Kitchen Remodeling in Livingston, NJ
Livingston has the newest housing and the highest owner-occupancy anywhere we work. A lot of these houses were already expanded once, in the 1980s or 90s, which means we are frequently remodeling somebody else's remodel rather than an original kitchen.
- NJ HIC Reg. #13VH12107200
- Based in Irvington
- 14+ years in North Jersey
Livingston is the newest and least dense place we work: about fourteen square miles holding roughly 10,700 housing units, with a median build year of 1962. Around 85 percent of homes are single-family detached and nearly 89 percent are owner-occupied, the highest figure in our entire service area. Fewer than one in ten homes predates 1940.
- Median year built
- 1962of 10,699 housing units
- Built before 1940
- 9.2%45.3% before 1960
- Single-family detached
- 84.5%92.3% in 1–4 unit buildings
- Owner-occupied
- 88.9%13.79 sq mi, Essex County
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimates. Figures describe Livingston township, Essex County, NJ.
Remodeling a remodel
The distinctive thing about kitchen work in Livingston is that many of these houses have already been through it once. A 1962 split or ranch that was expanded and updated in the late 1980s or 90s is a common starting point, and it is a different job from an untouched original.
The good news is that a previous remodel usually addressed the plumbing and electrical to the standards of its day, which means fewer unpleasant discoveries. Framing is regular, walls are drywall, supply lines are copper, and demolition rarely produces a crisis.
What you find instead is the design language of that era and the shortcuts it accepted: a soffit above the uppers that was never removed, a peninsula where the room could carry a real island, a corner cabinet with no pull-out, a microwave over the range instead of a properly ducted hood, and cabinetry that was mid-grade when it was new and is now thirty years old.
The other Livingston-specific factor is lot size. Bump-outs and additions are genuinely feasible here in a way they are not on the tighter lots further east. That is a different project from a kitchen remodel and worth being clear about, but it is on the table.
What we handle in a Livingston kitchen
Demolition, framing, cabinetry, countertops, backsplash, flooring, and the plumbing and electrical work involved. Permits filed with the township and inspections scheduled. We do the kitchen; we are not addition builders.
Working with a 1990s kitchen rather than an original changes what is worth keeping. Worth talking through.
Call (862) 218-7292Kitchen Islands in Livingston
These are among the widest kitchens we work in, so the island question is usually about proportion rather than possibility. Clearances are 42 inches of clear aisle on every side, 48 where seating goes. The more useful advice here is that an island deeper than about four feet cannot be reached across, which turns the middle into permanent storage for objects nobody moves. A sink island needs supply, drain and a code-compliant vent through the floor, realistic over a basement and harder over a lower level or slab. See kitchen islands.
Open Concept Kitchens in Livingston
Removing the wall between kitchen and family room is one of the most common projects here, and it is generally more predictable than the same job in a prewar house. The framing is regular and the load path is usually visible from the basement or lower level. Where the wall is bearing, the job is a properly sized beam, posts and support carried down, sometimes to a new footing. In a split or bi-level, the wall at the change of level deserves specific attention. See open concept kitchens.
Kitchen Layout Changes in Livingston
Where a basement sits under the kitchen, layout changes are straightforward: accessible joist bays, regular framing, clear runs for supply and drain. In bi-levels and splits, the kitchen often sits over a finished lower-level room, which means opening that ceiling to reach the plumbing, a real line in the scope rather than a footnote. The most valuable change in an already-remodeled kitchen is frequently reworking a peninsula and soffit arrangement that was standard practice thirty years ago. See kitchen layout remodeling.
Kitchen Cabinets in Livingston
Rooms here are conventional and close to square, which means stock and semi-custom cabinetry fits well and there is less need to pay for boxes built to an irregular room. That frees budget for what actually determines longevity: plywood construction at the sink base, dovetailed drawer boxes on full-extension soft-close slides, and interior fittings that make deep cabinets and corners usable. Removing a 1990s soffit and running uppers to the ceiling is a common and worthwhile gain. See kitchen cabinets.
Kitchen Countertops in Livingston
Larger kitchens mean more square footage and often more than one slab, so seam placement becomes a decision made at template rather than at delivery, at a sink cutout or a corner rather than mid-run on an island in full view. Any seating overhang beyond about ten inches of unsupported stone needs steel bracket support set into the cabinet framing, specified before fabrication. Allow one to two weeks between cabinet install and counters. See kitchen countertops.
Kitchen Flooring in Livingston
Subfloors here are typically flat and stiff enough for large-format tile without the added plywood layer older houses require, which shows up directly in cost. In a bi-level or split, the floor height at the change of level matters, because raising the kitchen floor alters the riser height of that half-flight and an inconsistent riser is a genuine trip hazard. Radiant heat under tile is worth considering and installs at this stage or never. See kitchen flooring.
Kitchen Backsplashes in Livingston
Flat walls mean minimal preparation before tiling, which makes a more demanding pattern easier to justify because the labor budget is not being spent flattening plaster. In a wide kitchen, setting the layout out from the range or the window rather than a corner keeps the cuts symmetrical across a long run. Box extenders at every outlet so devices sit flush with the tile, GFCI protection on countertop receptacles, and flexible sealant at the counter joint. See kitchen backsplash.
Permits and inspections in Livingston
Livingston's Building Department issues and inspects construction permits under New Jersey's Uniform Construction Code. Kitchen work altering plumbing or electrical requires one, and removing a bearing wall brings in the building subcode along with a sealed drawing from an engineer or architect. Rough work is inspected before anything covers it.
Township of Livingston, Building Department
- Department: Building Department
- Address: 357 South Livingston Avenue, Livingston, NJ 07039
- Phone: 973-535-7961
Contact details verified September 2026. Permit requirements depend on your specific scope of work and can change, so the department above is the authority on what your project needs, not this page.
Where we work in Livingston
Across the township, including the Northland, Riker Hill and Collins areas and the neighborhoods running toward West Orange, Millburn and Short Hills.
Kitchen work in Livingston
Wide rooms, cooperative houses, and often a previous remodel to work with. Tell us what you have.
Where Livingston sits, and where we work
Livingston township covers about fourteen square miles of Essex County, bordered by West Orange, Millburn, Short Hills, Roseland and the Morris County line.
Livingston boundary map not yet published.
Import maps/kml/livingston-nj.kml into Google My Maps, then paste the embed URL into
src/_data/locations/livingston-nj.json.
Township of Livingston covers about 13.79 square miles of Essex County. Boundary drawn from U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line data.
Kitchen questions from Livingston homeowners
Our kitchen was redone in 1995. Is redoing it again different from an original?
Yes, and mostly for the better. The plumbing and electrical were probably brought up to reasonable standards at that point, the layout may already have been improved, and there is less to discover at demolition. What you tend to find instead is work that was done to the standards of the day, a soffit that was never removed, a peninsula where an island belongs, or a hood ducted to nowhere.
Can we bump the kitchen out into the yard?
Lot sizes here often allow it, which is less true in most of our service area. That said, an addition is a different project from a kitchen remodel: foundation, framing, roof, exterior envelope and a considerably bigger permit. We are kitchen and bathroom remodelers rather than addition builders, so we would be honest about where our scope ends and what you would need alongside us.
Is the wall between the kitchen and family room load-bearing?
Often, and in these houses it is usually easier to determine than in an older one because the framing is regular and the basement or lower level shows the load path clearly. Where it is bearing, the job is a properly sized beam, posts and support carried down, with an engineer's drawing and a permit. In a split or bi-level, the wall at the change of level deserves particular attention.
We have a bi-level. Does the kitchen level complicate things?
Mostly it changes the plumbing question. In a bi-level the kitchen sits on the upper level over a finished lower level rather than a basement, so moving a sink means opening that ceiling. Entirely doable and it belongs in the scope from the start. Otherwise these houses are straightforward to work in.
How is the electrical usually?
Better than in the older towns, and still usually short of what a modern kitchen expects unless it was addressed in a previous remodel. Several dedicated circuits are the current expectation. Adding them is straightforward with the walls open, and whether the panel has capacity is worth confirming before demolition.
Call about your Livingston project
Original kitchen or somebody's 1990s version? The answer changes what we are working with.