Kitchen Remodeling in Burbank, CA
Kitchen remodeling for older Burbank houses: hidden wiring and pipe found and dealt with first, then layout, cabinets and finishes that suit the house.
Cloth-covered wire or old knob-and-tube behind a Burbank kitchen wall changes the plan on the spot. Insulation was never meant to touch it, new outlets cannot be spliced onto it, and the runs have to be replaced back to a panel that can carry a modern kitchen. The scope is rewritten around that find before any cabinet is ordered.
What an open wall can show
Cabinets and plaster come off first so the framing, wire and pipe can be read directly. Behind a sink wall the finds are often galvanized supply pipe narrowed by scale, a cast drain with a cracked joint, or a joist notched long ago for a line that no longer exists. Each one is photographed and marked on the drawing. Any of them can turn a cosmetic job into a rebuild of the wall, so the work stops long enough for the plan to catch up with what is actually there.
How a finding changes the scope
A hidden problem becomes a line in the written scope with its own explanation, so nothing arrives as a surprise on the final bill. Replaced wiring brings new circuits and often a larger panel. Replaced pipe means a longer open wall and fresh drywall or plaster patching. The City of Burbank building department reviews the electrical, plumbing and any framing changes, and the permit set is revised to match whatever the opened wall revealed before the closing inspection. Nothing gets covered until the inspector has seen it.
About our Kitchen Remodeling serviceEverything we do in Burbank
Kitchen Remodeling in Burbank: common questions
Often, yes. An older panel and service were sized for a refrigerator and a toaster, which leaves little room for dedicated appliance circuits and protected counter outlets. At the walk-through the electrician reads that panel, and any upgrade appears as its own line in the scope so the rest of the kitchen total stays easy to read.
Hutches, pantry cabinets and breakfast nooks can stay when their boxes and doors are sound. The new layout gets drawn around them, and they are removed carefully, refinished and set back so the original finish carries through. Anything with rot or failed joinery is better replaced, and the scope says which pieces fall in that group.
Sometimes. The deciding question is whether the wall between kitchen and dining room carries roof or upper-floor load. If so, a beam and posts take its place and the building department reviews that framing. A plain partition comes out more simply, though wires and pipes inside it have to be rerouted first.
Kitchen Remodeling in other cities
Other work we do in Burbank
Talk to us about your house in Burbank
Send the details and we will set up a walk-through and a written scope.