Guides4Homeowners Useful Information & Guides
In the market for a brand new kitchen? It’s one of the focal points of your home & can help increase the value significantly if the space is used well. That being said however, it’s also quite a costly thing to buy and get fitted. Kitchens can be extremely expensive & range wildly depending on a variety of different factors including quality, amount of units and size of your kitchen, to name but a few. In this guide we are going to navigate the difficult world of getting a new kitchen.
How much does a new kitchen cost?
I mean that’s the question you want answered. It’s not exactly straight forward though. A kitchen with fitting can range anywhere between £8,000 for a small kitchen & £15,000 for a large kitchen with all the sparkling extras and top of the range appliances. If you are looking to do the installation yourself then you can reduce the price down by around £3,000 – £4,000.
Set yourself a budget & stick to it
Kitchen prices can get wildly out of hand. You can get carried away or overwhelmed by the sheer amount of things you need to think of, I have a rather small kitchen yet there where over 200 items with a 4-5 sheet invoice when it came time to replace mine.
The best thing to do before you talk to anyone about getting a new kitchen is have a figure in mind of what you are willing to spend & stick to it. That way you can often negotiate the price down & reduce any extras that get provided as the “full fledged” quote you initially see.
What to consider & keeping costs down
As mentioned previously, there is a LOT to consider when you are getting a kitchen fitted. Lets dive right into some of the factors:
Removing your old kitchen
Often companies that are looking to fit your kitchen will charge you for removing your existing one, and it can be quite expensive to get this done. If you can I would highly recommend removing the kitchen yourself to save a bit of extra money, it can also be quite fun because it’s essentially just destroying units!
The thing you need to consider is the disposal, if you are getting rid of appliances you may want to contact a scrappy in order to get rid of these free of charge, everything else you should be able to take to a tip as it’s predominately wood.
The cost of units & worktop
This is where your price can vary massively. There are all different quality of kitchens in which you can see by going through various different show rooms, prices range considerably. Depending on the amount of units & the quality you could expect to pay anything between £2,500 for the basic level, anything higher than that would obviously cost more, it’s hard to really say exactly what the cost range is because the highest quality kitchen can range to extremely costly lengths.
Worktops are often the bulk of the price, so it’s worth searching around for these specifically to keep costs down!
Any little fancy extras, they add up!
There’s a lot you can get in your kitchen now-a-days, from carousels to fancy shelves. These are great but they are often priced quite high and can add a decent amount to the overall kitchen. We paid approximately £100 for a rotating carousel for our corner unit, it probably wasn’t necessary if I was looking to cut costs to a minimum, so keep that in mind!
Electrics, Plumbing & Plastering
Another thing to consider is the costs of all the trades that you may need to involve. If you are getting a dishwasher having previously never had one or had one in a different place, you may need to get a plumber in.
If you are looking to add more sockets or are going for an electric oven, again you may need to call an electrician.
Another thing to be mindful of is if you are ripping out a kitchen it has probably been there for a significant period of time, units can hide issues with plaster really well, that’s not to say that you can’t just cover it again. The one to watch is if you’re removing wall tiles from your previous kitchen, chances are they are going to take some plaster with them!
Appliances
Compare compare compare. Appliances range in price considerably and can be quite costly, especially if you need the whole lot, oven, dishwasher, fridge, the works. Keeping that in mind, the place you get to plan your kitchen will likely have options to offer you, but you don’t have to go with these and they tend to be more expensive than you can get elsewhere, so be savy & save!
The flooring
You have several flooring options. If you are looking to keep the price low, go for something like laminate or vinyl as these are usually the most cost effective, some of the modern options are also pretty good. If you’re looking for a better finish then you may want to go for something like tiled or wood, which can usually be a bit more expensive & you’ll likely need to get someone to fit it for you. Not to mention if you want to get underfloor heating, which can be as much as £75 per m2.
Kitchen Fitting Costs & Options
When your looking at getting your kitchen fitted you typically have 3 different options, DIY, local fitter & national fitter. Here’s a breakdown about each of these:
DIY
This is obviously the cheapest option & can mean you save a few thousand on the cost of installation. Installing a kitchen is hard work though, there’s a lot that can and does go wrong, it’s not straight forward so beware! That being said, it may be worth it if you are experienced in the world of DIY, however you still may need to get a few tradesmen involved along the way, so factor this in.
Local Fitter
A local fitter will likely be your cheapest professional option, it’s easy enough to get quotes & compare all your options. Always ask for a portfolio or examples of past work so you can ensure that they are up to the standard that you expect. You also have a lot more room to negotiate with local fitters, for example they will be happy for you to keep the costs down by ripping the kitchen out yourself & doing things like the painting and decorating.
National Fitter
The national fitters are the easiest option, they’ll take care of literally everything for you and you don’t have to worry. There is however of course a premium that comes with this and through my experience of gathering quotes for my small kitchen it varied in installation price from £2,500 – £5,000 depending where I went, I also noticed that it didn’t account for any of the previous issues I’d mentioned such as electrics, plumbing and plastering, so that’s something to be aware of!
Get a quote on a kitchen
Interested in finding out more? Then use our free online quote tool to find out how much a new kitchen may cost you. Fill in the details below and we will provide you with quotes from local tradesmen and companies:
