How Much it Costs to Get a Kitchen Fitted

Planning on upgrading your kitchen in the near future? Then you may be asking yourself how much kitchen fitters charge.

As you might imagine, there is no straightforward answer. That’s because it depends on where you live, what type of kitchen you are having fitted and, of course, the size of your kitchen.

In this guide, we will give you average labour costs per hour for certain kitchen fitting jobs, as well as daily kitchen fitter rates overall. That should certainly help give you a very good starting point for working out roughly how much kitchen fitters charge. That, in turn, will help you calculate the cost of your entire kitchen refurbishment or new installation.

First though, it’s worth noting that your kitchen fitter typically won’t do the electrical or plumbing work themselves, they’ll probably subcontract that work to another tradesman. This may be in your kitchen fitters’ overall quote for the work, or the individual tradespeople may charge separately.

But back to the question of how much kitchen fitters charge. If you want to pinpoint a figure then a typical cost for fitting a new kitchen can come in at around £6,000.

A lower installation may be as little as £1500 while a higher-spec kitchen fitting can be around £14,000.

Kitchen Installation Costs

Giving a more accurate reading, size-wise, your average kitchen here in the UK measures around 14 square metres. The installation cost alone for this is around £3,500.

So, the first thing you have to do to find out your overall kitchen installation cost is to measure the kitchen. After you’ve done that you can get going on the good bit ie choosing your units, worktops, new sink, lighting etc. Then you can work out more accurate installation costs for these individual items (and which we have listed below in this guide.

Kitchen Fitter Rates – Labour Only

Kitchen fitters charge differently depending on where in the UK they are based. For instance, you will pay more for a kitchen fitter in London than you would in Northumbria or Scotland. That’s because costs in general are higher the further south you head.

So, budget for anything from £200 to £240 for an eight-hour day (this works out at around £35 an hour). Then you will probably have to add in extra for an electrician, plumber, tiler etc.

It’s worth getting three quotes from kitchen fitters. That way you can get a better idea of what seems rather over-priced, and what you’ll get for your money. Make sure those quotes are in writing so you can see exactly what you are getting for your money. Ask them to break it down to individual jobs eg tiling, plumbing etc if it’s too vague.

It’s not unreasonable to ask for examples of previous work either. Do they have past clients you can visit to see how they build their kitchen renovation? Or that you can at least look at via images or video? Most kitchen fitters should be able to supply this kind of thing these days.

Kitchen Removal Costs

If you plan on getting a completely new kitchen then you are probably looking at hiring a skip to get rid of the old units, worktops and other associated waste. This in itself can prove costly (around £90 a day). Then there is the time involved in dismantling your old kitchen (typically around two hours) and which will be added to the labour costs.

9 Kitchen Costs to Consider

1. Units

The cost of installing kitchen units works out at roughly £40–£55 per cabinet. That can be accomplished in anything from one to three hours, depending on the size and complexity of the kitchen. For instance, in an upmarket kitchen you may also require ‘housing’ for a fridge freezer, washing machine and other appliances.

The kitchen units themselves can vary hugely in cost, depending on their size, material and design. Plain cupboard doors for a slim galley kitchen can come in at around £1,000, while Shaker cabinets for a large kitchen may be as much as £7,000.

2. Worktops

Expect to pay anything from £200 to £470 for your worktops to be laid. Again, the cost of this job is dependent on the size of the kitchen.

But, this time the material the worktops comprise of plays a large part in the cost too. That’s because a material such as marble is expensive and heavy and can take far longer to get into place than a wooden or composite worktop. The complexity of the job will also affect the price. The work should take anywhere from one to two days.

There is a huge variation in price when it comes to worktops again, based on the materials used.

Basic worktops produced from laminate can cost around £400 to £600 (or around £35 and £60 per square metre). Marble, granite and quartz worktops, on the other hand, can set you back thousands of pounds

3. Sink

Expect to pay around £100 for your sink fitting and anything from £170 to £220 for the plumbing, such as changing the taps etc. In total, this should take from two to four hours. Again, this depends on whether your sink is large or stainless steel.

You may also opt for an expensive and more complicated mixer or spray taps with a special finish. Boiling water taps are also popular these days.

A stainless-steel sink comes in at around £50 whereas a high-end sink made from ceramic or even composite materials will set you back around £300.

For a basic kitchen mixer taps you’ll pay £20. For a high-end designer version, you can pay as much as £200. Pull-out spray taps cost from £100.

4. Plastering

A plastering job on your kitchen (often this involves skimming areas where units etc have been removed), can cost up to £60 per square metre. This can take as little as six hours, up to three days if there’s a lot to skim.

5. Tiling

It’s not unusual for a tiler to charge around £65 per square metre of tiling. Ceramic tiles will be slightly cheaper at around £20 to £40 per square metre. Porcelain tiles may be £25 to £50 for the same amount of coverage.

6. Flooring

When it comes to flooring it’s typical to pay from £130–£165 per square metre for fitting. Again, this is dependent on the material involved. Expect this part of the job to last from five hours up to two days.

It’s not unusual to pay from £50 to £90 for kitchen flooring, whether that’s laminate or good-quality vinyl tiling.

7. Heating

Heating, too, tends to be measured in terms of metres so budget for from £130–£165 per square metre. Typically, this can take anything from five hours up to two days, depending on the size of the floor involved.

Radiators cost anything from £50 for a basic model and £400 for mid-range, all the way up to £1500 for a designer version.

8. Lighting

Expect to pay around £140 to have a ceiling light installed by a qualified electrician. This should take from one to three hours. It may be though, that you also want under-cabinet lighting (or even under-island lighting). In which case your electrician will be around for a bit longer.

Downlighters come in at around £10 to £15 each, with a central lighting appliance costing from £50 to £100 depending on how large and elaborate you want it to be. For under-cabinet lighting expect to pay around £270 for an electrician to install four lights.

9. Installing an Extractor Fan

Most kitchens these days require an electric fan to remove smells. To have one installed expect to pay around £200 and for it to take from two to four hours.

Expect to pay anything from £20 to £50 for the fan itself.

Reasons to Use a Kitchen Fitter

Kitchens are expensive – the cost of units and worktops alone tend to run into the thousands of pounds league. So, it makes sense to have a professional to fit them ie someone who knows what they’re doing and will allow these expensive items to ‘shine’ in your kitchen.

If you use a kitchen fitter and other tradespeople to install everything then it tends to be less expensive than getting the company you bought the units etc from to fit it. It also means you have more control over what exactly is happening with your kitchen refurbishment. That’s not only in terms of time management but also over what appliances you like.

Just make sure you have everything ready and on hand (ie you have the units, worktops etc) so that your kitchen fitter can plough on with the job. The last thing you want is for your new kitchen installation to be delayed because you’ve forgotten to order the taps etc in time.

What You Should Get

You can reasonably expect a kitchen fitter to rip out your old kitchen and arrange for a skip to be delivered so that the material can be dumped or recycled. Your kitchen fitter will then build and fit your kitchen cabinets and any housing for major appliances required.

He or she will fit the worktops and build in the sink and taps (but not necessarily connect them – that’s a plumber’s task). If they have the skills, your kitchen fitter may even plaster the walls or tile on the backsplashes too. Some may even fit floor tiles.

It’s not unheard of for a kitchen fitter to lift a paintbrush either and do a little decorating (although this is often in addition to the fitting costs).

How Long It Takes

Again, you have to look at the size of the kitchen in question, complexity and materials used to determine the time it takes a fitter to complete his or her task. It also depends on whether or not all the materials have arrived on time.

Typically, though, you can expect your new kitchen installation to be fitted and ready in 10 days up to a fortnight.

Kitchen Fitting Costs – Determining Factors

As we have mentioned previously in certain sections of this guide ‘How much do kitchen fitters charge?’ there are a number of factors affecting price.

The size of the kitchen installation to be fitted is probably the biggest issue to sway the price. But, the type of materials used is also very important for your calculation.

Not surprisingly, the design of the kitchen installation matters, as does the surface area of the walls to be tiled and any flooring to be fitted. Any plastering and refinishing work needs to be taken into account too – regardless of how small. Then there is the cost of getting in a Gas Safe engineer to make sure the cooker is attached properly. Not only will this involve checking but also issuing of a safety certificate. If the plumbing is particularly complicated that will also add to the cost.

You will obviously get a less expensive quote for your kitchen installation cost if you can do some of the work yourself such as removing and disposing of the old kitchen cabinets.

Doing it Yourself

Installing your own kitchen definitely isn’t recommended (unless you know exactly what you are doing and are prepared to put in a lot of effort and time). Always use a professional for a kitchen installation. It’s not only safer that way, but also easier and far more reassuring for you and your family.

If you are buying the kitchen yourself then always shop around and look out for upcoming sales to get the best price. Make sure you check on delivery that what has arrived is exactly what you ordered. Otherwise, you can expect delays in using your brand-new kitchen.

We hope the above has helped with your overall kitchen calculations when it comes to answering your question ‘How much do kitchen fitters charge?