Can You Cook During a Kitchen Remodel in Florida?

Short answer: yes, most days — just not the way you’re used to, and not every day. I run Onel Construction out of Boca Raton, and this is the question I get right after “how much?” and “how long?” A family still has to eat while we tear their kitchen apart. Here’s how my crew and I plan for that, phase by phase, so there are no surprises.

Key takeaways

• You can cook at home during most of a kitchen remodel — with a small temporary kitchen set up before demo starts: microwave, electric skillet or hot plate, coffee maker, and a mini-fridge or your full fridge moved to a safe spot.
• There will be a stretch with no sink, no stove, and no counters — usually during demo, plumbing and electrical rough-in, and countertop templating/install. Plan takeout or simple meals for those days.
• The refrigerator is the last appliance to go and the first one back. We keep it running and accessible as long as the layout allows.
• Dust and safety come first: if we’re sanding, cutting tile, or spraying, the temporary kitchen moves out of that room for the day — no exceptions.
• The honest timeline gets set before we start. On our kitchen remodeling work in Boca Raton, I tell you up front which days you’ll have a working sink and stove and which days you won’t.

Set up the temporary kitchen before demo day

Here’s how this usually goes when it’s planned right. Before we swing a hammer, we pick a spot — a dining room corner, a laundry room, a garage wall, a spare bedroom — and we build you a small working station. Fridge plugged in, microwave, electric skillet, toaster oven, coffee maker, a folding table for prep, paper plates, and a tub for washing up if the laundry sink is nearby.

That one step changes the whole job. Families who set this up on day one eat at home most nights. Families who don’t end up doing two weeks of drive-thru, and by week two everybody’s mood — including mine when I walk in — tells the story.

What shuts down, and when

A kitchen remodel isn’t one long shutdown. It comes in phases:

Demo and rough-in. Cabinets, counters, and appliances come out. Plumbing and electrical get moved or upgraded behind the walls. During this stretch you have no kitchen sink and no stove. This is temporary-kitchen living at its most basic.

Cabinets and counters. New cabinets go in, then countertops get templated — and there’s a gap between templating and install where the counters aren’t in yet. You may get a temporary plywood top and a hooked-up sink on some jobs; on others, you wait. I tell you which one yours is before we start, not after.

Finish work. Tile, paint, appliances, and final hookups. This is when cooking comes back in pieces — fridge first, then sink, then stove. The day the range is connected and tested is the day most homeowners tell me the remodel finally feels done.

If your project also touches the bathroom, the same planning applies — see how we approach bathroom remodeling in Boca Raton so you’re never guessing which room works on which day.

What I tell every homeowner before we start

Stock the temporary kitchen like you’re camping in your own house — because for a little while, you are. Keep meals simple. Move anything you use daily out before demo, because once dust containment goes up, going back in for the good blender gets old fast. And keep kids and pets out of the work zone entirely; a job site and a family kitchen can’t be the same room at the same time.

On cost: a full kitchen is a real project, and most of my homeowners finance part of it — small jobs from $120/month, typical projects in the low $200s–$300s/month, with approved credit, at rates as low as 4.49% APR with approved credit through Acorn Finance. The exact number comes from the free in-home measurement, in writing, good for 14 days — not from a guess over the phone.

Prices are averages from recent jobs, set before the latest round of tariff-driven material price increases, and subject to change with inflation, tariffs, and market conditions. Your free estimate always uses current numbers.

FAQ

How long will I be without a kitchen sink?
It depends on scope — moving plumbing takes longer than putting everything back in the same place. On a typical remodel, plan on a stretch of days to a couple of weeks across demo, rough-in, and countertop install where the kitchen sink is out. That’s exactly why we set up a wash station near a laundry or bathroom sink before demo.

Can you leave my stove hooked up during the remodel?
Sometimes, for part of the job — but once cabinets and flooring around it come out, it has to move. I never leave a gas connection jury-rigged to keep a stove alive; that’s not a shortcut I’m willing to take in anybody’s house. Electric appliances are easier to stage temporarily, and we’ll talk through your layout before demo.

Where do families usually put the temporary kitchen?
The dining room is the most common pick, then the garage and the laundry room. What matters is power, a water source nearby, and being outside the dust zone. We pick the spot together during the measurement visit.

Do I need to move out during a kitchen remodel?
Almost never for a kitchen alone. It’s inconvenient, it’s noisy during work hours, and there will be takeout days — but families live through kitchen remodels in South Florida every week. If we’re doing the kitchen and all the bathrooms at once, that’s a different conversation, and I’ll have it with you honestly before we sign anything.

Ready to plan yours — including the meals?

Call me at (561) 462-9293 or reach out at https://onelconstruction.com/contact-us/ for a free in-home measurement. I’ll tell you what the job costs in writing, how long it takes, and exactly which days you’ll be cooking on a hot plate — before we start, not after.

— Joe Pichardo, Onel Construction LLC, License CGC1511492, Boca Raton, FL

Financing is available on everything we do. Payments start at $120 a month on smaller jobs, and most projects land in the low $200s to $300s a month with approved credit. Rates run as low as 4.49% APR for qualified buyers. Ask at the free measure and we’ll lay the options out in writing, next to the estimate.

Insurance savings vary by carrier, policy, and home — figures shown are ‘up to’ amounts, not guarantees. Grant eligibility, amounts, and funding availability are determined by the program and may change. Financing subject to lender approval; rates and payments vary by credit profile. All financing examples assume approved credit through our financing partner.