What a full kitchen renovation involves
A full kitchen renovation is a sequence of trades working in a set order, not a delivery of new units dropped into a room that already has everything else in place. We start with strip-out, removing the old units, worktops, splashback tiling and appliances down to bare walls and floor, checking behind and beneath for damp, old lead pipework or wiring that predates current regulations while everything is exposed. From there we move to first-fix plumbing and electrics: rerouting or extending the hot and cold supply and waste to a new sink position, running power to new appliance locations, and installing the circuits a modern kitchen actually needs, a dedicated circuit for the oven, spurs for the hob, dishwasher, washing machine and fridge-freezer, and additional sockets above worktop level for everyday use. Once first fix is checked and, where notifiable, signed off, we board, level the floor where needed and move to cabinetry. Units go in before worktops are templated and fitted, since a worktop, particularly stone, is measured and cut to the actual installed cabinet run rather than to a drawing. Tiling or another splashback finish follows worktop fitting, then flooring, then appliances are set into their housings and connected. Coordinating this sequence properly is what stops a kitchen renovation overrunning: an electrician can't run a spur to a hob position that later moves, and a worktop template taken before cabinets are level and fixed in their final position will be wrong. We hold that order with one point of contact, agreeing socket heights, appliance positions and worktop overhangs with you before anything is fixed in place, not discovered as a problem once units are already screwed to the wall and moving them means taking the job backwards. Where the specification includes new tiling, we work to the same setting-out and substrate standards as our dedicated tiling service, since a kitchen splashback depends on the same principles, a flat, sound background and correctly planned tile lines, as any other tiled surface in the house.
What drives the cost of a kitchen renovation
Kitchen cost varies more than almost any other room in the house, because so much of the price sits in choices that look similar on a drawing but cost very differently to supply and fit. Cabinetry is the first major variable: flat-pack units, supplied in panels and assembled on site, cost meaningfully less than rigid, pre-built carcasses, but rigid units tend to hold their shape better over years of use and are usually a better specification where drawers and doors will see heavy daily use. Worktop material is the next big driver. Laminate is the most affordable option and has improved considerably in appearance, but it can't take direct heat from a hot pan and scratches more easily than harder materials. Solid wood worktops look good and can be sanded back if they mark, but need regular oiling and aren't the most practical choice around a sink unless properly sealed and maintained. Quartz and other engineered stone sit at the top of the price range, templated and cut to the installed cabinet run by a specialist fabricator, and are considerably more resistant to heat, scratching and staining than either alternative, which is why they're the most common upgrade choice where budget allows. Appliance specification adds its own range, from budget integrated appliances through to higher-end ranges, and whether appliances are supplied by us or by you affects the quote structure either way. Layout changes affect cost too: moving a sink or hob to a new position, particularly one that requires extending gas or waste runs further than the existing layout allows, costs more than fitting a new kitchen into the same footprint as the old one. Specification tiers matter beyond individual items too, a budget-tier kitchen with flat-pack units, laminate worktops and standard appliances suits a rental property or a first refurbishment on a tight budget, a mid-tier specification with rigid cabinetry and a laminate or entry-level stone worktop suits most family homes, and a higher specification with bespoke cabinetry, engineered stone and integrated higher-end appliances suits a kitchen intended to last well beyond the next decade without needing replacing again. We break quotes down by these categories, cabinetry, worktops, tiling, flooring, appliances and any plumbing or electrical changes, rather than a single lump figure, so you can see where a specification change actually moves the price, and where there's room to adjust if the budget needs to move without compromising the parts of the kitchen that matter most to daily use.
Galley kitchens, open-plan layouts and London flat constraints
London's housing stock shapes what a kitchen renovation can realistically achieve more than most people expect going in. Victorian and Edwardian terraces were typically built with a narrow galley kitchen at the rear of the house, often only just wide enough for units on both sides with a walkway between them, and getting a dishwasher, full-height fridge-freezer and enough worktop space into that footprint means planning the layout carefully rather than defaulting to a standard run of units. Corner storage solutions, slimline appliances and making full use of wall height with taller cabinets all help in a galley kitchen where floor space genuinely can't be increased without structural work. Open-plan kitchen-diners, created by knocking through the wall between the kitchen and the adjoining dining room or reception room, are one of the most requested changes we see in period conversions, and they change the kitchen brief considerably: an island or peninsula becomes possible, sightlines and ventilation matter more once the kitchen is part of a shared living space, and the extractor solution needs planning around the new open volume rather than a single enclosed room. That kind of knock-through is structural work in its own right, needing a steel beam sized by a structural engineer and Building Control sign-off, and it's planned and priced as a separate but coordinated phase of the same project rather than folded quietly into the kitchen fit-out. Flats bring a different set of constraints again. Concrete floor and ceiling construction in ex-council and purpose-built blocks limits where new pipework can be chased in, so moving a sink or dishwasher waste run sometimes means a boxed duct or a raised section of floor rather than a chase cut into a structural slab. Where a change affects shared pipework, a soil stack serving flats above or below, or anything touching the building's structure, freeholder or managing agent consent is usually needed before work starts, and that's a separate process from the renovation itself, one we'll flag clearly at survey stage so it's factored into the programme rather than discovered once units have already been ordered.
How long a kitchen renovation realistically takes
Timelines depend heavily on scope and specification. A like-for-like kitchen replacement, fitting new units, worktop and appliances into the same footprint as the old kitchen without moving plumbing or structural walls, typically takes one to two weeks once strip-out starts. Where the layout is changing, a sink or hob moving position, new tiling throughout, or flooring being replaced as well, three to four weeks is more realistic once first-fix plumbing and electrics, boarding, tiling and worktop templating are all sequenced in. Worktop lead time is one of the more common causes of a kitchen programme running longer than people expect, particularly for stone worktops, which are templated only once cabinets are fixed in their final position and then fabricated off site, typically adding one to two weeks between template and installation that the rest of the kitchen simply has to wait for. Bespoke or made-to-measure cabinetry carries its own lead time too, sometimes several weeks from order to delivery, which is worth factoring in at the design stage rather than assuming units will be available as soon as strip-out finishes. Where a kitchen renovation includes a knock-through or other structural change, the programme extends further again: steel beams need ordering and fabricating to size, and Building Control inspections happen at set stages of the structural work rather than all at once, which adds real time before the kitchen fit-out itself can even begin. We set out a realistic programme at quoting stage once we know the specification and whether structural work is involved, rather than a generic figure that doesn't reflect what your particular kitchen needs, and we'll flag early where a long-lead item like a stone worktop or bespoke cabinetry is likely to become the limiting factor on the finish date.
Gas and electrical connections: where the sign-off boundary sits
Kitchens involve more gas and electrical work than almost any other room, and it's worth being clear from the outset about who does what. Our electricians carry out the first and second fix electrical work, running new circuits, positioning sockets above worktop height, wiring extractor fans and under-cabinet lighting, and connecting appliances electrically. Kitchen electrical work is notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations, and it's tested and certified by a qualified electrician as part of the job, with that certification built into the handover pack. Gas is a different boundary. Where a hob or oven runs on gas, moving or extending the gas supply pipework and the final connection and certification of the appliance itself must be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer, not by Lian Construction directly. We coordinate this as part of the overall programme, sequencing the Gas Safe engineer's visit alongside the rest of the second-fix trades so it doesn't hold up the wider job, but the actual gas work and the certificate that confirms it's been done safely comes from that qualified third party, in the same way a structural engineer signs off calculations for a steel beam rather than us doing so ourselves. This isn't a formality we'd cut corners on even if a client asked us to, since an uncertified gas connection is a genuine safety risk and typically invalidates buildings insurance and can hold up a sale later when a buyer's solicitor asks for documentation. If your kitchen is switching from gas to an induction hob, that removes this step entirely for the hob itself, though existing gas pipework being capped off or removed still needs a Gas Safe engineer to do it properly rather than simply being left in place unused.
How kitchen renovation fits with knock-throughs and wider refurbishment work
A kitchen renovation rarely stays entirely within the kitchen's four walls. Where it includes an open-plan knock-through into a dining room or reception room, that structural element is planned and costed as its own phase, with a structural engineer's calculations, a steel beam sized and fabricated to span the new opening, and Building Control involvement running alongside the kitchen fit-out rather than as an afterthought once units are already ordered. Terraced properties bring the Party Wall Act into consideration too where the knock-through affects a wall shared with a neighbour, which needs factoring into the programme early since notice periods and, where required, a party wall award can take several weeks to resolve before structural work can start. Where a kitchen renovation is part of a wider refurbishment, a full house strip-out or an extension, we sequence the kitchen alongside the rest of the programme so first-fix plumbing and electrics happen at the same stage as the rest of the property, rather than as an isolated job that holds up decoration and second-fix work elsewhere. Tiling within a kitchen is delivered to the same standard as our dedicated tiling service, and where a client only wants a new splashback or floor tiled without a full kitchen refit, that smaller scope sits under our tiling service instead of being priced as a full renovation. We also coordinate with plasterboard repair where a wall needs opening up for new pipework or cabling and making good afterwards, and with leak repair where a kitchen renovation follows water damage that needs the affected floor or units properly assessed and, where necessary, replaced rather than fitted straight over a problem that hasn't actually been resolved. Having one team responsible for the whole sequence, from any structural opening through to the last appliance connection, avoids the common problem of a kitchen fitter being booked before a knock-through has even been signed off by Building Control.