Condo Kitchen Remodel

Remodeling a Kitchen You Share a Building With

A condo kitchen remodel in Scottsdale starts well before demolition. The association has to approve the scope, the building has to be able to take the materials, and the structure sets limits that no design preference can override. We plan those three things first, then design the kitchen inside them. It is slower at the start and much faster in the middle, because nothing stops the job once it is underway.

Step One: The Paperwork the Board Wants

Most associations ask for some version of the same package. A written scope of work. A simple floor plan showing what moves and what stays. Product information for flooring, especially anything that needs a sound control underlayment. A certificate of insurance naming the association. A proposed schedule with working hours that match the building rules. Some also hold a refundable deposit against damage to corridors and elevators.

We prepare that package for you and answer the manager’s questions directly. Approval times vary from a week to more than a month depending on how often the board or its review committee meets, so we build that time into the schedule rather than pretending it will not happen.

Step Two: Understanding the Structure

Many mid rise and loft buildings in and around Old Town have concrete floors and ceilings. Some of those slabs are post tensioned, which means steel cables run through the concrete under very high tension. You cannot see them, and you cannot tell from inside the unit where they are.

So we do not drill on a guess. Any anchor, conduit, duct or drain penetration that goes into concrete is scanned first by a technician using ground penetrating radar, and the cables and rebar are marked on the surface. If the scan shows a conflict, the penetration moves. If a structural change is proposed, the association will usually require a letter from an engineer, and so do we.

Lighting When the Ceiling Is Concrete

The most common disappointment in a loft kitchen is dim light, because recessed cans are not an option in a bare slab. There are good answers:

• Under cabinet LED strips do most of the task lighting work on the counters.
• Surface mounted fixtures and low profile track can use existing ceiling boxes.
• Pendants over an island are fed from boxes that are already in place or from a surface raceway that is painted to disappear.
• A shallow soffit or ceiling cloud over the cabinet run gives recessed fixtures a safe place to live without touching the concrete above.

Ventilation Without a Clear Path Outside

A ducted hood that exhausts outdoors removes heat, grease and moisture better than anything else. If your unit already has an exterior duct, we size the hood to cover the cooktop and match the airflow to it. Many condo kitchens have no such path, and a new hole through a concrete exterior wall is rarely approved. In that case we specify a recirculating hood with a real charcoal filter and suggest an induction cooktop, which cooks quickly and puts far less heat into a small open kitchen during a Scottsdale summer.

Cabinets, Plumbing and the Shared Riser

Drains in a stacked building connect to a vertical line that serves the units above and below. Keeping the sink on that wall keeps the job simple. Moving it means running a drain with enough slope across the floor, which in a slab building may mean coring through concrete or raising the floor. We price both options side by side.

When the water has to be shut off, we book the building engineer, give neighbors notice through management and keep the outage short. Cabinets arrive only after the corridor and elevator are protected.

What Stays the Same

Your neighbors still sleep, the elevator still works, and the building still looks the way it did when we arrived. That is part of the job, not an extra.

Call (480) 379-3060 to talk through a remodel in your building.