Kitchen Remodeling in Bath, ME
Kenneth Cox Construction remodels kitchens in Bath, ME, where walls aren’t plumb and floors aren’t level. We have fitted cabinets into these houses since 1988.
- 38 years in business, since 1988
- Over 250 projects completed
- Affordable work, two-year written warranty
Kitchen remodeling in Bath means fitting square cabinets into a house that has moved for two hundred years. A wall in the historic district can wander an inch over its length, and the floor can drop from one end of the room to the other.
The cabinets still get set to a level line, because doors and drawers stop working otherwise and a counter that follows a sloping floor looks wrong the day it goes in. The gaps left between the run and the old house get closed with scribed fillers and adjusted panels. That fitting is slow work, and it separates a good install from a bad one.
Ken Cox has been putting kitchens into Maine's oldest housing since 1988, much of it in Federal, Greek Revival and mill-era homes like the ones lining Bath's streets. Every kitchen carries a written 2-year workmanship warranty. Downtown lots are tight, so staging and delivery get planned before demolition starts.
Why Bath Residents Hire Us for Their Kitchen Remodel
Ken has fitted kitchens into some of Maine’s oldest housing since 1988. After that long, he can often tell how far a wall is out before the tape confirms it.
Our BBB accreditation is public at the Better Business Bureau. Every kitchen also carries a written 2-year workmanship warranty.
Get a kitchen remodel estimate in Bath
How far the work goes matters more than the finishes. A few questions sorts that out.
What other contractor services do we offer in Bath?
Which towns around Bath do we serve?
Where is our shop?
Directions from Bath, ME to our shop in Searsmont
128 New England RoadSearsmont, ME 04973
What Kitchen Services Do We Offer in Bath?
- custom and semi-custom cabinets
- quartz, granite, laminate, and butcher block countertops
- backsplash installation
- kitchen flooring
- kitchen islands and storage upgrades
- layout changes and plumbing or electrical relocation
- lighting and electrical upgrades
What is our kitchen remodeling process in Bath, ME?
Get your free quote
Ken measures the walls, the floor and the out-of-square before a single cabinet is specified.
We bring your project to life
Demolition, plumbing, electrical, cabinets and counters run in one sequence with one person accountable.
Enjoy your new space
Finished to the date we set, backed by two years in writing.
Custom Kitchen Design and Remodeling in Bath
After two centuries of settling, a Bath kitchen wall may be an inch out over its length. The floor may also drop visibly from one end to the other.
Cabinets still have to sit level. Otherwise, doors and drawers will not work, while a counter that follows the floor’s slope looks wrong as soon as it is installed.
We set the cabinet run to a level line, then close the gaps against the house with scribed fillers and adjusted panels. It’s skilled, unhurried work.
In Bath, this is the biggest difference between a good installation and a bad one.
Modern cabinets are built dead square. Your house is not. Everything sold in a showroom assumes a straight wall and a level floor, and a Bath house built for shipwrights offers neither.
Ken measures the room as it stands, not as it appears on a drawing. Every kitchen comes with a 2-year workmanship warranty from our BBB accredited company.
Most of our Bath kitchen clients own historic homes downtown. They want a modern, working kitchen that does not look bolted into an antique.
Other clients live toward West Bath or Woolwich, often in postwar houses. The walls are straight there, and the work goes considerably faster.
Kitchen remodeling in Bath covers the entire project. That includes measurement and permitting through Bath Codes Enforcement, followed by demolition and plumbing.
We also handle electrical work, cabinets, counters and finishing.
In an old house, the job starts with a proper survey. Ordering cabinets from the room’s nominal size instead of its measured dimensions is how a kitchen ends up with three-inch gaps.
We remodel kitchens across Bath. Our work includes the historic streets near the river and the neighborhoods rising away from them.
We also work in newer houses on the outskirts.
Downtown properties have the usual out-of-square problems. Any exterior change also requires historic review.
You can book a Bath kitchen at any time because the work is indoors and continues year-round. Winter is usually the easiest season for scheduling the trades properly.
Cabinets must be ordered well in advance. In an old house, measuring comes before the order, so the early part of the project takes longer than many people expect.
Kitchen remodeling in Bath is different because nothing is straight. Walls lean.
Corners are not ninety degrees, so every cabinet run must be fitted to a house that stopped being square long ago.
The second issue is the floor. Old floors sag toward the middle of a span.
A level counter therefore leaves a changing gap beneath the toe kick, and making that gap look neat takes planning, not a shim and hope.
The third issue is what remains in place. Original trim may limit the layout.
So may a chimney chase or a window installed at a height nobody would choose now. Designing around these features works better than fighting them.
Those three conditions explain why a Bath kitchen takes longer to install than the same cabinets in a new house. They are also why we price the labor honestly.
Ask whether the contractor will measure the actual walls and floors before ordering. Be wary of any quote based on a rough sketch.
Get the warranty in writing. Then confirm the company independently before committing to the work.
A Bath kitchen’s fitting labor matters as much as the price of its cabinets, so we do not publish a standard rate. In an old house, that labor is a real variable.
Ken surveys the house first and prices the work your property will require. That figure then stands through the installation.
What should you ask before hiring in Bath?
Can cabinets be fitted to a crooked wall?
Cabinets can be fitted to a crooked wall routinely, with scribed fillers and careful setting out. It takes longer and it is what separates a tidy job from a gappy one.
Should I level the floor first?
You should level the floor first only if the sag is severe. Often it is better to set the cabinets level and deal with the difference at the toe kick.
Will a stock kitchen work in an old house?
A stock kitchen can work in an old house, with enough filler and skill. Semi-custom sizing gives you far more room to work with awkward dimensions.
Why is the measuring stage so long?
The measuring stage is so long because getting it wrong means reordering cabinets. An extra afternoon now saves six weeks later.
Custom Cabinets and Countertops in Bath
Semi-custom cabinets offer the right balance for most Bath remodels because they accommodate awkward dimensions without the cost of fully custom boxes throughout the room. We use custom cabinetry at difficult corners and for tall storage.
It also makes sense around special openings where standard increments would waste usable space.
What are your next steps for kitchen remodeling in Bath?
The next step for kitchen remodeling in Bath is a proper measurement. In a house like this, the measurements govern the entire project.
There is no charge to have them taken properly.
Ken will take them himself. Call 207-386-9235.