Remodeling Problems We See in Key Largo Homes
- Assuming a slab-on-grade foundation exists. Key Largo homes are on driven concrete pilings anchored into fossilized coral. Cutting into the kitchen floor without locating the piling tie beam can sever structural steel and void the flood elevation certificate. We map the pile grid before any demolition starts.
- Salt-air corrosion on embedded anchors. On a 1970s CBS stilt home in the Buttonwood Bay area, our crew opened the kitchen subfloor to find rebar in the tie beam corroded by decades of salt air, not just surface rust but section loss that would fail HVHZ uplift inspection. We replaced the affected embedded anchors with hot-dipped galvanized hardware, reframed the load-bearing wall for a new island, and documented the continuous load path upgrade with the engineer’s certification before closing the subfloor and setting new KraftMaid cabinets.
- Permits submitted as a simple interior alteration. Monroe County’s floodplain review flags any change that increases the value of the home by more than 50% as a substantial improvement, which triggers a full elevation of the entire house. We know the threshold, and we plan scope to avoid triggering it unless you want it triggered, in which case you’ll know exactly what the numbers are before you sign.
- Cheap fasteners on cabinets and blocking. Within a few years of salt-air exposure, standard electroplated fasteners degrade to the point that drawers sag and load-bearing connections can’t hold. We specify stainless or hot-dipped galvanized as baseline on every Key Largo job.
Pricing for Kitchen Remodeling in Key Largo, FL
Here’s what Key Largo homeowners can expect to pay for kitchen work that passes Monroe County inspection on the first try. These are the actual ranges we quote, and we stand behind them with written change orders, not verbal surprises.
| Service | Price Range |
|---|---|
| Kitchen Remodel | $14,000-$45,000 |
| Small Kitchen Remodel | $9,000-$20,000 |
| Cabinets & Countertops | $4,000-$13,000 |
| Countertop Installation | $2,000-$6,500 |
| Backsplash Installation | $800-$2,500 |
| Kitchen Island Installation | $3,000-$10,000 |
What changes the number is structural scope: whether the island needs supplemental piling, whether the engineer has to recertify the load path, and whether the floodplain reviewer flags substantial improvement. A compliant quote includes the engineer’s letter and the county review. A cheap one leaves both out and hopes the inspector doesn’t ask. Call (877) 610-1318 for an exact number. The estimate is free, and there’s no trip charge inside Monroe County.
We Also Serve Cities Near Key Largo
Our kitchen remodeling crews work everywhere in the Upper Keys and along the mainland edge of South Dade, including Florida City, Homestead, Leisure City, and Naranja. If you live just off the Overseas Highway or up toward the mainland, the permitting and wind-load issues are different enough that it helps to have a contractor who knows both worlds. One call covers the whole area.
Serving Key Largo, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Key Largo area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Kitchen Remodeling in Key Largo
It depends on what’s under the floor. An island with plumbing and a heavy countertop adds a concentrated dead load that the original pile grid may not have been designed for. We bring in a licensed engineer to review the existing piling and continuous load path before we commit to a layout. If supplemental piling or a tie-beam upgrade is needed, you’ll see that cost in writing before work starts. Call (877) 610-1318 for a free engineering-based review of your specific floor plan.
It triggers the HVHZ code any time you modify a structural element or increase the home’s value enough to cross Monroe County’s substantial improvement threshold. Any kitchen remodel that touches load-bearing walls, opens the floor system, or changes the roof-to-wall connection will need to meet current High-Velocity Hurricane Zone standards. That includes impact-rated openings if you widen an exterior wall. We pull the permit with HVHZ compliance built into the scope, not added on after the first failed inspection.
They ask for structural drawings showing the existing pile grid, a continuous load path confirmation from a licensed engineer, and an elevation certificate that hasn’t been invalidated by any demolition. A kitchen that changes interior load-bearing walls will often need a new engineer’s certification even if the outside of the house looks the same. Send us your address and we’ll tell you what your specific project will need before you spend anything.
Because a draw schedule locks in what’s been completed before you release payment. Contractors who work without one are betting you won’t notice when the job stalls. Tom Barrett’s rule is that every scope, every allowance, and every price change arrives as a written change order before work happens. The allowance that isn’t on paper is a surprise waiting for a date. If someone won’t give you a draw schedule, walk away and call (877) 610-1318 instead.
You can, but smart money doesn’t. Key Largo’s permanent humidity plus salt air demands moisture-rated cabinet boxes and marine-grade or exterior-rated plywood for any structural application like an island base or load-bearing cabinet run. Cambria quartz handles humidity fine on the surface. What matters is what it’s sitting on and what’s fastening it all together. We spec stainless or hot-dipped galvanized hardware on every Key Largo kitchen, and we don’t charge extra for it because we won’t build it any other way.
Ready to see what a Key Largo kitchen remodel actually costs when it’s done right? Call (877) 610-1318 to schedule your free estimate. Tom Barrett and his sons will give you written numbers, a real permit path, and a 90-Day Done Right Promise on the contract. No surprises, no mainland assumptions, no excuses.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving Key Largo with kitchen remodeling, storm-hardening retrofits, and owner-operated accountability since 1998.