A well-executed kitchen renovation in Alpharetta typically runs from the mid-$80k range for a pull-and-replace to $200k+ for an expansion-grade project, and takes roughly 14 to 26 weeks — about three to six months — from first design meeting to final walkthrough. Those are directional figures, not quotes — but they are honest ones, drawn from what we actually build. Kade Homes & Renovations has been building and renovating homes across North Atlanta since 2008, with more than $100 million in completed work, and Alpharetta kitchens are a project type we know down to the stud.
This page covers what an Alpharetta kitchen renovation realistically costs, why homes here present specific structural and mechanical considerations, how permitting and HOA review actually sequence, and what we're seeing homeowners choose in 2026.
What Does a Kitchen Renovation Cost in Alpharetta?
Directionally, plan on $85k–$125k for a pull-and-replace, $125k–$175k for a full renovation with a layout change, and $175k–$200k+ for an expansion-grade project. These are planning ranges, not fixed prices — your home's condition, your selections, and the scope you land on move the final number. Here is what each tier actually buys.
Pull-and-replace ($85k–$125k, directional). The kitchen stays where it is and keeps its footprint. New cabinetry, countertops, appliances, lighting, backsplash, and flooring — everything you touch and see is new, but no walls move. This is the right tier when the layout already works and the finishes are simply twenty years behind the house's value.
Full renovation with layout change ($125k–$175k, directional). Walls move. This is the most common tier in Alpharetta, because so many kitchens here were framed as separate rooms. Removing a load-bearing wall between the kitchen and family room means engineered beams, rerouted mechanicals, and a permit set — plus everything in the tier below.
Expansion-grade ($175k–$200k+, directional). The kitchen grows beyond its original footprint — a bump-out, a captured porch or breakfast area, or a reconfiguration that pulls in adjacent rooms to add a scullery or working pantry. Foundation, roofline, and structural work put this in a different category of both cost and schedule.
For the data behind these ranges, see the North Atlanta Kitchen Renovation Cost Guide, part of our North Atlanta Custom Build Index, where we publish the cost tiers and the assumptions underneath them. One planning rule worth knowing now: cabinetry typically absorbs 30–40% of the total budget. It is the single largest line item in almost every kitchen we build, and it deserves the largest share of your decision-making time.
Why Are Alpharetta Kitchens Their Own Kind of Project?
Because most of Alpharetta's housing stock was built between 1985 and 2005, and kitchens from that era were designed as workrooms, not gathering rooms. Renovating one well is less about picking finishes and more about resolving what those decades of construction left behind — closed floor plans, era-typical mechanicals, and structure that was never intended to come out.
Walk through Windward, or nearly any of the swim-tennis neighborhoods that filled in along the GA-400 corridor through the '90s, and you'll find the same kitchen again and again: a genuinely nice room, walled off from the family room, with a peninsula or builder-grade island, oak or thermofoil cabinets, and a pass-through if you're lucky. The houses were built well for their time. The kitchens were just built for a different way of living.
That's why the layout-change tier dominates here. Opening a 1990s Alpharetta kitchen to the family room almost always means removing a load-bearing wall, which means an engineered structural beam — sized by an engineer, permitted, and installed with proper temporary shoring. It is routine work for us, but it is structural work, and it should never be priced or performed as if it were cosmetic.
What Should You Know About the Bones of a 1985–2005 Home Before You Renovate?
Two things, mainly: plumbing and power. Homes of this era can have polybutylene supply plumbing, and they can have electrical panels that are undersized for a modern kitchen. Neither is a given for any specific house — but both are common enough in this vintage that we check for them before we design around them.
Polybutylene piping was widely used in this region into the mid-1990s before it fell out of favor due to failure concerns. If your home has it, a kitchen renovation — when walls are already open — is the most economical moment you will ever have to replace the affected runs.
On the electrical side, a panel that was adequate in 1994 may not comfortably support today's kitchen loads: induction cooktops, double ovens, dedicated appliance circuits, a beverage center, modern lighting. Again — homes of this era can have this constraint; many don't. Our pre-construction assessment (part of every project — see our Process) determines what your specific house actually needs, so surprises get priced in week two of design instead of discovered in month four of construction.
This is the honest reason era-specific experience matters: the difference between a smooth Alpharetta renovation and a stalled one is usually what the builder anticipated before demo day.
How Long Does a Kitchen Renovation Take in Alpharetta?
Plan on roughly 14 to 26 weeks — about three to six months — from design kickoff to final walkthrough for a substantial Alpharetta kitchen renovation. Anyone promising a fully designed, permitted, layout-changing kitchen in eight weeks is describing a different project — or leaving out the parts of the schedule you'll experience anyway.
Here's where the time actually goes:
- Design and selections (4–8 weeks). Layout, engineering if walls are moving, and every material decision made before construction starts. Finishing selections up front is the single biggest protector of your schedule and budget.
- Permitting (directionally ~2–4 weeks for non-structural scopes; longer when structural review is involved). More on sequencing below.
- Cabinetry lead time (8–12 weeks). This is the schedule driver. Quality cabinetry — the item taking 30–40% of your budget — is built to order, and nothing about the finish schedule can outrun it. We order cabinetry the moment design is locked so the lead time runs concurrent with permitting and early construction rather than after it.
- Construction (roughly 8–14 weeks depending on tier). Demo, structural, rough mechanicals, inspections, drywall, cabinetry installation, tops, tile, trim, punch list.
The projects that blow past six months are almost always the ones where selections dragged or the cabinet order went in late. Sequencing is the whole game.
How Do Permits and HOA Approval Work in Alpharetta?
In the city limits, your renovation permit runs through City of Alpharetta Community Development — and if you live in an HOA neighborhood, your HOA's architectural review is a separate approval that should be sequenced alongside it, not after it. Getting the order right is one of the quiet things a local builder does for you.
Non-structural permit scopes have been running directionally around two to four weeks; structural scopes — beams, bump-outs, anything touching the footprint — involve engineered drawings and additional review time, which is why we fold permitting into the design phase rather than treating it as a gate after design.
The HOA piece matters more in Alpharetta than people expect. Windward and most swim-tennis communities maintain architectural standards, and while interior work often falls outside their purview, anything touching the exterior — a window change over the new sink wall, a vent termination, an expansion — typically does not. HOA boards meet on their own calendars, not yours. We prepare HOA submittal packages in parallel with the city permit set so neither approval waits on the other. As part of our Process, that sequencing is handled for you from day one.
What Are Alpharetta Homeowners Choosing in 2026?
Three things dominate the kitchens we're designing right now: sculleries and working pantries, warm palettes, and panel-ready appliances. Each one, notably, works with the realities of 1985–2005 floor plans rather than against them.
Sculleries and working pantries. The prep-and-cleanup kitchen behind the kitchen. In Alpharetta homes, the adjacent laundry, breakfast nook, or oversized closet common to this era often converts beautifully — the show kitchen stays pristine while the scullery does the work. This is frequently what pushes a project into the expansion-grade tier, and for families who entertain, it's consistently the feature they say they'd never give up.
Warm palettes. The all-white kitchen has given ground to warmth: creamy plasters, taupe and mushroom cabinetry, walnut and white-oak accents, unlacquered brass, warm-veined stone. It suits Alpharetta's traditional and transitional architecture far better than stark minimalism ever did.
Panel-ready appliances. Refrigeration and dishwashers faced in cabinetry panels, so the room reads as furniture rather than machinery. In an open-concept conversion — where the kitchen is now visible from the family room — this matters twice as much, and it's part of why cabinetry carries the budget share it does.
You can see all three across recent projects in our Portfolio.
Why Renovate With Kade Homes & Renovations?
Because we build at the level your renovation deserves. Kade Homes & Renovations is a National Custom Builder of the Year, licensed in Georgia (license GCI000080), with over $100 million built across North Atlanta since 2008. We are a custom home builder that renovates — which means the structural work an Alpharetta kitchen usually requires is our native territory, not a subcontracted mystery.
Our Process runs design, engineering, permitting, and HOA sequencing under one roof, with fixed decision points so you always know what's next. Our Portfolio shows the standard we hold.
Frequently Asked Questions — Alpharetta Kitchen Renovations
Can the wall between my kitchen and family room be removed?
In most 1985–2005 Alpharetta homes, yes — but it is usually load-bearing, so removal requires an engineered beam, a structural permit, and proper shoring during construction. That work is standard within our layout-change tier ($125k–$175k, directional). What varies house to house is beam sizing and what's running inside the wall, which we resolve during design.
Do I need a permit for a kitchen renovation in Alpharetta?
If the work goes beyond cosmetic replacement — moving walls, altering plumbing, gas, or electrical — yes, through City of Alpharetta Community Development. Non-structural scopes have directionally run about two to four weeks; structural scopes take longer. We handle the full permit package as part of every project.
Does my HOA need to approve an interior kitchen renovation?
Often not for purely interior work — but anything visible from outside, including window changes, vent terminations, or an expansion, typically requires architectural review in communities like Windward and most swim-tennis neighborhoods. We prepare HOA submittals in parallel with city permitting so the approvals don't stack up sequentially.
Should I replace polybutylene plumbing during my renovation?
If your home turns out to have it, almost certainly — with walls already open, a renovation is the least expensive moment you'll ever have to address it. Homes built in Alpharetta between 1985 and the mid-1990s can have polybutylene supply lines, but many don't; our pre-construction assessment confirms what your house actually has before we design.
Why is cabinetry ordered so early in the project?
Because it's the schedule driver. Custom and semi-custom cabinetry runs 8–12 week lead times and typically represents 30–40% of the total budget. We lock selections during design and place the order immediately, so the lead time runs concurrent with permitting and early construction instead of adding months to the end.
Can I live in my home during the renovation?
Most of our Alpharetta clients do. We set up a temporary kitchen, seal the work zone with dust protection, and keep a predictable work schedule. The hardest stretch is the few weeks between demo and drywall; a realistic conversation about that period is part of our planning phase, not a surprise during it.
Start the Conversation
If your Alpharetta kitchen is ready to catch up with the rest of your home — whether that's a clean pull-and-replace or a full open-concept transformation with a scullery behind it — the next step is a conversation, not a commitment. Tell us about your home and what you're imagining, and we'll tell you honestly what it takes to get there.
Contact Kade Homes & Renovations
Dan Cipriani is the founder of Kade Homes & Renovations, a National Custom Builder of the Year serving North Atlanta since 2008. Georgia license GCI000080. All cost and timeline figures above are directional 2026 planning ranges, not a quote or guarantee.