Planning a new fitted kitchen

Fitting a kitchen is mostly a matter of order. The electrics, plumbing and extraction go in while the walls are bare, the ceiling and walls are easiest to decorate before the wall units go up, the worktops are cut once the base units are level, and the splashback is tiled last, down onto the finished worktop. Get the sequence right and each trade can work without undoing the last one.

This planner follows the usual order for a full kitchen with new units, laminate or solid worktops, a tiled or laminate floor and a tiled splashback. Rules on electrical and gas work differ between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, so check with your council's building control if you are unsure.

Step 1: Measure the room and plan the layout

Draw the room to scale with the windows, doors, radiator, soil pipe, gas meter and the position of the hob. Plan the units along each wall and leave room for the oven, dishwasher and fridge doors to open at the same time.

The layout also sets the worktop. For an L-shaped kitchen with runs of 3,600 mm and 2,400 mm, 600 mm deep with a mitred corner, 3 m worktops come to 3 boards and 2 joints: the corner, plus a straight join because the 3,600 mm run is longer than one board. In 4.1 m lengths it is 2 boards and 1 joint, the corner only.

Step 2: First fix: electrics, plumbing and extraction

With the old kitchen out, the cables, sockets, pipes and the extractor duct go in before any plastering. Adding a new circuit, for example for an electric oven or hob, is notifiable work under Part P in England, so use an electrician registered with a competent person scheme, who will certify it. Any work on the gas supply or a gas hob must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

Plan the extraction now as well. Approved Document F asks for an intermittent extract rate of 30 litres a second (108 m³/h) for a cooker hood over the hob, or 60 litres a second (216 m³/h) for an extract fan elsewhere in the kitchen. Route the duct to an outside wall before the wall units are hung.

Step 3: Make good the walls and lay the floor

Patch or re-board the walls where the old units and the first fix left damage, and let the plaster dry before decorating. Then decide the floor. Tiles laid right through, under the units, cost more but keep the appliance spaces at the right height and make a future change of layout easy. Laminate and other floating floors are laid after the units, up to the plinths, so that the units do not pin them down.

A 4 × 3 m kitchen floor in 600 × 600 mm porcelain with 10% extra takes about 37 tiles, with 3 bags of adhesive and 2.3 kg of grout. Large tiles need a flat floor, and a timber floor needs to be stiff and overboarded before it is tiled.

Step 4: Decorate before the units go in

Mist-coat new plaster, then paint the ceiling and the walls while the room is empty. It is much quicker than cutting in round wall units, and nobody sees the wall behind them. A kitchen or bathroom emulsion copes better with steam and grease than a standard matt. Keep a tin back for touch-ups once the splashback and the units are in.

Step 5: Fit the units, then the worktops

Base units go in first, levelled on their legs and fixed to the wall, because the worktop sits on them and any slope shows along the edge. Wall units hang from a level line. Laminate and solid wood worktops are cut on site once the base units are fixed: the corners are mitred with a router jig or butt-jointed, the cut edges are sealed, and the sink and hob cut-outs are made to the manufacturer's template. Stone and quartz tops are templated by the fabricator once the base units are in, then cut and fitted some days later.

Step 6: Tile the splashback onto the finished worktop

The splashback goes up after the worktop is fitted, so the bottom row sits on the finished surface. Leave a small gap above the worktop and seal it with silicone rather than grout, since the worktop and the wall move differently. Plan the layout from the centre of the hob or the sink so that the cut tiles fall at the ends.

For the L-shaped kitchen above (6 m of worktop) with tiles 600 mm up to the wall units, 200 × 100 mm metro tiles come to about 190 tiles, with 1 bag of adhesive and 3.1 kg of grout. Behind the hob, check the hob maker's clearance and whether a glass or steel splashback is needed there instead.

Step 7: Plinths, skirting and appliances

Fit the plinths, the end panels and any cornice or pelmet, then the skirting on the walls that are not behind units. Connect the appliances, have the electrics tested and certified, and the gas hob connected and checked by a Gas Safe engineer before the kitchen is used.

Before you start

• A registered electrician for new circuits (Part P in England) and a Gas Safe engineer for any gas work.
• The appliance specifications (sizes, cut-outs, power and ducting) before the units are ordered.
• Whether the floor goes under the units or up to the plinths, and the finished height at the dishwasher space.
• Worktop lengths that suit the runs, and where any straight joins will fall.
• A temporary kitchen, and a skip or a plan for the old units.

Mistakes that cost people money

• Hanging the wall units before the extractor duct is run.
• Cutting the worktops before the base units are level and fixed.
• Tiling the splashback before the worktop is fitted.
• Grouting the joint between the worktop and the tiles instead of sealing it with silicone.
• A straight worktop join next to the sink, where water gets into the core.

Frequently asked questions