NYS and NYC M/WBE Certified Contractor
Hewlett home values hit a median of $654,500 in 2024 — and they’re still climbing. When your home is worth that much, a kitchen that still has the original 1960s layout and laminate countertops isn’t just an eyesore. It’s a gap between what your home is worth on paper and what it actually feels like to live in.
A proper kitchen renovation closes that gap. You get a layout that stops the morning bottleneck, storage that actually fits how your family shops and cooks, and finishes that hold up to daily use — not just look good the week they’re installed. In Hewlett, where homes sell quickly and buyers scrutinize every detail, the quality of your renovation is visible to everyone who walks through your front door.
There’s also the South Shore reality to consider. Hewlett’s proximity to the water means humidity works on your cabinets year-round. Homes built in the 1950s and 60s — which is most of the housing stock here — often have aging plumbing and electrical behind those kitchen walls that a cabinet installer won’t touch. A kitchen remodel done right in Hewlett addresses all of it: the cosmetic, the functional, and the structural. That’s what a finished result actually looks like here.
Green Island Group is a New York-based home improvement contractor that handles kitchen renovations from the first conversation to the final walkthrough — under one contract, one project manager, and one point of accountability. No juggling three different subcontractors. No calling around to find out whose fault the delay is.
We’ve worked in homes throughout Hewlett and the surrounding Five Towns communities — Woodmere, Lawrence, and Cedarhurst. We understand the mid-century housing stock here: the galley kitchens that predate open-concept design, the cabinet boxes hiding decades of moisture, and the electrical panels that weren’t built for a modern appliance load. That’s not something you learn from a brochure.
When you’re leaving for Penn Station at 7 AM and getting back at 7 PM, you don’t have time to manage a renovation that requires constant hand-holding. We communicate proactively, handle problems before they become surprises, and deliver a finished kitchen that matches what we discussed — not a version of it.
It starts with a consultation at your home. We walk the kitchen with you, ask how you actually use the space, and look at what’s behind the walls — because in a Hewlett home built before 1978, what’s behind the walls matters. We’re checking for moisture, aging plumbing, and whether the electrical panel can support what you want to put in this kitchen. That assessment shapes the scope of work and the budget, so there are no surprises once demo begins.
From there, we handle the permitting with the Town of Hempstead Building Department. Kitchen renovations in Hewlett that involve electrical, plumbing, or structural work require permits — and we pull them on your behalf. We also carry a Nassau County Home Improvement Contractor License, which is a legal requirement for any contractor doing this work in your community. If a contractor you’re evaluating can’t hand you their Nassau County license number without hesitation, that’s a red flag worth taking seriously.
Once permits are in place and materials are ordered — before anything is demolished — the project begins. We pre-order cabinetry, countertops, and fixtures ahead of time so the kitchen isn’t sitting open while we wait on a backordered item. A cabinet-focused remodel typically runs two to four weeks. A full gut renovation runs six to ten weeks. We give you the real timeline upfront, and we stick to it.
Ready to get started?
A kitchen remodel in Hewlett isn’t just a cabinet swap. The homes here were built for a different era — smaller footprints, closed-off layouts, and infrastructure that hasn’t kept pace with how people cook and live today. We handle the full scope: layout reconfiguration, custom and semi-custom cabinetry, quartz and stone countertops, backsplash, under-cabinet lighting, flooring, plumbing rough-in, and electrical upgrades. If the job needs it, we do it.
One of the most common questions we hear is whether to reface existing cabinets or replace them entirely. The honest answer depends on the condition of your cabinet boxes and whether your current layout actually works for you. If the boxes are sound and the layout is functional, refacing is a strong value. If the layout is inefficient or the boxes have moisture damage — which is common in Hewlett homes that were patched after Hurricane Sandy — replacement is the right call. We’ll tell you which one makes sense for your kitchen, not for our margin.
Every project is fully permitted through the Town of Hempstead, inspected, and closed out with the required documentation. We’re EPA Lead-Safe certified, which matters in a community where most homes predate 1978. And every job comes with a written warranty on labor, so if something needs attention after we leave, you have that in writing — not just a verbal promise.
The range for a kitchen remodel in Hewlett runs roughly $40,000 to $120,000 depending on scope. A cabinet-focused partial remodel — new doors, hardware, countertops, and backsplash without moving walls or plumbing — typically lands in the $40,000 to $65,000 range. A full gut renovation with layout changes, new cabinetry, countertops, flooring, lighting, and infrastructure upgrades runs $75,000 to $120,000 or more depending on finishes and what’s found behind the walls.
In Hewlett specifically, the infrastructure piece often adds cost that homeowners don’t anticipate. Homes built in the 1950s and 60s frequently have galvanized plumbing, undersized electrical panels, and in some cases residual moisture issues from storm damage that need to be addressed before new cabinetry goes in. A contractor who gives you a very low number without looking at any of that is either skipping those items or planning to add them back in as change orders. Get a detailed written scope before you sign anything.
Yes — if your remodel involves any electrical work, plumbing changes, or structural modifications, you need a permit from the Town of Hempstead Building Department, which has jurisdiction over unincorporated Hewlett. This includes adding circuits for new appliances, relocating a sink, or removing a wall. A cosmetic-only update — like painting cabinets or swapping out hardware — typically doesn’t require a permit, but anything touching the systems behind the walls does.
This matters more than people realize. Unpermitted work in a home sale can surface during a buyer’s inspection and either kill the deal or force a price reduction. In Hewlett’s active real estate market, where homes are selling near or above asking and buyers are paying close attention, that’s a real financial risk. We handle the permit process on your behalf — filing the application, coordinating inspections, and making sure the project is properly closed out before we leave.
A cabinet-focused remodel — where the layout stays the same and the work is primarily cosmetic and finish-level — typically takes two to four weeks once materials are on-site. A full gut renovation, which involves demo, rough plumbing and electrical, new cabinetry, countertops, flooring, and finishes, runs six to ten weeks for most Hewlett homes of standard size.
The biggest variable is what gets discovered during demo. In a home built before 1970, it’s not unusual to open a wall and find galvanized pipe that needs replacing, wiring that can’t support the new appliance load, or moisture damage that needs to be properly dried and treated before anything new goes in. We account for these possibilities in our initial assessment so the timeline we give you reflects reality — not the best-case scenario. Materials are ordered before demo begins, which eliminates the most common source of delays.
Refacing makes sense when your cabinet boxes are structurally sound and your current layout works well for how you use the kitchen. If the bones are good and you’re just tired of the look, refacing can deliver a significant visual upgrade at a fraction of the cost of full replacement. It’s a legitimate option, not a shortcut.
Replacement is the right call when the cabinet boxes are damaged — which is more common in Hewlett homes than people expect, particularly in kitchens that were repaired rather than fully renovated after Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Moisture that got into cabinet bases and wasn’t fully addressed can cause structural deterioration over time. Replacement is also the better choice when you want to change the layout: add an island, open up to the dining room, reconfigure the work triangle, or gain storage in areas the original design ignored. If you’re not sure which situation you’re in, a walkthrough with an experienced contractor will give you a clear answer.
In most cases, yes — especially in Hewlett’s current market. Median home sale prices reached approximately $668,000 as of mid-2025, up nearly 30% per square foot year-over-year. In a market that competitive, buyers are comparing your home to others that have been updated. An outdated kitchen doesn’t just fail to impress — it becomes a negotiating point. Buyers either ask for a price reduction or pass entirely.
Kitchen remodels in the Northeast return approximately 85 to 96 cents on the dollar at resale, making them one of the stronger ROI home improvement investments available to Nassau County homeowners. That doesn’t mean you should over-improve for the neighborhood — a $150,000 kitchen in a $650,000 home is likely over-built. But a well-executed renovation in the $50,000 to $90,000 range, using finishes appropriate to the Hewlett market, positions your home competitively and typically returns most of what you spent, in addition to the faster sale and stronger offer it tends to generate.
Any contractor performing home improvement work in Hewlett is required to hold a Nassau County Home Improvement Contractor License, issued by the Nassau County Department of Consumer Affairs. This is not optional — it’s a legal requirement. Ask any contractor you’re evaluating for their Nassau County license number before you go further. If they can’t provide it immediately, move on.
Beyond the license, look for a contractor who carries general liability insurance and workers’ compensation, and who will provide a Certificate of Insurance before signing a contract. In Hewlett, where the community is tight-knit and reputation travels fast — from the LIRR platform to Hewlett-Woodmere school events to conversations at local parks — a contractor’s track record in the area is one of the most reliable indicators of what your experience will look like. Ask for references from jobs completed in Hewlett or the surrounding Five Towns communities specifically, not just a general list. A contractor who has worked on homes in your neighborhood will understand the housing stock, the local permit process, and what it takes to deliver a result you’re proud of.
Local Resources
Useful Links
