Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Kitchen Remodeling Across Irvine
A full kitchen remodel in Irvine typically runs $14,000 to $45,000, and the timeline stretches longer here than almost anywhere else in Orange County. That’s not the flattering answer, but it’s the honest one. Irvine’s dual approval process means your kitchen passes through both the City of Irvine and your village Architectural Review Committee before the first cabinet is ordered. We’ve worked that pipeline since 1998, and we’ll walk your submittal through both desks so you’re not living with a half-finished kitchen waiting on a committee that meets once a month.
If you’re planning a kitchen remodel or partial refresh in Irvine, call Tom or one of his sons at (877) 610-1318. We’ll tell you what your village requires before you spend a dollar, and the estimate is free.
Why Barrett & Sons Construction Is Irvine’s Preferred Kitchen Remodeling Company
We’re a family-run operation. Tom Barrett founded Barrett & Sons 29 years ago, and his sons run crews in Irvine most days. You’ll see our name on the truck and the same faces on-site throughout your job, not a rotating cast of subcontractors. That matters in a city where the ARC process demands someone who understands the rules, and the people doing the work need to be able to explain the delay honestly when a color palette comes back rejected.
Irvine homeowners find us because a previous contractor skipped a village approval and they paid for it. We hear it weekly from customers in University Park, Northwood, and Westpark. Our answer is always the same: we file the village ARC submittal before we order materials, we carry written change orders for any scope change, and we stand behind the work with a written 90-Day Done Right Promise. If it isn’t right, Tom comes back and fixes it with one phone call.
Kitchen Remodeling is what we do most in Irvine, but our Kitchen Remodeling in Irvine work spans the entire city, from 92606 near the District to 92618 in Great Park. One call sets it in motion.
Our Kitchen Remodeling Services in Irvine
Full Kitchen Remodeling
A full Kitchen Remodeling job in Irvine means gutting to the studs, reconfiguring layout, updating electrical and plumbing to current California codes, and rebuilding. That’s a $14,000 to $45,000 project here, and the range depends on cabinet grade, countertop material, appliance placement, and what your village ARC will approve. We pull the city permit and file the village submittal ourselves.
Cabinets & Countertops
In older villages like Woodbridge and University Park, the ARC reviews cabinet door profiles and countertop finishes, not just window and exterior changes. We’ve seen a family order slab-front doors in a craftsman-detail village and get pushed back on the style. We specify KraftMaid or Cambria when the design guidelines allow, and we keep samples ready for the submittal packet. Countertop installation in Irvine runs $2,000 to $6,500 for quartz or granite, and cabinet installation runs $4,000 to $13,000.
Backsplash, Tile & Flooring
Backsplash and tile are where homeowners sometimes go rogue and order before approval. In Northwood and Westpark, the HOA’s design palette can extend to visible kitchen elements, especially if the kitchen opens to a great room with windows the ARC will review. Backsplash work in Irvine typically runs $800 to $2,500, and we usually pair it with countertop install so the grout lines line up right. Floor tile we’ll match to the subfloor and the village’s material requirements.
Kitchen Design & Layout
The design phase in Irvine isn’t just about how the kitchen flows. It’s about what the ARC will sign off on the first time. We’ve worked in Quail Hill, Portola Springs, and the Great Park Neighborhoods enough to know the newer villages sometimes demand contemporary profiles and lighter palettes, while Woodbridge and University Park lean toward traditional sash windows and classic door profiles. We’ll design to your village’s standards so you’re not submitting twice.
Small & Partial Kitchen Remodels
Not every kitchen job in Irvine means a full gut. A partial remodel, like new counters and a backsplash or a cabinet reface on a tighter layout, runs $9,000 to $20,000 for a small kitchen. That’s common when the cabinets are still solid but the surfaces are tired, or when you’re preparing to sell in a neighborhood where buyers expect certain finishes. We’ll tell you honestly if a reface is worth it or if you’re past the point where it pays.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Irvine
We carry and install brands Irvine homeowners can look up by name: KraftMaid and Cambria for kitchens, along with Caesarstone when the ARC palette calls for a specific finish. On the window side of a kitchen remodel, we work with Simonton, Ply Gem, and PGT for our Windows & Doors in Irvine; in older Irvine villages, that often means matching the exact original sash profile and grid pattern the ARC requires. We keep local material samples available for Irvine submittal packets, and our suppliers know the city-approved specifications well enough that we don’t lose weeks to reorders.
Common Kitchen Remodeling Problems We See in Irvine Homes
- Village ARC submittals skipped until after cabinets are ordered. Homeowners buy cabinets, then the submittal reveals the door profile or finish doesn’t match Woodbridge’s design guidelines. Now you’re paying a restocking fee or living with a delay.
- Structural work without the city permit. Removing a load-bearing wall without a structural engineer’s letter on file fails rough-in inspection. We pull every permit and keep the engineer’s stamp current before any wall comes down.
- Exhaust hood louver conflicts. A hood vent that doesn’t match the HOA’s exterior exhaust louver color or placement means a change order and re-running ductwork after the walls are closed. We check that detail before the submittal.
- Hillside soil surprises in Turtle Rock and Quail Hill. Expansive clay soils shift seasonally on those slopes. Kitchen remodels on those lots sometimes need a geotech review even for interior work, and flat-lot contractors get caught off guard.
Pricing for Kitchen Remodeling in Irvine, CA
Here’s what our kitchen pricing looks like in Irvine’s market, with every allowance in writing before work starts:
| Service | Price Range in Irvine |
|---|---|
| Full Kitchen Remodeling | $14,000 - $45,000 |
| Small Kitchen Remodel | $9,000 - $20,000 |
| Cabinet Installation | $4,000 - $13,000 |
| Countertop Installation (Quartz/Granite) | $2,000 - $6,500 |
| Kitchen Island Installation | $3,000 - $10,000 |
| Backsplash Installation | $800 - $2,500 |
What pushes a kitchen to the top of that range in Irvine is usually cabinetry grade and the village review itself. If your home sits on a hillside lot in Turtle Rock or Quail Hill, geotech review may add to the scope. If your village ARC requires specific door profiles or finishes, we factor that into the first number we give you, not a surprise at the end. Call (877) 610-1318 for a free line-item estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Irvine
Our crews serve Irvine and the surrounding area daily, including Tustin, Aliso Viejo, Santa Ana, and North Tustin. If you’re in one of those cities and wondering how your HOA’s approval process compares to Irvine’s, call us and we’ll tell you what to expect.
Serving Irvine, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Irvine 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 Irvine
If the contractor installed windows without filing the village ARC submittal, the contractor pays to remove and replace them; that’s why we file before we order for any Roofing - Irvine, window, or exterior work. The ARC in older villages like University Park and Woodbridge requires the exact original sash profile, grid pattern, and frame color, and a code-compliant but non-conforming window can be ordered removed before the city finalizes the permit. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll make sure your submittal goes in first.
Plan on three to five extra weeks for the village ARC review plus the City of Irvine permit, though some villages move faster and some committee calendars run behind. We file both at the start, and we sequence the work so nothing is sitting half-finished while you wait. A well-sequenced remodel keeps moving even when one desk is slow.
You can, but we don’t recommend it. If the ARC later rejects a material, color, or fixture you already installed, that’s a change order and usually a tear-out at your cost. We wait for the approval, then start demolition. It’s slower for a few weeks, but it’s cheaper.
It can. Northwood’s design guidelines extend to visible window frames, and some villages review kitchen window elements even when the kitchen itself won’t be seen from the street. We’ve pulled the relevant palette for every village we work in, and we’ll tell you which finishes your submittal should specify before you sign the contract.
Yes, in some cases. Kitchen remodels on existing slabs in Quail Hill or Turtle Rock are usually fine, but if you’re modifying the foundation, adding square footage, or doing structural work on expansive clay soils, the city may require a geotech letter. We’ve worked those slopes enough to know when it’s coming and to include it in the schedule and the estimate. Call (877) 610-1318 for a free quote on your specific lot.
How the Irvine ARC Changes a Kitchen Remodel’s Entire Sequence
Irvine is one of the most thoroughly HOA-governed cities in the country. Virtually every residential construction project, from Fence Installation in Irvine to room additions to kitchen remodels with visible window or exterior changes, requires approval from a village-level Architectural Review Committee in addition to City of Irvine permits. The city checks structural, electrical, plumbing, and energy code. The village reviews materials, colors, profiles, and sometimes even interior finishes against its design standards. Contractors unfamiliar with each village’s specific requirements routinely lose weeks to ARC rejections, and homeowners lose money on materials they already bought.
We treat the ARC submittal as a design deliverable, not an afterthought. Before we order cabinets or submit the city permit, we prepare the packet: drawings, material specs, window profiles, door styles, hardware finishes, and everything the village guidelines ask for. Then we file both approvals at once and sequence the work so demolition, rough-in, and installation don’t collide with the committee calendar. We’ve done this across University Park, Woodbridge, Northwood, Westpark, Northwood Point, Quail Hill, Portola Springs, and Great Park Neighborhoods.
In Woodbridge, our crew remodeled a galley kitchen where the homeowners had already purchased off-the-shelf windows before learning the ARC required the original sash profile and grid pattern. So we paused the rough-in, filed the ARC submittal with drawings and material specs, and reordered matching windows through the village’s approved supplier. The delay added three weeks, but the inspection sign-off came without a single rejection, and the new KraftMaid cabinets and Unilock repair in Irvine-quality Caesarstone counters were set right after. That’s the local knowledge you can’t fake and can’t get from a national company dispatching strangers from another county.
An allowance that isn’t on paper is a surprise waiting for a date. In Irvine, where approvals aren’t optional and the HOA has more authority than most buyers expect, that truth matters more than anywhere else. We put every scope, every allowance, and every price change in writing before work happens. We pull permits, we file the ARC packet, and we stand behind the result with our 90-Day Done Right Promise. Tom Barrett publishes his name, his address, and his license number; look it up before you sign anything.
Call (877) 610-1318 to schedule a free estimate for your kitchen remodel in Irvine. You’ll speak with one of us, not a call center, and you’ll get the straight story on your village’s rules before you spend a dollar.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving Irvine since 1998.