The Rough-In Walkthrough: What to Check in Your Portland Kitchen Before the Walls Close

Every kitchen remodel has a week that decides how the finished kitchen will feel to live in. It is the week after the framing, plumbing, electrical and ducts are in, and before insulation and drywall cover them. The room is a bare frame, and you can stand where the stove will be and see exactly what is behind it.

We call this the rough-in walkthrough. This guide covers what rough-in means, where it sits in the schedule, what to check on the electrical, plumbing, range hood duct and wall backing, and what happens at inspection. It is the point where a change costs a trade visit instead of a wall repair.

Rough-in is the work that goes inside the walls, ceiling and floor before they are closed up. It is everything a finished kitchen needs behind the surface: framing changes, supply and drain pipes, vent lines, electrical wiring and boxes, and the duct for the range hood. Nothing is finished yet. There are no cabinets, no counters, no paint, and the walls are open to the studs.

Is rough-in the same as demo?

No. Demo is taking the old kitchen out. Rough-in is putting the new kitchen’s hidden systems in. Between them comes any framing or structural work, and when a wall is changing, that comes first. See our post on removing a wall between a kitchen and living room.

Who should be at the walkthrough?

You, whoever runs the job for us, and the designer if there is one. We bring the plans and the trades are close by if something needs to move. If you hired the trades yourself, you are the one who has to call them back, which is why this stage trips up owner-managed jobs. We cover that in our guide to hiring a general contractor versus the trades yourself.

The order on most kitchens is demo, framing and structural work, rough plumbing and electrical, ducts and venting, rough inspections, then insulation and drywall. The walkthrough happens once the trades have set their rough work and before the city inspection closes things out, or right after, depending on how the inspector’s schedule falls. What matters is that no one has hung drywall yet.

Why not just decide everything on paper at the start?

Because a drawing does not tell you what it is like to stand at the sink. People move an outlet three feet the moment they see it in the room. The plan is still right, but you can finally tell what it feels like. Our kitchen remodel process puts the walkthrough where it can still change something.

Does the walkthrough delay the job?

Not if you come prepared. It is usually an hour or two on site, plus the time to move anything that needs moving. The walkthrough delays a project only when changes turn up after the walls are closed. For how phases add up, see how long a kitchen remodel takes in Portland.

Bring the cabinet plan and stand in the room with it. Mark on the studs where the base cabinets, tall cabinets and appliances will go, and check every box against them. The electrician set the boxes to the plan. The walkthrough is where you check the plan against how you actually cook.

Are there outlets where the counters will be used?

Code sets how far apart receptacles can be along a kitchen counter, and your electrician and the inspector will check that. Your own check is different: where does the coffee maker sit, where does the stand mixer live, where will you charge a phone? Put outlets where you use them.

Where do the switches land once the doors and cabinets are set?

A switch that looked right on the plan can end up behind a door swing or hidden by a tall cabinet. Open the door in your mind and reach for the switch. This is also the moment to decide on dimmers and where the under-cabinet lights are controlled from.

Is there power where the hood, island and appliances need it?

Appliances like the range, dishwasher, microwave and refrigerator have their own power needs, and an island needs outlets planned before the floor is closed. If the house is older, the existing circuits may be limited, and the knob-and-tube or undersized panel conversation happens here. Read our guide to knob-and-tube wiring in a Portland kitchen remodel.

The plumber has set supply lines and drains where the plan says. Check them against the cabinet layout, because the drain and supply for the sink have to land inside the sink base, not behind a drawer.

Is the sink centered where you want it?

If the sink is under a window, check it against the window. If it sits in an island, check that the drain and vent path make sense. Moving a sink after the floor is closed means opening it again.

Where do the dishwasher drain and the refrigerator water line connect?

Look at both. A dishwasher needs a proper drain connection and an air gap or high loop, and a refrigerator or ice maker needs a supply with a shutoff you can reach. Hidden connections behind appliances are the ones that cause floods later.

Can you reach the shutoffs?

Every fixture should have a shutoff you can get to without taking the cabinet apart. Ask the plumber to show you where each one is and write it on the plan.

If the house has cast iron drains, the walkthrough is when their condition is visible. See cast iron drain lines in a Portland kitchen remodel for what to do when they are failing, and our water damage guide if the open wall shows rot.

A range hood only works if the air has somewhere to go. At rough-in, the duct run from the hood location to the outside is visible, and it is much easier to fix now than after the ceiling is closed. Homeowner forums are full of questions about who retrofits a kitchen exhaust duct after the fact, and most of them could have been avoided at this stage.

Can the hood vent through the wall instead of the roof?

Often yes. A hood on an exterior wall can usually exhaust through the wall behind it, and a sidewall exhaust is simpler than a roof penetration. A hood on an interior wall or an island needs a longer run through the ceiling or attic, and the path matters.

Why not just recirculate?

A recirculating hood filters grease and odor but leaves moisture and heat in the room. If you can duct to the outside, it is the better setup, especially over a gas range. If the route is impossible, recirculation is the fallback, and it is better to decide that now than after the cabinets are ordered.

Does the duct have to cross a joist or a beam?

Sometimes, and that is a framing question. A duct that has to pass through structural members needs a plan that keeps them sound. If the route runs near a wall change, check it against the beam or header design. Keep the run short and straight with few bends, and use rigid duct, not flexible.

Does a stronger hood need anything else?

Higher-powered hoods can need replacement air to be brought into the house, and codes address that. Ask your contractor what applies to your hood, and check whether your project needs a permit for the duct or the hood, as well as any HOA rules if you live in one.

Anything heavy that mounts to a wall needs solid wood behind it, not just drywall. Wall cabinets, a range hood, floating shelves, a pot rack, a television, a grab bar. Blocking between the studs is cheap at rough-in and nearly impossible to add later without opening the wall.

Where does blocking need to go?

At the height and width of everything that mounts to the wall. Check the cabinet plan for the wall cabinet rails, the hood’s mounting height, and the shelf locations. Heavy open shelves deserve wider blocking than the bracket, and a mark on the stud tells the drywall crew where it is.

Should I plan for grab bars or a future need?

If there is any chance you or a family member will want them, put blocking in now. It adds almost nothing to the job and keeps options open. Our accessible kitchen remodeling page explains the other planning that goes with it.

Tape the cabinet and appliance footprints on the subfloor, and check the room with your body. Walk from the refrigerator to the sink to the stove. Open an imaginary dishwasher door. Check the island clearances and the door swings.

Do you have room to open the dishwasher, oven and refrigerator doors?

Appliance doors swing into the aisle, and two people cooking need to pass each other. If a clearance feels tight with tape on the floor, it will feel worse with cabinets and a person standing at the stove.

Where will things be stored?

Put the pots, dishes, trash and recycling somewhere in your head and check the cabinet plan. Layout questions come up at this stage, and our kitchen design in Portland guide covers the planning that goes into it, while small kitchen remodeling has more on tight rooms.

In Portland the framing, plumbing and electrical work are inspected before they are covered, through the Bureau of Development Services (BDS) when the work is permitted. The inspector looks at the work, not the finish, and signs off before insulation and drywall go up. The permit rules for your address are in our kitchen remodel permits guide.

What if something fails the inspection?

The trade corrects it and the inspector returns. It adds time, not drama, and a failed item is the system working as intended. A contractor who tells you not to worry about an inspection is a different problem. Our hiring guide covers what to walk away from.

Can I ask to see the inspection record?

Yes, and you should keep it. The signed card or approval is part of the permit file, and it matters when you sell the house.

A change at rough-in means a trade makes a visit and moves a box, a pipe or a duct. A change after drywall means opening a finished wall, patching, priming and painting, and sometimes re-running wire or pipe through a space that is now closed.

How should changes be handled?

In writing, with the price and the schedule effect stated before the work happens. Do not agree to a change by text message and find the number at the end of the job. Our hidden costs post explains the changes that push budgets, and the walkthrough is how you avoid most of them.

• The cabinet plan, printed, with appliance models and dimensions
• Painter’s tape to mark footprints on the floor
• A list of what you plug in at the counter
• The hood model and where it will exhaust
• Every wall-mounted item that needs backing
• Door swings and where each switch sits
• Shutoff locations written down
• A phone to photograph every wall before it closes

That last one matters. Photograph each wall with a tape measure in the shot. Years later, when you want to hang a heavy shelf or cut into a wall, those photos show where the pipes and wires run.

Want a second set of eyes before your walls close?

At Rainwood Kitchen Craft Co, we run a rough-in walkthrough on every kitchen, with the plans, the open walls and the trades on site. Call (971) 535-8286 or send the form below.