Kitchens
Planning a kitchen installation without losing six weeks
6 July 2026 · 5 min read
The order of works that keeps a kitchen fit tight, and the three decisions that cause almost every delay we see.
A kitchen fit is a sequencing problem more than a building problem. Strip-out, then first-fix plumbing and electrics, then plaster and floor, then units, then worktop template, then worktop fit, then splashback and appliances. Move one of those out of order and you add days, not hours.
The biggest single delay is worktop templating. Stone and solid surface tops cannot be templated until the units are level and fixed, and then there is a lead time before the tops arrive. Plan for that gap. It is normal, and a good contractor will use it to get tiling prep, flooring and decoration done.
The second delay is appliance decisions. Integrated versus freestanding changes the cabinetry. Induction versus gas changes the electrics, often a dedicated circuit. Choose appliances before the units are ordered, not after they arrive.
The third is the thing nobody enjoys hearing: old houses are not square. Wall bows, floors fall away, and the difference gets absorbed in scribes, fillers and packing. Allow for a day of levelling and setting out. It is the difference between doors that line up and doors that nearly line up.
Do those three things well and a typical kitchen runs in one to two weeks on site, plus the worktop lead time. Get them wrong and it stretches to six.
Talk it through
Planning something similar? Send over a couple of photos and we will tell you what we would do and what it is likely to cost.