RSB Empire → Construction → Kitchen Remodeling
Sheet A-106.1 · Bell Engineering & Construction
Full kitchen remodels across Palm Beach County — cabinets, countertops, islands, backsplash, lighting, and layout changes, permitted and built by a licensed general contractor. The same hands that pour our concrete plate food at our own food truck; we take kitchens personally.
Scope of Work
The Local Problem
Most of the kitchens we open up in Palm Beach County are in concrete-block-and-stucco homes built between the 1960s and the 1990s — closed-off galley layouts, a soffit running the length of the cabinets, a single window over the sink, and an electrical panel that was sized for a range and not much else. The bones are good. What dates these kitchens is the layout and the systems behind the drywall, and both are fixable.
Three local realities shape every kitchen we build here. Humidity is the first: cabinet boxes live in a house that swings between conditioned and unconditioned air every time a door opens, so the box material matters more than the door style. Plywood boxes with sealed edges tolerate that; raw particleboard swells once and never comes back. Wind load is the second — all of Palm Beach County sits in a wind-borne debris region, so if the kitchen window is coming out, the replacement has to be a Florida Product Approved unit installed to its approval, on its own permit. That is the moment to do it, while the wall is open and the backsplash is not in yet.
The third is air balance. Homeowners want the big hood — 600, 900, 1,200 CFM. Florida's residential mechanical code requires a make-up air path once a kitchen exhaust hood moves more than 400 CFM, and for good reason: a reasonably tight house cannot supply that much air on its own, so the hood starts pulling air backward down the nearest flue or simply stops venting. It is one of the most commonly missed details in a kitchen remodel, and it is the kind of thing a certified energy rater catches on the drawing rather than at final inspection.
And if the house was built before 1978, kitchen demolition disturbs painted surfaces covered by the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule. We are an EPA Lead-Safe Certified Firm (#NAT-F122701-2) — the containment and cleanup practices are built into how we run the job, not an upcharge you have to ask for.
Cost Factors
Two kitchens the same size can differ by a factor of three, and it is almost never the cabinet doors that explain it. Here is what moves an estimate, roughly in order of impact — so you can decide where your money buys the most kitchen:
We do not publish kitchen prices, because a number without a scope is marketing. What we do is walk your kitchen, price the version you asked for and the version we would build, and hand you both on paper so you can see what each dollar buys. Call (561) 779-3213 for a free estimate.
Sequence
Kitchen remodels go sideways for one of two reasons: selections that arrive late, or trades that arrive out of order. Both are scheduling problems, and both are the contractor's job to solve. Here is the order we work in:
The owner — a licensed general contractor and a RESNET® Florida Class 1 Energy Rater — inspects every job. That is the whole differentiator: the only Palm Beach County contractor who is also a certified energy engineer, on site, on your kitchen. While the walls are open we specify the air-sealing, insulation, duct, and lighting measures that quietly lower your bill for the next twenty years; see how these upgrades can also lower your energy bills.
Questions, Answered
A refresh (counters, backsplash, paint, hardware) and a full gut with layout changes are very different projects. We scope both options in a free estimate so you can see exactly where the money goes.
A straightforward remodel typically runs 4–8 weeks once materials are on hand; layout changes and structural work add time. We set up dust protection and keep a working sink available as long as possible.
Usually — that wall is often load-bearing, which is exactly why you want a general contractor and not just a cabinet installer. We handle the beam, the engineering, and the permit.
Yes. Electrical, plumbing, and structural changes all require permits in Palm Beach County, and we pull and close every one.
As a rule of thumb: moving or adding plumbing, adding or relocating circuits, gas work, removing or altering a wall, and replacing a window or exterior door all require a permit from your local building department — Palm Beach County or your municipality, depending on your address. Like-for-like cabinet swaps, paint, hardware, and countertop replacement on existing plumbing generally do not. Permit fees are set by the jurisdiction and usually scale with the declared value of the work. Because the rules vary by city, we confirm the requirement with the authority having jurisdiction before we write the scope, and we pull whatever the job needs.
Cabinet boxes take the abuse here, so the box material matters more than the door style. Plywood boxes with sealed edges tolerate humidity and the occasional leak far better than raw particleboard, which swells irreversibly once water gets into it. On doors, painted MDF is very stable in a humid climate because it does not move seasonally the way wide solid-wood panels can. Whatever you choose, an interior kept at a reasonable humidity level — which is a function of a right-sized, well-sealed HVAC system — does more for cabinet life than any single upgrade.
Both work. Engineered quartz is non-porous, needs no sealing, and gives you a consistent pattern — easy in a busy kitchen. Natural granite is heat-tolerant and unique slab to slab, but wants periodic sealing. Neither likes direct UV for years on end, so on a covered lanai or a summer kitchen we will steer you toward materials rated for outdoor use. We will walk your slab selection with you and template only after cabinets are set, which is why countertops land a week or two after the boxes go in.
Often, yes — and it is a detail that gets missed. Florida's residential mechanical code requires a make-up air path when a kitchen exhaust hood moves more than 400 CFM, because a tight house cannot supply that much air on its own. Without it, a powerful hood will pull air down a water-heater or dryer flue, or simply fail to vent at all. As a certified energy rater the owner looks at the whole-house air balance, not just the hood spec, and we design the make-up air path into the job from the start.
It can be. Kitchen demolition in a pre-1978 home disturbs painted surfaces, which is exactly the work the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule covers. We are an EPA Lead-Safe Certified Firm (#NAT-F122701-2), so we contain the work area, use the required practices, and clean up to the standard — not because it is paperwork, but because it is the difference between a safe remodel and lead dust in the rest of your house.
Yes, and it is the right time to do it — the wall is already open and the backsplash is not in yet. All of Palm Beach County sits in a wind-borne debris region, so a replacement window has to be a Florida Product Approved unit installed to its approval, and it needs its own permit. We hold the general contractor license (CGC1528750) to do the window and the kitchen under one contract. See our impact windows and doors page for the product side.
In a condominium, almost always — interior alterations that touch plumbing risers, structural elements, or flooring assemblies typically need board approval and a certificate of insurance from the contractor before work starts, and many buildings restrict working hours and elevator use. In a single-family HOA community the interior is usually your business, but anything visible from the street can be reviewed. We run BeacCorp Property Management, so we have sat on the board side of these approvals and we know what packet gets approved on the first pass.
It can, if you use the opening. With the ceiling and walls open we can air-seal recessed-light and plumbing penetrations, top up the insulation above the kitchen, seal the duct boots feeding the room, and put in LED lighting — all of it cheap while the drywall is off and expensive later. The owner is a RESNET® Florida Class 1 Energy Rater, so those measures get specified deliberately rather than left to chance. Our energy-efficient home improvement page explains the whole-home approach.
Yes. Bell Engineering & Construction is a Florida Certified General Contractor (CGC1528750) and Certified Roofing Contractor (CCC1332751), insured, an EPA Lead-Safe Certified Firm (#NAT-F122701-2), and a BBB A+ Accredited Business. Every job carries a written one-year workmanship warranty. Cabinet-only installers cannot pull the structural, electrical, or plumbing permits your remodel needs — a licensed GC can, and does.
Free estimate, 24-hour response, and a licensed contractor who answers his own phone.
The other wet room — tile, vanities, showers, and plumbing, permitted the same way. Often worth bundling with the kitchen while the trades are on site.
Whole-home renovations and additions when the kitchen is one part of a bigger plan.
Clean interior tear-outs, contained and hauled — the first phase of any gut kitchen.
Air sealing, insulation, and ventilation specified by a RESNET® Florida Class 1 Energy Rater while your walls are open.