Kitchen installations: have you considered everything?

After reading some of these stories on here I’m glad I can do all that’s involved in kitchen fitting myself. But one problem is getting hold of the right stuff which is not always so easily available, like end trims for 28mm worktops in white. It looks like they’re only available in almost any other finish but not white, although I have seen them in white for the thicker 38mm worktops, but never in the 28mm size. And I’ve fitted lots of kitchens in the past, including the plumbing and wiring etc. and extraction ducting too. And I replaced all my old lead plumbing with copper when I moved in in the 80’s and I fitted a fresh bathroom suite, and I’ve fitted some elsewhere too. And you have to be careful with things like mixer taps as some of them can cross contaminate the water so they need non return valves fitting in their feed pipes. And I’ve fitted misophonia friendly hinges on my kitchen units now which prevent the doors from slamming as they have little hydraulic dampers fitted which slow them down as they close. But I don’t do kitchen fitting anymore as I can’t lift the heavy units and worktops anymore due to various problems. But I have upgraded my own units and made them stronger as well as quieter.

Having gone through the “new kitchen” experience about three years ago, my general advice would be as follows:

1) Plan the space, the ideal workflow and the general layout of the kitchen.

Decide how you want to use the kitchen. Do you want a separate dining area? A separate utility room for laundry, dirty dogs and general household cleaning (what used to be called a scullery)?

In our case, this resulted in the dining room being integrated with the kitchen, and the existing utility room relocated, with the space again allocated to the new kitchen/diner. I know not everyone has that much floor area to play with and, because of the construction of our house, no structural walls needed to be harmed in the process.

But consider it now, even if you reject making any changes as too difficult or costly. In our case, the only refurbishment was to overboard, tape and joint the ceiling to hide the old Artex seams, and cut away, strengthen and rebuild the pocket door opening (below). Probably, £300 in materials plus numerous trips to the dump to dispose of the old internal partitions. Note if you do this as a DIY project, disposal is free – if a tradesman does it, he needs to charge and should in turn be charged for the disposal of trade waste.

2) Consider the doorways.

In our case, the redundant door to the kitchen could be closed off, as access is now by the double doors to the dining area. The doorway to the new utility is now a pocket (sliding) door. This saves space and means access to an extra tall cupboard is not blocked by an open door.

3) Do the constructional changes.

Ideally, everything can work around the existing kitchen so that this can proceed unhurriedly, particularly if you are doing any of the work yourself or with the help of a general builder.

Interestingly, John Lewis will not measure and quote until any structural changes are made.

4) Invite your kitchen planners in or go armed with accurate drawings of your new space.

Don’t get side-tracked into choosing doors, handles, countertops and appliances at this stage. Unless it is a totally bespoke kitchen, all factory-made kitchens use exactly the same carcass (cupboard) sizes. You can plan the layout and worry about whether you can afford solid limed-oak or MDF doors later. Planners will want to up-sell the more profitable premium products at the earliest opportunity and you may end up with less storage space as a result, to “fit” in with your budget rather than the space you have available.

5) Review the quotes.

Rather than be locked into choosing specific appliances at this stage, ask the supplier what discount they will offer on each of the brands they supply. Reserve the right to buy them elsewhere, if they can be found substantially cheaper. If the supplier is not willing discount, price match or allow self-supply, then walk away.

Be clear exactly how long the price quoted is valid for. Unless a manufacturer’s price rise is imminent, there is no reason for fall for the “50% off, but only until Friday” line.

Part 2 to follow …

… Part 2

6) Choose your kitchen supplier.

Now is the time to ensure the carcasses, doors, countertops and appliances are up to scratch as far as price/quality and your preferences and tastes. Can the supplier deliver and do what is required within an acceptable timeframe?

Is removal and disposal of the old kitchen units and appliances included? You can save quite a bit if you are prepared to strip old units and make good damaged walls, skirting boards and decorations. You also have the option to recover a bit of the cost by selling your old kitchen and appliances through eBay.

7) Make sure all the required trades and fixtures are as expected and be clear what is and what is not included.

Electrical work, flooring, tiling and painting are often not included or can be expensive extras if done by the main kitchen supplier. Even more so if they come as afterthoughts once the job has started. I was once charged £50 extra, to have the on-site contracted electrician fit an additional downlighter (I had supplied) in a new bathroom. It probably took him 15 minutes. As it was already work-in-progress, I had little option but to pay up when the final bill came through.

Yet with the help of my general builder/handyman, we fitted LED 20 downlighters in the re-boarded kitchen ceiling within a day. We also did all the re-cabling required as a result of removing partition walls, moving the oven to the opposite side and adding an additional 45 Amp circuit for the induction hob. I wired in all the new appliances as they were delivered.

I then employed a qualified electrician just to replace the old consumer unit and add in the new kitchen circuits. As part of this work, he has to re-test each circuit (old and new), so all the work I did myself is also covered by Part P Building Regs and I have the certificate to prove it. It cost about £400 for the upgraded CU and his labour.

I certainly don’t recommend you do your own electrical work or other DIY if you don’t have experience – except maybe painting the walls. I am a competent electrician, just not registered or have all the necessary test equipment for Part P self-certification. But I give it as an example of how you can save quite a bit of money by subcontracting some of the work to others and/or yourself.

Get any heating sorted out well in advance – ideally at stage 3) above. Do you need to move or resize a radiator? Would a plinth heater provide more space for cupboards?

8) Take time to go through each and every item on the inventory methodically and check the specifications and options, again and again.

This was the time we sat down with manufacturers’ catalogues and upgraded our thinking (and budget) in line with modern technologies. It’s one of those now or never opportunities, so don’t waste it for lack of time and careful planning.

Add carousels to make better use of the corner units? What about a pull-out larder? Do the drawers have enough cutlery dividers? Large bins for separate recycling, compost and refuse?

Sink and taps? Definitely do not leave this to the kitchen designer, as the price and quality varies enormously. Swan neck or “L”? Do you need a spray? Single or double bowl? Draining board(s)? Left or right handed? Is there enough room to fill the kettle under the tap without dipping into the sink?

What about a small under-sink immersion heater? If, like our house, the distance from the main hot water tank to the kitchen sink is 10 metres or more, you waste more than 2 litres of “hot” water running the tap from cold.

Is the fridge big enough? Do we want need a freezer compartment or a bigger larder fridge?

Change from a halogen to an induction hob? Great improvement – much faster and safer. No chance of a discarded tea towel catching fire. The only downside was changing my lovely but incompatible saucepans – which I sold on eBay for £150.

Is the extractor fan vented (good) or recirculating (expensive to run and ineffective)? Is it compatible with any heat recovery system you might have installed?

Pyrolytic – self cleaning oven? Fantastic! No arguments about whose turn it is to don the rubber gloves and spread caustic chemicals around.

Integrated microwave? Expensive, but one less appliance to shift around the countertop and collect dirt.

Corian counter tops? Eye-wateringly expensive, but no more than 20% of the total kitchen cost and paid for by opting for vinyl-wrapped MDF, rather than real wood painted doors – which nobody notices and will save maintenance in the long run.

The choice of countertop material caused the most debate and discussion over whether to go for laminate, wood, granite, marble, etc. But the result is an amazing, totally seamless, six metres of continuous worktop and hob splash-back. Literally nowhere for grease and dirt to build up or water to leak. Plus the countertops are made to custom templates in non-standard widths, allowing for a service void behind the base units, uneven walls (our fitter used a laser to align the cupboards) and giving us more work surface.

Even the Corian sink is integrated with drainage grooves and a drip lip on the counter top – again absolutely no seams or joints anywhere for water to seep into. We have yet to break a plate or glass – they seem to bounce. In fact, we like the material so much, we bought a Corian-faced dining table. No need for placemats and coasters or regular polishing and totally hygienic.

Integrated USB charging points in electrical sockets?

Will under cupboard LED lighting work correctly with your existing dimmer switches?

I even added a couple of rechargeable battery-backed emergency packs to the new ceiling downlighters, which means an unexpected power cut no longer plunges the kitchen into total and potentially dangerous darkness. Because LEDs draw so little power, these emergency backup supplies are now ridiculously cheap (£30 each), but I’ve yet to hear of one being suggested for a domestic dwelling refurb.

It is also an ideal time to look at your smoke alarms and upgrade to a linked system. They need changing every 10 years, irrespective of whether the test button “works”.

9) Get an independent professional to go over your ideas.

We spent £50 on a pre-order review from a good interior designer. She recommended we change the doors from ivory to white and use a wall paint colour to tone down the overall effect instead, as it would be more future-proof to changing fashions and better choice for resale. So also suggested a stainless steel chimney extractor over the hob as a feature, rather than the boring but practical integrated extractor we had chosen. At the same time she recommended fabrics for blinds and curtains to go with the kitchen, paint and flooring, so we were ready to make those soft-furnishing decisions once the fitters completed their work.

10) Sign the order.

Your final chance to negotiate on price and any extras.

With all that advanced preparation and planning, you should now be able to relax and know you are getting a good deal. In our case, we are delighted with our kitchen, which is now three years old.