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Unilock Kitchen Remodeling: The Fort Lauderdale Owner’s Guide
A full Unilock kitchen remodel in Fort Lauderdale typically runs $14,000 to $45,000 installed, with most mid-size projects landing between $22,000 and $32,000 depending on layout changes, cabinet lines, and countertop material. We stock Unilock-compatible pavers, wall units, and edge restraints for kitchen-adjacent work, plus the cabinetry and surface brands most Unilock owners ask for. Most Fort Lauderdale homeowners call us when the original remodel shows its age in specific ways: a cracked paver island base, a failing backsplash bond, cabinets that no longer close square, or a countertop seam that’s opened up from humidity swings. It’s rarely one dramatic failure. It’s usually three or four small ones that finally tip the scale.
Key Takeaways
- Installed kitchen remodels in Fort Lauderdale: $14,000 – $45,000 for the full scope
- Smaller refresh work (new backsplash, island rebuild, cabinet refacing): $3,000 – $20,000
- We’re an independent contractor, not a Unilock dealer, so our loyalty is to you and the build, not a single supplier’s catalog
- Free estimate means a written price before any work starts, per The Relay Standard
- 365-Day Done Right Promise covers every kitchen project in writing
Which Unilock Models This Applies To
When a Fort Lauderdale homeowner says “Unilock kitchen,” they usually mean one of three things: a paver kitchen floor or island base done in Unilock’s modular stone products, an outdoor kitchen wrapped around a grilling area that shares a wall with the indoor kitchen, or a kitchen remodel where Unilock pavers were used as a design accent inside the home. Unilock does not make cabinets, counters, or faucets. What they make is modular concrete and stone: pavers, wall units, coping, and edging. The brands we install alongside that work are KraftMaid and Wellborn for cabinets, Cambria and Silestone for counters, and Kohler for fixtures.
The compatibility gotcha most people miss: Unilock’s paver lines (like the Richcliff, Brussels Block, and Umbriano series) run in modular widths from roughly 3 to 9 inches per unit, which means the layout pattern and edge restraint determine whether the floor stays flat over time. A prior contractor who skipped the edge restraint on a paver kitchen island base will get spreading and lippage within two Fort Lauderdale summers. That’s a repair we see often near Victoria Park and Rio Vista. If you’re matching an existing Unilock floor with new material, we need either a leftover paver from the original job or clear photos with a tape measure for scale, because dye lots drift between production years and no aftermarket paver blends perfectly without blending units from the current lot.
One more thing worth knowing: we are an independent general contractor in Fort Lauderdale. We are not affiliated with Unilock, and we don’t pretend to be. What that means for you is we’ll tell you when a Unilock product is the right call and when a different material is a better fit for the same price, because we’re not married to one catalog.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Unilock Kitchen Remodeling Is Failing
- Lippage (tile or paver edges sitting proud). In Fort Lauderdale’s moisture and heat, a paver or tile floor that wasn’t set on a properly compacted base will start to show raised edges within two to three years. The fix is usually a reset of the affected area, not a full tear-out.
- Grout turning chalky or falling out of backsplash joints. That’s moisture working behind the tile, often from a failed caulk seam at the countertop or repeated steam exposure without adequate ventilation. If the substrate behind the tile is standard drywall instead of cement board, the problem is structural and will recur until the substrate gets replaced.
- Cabinet doors no longer closing square. Humidity cycling in Fort Lauderdale moves wood. If the boxes were installed out of level or the hinges were never adjusted after the first month of settling, the doors will drift. It’s a bench adjustment in most cases, but it can signal a warped cabinet box if the frame itself is twisted.
- Countertop seam opening or staining along the joint. Stone and engineered surfaces expand and contract at different rates than the cabinetry below them. A seam that opens more than a hair means the installer didn’t leave the appropriate expansion clearance at the walls, which is a South Florida-specific problem caused by humidity swings.
- Island base shifting or rocking. If a paver or stone island base moves when you lean on it, the footer wasn’t sized for South Florida’s sandy soils or the base was never properly pinned to the slab. In Fort Lauderdale, this is a structural correction before it becomes a safety issue.
See the difference
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After
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
Here’s the straight pricing for Fort Lauderdale kitchen remodels we perform:
- Full kitchen remodel: $14,000 – $45,000 (layout changes, new cabinets, counters, backsplash, flooring, fixtures)
- Small kitchen remodel: $9,000 – $20,000 (same footprint, new facing materials and surfaces)
- Cabinet installation: $4,000 – $13,000 (box assembly, hanging, leveling, hinge adjustment)
- Countertop installation: $2,000 – $6,500 (template, fabrication, install, seam work)
- Backsplash installation: $800 – $2,500 (prep, tile, grout, sealing)
- Kitchen island installation: $3,000 – $10,000 (base, structure, surface, electrical if needed)
What drives the range is material choice more than anything. A Cambria quartz counter in a standard L-shaped kitchen runs toward the top of that counter range. A single-slab island with waterfall edges costs more because there’s more fabrication waste. Every estimate we write includes the parts, the labor, and the written warranty in one number, so the price you approve is the price you pay. No change orders unless you add scope.
DIY or Call Us?
Some jobs you can handle with a utility knife and patience. Re-caulking a countertop seam is one of them. Adjusting a cabinet hinge with a screwdriver is another. What you shouldn’t touch yourself is any part of a Unilock kitchen remodel that involves a structural base, a shifted paver floor, or an electrical connection. A failed island footer or a paver deck that’s lost its edge restraint needs a rebuild, not a resurfacing, and doing that wrong means the same failure comes back in eighteen months with a bigger bill. If a wall opens up and you find compromised framing or water damage, stop and call. Luca Romano has pulled too many “quick DIY fixes” off Fort Lauderdale jobsites that became full reconstructions, and the pattern is always the same: the cheap fix held until it didn’t. Call (754) 354-7423 and we’ll tell you what’s actually worth doing and what’s worth leaving alone. The estimate is free and the answer is honest.
FAQs
A properly installed kitchen remodel should give you 20 to 30 years of daily use, but the paver and stone components in South Florida humidity typically show age faster than the cabinetry: expect to re-seal paver floors every three to five years and re-caulk seams annually. The countertops and cabinets are the long-term pieces, and the failures we see before year ten are almost always tied to installation shortcuts, not material breakdown. Call (754) 354-7423 if you want an honest assessment of what’s aging and what’s failing.
Yes, in most cases. A shifting island base, a failing backsplash bond, or a single cabinet run that’s out of square can usually be corrected without tearing out the entire kitchen. The line we draw is structural: if the subfloor or the slab has failed, a patch job just hides the problem. Call (754) 354-7423 and we’ll tell you which side of that line your project sits on.
A full kitchen remodel typically runs three to six weeks from demo to final walkthrough, depending on cabinet lead times and countertop fabrication. Smaller replacements like a backsplash or a countertop swap can be done in two to five days. We give you a written schedule before work starts and photo updates as the job runs, so you’re never guessing where things stand.
We stock common edge restraints, setting materials, and the bench tools to match existing Unilock paver patterns on the day we arrive. Full paver lots and matching dye-lot material get ordered per project, because storing thousands of pounds of pavers for a job that might call for a different line next week doesn’t serve anyone. Cabinets and counters from KraftMaid, Cambria, and Silestone are ordered per project too, and we manage the lead times for you. Call (754) 354-7423 to get your written estimate started.
Written by Luca Romano, Owner & Lead Contractor, Sawyer Remodel Fort Lauderdale at Sawyer Remodel Fort Lauderdale, serving Fort Lauderdale and nearby areas.
