Dropped soffits, and what is inside them
Sometimes nothing, often heating ducts, occasionally plumbing. It decides whether wall units can go to the ceiling and whether the ductwork has to be rerouted first. We open one and look rather than assume.
Deerfield
Kitchen Remodeling in Deerfield, IL
A Deerfield kitchen is usually closed off from the family room by a wall that carries nothing, and ringed by soffits that carry rather a lot. Knowing which is which is the whole job.
Licensed, Bonded & Insured · Serving Deerfield and the surrounding area
In Short
A full kitchen remodel in Deerfield typically runs $34,000 to $56,000 keeping the layout and $66,000 to $105,000 for a gut that opens the room, and takes six to nine weeks on site. Permits are issued by the Village of Deerfield at 850 Waukegan Road. In this post-war housing the wall between the kitchen and the family room frequently carries nothing at all and comes out easily — but the dropped soffits above the cabinets often carry heating ducts, and rerouting those is the cost people do not expect.
Layout kept
$34k – $56k
Gut with the room opened
$66k – $105k
Time on site
6 – 9 weeks
Permits issued by
Village of Deerfield
Kitchen Remodeling
What a Deerfield kitchen remodel actually involves
Deerfield is a post-war town, built out mostly between 1955 and 1975, and the split-level is its signature house. The kitchen in one of these is a self-contained room with a doorway to the dining room, a pass-through or a wall to the family room, and a continuous ring of dropped soffits above the wall units.
Those soffits are there for two reasons: to hide ductwork, and because eight-foot ceilings and thirty-inch cabinets left a foot of nothing. Which reason applies to your kitchen is not visible from below, and it makes a real difference — empty soffits come down in an afternoon, soffits full of heating ducts do not.
The wall is usually the easy part and the soffit is usually the expensive one. In this housing the partition to the family room frequently carries nothing, so opening it up is straightforward. We open a soffit and look before the design assumes cabinetry can go to the ceiling, because that finding moves the drawing as much as the budget.
Your House
Find your house, and you will find your project
Deerfield is post-war and consistent, so the kitchen problem repeats — and so does the answer.
| Era and style | What we find on site | What the project becomes | Typical range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955–1975 — split-levels | A closed kitchen with a pass-through, a full ring of soffits, staggered floors under it, and a 1960s panel. | Wall to the family room opened, soffits stripped and ducts rerouted, replanned around a peninsula or island. | $70k – $105k |
| 1955–1970 — ranches | A single-level plan with a crawl or slab below, a kitchen closed off by a non-structural wall, copper supply already in. | Open to the family room, lose the soffits, replan around an island. The best value in the town. | $36k – $62k |
| 1960–1980 — two-storey Colonials | A kitchen at the rear with a separate dining room, deeper joists and a usable basement ceiling below. | Gut with a wide cased opening to the dining room, and a sink that can actually move because there is fall available. | $40k – $68k |
| 1995–present — teardown rebuilds | Open plan already there, a modern panel, engineered joists with room for services, finishes that have dated. | Finish upgrade, with the island, stone and appliances driving the number. | $38k – $66k |
On Site
What we find behind the walls in Deerfield
These are the conditions that decide the schedule and the contingency on a job in Deerfield. We price around them rather than discovering them.
A wall that usually carries nothing
In this post-war housing the partition between the kitchen and family room is frequently non-structural, which makes opening the plan far cheaper here than in a pre-war house. Where it does carry, a sized beam and an engineer’s letter are needed with the permit.
Staggered floors in a split-level
Half-levels mean the kitchen sits over a garage, a landing or open space rather than a room with a usable ceiling below. That limits where a sink can move, and it is checked from underneath before an island goes into a drawing.
An electrical panel from the 1960s
Adequate for a single oven and a percolator, not for an induction hob, a double oven and a dishwasher. We look at the panel on the first visit so a service upgrade is priced rather than discovered at rough-in.
Extraction that recirculates
The original hood in these kitchens usually recirculates through a filter rather than ducting outside. Running a proper duct is straightforward in a ranch and more awkward in a split-level, and it is planned in rather than found later.
Village review for anything exterior
Interior work inside the footprint is a straightforward permit. A new window over the sink, a patio door or an exterior vent takes the project through village zoning review, worth raising before the design is settled.
Budget
What drives the number in Deerfield
Ranges, not a single number. Where a project lands depends on the scope, and we say which band we think you are in before you commit to anything.
Cabinetry and finishes, layout kept
$34,000 – $56,000
New cabinetry, stone, backsplash, appliances, lighting and flooring with the services staying put. Right where the room already connects to the family room.
Gut with the room opened up
$66,000 – $105,000
The wall to the family room removed, soffits stripped and ducts rerouted, services reworked, a service upgrade where needed, and full-height cabinetry.
Kitchen and family room together
From $105,000
Kitchen, family room and often a mudroom taken as one, with heating, plumbing and electrical rerun across the whole area. Priced after an engineer has been.
Where It Goes
Where the money actually goes
Cabinetry is the largest single line in almost every kitchen we build. This is how a full project divides up.
- Cabinetry 28%
- Labour and project management 26%
- Countertops and backsplash 11%
- Structural work and openings 9%
- Appliances 9%
- Plumbing and electrical rough-in 8%
- Flooring and finishes 6%
- Permits, engineering and protection 3%
Based on an $78,000 project, the midpoint of what we actually build here. The structural share is lower here than on the pre-war North Shore because the wall usually carries nothing — but mechanical work behind the soffits takes its place, and that is the line people forget to budget for.
Process
How the job runs
Consultation on site
We look at the wall, at the ceiling below it where we can, and at the electrical panel. You get an honest read on what can move and what cannot.
Scope, drawings and a fixed price
Including a structural engineer where a wall is coming out, so the beam is sized before the price is set rather than after.
Permit filed for you
Submitted to the Village of Deerfield at 850 Waukegan Road. We prepare and lodge it, and we tell you which route your project is on before you commit.
Demolition, structure and rough-in
Any beam goes in, services are rerun, and everything is inspected before it is closed. A change to the price happens here, with the wall open, not at the end.
Cabinetry, stone and finish
Cabinets set and scribed to walls that are rarely square, stone templated on site after the boxes are in, then appliances, backsplash and lighting.
Snag list and final inspection
We walk the room with you, write the list, and close it out before the final invoice.
Planning a kitchen remodeling project in Deerfield?
Tell us about the property and what you want to change. We will walk the space, look at what is behind the walls, and come back with a written scope, a schedule and a price.
FAQ
Kitchen Remodeling in Deerfield: Common Questions
How much does a kitchen remodel cost in Deerfield?
Keeping the layout and replacing cabinetry, stone, appliances and finishes generally runs $34,000 to $56,000. A gut that opens the room to the family room is usually $66,000 to $105,000. What separates the two bands is the soffit and duct work as much as the wall.
What is inside the soffits above my cabinets?
In a Deerfield split-level, often heating ducts; in a ranch, more often nothing. It matters because taking wall units to the ceiling needs whatever is in there rerouted first. We open one and look before the design assumes it can simply come down.
Can the wall between the kitchen and family room come out?
In this post-war housing it usually carries nothing and comes out easily, which makes opening the plan much cheaper here than in a pre-war house. Where it does carry, the work needs a sized beam, posts to a bearing point and an engineer’s letter with the permit.
Do I need a permit for a kitchen remodel in Deerfield?
Yes. The Village of Deerfield requires a building permit for kitchen work altering plumbing, electrical or structure. Applications go to 850 Waukegan Road and the work is inspected at rough-in and at completion. We handle the filing.
My house is a split-level. Can the sink move to an island?
It depends what is underneath. Staggered half-levels mean the kitchen often sits over a garage or a landing rather than a room with a usable ceiling, which limits where a drain can run at proper fall. We look from below before an island with a sink goes into a drawing.
Will our electrical service handle new appliances?
A 1960s panel usually will not. An induction hob, a double oven and a dishwasher each need dedicated circuits and there has to be headroom to add them. We check the panel on the first visit so the upgrade is priced up front.
How long will we be without a kitchen?
Six to nine weeks for a full remodel. Rerouting ducts behind soffits adds about a week. Cabinetry lead time is the main driver once work starts, so that order goes in before demolition.
Which other towns do you cover?
Deerfield sits between Northbrook, Highland Park and Glenview, all regular ground for the same crews.
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