Plan your kitchen before you request estimates.

Define the everyday problem

Write down three moments that do not work in your current kitchen. “The dishwasher blocks the main path” is a more useful starting point than “make it modern.” Note who cooks, where groceries land and which items have no convenient home.

Sort your ideas into must-have, nice-to-have and undecided. Add a few reference images with a short note about what you like in each: cabinet proportions, warm lighting or a particular surface. A photo is a direction, not a specification.

Separate replacements from layout changes

Make a simple room sketch and mark the sink, cooking area, refrigerator, doors and windows. For each, write “keep,” “replace in place” or “move.” Keep alternatives separate so the estimate does not quietly combine two different plans.

Moving a sink, changing the cooking location or opening a wall introduces questions beyond the visible finishes. Ask what needs investigation before the layout can be confirmed. A wall’s structural role and concealed conditions cannot be established from inspiration photos.

For early discussion, record approximate wall lengths, ceiling height and door/window positions. Label these as preliminary. Final dimensions and product clearances need verification before orders or fabrication.

Resolve the details that affect other work

Keep a short selection sheet. If an item is undecided, record the decision still needed rather than letting everyone assume a different product.

• Appliances: model numbers and manufacturer installation sheets, including door swing, ventilation and utility requirements.
• Cabinets: storage priorities, interior accessories, door style and which existing cabinets, if any, will remain.
• Counters and sink: material direction, edge preference, sink model and faucet/accessory holes to coordinate before fabrication.
• Lighting and backsplash: task-lighting locations, switch preferences, tile size and where the backsplash starts and stops.

Compare samples together in your own room at different times of day. Keep the exact product references with the brief. Before demolition is scheduled, confirm which selections, approvals and deliveries must be settled and how you will manage cooking and cleanup during the work.

Check the Los Altos permit starting point

The City of Los Altos kitchen-remodel handout calls for a permit application and plans showing existing and proposed walls, adjoining rooms and window information. It identifies additional review considerations for wall, structural and exterior changes. Use it to prepare questions, then confirm the current requirements for your specific scope with the Building Division.

• City of Los Altos: kitchen remodel handout (PDF)
• City forms and handouts

Prepare one brief for every estimate

Send the same starting information to each company. If the scope changes during a visit, update the brief so you can compare the revised proposals on the same basis.

• Your city, project goals and the three daily-use problems you want to solve.
• Wide photos from each corner, plus details of the sink, cooking area and any visible damage. Avoid including personal documents in photos.
• A preliminary sketch, the keep/replace/move list and any existing plans.
• Product references, unresolved choices and who you expect to supply each item.
• Preferred timing, access constraints and a budget target if you have one. Identify any date that is a preference rather than a fixed requirement.

Ask each proposal to distinguish included work, exclusions, unresolved selections and separately priced options. Clarify responsibility for protection, disposal, approvals and final cleanup. Ask how unexpected conditions and changes are documented before extra work proceeds.