Kitchen Refurbishment Specialists

When refurbishing a kitchen you will need to consider that this is a job that is not possible for the DIY enthusiast, as a minimum you will need an ECA or NICEIC Qualified Electrician, plus a Gas Safe Registered Plumber, the bulk of the rest of the work can be done DIY, but unless you are very confident in your skills, you will probably need a carpenter, tiler and decorator (or perhaps a general builder). No matter how good your DIY skills may be, you should not touch electrical or gas related jobs unless qualified or registered to do so. When planning a kitchen refurbishment you should first decide on the new kitchen lay-out, then decide how much if any of the work you can do yourself, contact local contractors to obtain rates and time estimates, decide on the kitchen you want to buy, calculate the tiles and materials you will need, and finally calculate the total cost.

Calculating the total cost is simply a case of adding labour costs and materials costs (remembering to add on VAT if applicable). If this is your first project, make sure to gather quotes from at least 3 contractors of each trade to ensure you get a good price. The kitchen units, worktop & appliances, can be bought from a number of suppliers and you can of course make use of their in-house design service. Remembering to consider both price and build quality, the lowest price is not always the best deal.

Kitchen Refurbishment Guide

If you've decided to have your kitchen refurbished, whether doing a lot of the work yourself or leaving it to a professional kitchen contractor and designer, there is still some preparation you need to do to ensure everything runs smoothly. First of all pack all your dishes and cookware, a spare bedroom is often the best place but lofts and cellars are good too. You don't even have to pack them in boxes, if you have enough room you can simply lay the dishes out on the floor or on beds. You should probably start packing kitchen items one week before the refurbishing project begins, don't leave everything to the night before the project starts! if you are not having a new kitchen floor installed, you also need to think about protecting the existing floor.

If you have tile or hardwood floors, use some carpet scraps and lay them over the kitchen floor using duct tape so that they won't slide. It doesn't matter what these carpet scraps look like, they are purely to protect your flooring. Move anything of value around the kitchen to a safe place where no-one can see, many forget items on the kitchen window or on the window ledge, so remember to move them as well. You want to avoid anything getting misplaced or broken while your kitchen is being re-furbished. In addition, if everything is moved out of the way, contractors to have an easy place to work without worrying about tiptoeing around valuable items.

How Much Does Kitchen Refurbishment Cost?

Cupboards & carcases fitting usually costs around £40 per unit, but a custom made cupboard carcase will be around £200 per unit. Worktop & counter installation per straight run typically costs £25 per length plus £25 per cut-out for sinks or hobs. Plumber's labour charges for sinks fitted & plumbed in starts at around £85, washing machines fitted & plumbed in costs about £50 (£65 for integrated washing machines), whereas gas appliance installation costs around £85 per appliance. Typical electrician's labour cost for the installation of kitchen fixtures, fittings and electrical equipment are £40 each for power points off an existing ring main, replacement socket face plates at £10 each, under wall unit strip lights at around £30 each and Part 'P' electrical certificate costs around £80.

Removal of old kitchen units, appliances and rubbish disposal typically costs around £300. Average costs for a complete kitchen refurbishment or makeover is around £6000. To get an exact quote for any kitchen refurbishment work, please use the "post your job" button on this page to gather quotes from local kitchen companies and tradesman free of charge.