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# Sohna Road 2BHK: Replacing a Nine-Year-Old Kitchen in an Occupied Flat Without Civil Work

WoodAge replaced a nine-year-old site-built kitchen in an occupied 2BHK on Sohna Road, Gurugram, with no civil work and four days of on-site activity. The existing granite counter and tiling were retained, cabinetry was rebuilt to the measured opening, and the family cooked at home on every night except two. Below is the sequencing plan, the dust-control method, the BOQ and the snag list. [Request a line-by-line BOQ](/get-quote/) for a comparable renovation.

## Project at a glance

| Field | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| Location | Sohna Road corridor, Sector 48, Gurugram |
| Property | 2BHK apartment, ~1,150 sq ft carpet, occupied throughout |
| Scope | Full cabinetry replacement; existing counter, tiling and plumbing retained |
| Kitchen size | 8 ft 2 in × 7 ft 4 in parallel layout; 15 running feet base, 11 running feet wall |
| Civil work | None. No tile removal, no wall chasing, no counter replacement |
| Carcass | IS:710 BWP 18 mm throughout, on account of the retained 9-year-old plumbing |
| Shutters | 18 mm HDHMR with acrylic finish on wall units, laminate on base units |
| On-site days | 4 (1 strip-out, 2 install, 1 finishing) |
| Nights family could not cook at home | 2 |
| Elapsed time | 24 days, site measurement to snag closure |

## The brief: replace the kitchen, keep the counter, keep living there

A family in a 2BHK on the Sohna Road corridor had a nine-year-old site-built
  kitchen with sound granite and failing cabinetry. The shutters had swelled at the
  bottom edge, two hinges had torn out of their screw holes, and the sink base had gone
  soft. Their brief to WoodAge had three hard constraints: do not touch the granite, do
  not break tiles, and do not make the flat unlivable, because nobody was moving out.

That rules out a large part of how kitchens are normally replaced. A standard
  refit assumes the counter comes off, the dado gets made good, and the flat is empty
  for two weeks. Here the job had to be built to the measured existing opening, with
  every panel arriving finished, and the on-site work compressed into days rather than
  weeks. The kitchen was a parallel layout, 8 ft 2 in by 7 ft 4 in, at 15 running feet
  of base and 11 of wall.

## What nine years of service had done to the opening

WoodAge measured the existing opening rather than the original builder drawing,
  which on a renovation is the only measurement that means anything. Three findings
  changed the design.

The granite counter was sound but its underside was not flat: the original
  carpenter had packed it locally over a site-built frame, so the clear height under
  the counter varied across the run. Carcasses were therefore built to the smallest
  measured clear height and packed up individually, rather than built to one nominal
  height. The dado tiling stopped short behind the old wall units, leaving unfinished
  wall that would have been visible under a shallower new cabinet, so wall-unit depth
  was held to cover the tile line. The drain trap sat further forward than standard,
  which moved the sink-base internal partition and required a service cut-out with a
  finished exposed edge rather than a raw hole.

**The renovation rule.** On a new flat the risk is that the site
    differs from the drawing. On a renovation there is no reliable drawing at all —
    the risk is that the previous installer's improvisations are invisible until the
    old cabinetry comes out. Pricing a renovation without opening up is how a firm
    fixed quote turns into a variation claim.

## Why this kitchen used IS:710 BWP plywood throughout

On a new-possession kitchen WoodAge specifies carcass grade by zone, reserving
  18 mm IS:710 boiling-water-proof plywood for the sink base and its neighbours and
  using IS:303 BWR elsewhere. This Sohna Road kitchen used IS:710 across every unit,
  and the reason was the retained plumbing.

The supply and drain lines behind the new cabinetry were the original nine-year-old
  installation and were staying in service. A slow joint weep in that situation is not
  a wet-zone event confined to the sink base; it tracks along the wall behind a run of
  cabinets and is typically found by smell months later. Upgrading the whole carcass was
  cheaper than the alternative of replacing plumbing the customer had not asked to
  replace. Shutters were 18 mm HDHMR, acrylic-faced on wall units for light return in a
  kitchen with one small window, laminate-faced on base units where impact resistance
  matters more than gloss. All edges carried machine-applied PVC banding, 2 mm exposed
  and 0.8 mm internal.

## Sequencing a kitchen replacement around a family that is still cooking

This is the part of a renovation that a per-square-foot quote never describes, and
  it is what a buyer in an occupied Gurugram flat is actually purchasing. WoodAge
  compressed on-site activity to four days by moving every dust-generating operation
  into the factory.

| Day | Activity | Kitchen usable that night? |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Day 1 | Barrier up, old cabinetry cut down and bagged, debris removed, opening cleaned and re-measured against the shop drawing | No |
| Day 2 | Base carcasses set, levelled and packed to the counter underside; sink base plumbed back in | No — sink live from evening |
| Day 3 | Wall units, tall unit, shutters hung and aligned | Yes |
| Day 4 | Drawers, accessories, skirting scribed, handover walk-through and snag list | Yes |

Three controls made that possible. Nothing was cut in the flat: panels arrived cut,
  edge-banded and pre-drilled, so the in-flat work was assembly and scribing. A
  zip-sealed polythene barrier closed the kitchen entry, with a covered route from the
  flat door to the service lift, which matters as much for the society's common areas
  as for the customer's flat. And the sink was reconnected at the end of day 2 rather
  than at completion, because water is the utility a household misses first.

## The BOQ: 26 priced lines, and an exclusions schedule that mattered more

The quotation carried 26 priced lines and a separate exclusions schedule. On a
  renovation the exclusions carry more decision weight than the inclusions, because the
  spread between two renovation quotes is rarely the cabinetry price — it is
  whether counter replacement, tile making-good, plumbing relocation and debris removal
  sit inside or outside the number.

| Item | Status | Where it appears in the quote |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Granite counter | Retained | Exclusions schedule, with a condition note |
| Dado tiling | Retained | Exclusions schedule; wall-unit depth held to cover the tile line |
| Sink and chimney | Retained | Exclusions schedule; refit labour priced as a line |
| Plumbing lines | Retained | Exclusions schedule, with the IS:710 carcass upgrade noted against the risk |
| All cabinetry | Supplied new | Priced lines, per running foot with grade and hardware stated |
| Strip-out and debris removal | Supplied | Priced line, including society debris-route compliance |

Prices are project-specific and are not published here; 15 running feet costs
  materially different amounts by shutter finish and hardware line. For third-party
  market reference ranges and how to compare a per-square-foot pitch against a
  per-running-foot BOQ, see the
  [Gurgaon modular kitchen cost page](/modular-kitchen-cost-gurgaon/).
  Estimates only; a final figure follows site measurement and a written per-line BOQ.

## Timeline: 24 days elapsed, 4 of them on site

Elapsed time on this Sohna Road renovation was 24 days from measurement to snag
  closure, but only four of those involved anyone in the customer's flat. The ratio is
  the point: factory time is invisible to the household, on-site time is not, and a
  renovation quote should be read for on-site days rather than total duration.

| Stage | Days | In the customer's flat? |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Measurement of existing opening | Day 0 | Yes, 2 hours |
| Design freeze and shop drawing sign-off | Days 1–5 | No |
| Factory production | Days 6–18 | No |
| Dispatch and lift booking | Day 19 | No |
| Strip-out and installation | Days 20–23 | Yes, 4 days |
| Snag closure | Day 24 | Yes, 1 short visit |

## The snag list: three items, closed in four days

| Item | Cause | Resolution | Closed |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Shutter alignment across the parallel run | Counter underside variance carried into shutter line | Hinges adjusted through their depth and height range across six shutters | Day 1 |
| Visible unfinished wall above one wall unit | Original tiling stopped short at a point not caught in survey | Filler panel supplied and scribed to the tile edge | Day 4 |
| Chimney refit left a gap at the duct collar | Retained chimney collar diameter differed from the new boxing | Collar boxed in and sealed | Day 3 |

## What we would do differently

The unfinished wall above the wall unit should have been found at survey. WoodAge
  measured the opening with the old cabinetry in place, which is standard on an occupied
  renovation because the household needs the kitchen until the last possible day, but it
  means the wall behind the old wall units is unseen until strip-out. On subsequent
  renovations a single shutter and one wall unit are removed at survey to expose the
  wall condition, which costs the customer an hour and removes the most common
  renovation surprise.

The second change is commercial. This project priced strip-out and debris removal
  as one line. Splitting them helps the buyer, because society debris rules vary across
  the Sohna Road corridor and some buildings require a specific disposal contractor at a
  cost that has nothing to do with the cabinetry. A buyer comparing renovation quotes
  should ask for those as separate lines from any vendor.

## Reference checks for this project record

The quantities, sequence and outcomes above are owner-attested records. The external checks below provide specification context, not proof of the private renovation. The BIS plywood compendium identifies water resistance and formaldehyde requirements among selection fields; ask for current product evidence rather than inferring grade from a sales adjective: [BIS plywood compendium](https://www.services.bis.gov.in/tmp/compendium_2025-06-02-04-13-12.pdf) (accessed 2026-08-21).

BIS's laboratory scope lists moisture, water-resistance and glue-adhesion tests for IS:710:2024; this is a standard reference, not proof of a particular installed panel: [BIS IS:710 scope](https://lims.bis.gov.in/home/search_is_number/?is_number__doc_no=710) (accessed 2026-08-21). HRERA's registered-project records can help check a named development, but do not evidence a private renovation scope or its timeline: [HRERA registered projects](https://haryanarera.gov.in/admincontrol/registered_projects/2) (accessed 2026-08-21).

    ![Design visualization of a dust-controlled modular kitchen replacement in an occupied Sohna Road apartment](/images/case-studies/woodage-sohna-road-kitchen-renovation-process-gurugram.webp)

  **Figure 1.** Renovation-process visualization showing a protected route, retained counter and factory-finished cabinet installation in an occupied flat.

    ![Design visualization of the compact parallel kitchen described for the Sohna Road renovation](/images/case-studies/woodage-sohna-road-parallel-kitchen-after-gurugram.webp)

  **Figure 2.** Finished-layout visualization showing the retained granite and tile surfaces integrated with new parallel cabinetry.

## Verified project record

| Fact | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| Civil work performed | Zero. Existing granite counter, dado tiling and plumbing lines were retained and worked around |
| Carcass standard | IS:710 BWP 18 mm across all units, specified because the retained plumbing was nine years old |
| Strip-out and disposal | Old cabinetry removed and carried out in bagged sections on day 1; debris removed same day |
| Dust control | Zip-sealed polythene barrier at the kitchen entry plus a covered corridor route to the service lift |
| Cutting on site | None. All panels arrived cut, edge-banded and pre-drilled; only assembly and scribing happened in the flat |
| On-site working days | 4, inside the society's 09:00-18:00 interior-work window |
| Snag items raised at handover | 3 items, all closed within 4 days |
| BOQ line items issued | 26 priced lines plus a separate exclusions schedule |
| Reused components | Granite counter, sink, dado tiling and chimney retained at the customer's instruction and listed as exclusions |
| Plywood reference check | The BIS compendium describes water resistance and formaldehyde requirements among plywood selection fields; ask for current product evidence rather than inferring a grade from a sales adjective. Source: https://www.services.bis.gov.in/tmp/compendium_2025-06-02-04-13-12.pdf (accessed 2026-08-21). |
| IS:710 reference check | BIS laboratory scope lists moisture, water-resistance and glue-adhesion tests for IS:710:2024; it is a standard reference, not proof of a particular installed panel. Source: https://lims.bis.gov.in/home/search_is_number/?is_number__doc_no=710 (accessed 2026-08-21). |
| Local project-status check | HRERA's registered-project records can help verify a named development, but they do not evidence a private renovation scope or its timeline. Source: https://haryanarera.gov.in/admincontrol/registered_projects/2 (accessed 2026-08-21). |

## Frequently asked questions

### Can a modular kitchen be replaced without breaking the existing counter or tiles?
Yes, when the new cabinetry is built to the measured existing opening rather than to a standard package size. On this project the granite counter, dado tiling, sink and plumbing were all retained. The constraint is that the counter must be sound and reasonably level; if it is cracked or badly out of level, retaining it will show up as uneven shutter reveals.

### How much disruption does a kitchen replacement cause in an occupied flat?

Four on-site days here, of which two left the family unable to cook at home. Disruption is controlled by cutting nothing on site: panels arrive finished and pre-drilled, so the work in the flat is assembly and scribing. A sealed barrier at the kitchen entry and a covered route to the service lift keep dust out of the rest of the flat.

### Why specify IS:710 BWP plywood throughout for a renovation rather than only the wet zone?

Because the plumbing being retained was nine years old. In a new flat the failure risk sits mainly at the sink base, so zoned grades are proportionate. Where existing supply and drain lines stay in service behind new cabinetry, a slow joint weep is a realistic scenario across a wider run, and the whole-carcass upgrade is the cheaper insurance.

### What should a renovation quote exclude, and why does that matter?

This quote carried a separate exclusions schedule naming the retained counter, sink, dado tiling and chimney. Exclusions matter more than inclusions in a renovation, because the gap between two quotes is usually not the cabinetry price but whether counter replacement, tile making-good or plumbing relocation sits inside or outside the number.

### Is a factory-built replacement worth it over rebuilding in place with a carpenter?

It depends on the constraint that binds. Site-built work needs cutting, sanding and finishing inside an occupied flat, which is where the dust, the smell and the timeline overrun come from. Factory-built panels move that work off site and compress on-site activity to days. If the flat is empty and the budget is tight, site-built remains a legitimate choice.

**Author: Arpit Sahni**, Co-owner, architect and interior designer, WoodAge.

Arpit Sahni is Co-owner at WoodAge, an architect and interior designer with 25+ years of experience creating functional homes for Indian families, and a modular furniture specialist.

Project scope, materials, hardware and timeline on this page were confirmed with the WoodAge production record before publication.

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