What Do Cabinets & Countertops Cost and Take in Lauderdale Lakes?
Cabinets & countertops in Lauderdale Lakes typically run $6,000-$19,500 combined, with most projects finishing in 5-10 business days once materials arrive. Cabinet installation alone ranges $4,000-$13,000, while countertop installation adds $2,000-$6,500 depending on material and linear footage. Call (844) 665-0162 for a free on-site estimate with measured pricing.
Lauderdale Lakes homeowners are usually working within 50-65-year-old CBS kitchens where the original cabinets are particleboard with laminate faces, and countertops are dated tile or early solid-surface products. The question isn’t whether to update, it’s how to sequence the work so you’re not living without a sink for three weeks.
How We Handle Cabinets & Countertops From First Measurement to Final Caulk
We’ve refined this into five distinct stages. Each has a decision point where your choices lock in price and timeline.
Stage 1: Site measure and condition check (Day 1, 2-3 hours). We record every cabinet box dimension, note wall squareness, and check whether your existing countertops are sitting on half-inch plywood or directly on the boxes. In Lauderdale Lakes, we often find the original 1960s cabinets were site-built from furring strips and lauan plywood, not modular boxes, which changes demo strategy entirely. You’ll decide here: keep the layout or reconfigure. Moving a sink or range location adds plumbing and electrical, typically $800-$2,400.
Stage 2: Material selection and order (Days 2-14, homeowner-dependent). This is where the calendar stretches or compresses. Stock cabinets from major manufacturers ship in 1-2 weeks. Semi-custom adds 4-8 weeks. Fully custom or specialty finishes can run 10-14 weeks. Countertops follow a separate timeline: quartz and granite slabs need templating after cabinets are set, then 1-2 weeks fabrication. We order cabinets first, schedule countertop templating for the day after cabinet install, and pre-book the fabricator so there’s no gap.
Stage 3: Demo and prep (Day of cabinet delivery, 4-6 hours). We remove old cabinets, patch drywall where backsplashes came down, and address any water damage we couldn’t see before. Here’s where Lauderdale Lakes’s age shows: we frequently find corroded cast iron drain lines behind the sink cabinet, or aluminum branch wiring that needs updating before new appliances go in. We flag it immediately, quote the repair, and proceed only with approval. No surprises on day four.
Stage 4: Cabinet install and adjustment (Days 1-2 of install). Boxes go in level and screwed to studs, not just the back wall. Face frames get aligned, doors and drawers hung, and hardware drilled. We run every drawer and adjust every hinge before countertops are templated, because once stone or quartz is cut, there’s no changing cabinet positions. You’ll do a walkthrough here to confirm pull placement and any missing trim pieces.
Stage 5: Countertop templating, fabrication, and install (Days 3-10 post-cabinet). The fabricator lasers or physically templates the tops, cuts slabs to fit including sink and cooktop openings, and returns to set and seam. We coordinate their schedule, inspect seams and edge profiles, and do final caulking to cabinets and walls. Most quartz and granite installs in Lauderdale Lakes use 3cm material with a simple eased edge, though ogee and waterfall edges are available for premium budgets.
The Cabinet and Countertop Choices That Actually Move Your Price
- Stock vs. semi-custom vs. custom cabinets: Stock boxes (KraftMaid, Wellborn ready-to-ship lines) run $120-$280 per linear foot installed and work well for straightforward layouts. Semi-custom adds modification flexibility, taller uppers, and specialty finishes at $280-$480 per foot. Fully custom starts around $500 per foot and makes sense only for irregular spaces or specific architectural matching. Most Lauderdale Lakes kitchens we see fit stock or semi-custom perfectly.
- Particleboard vs. plywood box construction: Particleboard with thermofoil or laminate faces costs less and performs adequately in climate-controlled kitchens. Plywood boxes with solid wood doors add 25-40% but resist the humidity spikes that hit South Florida during hurricane season when AC cycles struggle. For homes near Lauderdale Lakes’s lower-lying eastern blocks where slab moisture is more common, we typically recommend plywood.
- Quartz vs. granite vs. solid surface countertops: Engineered quartz (Cambria, Silestone, Caesarstone) runs $65-$125 per square foot installed, needs no sealing, and offers consistent coloring. Natural granite ranges $55-$150 depending on rarity, requires annual sealing, and carries variation that some homeowners love and others don’t. Solid surface like Corian sits at $45-$85, seams invisibly, but scratches more easily and can’t take a hot pot.
- Undermount vs. drop-in sink integration: Undermount with quartz or granite gives clean lines and easier counter wiping, but requires precise cutouts and solid surface material. Drop-in works with any countertop and costs less to install, though the rim collects grime. If you’re keeping an existing stainless sink, we need to verify it fits the new cutout before templating.
- Standard overlay vs. full overlay vs. inset door styles: Standard overlay leaves part of the face frame visible, full overlay covers nearly all of it for a sleeker look, and inset sits flush inside the frame for traditional styling. Each step up adds 10-20% in material and labor. Hardware choice, soft-close hinges, and pull-out organizers layer on from there.
What Cabinets & Countertops Cost in Lauderdale Lakes, FL
| Component | Typical Range |
|---|---|
| Cabinet Installation | $4,000 - $13,000 |
| Countertop Installation | $2,000 - $6,500 |
| Combined Cabinets & Countertops | $6,000 - $19,500 |
| Kitchen Island (if adding) | $3,000 - $10,000 |
Five variables push your project to the low or high end of these ranges:
Kitchen size and linear footage. A compact 8-foot galley kitchen in one of Lauderdale Lakes’s 1,100-square-foot CBS homes uses fewer cabinets and less countertop than a U-shaped layout in a larger ranch. We price by the foot, not by the room.
Existing condition and hidden repairs. Demo of original 1960s site-built cabinets often reveals corroded cast iron drains, aluminum wiring, or stucco damage from decades of flat-roof leaks. Each requires opening walls and coordinating trades, adding $400-$3,000.
Layout changes. Keeping sink, range, and refrigerator in existing locations avoids plumbing, electrical, and gas relocation. Moving any one of them typically adds $800-$2,400 in trade work and may trigger permit amendments.
Material grade and brand tier. Stock laminate-finish cabinets with quartz from a builder-grade line land at the low end. Semi-custom painted maple with Caesarstone or Cambria in a premium pattern pushes toward the top.
Permit scope and code triggers. In Broward County, electrical work beyond like-for-like replacement, plumbing relocation, or structural modification requires permitting. Because many Lauderdale Lakes homes fall under the county’s 50% rule threshold, even modest remodels can trigger full Florida Building Code compliance upgrades that add inspection rounds and documentation.
Our written estimates include cabinet and countertop materials, installation labor, demo and disposal, basic plumbing reconnect, and project management. They do not include appliance upgrades, flooring replacement, or permit fees, which we itemize separately so you see exactly where your money goes.
Why Lauderdale Lakes Homes Make This Job Different
Lauderdale Lakes was built out almost entirely between 1959 and 1975 as one of Broward County’s earliest western suburban expansions, leaving the city with a dense, largely static stock of 50-65-year-old CBS homes where roofs, electrical systems, and drain lines are all aging out simultaneously. Because these homes carry relatively modest assessed values, renovation scopes frequently cross Broward County’s 50% rule threshold, triggering full Florida Building Code compliance upgrades on structures built decades before post-Andrew wind-load and impact-glazing requirements. Even routine cabinets & countertops work can become unexpectedly code-intensive compared to higher-value neighboring cities.
The original construction details we encounter most often in Lauderdale Lakes kitchens include flat or low-slope built-up roofs with interior cast iron drains, aluminum branch wiring in some units, and galvanized or cast iron drain lines that have been corroding in South Florida’s warm, aggressive groundwater for half a century. On these older CBS flat-roof homes, the original interior cast iron roof drains and their vertical standpipes have corroded through after 50+ years, creating concealed water migration down inside the block walls that presents as a ceiling stain but actually requires opening the wall cavity to fully remediate. Local crews spot this failure mode immediately; out-of-area contractors routinely underscope it, install new cabinets over damaged drywall, and leave the homeowner with a recurring mold problem.
We also see significant variation in HOA requirements across Lauderdale Lakes’s condominium and garden-apartment complexes. Some associations require contractor insurance certificates naming the association, pre-approval of material samples, and restricted work hours that compress our install schedule. We handle this coordination directly rather than handing it off to the homeowner.
When cabinets & countertops are part of a full Kitchen Remodeling in Lauderdale Lakes, we sequence them within the broader project timeline, typically after rough plumbing and electrical but before flooring and final paint. Our Kitchen Remodeling crew coordinates every trade so you’re not managing multiple schedules. Homeowners in Lauderdale Lakes often pair kitchen updates with Walk-In Showers & Shower Remodeling in Lauderdale Lakes or a Tub-to-Shower Conversion in Lauderdale Lakes to consolidate construction disruption into a single project window.
Serving Lauderdale Lakes, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Lauderdale Lakes area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
Frequently Asked - Cabinets & Countertops in Lauderdale Lakes
Most projects run 5-10 business days of active work once materials are on-site, but total timeline stretches to 3-8 weeks depending on cabinet lead times. Stock cabinets keep us at the short end; semi-custom or specialty finishes extend toward 8 weeks before we even start demo. Call (844) 665-0162 and we’ll check current lead times for your preferred line.
You need a permit if you’re relocating plumbing, modifying electrical, or changing structural elements like soffits or load-bearing walls. Like-for-like cabinet and countertop replacement without utility changes typically does not require permitting in Broward County. We assess this during our initial site check and pull any required permits ourselves.
Yes, and this is the most common approach in Lauderdale Lakes’s older kitchens. Keeping existing locations avoids plumbing and electrical relocation, saves $800-$2,400, and usually eliminates permit requirements. We measure carefully to ensure new cabinet boxes accommodate your existing sink base and appliance widths.
Engineered quartz offers the best combination of heat resistance, stain resistance, and no sealing maintenance in South Florida’s humidity. Silestone and Caesarstone both perform well; we specify 3cm thickness for strength and typically recommend lighter colors that don’t show water spotting as prominently in homes where AC humidity control varies seasonally.
Manufacturer warranties vary by brand and tier: stock cabinets typically carry 5-year limited warranties, semi-custom ranges extend to limited lifetime on boxes with 1-5 years on finishes. Quartz countertops from major brands include 10-25 year residential warranties against manufacturing defects. Our installation workmanship is covered for one year, and we return to adjust hinges, drawer glides, or caulking that settles during the first seasonal humidity cycle.
Get Your Measured Estimate for Cabinets & Countertops in Lauderdale Lakes
Call (844) 665-0162 to schedule a free on-site estimate. Raymond Estevez or a member of our team will measure your kitchen, assess existing conditions, and deliver itemized pricing for cabinets and countertops with no obligation. We’ll also flag any hidden issues we’ve learned to spot in Lauderdale Lakes’s 1960s-era homes so your project doesn’t surprise you halfway through.
Written by Raymond Estevez, Owner at Groundwork Construction Co., serving Lauderdale Lakes since our South Florida operations began.