Service
Full kitchen renovations in Houston and surrounding areas, from demo and rough-in through cabinets, counters, tile and trim.
In our own words
Ready to give your kitchen a fresh, modern look? We handle the complete renovation from start to finish.
We handle:
Everything below is the detail behind that: how the work is sequenced, what it is built from, and what changes in a Houston house.
A kitchen remodel is a sequence problem before it is a design problem. Cabinets cannot be set until the floor is flat and the walls are straight, countertops cannot be templated until the cabinets are set and level, and none of it happens until the plumbing and electrical rough-in is done and, where a permit applies, inspected. Work out of order and you pay for it twice.
Top Rank Construction has more than 15 years of remodeling experience in Houston and surrounding areas, working residential only, and kitchens are a regular part of that work. A full kitchen typically means demolition, soffit and layout changes, new rough-in for the sink and appliances, cabinets, countertops, backsplash, flooring, drywall repair, trim and paint, with each trade sequenced so nothing gets installed twice. Smaller scopes are common too, such as new counters and backsplash over existing boxes, or paint and hardware on cabinets that are still sound.
What the job includes
Cabinets, counters, flooring, backsplash and soffits come out, with the kitchen sealed off from the rest of the house with plastic and a zipper door and the walking path protected. Appliances that are being reused get pulled and stored, not shoved into a corner. Debris is hauled out as we go rather than piled in the driveway for the length of the job.
Removing a wall between the kitchen and living area means identifying whether it carries load, shoring the ceiling with temporary posts, and installing a properly sized header before anything permanent is framed. Plumbing, HVAC and electrical inside that wall have to be rerouted first. This overlaps with our wall removal and open concept work, and it is the part of a kitchen most likely to require a permit.
New sink and dishwasher supply and drain lines, gas or electrical for the range, dedicated circuits, added countertop receptacles, under-cabinet lighting wiring and recessed can layout all get roughed in while the walls are open. Hood ducting is run to the exterior with rigid metal duct wherever the framing allows it. Rough-in is the last easy chance to change the layout.
We find the high point of the floor, snap a level line off it, and hang uppers first so we are not reaching over base cabinets. Boxes are shimmed, clamped together, screwed to studs through the hanging rail and scribed to out-of-square walls with fillers instead of being forced into place. Doors and drawers are then adjusted for consistent reveals, which is what makes a set of cabinets read as level even when the house is not.
Countertops are digitally templated after the cabinets are set, not before, so the fabricated slab matches the room as built. We coordinate seam placement, overhang and any support needed at an island or bar, and confirm cutouts for the sink, faucet, soap dispenser and cooktop before the slab is cut. Sink, faucet and disposal are set and connected after the top is installed.
Backsplash tile is set on a flat, sound substrate with the layout planned so cut tiles land at the ends and outlets fall on a joint where possible, with an outside corner finished by a Schluter-style edge profile or a mitred tile edge. Floor tile is set over cement board or an uncoupling membrane, back-buttered on large formats, and grouted with sanded or unsanded grout depending on joint width. This is the same tile installation work we do in bathroom remodeling, and the same rules apply.
Soffit removal and wall changes leave drywall work behind, which we patch, tape and finish to match the surrounding texture rather than leaving a visible rectangle. Trim carpentry covers base, casing, crown at the cabinet tops and the island panel work. Interior painting finishes walls, ceiling and trim, with primer over all new drywall so the sheen matches.
Materials and specification
Specifications vary with the house and what we find once it is open. This is the standard we work to unless there is a reason not to — and if there is, we will tell you what it is before we change it.
Local conditions
Gulf Coast clay, humidity and a storm season are not background detail. They decide how this work gets built.
Greater Houston sits on shrink-swell clay, and seasonal moisture swings move slabs, and it is common to find the floor out of level from one end of a long cabinet run to the other. We shoot the floor with a laser before cabinets go in, find the high point, and set every box off that line so the countertop lands flat. Ignoring this is how you get a counter that rocks, a dishwasher that will not slide in, and toe kicks with a visible taper.
Many Houston-area homes are built on post-tension slabs, and the tendons inside cannot be cut or cored without locating them first. That directly limits how far a sink, dishwasher drain or island can move from its existing rough-in. Where relocation is not practical, the usual alternatives are keeping the drain where it is and rebuilding the layout around it, or moving the fixture to a wall where the existing drain and vent can already be reached.
Long humid summers and a June through November storm season affect both materials and schedule. Cabinets, hardwood and trim should sit in the conditioned house before installation so they move before they are fastened, not after, which means keeping the air conditioning running through demolition and finish work even with the kitchen torn open. Slab-on-grade floors also need a moisture check before any wood or glue-down product goes down.
Termites, including Formosan, and years of small plumbing leaks are common finds once a sink base or a soffit comes off. Rot at a bottom plate, a chewed stud or corroded galvanized supply lines has to be repaired before anything is closed back up, and that work is not visible in the original estimate. Nothing gets closed up until you have seen the damage yourself and agreed to the repair.
Houston has no conventional zoning, so what governs a project is usually the deed restrictions on the lot and any HOA covenants, plus the permit rules of whoever has jurisdiction. Inside city limits, permits go through the Houston Permitting Center; in unincorporated Harris County, through the county; Fort Bend, Montgomery, Brazoria, Galveston, Waller and the incorporated suburbs each run their own offices. Electrical, plumbing and structural work in a kitchen is the part that typically triggers a permit, while a cosmetic refresh often does not.
How it runs
We come to the house, measure the room, look at what is behind the sink base and above the ceiling where possible, and talk through what you want changed versus what you want kept. Estimates are free. If the plan involves moving plumbing or removing a wall, we say so at this visit rather than after demolition.
Cabinet layout gets finalized against real measurements, including appliance specs, since a range width or a counter-depth refrigerator changes the filler and the run. You make selections on cabinet door style and finish, countertop material, tile and paint. Cabinets and slabs are ordered at this stage because their lead time, not the labor, usually sets the start date.
We protect the floors and the path in and out, seal the kitchen off with plastic and a zipper door, and take out cabinets, counters, flooring and soffits. This is when the surprises appear: rot at a sink base, termite damage, undersized wiring, a wall that turns out to be carrying load. We stop, show you what is there, and price the repair before covering it.
Any wall removal gets temporary shoring and a properly sized header before the studs come out. Plumbing and electrical rough-in follows, including new circuits, hood ducting to the exterior and any relocated drains. Where the jurisdiction requires it, this work is inspected before insulation and drywall close it in.
Drywall goes in, gets finished and primed, and the floor is laid so cabinets can sit on top of it. Cabinets are shimmed and scribed off the high point of the floor, screwed to studs, and the runs are checked for level and plane. The countertop fabricator templates on the set cabinets, and the slab returns for install a week or two later, followed by the sink, faucet and appliance hookups.
Backsplash tile is set and grouted, then trim carpentry, caulk and interior painting finish the room. We walk the kitchen with you and build a punch list: drawer alignment, door reveals, touch-up paint, caulk lines, any grout that needs attention. Those items get closed out before the job is called done.
Questions
Removing walls to open kitchens and living areas, with the header, posts and load path settled before anything comes down.
Floor, shower and backsplash tile set over prepped substrates, with waterproofing and movement joints built for Houston slabs.
Tile, luxury vinyl plank and engineered wood floors installed over properly prepped, moisture-tested Houston slabs.
Free estimates
Call and talk to someone who has been doing this for 15+ years. We will look at the space, tell you what the work actually involves, and put a number on it — at no cost.
