Short answer
The biggest single decision in a kitchen remodel here is whether the sink moves. Keeping it where it is costs a fraction of relocating it to an island, because on a slab-on-grade Apache Junction home an island sink means cutting concrete, running new drain at proper fall and providing correct venting before any flooring goes down.
Most kitchen remodels are sold by people who treat plumbing and gas as somebody else's problem. We come at it the other way round: AllStar is a licensed plumbing contractor that also remodels, so the parts that are expensive to get wrong get designed first.
That matters because a kitchen is the most plumbing-and-gas-dense room in a house. Sink drain and vent, dishwasher, disposal, refrigerator water line, filtered drinking water, a gas range or cooktop, sometimes a pot filler, sometimes a second prep sink in an island. Every one of those is a rough-in decision that becomes a demolition if it is wrong.
We handle full kitchen remodels including cabinets, counters, tile, drywall and finish work, and BBB accredits us under Remodel Contractors and Drywall Repair alongside Plumber.
Planning a kitchen project?
Free walkthrough and a fixed written quote with clear allowances — from a licensed plumbing contractor, not a general who subs it out.
What Apache Junction kitchens usually need
A 1980s or 90s builder kitchen
Original cabinets, laminate counters, a shallow single-bowl sink and plumbing that is due anyway.
Adding an island with a sink
The single biggest plumbing decision in a kitchen remodel — it means new drain, vent and supply through the slab.
Going from electric to gas cooking
Needs a properly sized gas branch, an accessible shutoff and a permit. Best decided before you buy the range.
Hard-water damaged fixtures and finishes
Etched glass, pitted faucets, scaled sprayers. Worth pairing the remodel with softening so the new ones survive.
Nowhere to put filtered water
Reverse osmosis, a dedicated faucet and a fridge line are far cheaper roughed in now than retrofitted later.
A layout that fights you
Sink under a window on the wrong wall, no landing space beside the range, a fridge that blocks a walkway.
What a kitchen remodeling job includes
Every quote covers the items below. If something is not on this list, it is not in the price — and we will say so before we start.
Walkthrough covering what is under the slab
What you want, what the house will allow, and what a layout change actually costs before you fall in love with a drawing.
Fixed quote with separate allowances
Cabinets, counters, tile, fixtures and appliances stated individually so you can steer the budget without renegotiating the contract.
Gas load recalculated for the range
A professional-style range draws considerably more than a standard one, and the existing branch is frequently sized for something smaller.
Island drain and venting done to code
A loop vent or an approved air admittance valve — not an improvised tie-in that produces a trap that siphons and a kitchen that smells.
Supply lines replaced while walls are open
Polybutylene or corroded galvanized swapped for PEX at a fraction of later cost, plus RO and fridge lines roughed in now.
Cabinets, counters, tile and finish in-house
Rough-in inspected before anything is covered, then built out by our own crew rather than three subcontractors you referee between.
The island question
Adding a sink or a cooktop to an island is the decision that most changes a kitchen remodel budget, and it is worth understanding why before you fall in love with a drawing.
Apache Junction homes are almost all slab-on-grade. A sink in the middle of the room means cutting the concrete, running new drain at the correct fall, providing venting for that drain, and running supply — then repouring and re-levelling before flooring goes down. It is not exotic work but it is real work, and it has to be inspected before it is covered.
Venting is the part that gets improvised most often. An island sink cannot simply tie into the nearest vent, and the wrong solution produces a trap that siphons and a kitchen that smells. There are correct approaches — a loop vent, or an air admittance valve where local code permits one — and choosing between them is a code question, not a preference.
If the budget is tight, keeping the sink on an exterior or plumbing wall and putting seating or storage in the island saves a meaningful amount with no compromise in how the kitchen actually works.
Sink stays put
Least expensive by a wide margin. No slab work, no new venting, no inspection hold.
Sink moves along the same wall
Moderate. Drain and supply extend within the existing wall and vent.
Sink moves to an island
Slab cut, new drain at grade, new vent, supply run. The big-ticket layout change.
Second prep sink
All of the above, plus a second set of connections. Lovely, and priced accordingly.
Gas, and why it comes up early
If you are switching to gas cooking, or upgrading to a larger range, the gas line needs checking before you order the appliance. A professional-style range can draw considerably more than a standard one, and the existing branch is frequently sized for something smaller.
Gas work is permitted and pressure-tested, and it needs an accessible shutoff and a sediment trap at the appliance. That is not optional and it is one of the most commonly skipped steps on unpermitted work.
The other gas item worth mentioning at planning stage is whether anything else in the house is being added at the same time — a tankless water heater conversion, an outdoor kitchen, a fire feature. If the meter and main run need upsizing, doing it once for everything is dramatically cheaper than doing it twice.
What we do while the walls are open
A kitchen remodel is the cheapest moment in the life of the house to fix what is behind the cabinets, because the demolition is already paid for.
If the house has polybutylene or corroded galvanized in those walls, replacing that section in PEX now costs a fraction of doing it later, and it means the tile and cabinets you just paid for never have to come back off.
It is also the right moment to replace multi-turn angle stops with quarter-turn ball valves, add a dedicated shutoff for the refrigerator line, rough in reverse osmosis and a fridge water line, add an outlet for a future disposal or instant hot water, and correct drain venting that was marginal when the house was built.
None of that is expensive as part of the work already happening. All of it is expensive as a separate visit two years later. We will tell you plainly when the existing plumbing is fine and does not need touching — on newer homes that is often the answer.
How a kitchen remodel runs
- 1
Walkthrough and what-is-possible
What you want, what is behind the walls and under the slab, and what the house will and will not allow.
- 2
Fixed written quote with allowances
Scope itemised, with separate stated allowances for cabinets, counters, tile, fixtures and appliances so you can steer the budget.
- 3
Demolition and assessment
Contained demo, then an honest look at the actual condition of supply, drain, vent and gas before anything new goes in.
- 4
Rough-in and inspection
Plumbing, gas and electrical roughed and inspected. Nothing gets covered before it is signed off.
- 5
Build and finish
Cabinets, counters, tile, drywall, texture, paint, fixtures and appliance connection.
- 6
Walkthrough and punch list
We walk it with you, fix what you point out, and hand over warranties and fixture documentation.
What drives the price
Free, itemised and fixed. Allowances for cabinets, counters, tile and appliances are stated separately so you can see exactly where the money goes and adjust without renegotiating the whole job.
- Whether plumbing moves
- Keeping the sink where it is versus moving it to an island is the single largest swing in a kitchen budget.
- Cabinets
- Refacing, stock, semi-custom and custom span an enormous range. Usually the largest single line item.
- Counter material
- Laminate, quartz, granite and solid surface differ in both material and fabrication cost.
- Gas and electrical changes
- A new gas branch for a larger range, added circuits, or an upgraded panel where the existing one is at capacity.
- What we find at demolition
- Polybutylene, corroded galvanized or bad venting behind the cabinets is worth correcting now. Quoted as its own line item.
Every quote is written, and the number does not change afterward. AZ ROC CR-37 Plumbing · BBB A+ accredited.
Why AllStar Home Services for kitchen remodeling
A plumbing contractor runs the job
Most kitchen remodels treat plumbing and gas as somebody else’s problem. In the most plumbing-dense room in the house, that is how you end up opening a finished wall.
Plumbing, HVAC and remodeling in one company
BBB accredits us under Plumber, Bathroom Remodel, Remodel Contractors and Drywall Repair. One contract, one crew, nobody pointing at somebody else.
The quote is the price
You hear the number before we start and it does not move afterward. It is the single thing customers mention most in our reviews.
Licensed, insured and permitted
Arizona ROC classification CR-37, issued November 2024, BBB accredited A+. We pull permits and pass the fee through at cost.
Where we provide kitchen remodeling
Kitchen work runs across the whole service area. We deliver this from our 15th Ave shop across Apache Junction and Gold Canyon, then out through Queen Creek, San Tan Valley, Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, Tempe and Fountain Hills.
Further out we cover Florence, Coolidge, Casa Grande, Maricopa, Eloy, Superior and Mammoth, and we are honest about when a small job does not justify the drive. In the pre-2000 stock through Apache Junction, east Mesa and older Tempe, demolition almost always reveals something worth correcting while the walls are open — and doing it then costs a fraction of doing it as a separate job two years later.
- Kitchen Remodeling in Apache Junction
- Kitchen Remodeling in Gold Canyon
- Kitchen Remodeling in Queen Creek
- Kitchen Remodeling in Mesa
- Kitchen Remodeling in Superstition Mountain
- Kitchen Remodeling in Ironwood Estates
Kitchen Remodeling questions, answered
Related reading
Homeowner GuidesPlumbing Permits in Apache Junction & Pinal County
A cheaper quote that skips the permit is not cheaper — it is a cost you pay later, at resale or at claim time. Here is what needs a permit and how to verify who you are hiring.
6 min read
Buying & SellingBuying an Older Home in Apache Junction? Check the Pipes First
A standard home inspection runs the faucets and looks under the sinks. It does not camera the sewer, test pressure properly, or identify what your supply pipe is made of. Those three things are where the money is.
7 min read