Kitchen Fitting Cost: UK Day Rates and Prices per Unit

Kitchen fitting cost in the UK

Checkatrade’s kitchen fitting cost guide puts the cost of fitting an average-sized family kitchen at £3,500, within a range of £2,000 to £6,000.

Job	Priced	Range	Average
Fit an average-sized family kitchen	Per job	£2,000 to £6,000	£3,500
Kitchen worktop fitting	Per job	£300 to £1,000	£500
Kitchen fitter	Per day	£250 to £350	£300
Skip hire for kitchen removal	Per week	£200 to £250	£225

Checkatrade’s guide says a kitchen fitting quote can be expected to include fitting the worktops, so the worktop row is the price for that job on its own. Heavier worktop materials such as marble take longer to fit than wood or composite.

Kitchen fitting cost by size and per unit

Checkatrade’s fitting cost guide also prices a fit by the size of the kitchen, counting the cabinets and appliances in each.

Kitchen size	Cabinets	Appliances	Cost to fit
Small	8	3	£2,000
Medium	12	3	£3,500
Large	16	3	£5,000

Installing kitchen units typically costs £120 per unit or cabinet on Checkatrade’s figures. The size prices cover the whole fit, so each comes to more than the unit price times the number of cabinets.

Checkatrade’s new kitchen cost guide gives kitchen installation its own row, at £3,000 on average, from £2,200 for a small kitchen to £4,600 for a large one. The text of the same new kitchen guide puts the UK average paid for fitting at around £3,500, not including the kitchen itself.

Kitchen fitter cost per day and per hour

A kitchen fitter charges £250 to £350 a day, £300 on average, or £37 an hour, on Checkatrade’s figures. Multi-skilled fitters who also do the electrics and plumbing charge a higher day rate.

Fitting a kitchen takes 10 days on average, or 2 full weeks, depending on its size and scope, on Checkatrade’s fitting cost guide.

What a kitchen fitting quote includes

A kitchen fitter provides a dry fit, building and fitting the units and all the kitchen furniture, including the sink, taps, appliances and fittings, Checkatrade’s fitting cost guide says. Kitchen fitters will not connect the appliances to the mains supplies or set them up for use.

A fitting quote can be expected to include removing the existing kitchen, fitting the units and worktops, and installing the sink, taps and appliances, with painting, plastering and tiling included if you ask for them. Ask for an itemised quote, so each job has its own price.

You provide the designs, units, worktops, tiles, appliances, fixtures and fittings, and the fitting price includes the fitter’s transport and tools, on Checkatrade’s guide.

Other costs when fitting a kitchen

Besides a kitchen fitter, a new kitchen usually needs a plumber, an electrician, a Gas Safe registered engineer, a plasterer and a painter and decorator, Checkatrade’s new kitchen cost guide says. The budget checklist in Checkatrade’s fitting cost guide also lists gas appliance connection, the extractor fan and heating.

Sinks, taps and ovens

Checkatrade’s fitting cost guide gives these prices for the sink, taps and oven.

Job	Cost
Sink installation	£100 to £300
Installing a pull-out spray tap	Around £100
Like-for-like oven replacement	Around £150

If the new oven runs on a different fuel from the old one, the change may need an electrician or a Gas Safe engineer, the same guide says.

Plastering, decorating, tiling, plumbing and lighting

Checkatrade’s fitting cost guide gives these prices for the other trades, with underfloor heating covering materials and labour in a renovation.

Job	Cost
Plastering a small room	Around £1,100
Skimming a wall	Around £24 per m²
Decorator	Around £325 a day
Tiling labour	Around £300 a day
Plumber	Around £50 an hour
Replacing a large radiator	Around £300
Wet underfloor heating	£95 to £110 per m²
Electric underfloor heating	£60 to £85 per m²

New lighting and tiling between the worktop and cupboards are separate jobs, each with its own price on Checkatrade’s figures.

What makes kitchen fitting cost more or less

The price of a fit depends on the size and specification of the kitchen, the number of units and appliances, how complex the layout is, the area to be tiled, any plastering or painting needed first and where you live, Checkatrade’s fitting cost guide says. The same guide gives these ways to pay less:

• Remove the existing units yourself.
• Keep the carcasses and replace the cupboard and drawer fronts and the handles.
• Buy a second-hand or ex-display kitchen.
• Choose cheaper appliances.
• Use materials that mimic dearer styles.
• Keep changes to the layout to a minimum.
• Compare like-for-like quotes.

Quotes only compare like for like when every fitter prices the same job, so describe it the same way to each, with the cabinets, appliances, worktop, tiling and any plastering needed first.

Independent kitchen fitter or supply and fit

Some kitchen companies include installation, and other times you find a fitter yourself, Checkatrade’s new kitchen cost guide says. Checkatrade’s fitting cost guide lists these reasons to hire an independent fitter rather than one business that supplies and fits:

• More control over the design and the fit
• You manage the timeline
• The tradespeople work for you and are accountable to you
• You can mix products from different suppliers
• The cost can be lower

Among the Nottingham kitchen fitters compared for fit-only and supply-and-fit jobs, Kitchen Fitter Nottingham in Giltbrook fits any make of kitchen, independently of any supplier, and gives a price within 5 working days of visiting. Design Time in West Bridgford designs and supplies kitchens and fits them with its own dedicated fitters, or you can have the room fitted by someone else.