The day by day plan
This is a typical ten day programme for a standard family kitchen with a quartz worktop.
- Days 1 to 2, strip out, waste removal and first look at the walls and floor
- Days 2 to 3, first fix plumbing and electrics, plastering and making good
- Days 4 to 5, floor preparation and levelling, then units assembled and set to a laser datum
- Day 6, worktop templating, which needs the carcasses final and fixed
- Days 7 to 9, flooring, splashback tiling and decoration while the worktop is manufactured
- Day 10 or 11, worktop fitted, sink and appliances connected, tested and handed over
How long you are without a sink and cooker
Expect no kitchen sink from day one until the worktop goes in, so five to nine days in most cases. We normally set up a temporary tap in a utility or a garden supply, and we leave the fridge and a socket live so a kettle and a microwave still work.
If being without a sink is genuinely impossible, a laminate worktop removes the templating wait entirely and can be fitted the same week.
What makes a kitchen take longer
Stone worktops need seven to ten days between templating and fitting, which is the most common reason a job spans two weeks rather than one. Structural work, a boiler move, or a late change to the door colour add time on top.
- Stone worktop manufacture, seven to ten days
- Removing a wall, two to four extra days including making good
- Moving a boiler, one to two days plus a separate visit
- Late design changes, which usually restart a supplier lead time
How we keep to the programme
Everything is delivered and checked before the strip out starts, so a missing door front is found before the room is unusable rather than on the day it is needed. You get the written day by day plan at the start, and we tell you the same day if anything slips.
Common questions
- How long does a small kitchen take to fit?
- A six to nine unit galley kitchen with a laminate worktop is usually five to seven working days from strip out to handover.
- Why can the worktop not be measured in advance?
- Stone is templated against the fitted carcasses because a few millimetres of difference between the plan and the real room would leave visible gaps. Templating from drawings is the main cause of poor worktop fits.
- Can we live in the house while the kitchen is fitted?
- Yes, and most clients do. We set up a temporary kettle and fridge point, seal the work area and clear a protected route through the house each evening.
- Do you work weekends to finish sooner?
- Occasionally, by agreement, though it rarely shortens the job because supplier and worktop lead times are the real constraint rather than days on site.
- When can I start using the new kitchen?
- On handover day. Appliances are connected and tested before we leave, though silicone around the sink and worktop joints needs 24 hours before heavy use.