Summer heat and kitchen remodel timing

Every kitchen job in July starts at dawn or it does not start well. The running record scottsdale kitchen remodelers michael burritt holds shows crews losing the afternoon to heat whenever the day begins late. For a kitchen remodel in Scottsdale, AZ the calendar matters nearly as much as the plan. A house at the foot of Camelback Mountain sheds heat differently from one on the flats of the Phoenix metropolitan area, and the crew plans for both.

Early starts and short days

Summer afternoons in Scottsdale, AZ can pass one hundred and ten degrees, and the work area inside a house with the air conditioning interrupted gets close to that. Crews start around six in the morning and stop by early afternoon. Tasks that need fine control, such as setting tile or hanging upper cabinets, go in the cooler hours. Hauling debris and loading the truck can wait for the evening light.

Keeping the house cool during demolition

Demolition opens exterior walls and sometimes the ceiling, so the air conditioner works against open space. A plastic dust barrier at the kitchen entry, with the supply vents in that room taped over, keeps the rest of the house habitable. The return air path also needs protecting, because drywall dust drawn into the system clogs the filter and coats the coil. Filters are replaced when demolition ends.

Adhesives, grout and cure times

Thinset, grout, caulk and construction adhesive all have temperature windows printed on the package. In dry heat, thinset skins over before the tile is set and the bond is weak. The work is done in the shade of the structure, the substrate is dampened where the manufacturer allows it and small areas are spread at a time. Grout dries too fast and cracks when it is not misted or sealed on schedule.

Wood in dry air

Solid wood cabinets and hardwood floors move with humidity. Desert air in summer is dry, and a cabinet face frame delivered from a humid shop can shrink after it is hung. Wood stays in the conditioned house for a few days before installation so its moisture content settles. Gaps that open on a door after hanging, and not at the shop, often trace back to skipping that step.

Deliveries and storage

A pallet of cabinets left on a driveway for a week under a baking sun warps its packaging and sometimes the doors. Deliveries are scheduled for the day the space is ready, and a cool, dry room inside the house holds boxes until the work reaches them.

Working around monsoon weather

Late summer brings monsoon storms that cross Maricopa County and the McDowell Mountains from the Sonoran Desert with sudden wind and dust. An open back door or an exposed roof opening during a storm lets in dust and water in minutes. Any opening gets sheeted by the end of each day, and the forecast is checked before roof penetrations are made.