Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
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AfterFast, Reliable Kitchen Remodeling Across Lakewood
Kitchen remodeling in Lakewood runs $14,000 to $45,000 for a full job, with smaller partial remodels starting around $9,000. Most of the kitchens we work on sit inside 950 to 1,100 square foot tract homes built between 1950 and 1954, so the work follows patterns we know well. If you live in the 90712, 90713, 90714, or 90715 ZIP codes, we’re minutes away and can be at your door fast. Call (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate, and we’ll walk the space with you before anyone opens a wall.
What sets Lakewood apart from nearby cities like Long Beach or Bellflower is simple: nearly every home here came out of the same postwar building boom. That’s not a problem. It’s an advantage for a contractor who knows what those crews put behind the drywall. We do.
Why Barrett & Sons Construction Is Lakewood’s Preferred Kitchen Remodeling Company
Tom Barrett founded Barrett & Sons Construction in 1998, and his sons run crews on Lakewood job sites to this day. When you call, a live person answers. When you sign, every allowance, every scope item, and every price change arrives as a written change order before work proceeds. That’s how we’ve operated for 29 years, and it’s why homeowners across Lakewood keep our number in their phones.
We’ve remodeled kitchens from Studebaker Road to the neighborhoods east of Lakewood Boulevard, and the reviews from Lakewood customers tell the same story: the price on the contract matched the final invoice. No surprise line items. Tom publishes his name, address, and license number so you can verify everything before signing. If something isn’t done right, the 90-Day Done Right Promise brings Tom back. One call.
Lakewood’s housing stock is uniform in a way almost no other LA Basin city can claim. We know what’s behind these 1950s walls because we’ve opened hundreds of them. That means fewer unpleasant discoveries for you, and a remodel schedule that doesn’t stretch weeks past the date we promised.
Our Kitchen Remodeling Services in Lakewood
We handle full Kitchen Remodeling work, plus the focused upgrades Lakewood homeowners ask for most. Here’s what that looks like on the ground.
Full Kitchen Remodeling
A full kitchen remodel in Lakewood typically means gutting a 70-year-old room down to the studs and rebuilding it with modern electrical, plumbing, and finishes. We pull permits on every eligible job and walk you through rough-in and final inspections. Our team handles everything from demolition to the final walkthrough with your Cambria quartz island in place.
Cabinet Installation & Refacing
Many Lakewood kitchens still have their original 1950s cabinetry, which means worn rails, sagging doors, and layouts that don’t fit a modern oven or dishwasher. KraftMaid cabinetry is our default brand for these jobs. If the existing boxes are sound, refacing saves real money while giving the room a completely new look. In the 90712 ZIP, we regularly see kitchens where the original cabinets outlived two or three appliance generations.
Countertop Installation
Countertops are usually the first upgrade Lakewood homeowners want. We install quartz and granite, with Cambria as our most-requested quartz brand. The catch in these older tract homes is that the original cabinets often aren’t level after 70 years of slab settling. We correct the substrate before the stone goes down, so the new counter doesn’t crack six months later.
Backsplash, Tile & Flooring
Backsplash and flooring work in Lakewood kitchens tends to collide with two realities: original asbestos-containing floor tiles in some 1950s homes, and uneven slab foundations. We test before we tear out, and we use Schluter systems for waterproofing and uncoupling when tile goes over questionable substrate. The result is a floor or backsplash that stays put.
Kitchen Design & Layout
Most Lakewood tract kitchens were built with a single work triangle squeezed into a galley footprint. We redesign these spaces without moving load-bearing walls unless you want that, and if you do, we handle the engineering and permits. Kitchen islands are the most popular addition we build in Lakewood, and they run $3,000 to $10,000 depending on plumbing and electrical scope.
What happens when you call
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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 Lakewood
We carry KraftMaid and Cambria in kitchens, plus Schluter systems for waterproofing and Sterling and Grohe for fixtures. These aren’t mystery brands off a van; you can look up every one of them. For Lakewood customers in the 90713 and 90714 ZIPs, having these materials locally stocked means we don’t wait on shipping delays or backordered parts. When a cabinet door arrives damaged, we replace it fast because we’re twenty minutes away, not a warehouse in another state.
Common Kitchen Remodeling Problems We See in Lakewood Homes
- 60-amp electrical panels that can’t pass final inspection. A new oven, hood, or microwave circuit will trip an original 1950s panel every time. We upgrade to a 200-amp service before finish work starts, not after the inspector flags it.
- Orangeburg sewer laterals that collapse mid-project. A significant share of Lakewood’s original sewer laterals used this bituminous fiber pipe. It degrades after 50-70 years into an egg-shaped mess. We scope the lateral as a first step, before any permit is pulled, because finding the collapse after the floor is open adds thousands in change orders.
- Galvanized supply lines corroded shut. These original steel pipes narrow with rust over decades, killing water pressure at the new faucet. Re-piping inside the existing wall cavities is often the real first phase of a Lakewood kitchen remodel.
- HOA restrictions on exterior venting and window changes. Lakewood’s master-planned tracts have architectural rules that many homeowners don’t discover until a vent or pass-through is already cut. We check your HOA’s guidelines before we submit drawings, so you don’t pay for a change order and re-review.
Pricing for Kitchen Remodeling in Lakewood, CA
Here’s what Kitchen Remodeling in Lakewood actually costs right now, based on the jobs we’ve completed across the 90712 through 90715 ZIP codes.
| Scope | Typical Lakewood Cost |
|---|---|
| Kitchen Remodel (full gut) | $14,000 - $45,000 |
| Small Kitchen Remodel | $9,000 - $20,000 |
| Cabinet Installation & Refacing | $4,000 - $13,000 |
| Countertop Installation | $2,000 - $6,500 |
| Backsplash Installation | $800 - $2,500 |
| Kitchen Island Installation | $3,000 - $10,000 |
What moves the number most in Lakewood is what’s hiding in the walls. A kitchen where the electrical is already upgraded and the sewer lateral is intact will land at the lower end. A kitchen with a 60-amp panel, galvanized lines, and a collapsed Orangeburg lateral will land higher, because those fixes happen before finishes, not after. You’ll see every dollar on a written line-item estimate before we start. Call (877) 610-1318 to schedule your free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Lakewood
Our crews work throughout the LA Basin, and we regularly serve Signal Hill, Bellflower, Long Beach, and Paramount. If you’re a few minutes outside Lakewood, give us a call anyway. The same written change orders, permits pulled, and 90-Day Done Right Promise apply no matter which side of the city line you’re on.
Serving Lakewood, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Lakewood 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 Lakewood
Nearly every home in Lakewood was built between 1950 and 1954 with a 60-amp electrical service, and that panel cannot handle a modern kitchen’s load. New ovens, hoods, dishwashers, and counter outlets will trip the breaker or fail final inspection. So in Lakewood, the first upgrade is often pulling a new 200-amp circuit, not picking tile. Our team schedules the electrical rough-in before any finishes go in, so the inspector signs off without a redo. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll check your panel during the free estimate.
No. Your HOA’s architectural rules govern exterior changes like venting and windows, not underground sewer work. But if the lateral has failed, the replacement is often required for the remodel to pass city inspection, and we scope it before pulling permits so it’s a planned line item, not a surprise. Expect it to add to the project cost, but it protects the finishes you’re paying for. Call (877) 610-1318 for a sewer scope as part of your estimate.
That depends on your specific HOA’s covenants, and Lakewood’s master-planned tracts do restrict exterior venting in many developments. The wall is brick or stucco over 2×4 framing, so the vent path itself is straightforward. But the HOA may require a specific location, a certain vent cap, or an alternative recirculating hood. We check your HOA’s rules before we cut, and if they require an application, we handle the paperwork. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll confirm what your specific HOA allows.
Use an engineer and pull the permit. A load-bearing wall removal in a 1950s Lakewood tract house requires a structural engineer’s stamp, a header sized for the span, and city inspection. If you skip the permit and the wall fails, any remaining builder warranty is void and your insurance may deny the claim. We pull permits on every load-bearing change and have the engineer’s report in hand before the first stud comes out. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll handle the whole permit path.
Your punch list should cover five things: circuit loads on the new panel, water pressure at every fixture, a sewer scope after the floor is closed, GFCI protection at all counter outlets, and a check of the galvanized lines we didn’t replace. A good Lakewood contractor will walk each of these with you before the final check is signed. That’s standard practice on our jobs. Call (877) 610-1318 if you want a second opinion on any existing estimate, free.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving Lakewood and nearby communities with kitchen remodeling, permits pulled, and the 90-Day Done Right Promise on every job.
What to Expect Inside the Walls of a 1950s Lakewood Tract House
Nearly every Lakewood kitchen sits in a 950 to 1,100 square foot tract home built in a compressed burst between 1950 and 1954. The crews who framed these houses worked at rates up to 50 homes per day, using nearly identical floor plans across entire blocks. That uniformity means a few things for your remodel. First, the original galvanized steel supply lines are almost certainly corroded, and the electrical service is almost certainly 60 amps. Second, the wall cavities are predictable, so we can often locate plumbing and wiring paths before opening anything. Third, the slab-on-grade or shallow raised foundations have moved over 70 years, which means door openings, window frames, and cabinet runs are rarely level anymore. The first upgrade is often not the countertop. It’s pulling a new circuit and re-piping inside the same wall cavities the original crews framed in days.
We saw this play out on a 1953 home in the 90712 ZIP. Our crew opened the kitchen wall for a cabinet upgrade and found the expected corroded galvanized supply line and zero ground at the sink. We scoped the sewer lateral first. Orangeburg pipe, collapsed. Before any finish work, we upgraded the service to 200 amps, replaced the water lines, and re-lined the sewer, all under permitted rough-in and inspection sign-off, so the owner’s Cambria quartz would never be at risk from a hidden failure. That sequence, scope the lateral, upgrade the panel, replace the supply lines, then finishes, is the Lakewood remodel playbook. It’s not glamorous work, but it’s why the finished kitchen doesn’t fail six months after we leave.
Lakewood’s location roughly 10 miles inland from the Pacific means the weather is mild and the homes don’t get weather-beaten the way coastal or desert properties do. But that mildness encourages a different problem: decades of deferred maintenance. Original stucco stays intact, original roofing hangs on, and the problems stay hidden inside the walls. By the time a homeowner opens the kitchen, the electrical, plumbing, and sewer systems have all aged out on the same schedule. That’s the generational moment Lakewood is in right now, city-wide demand for the same upgrades at the same time, across thousands of identical homes.
The good news is that a contractor who has opened dozens of these walls knows exactly what’s behind them before lifting a hammer. We give you a written scope that anticipates the panel upgrade, the re-pipe, and the lateral scope before they become change-order surprises. An allowance that isn’t on paper is a surprise waiting for a date. So we put it on paper, in writing, before any nail moves.
If you’re in the 90712, 90713, 90714, or 90715 ZIP and you’re thinking about a kitchen remodel, start with the free estimate. We’ll walk the space, check the panel, scope the lateral, and give you a written line-item quote. Call (877) 610-1318 to schedule yours.