Kitchen Makeover Cost: New Doors, Worktops or a Respray

Kitchen makeover cost by option

Three kinds of makeover change how a kitchen looks without replacing the cabinets: a respray, new doors and handles on the carcasses you keep, and new worktops. The respray price comes from Checkatrade’s kitchen respray guide, and the worktop prices, which exclude VAT, from its worktop replacement guide.

	Respray	New doors and handles	New worktops
What it involves	Spray painting the cabinet, larder and integrated appliance facings you already have	New cupboard and drawer fronts and handles on the carcasses you keep	New laminate, wood, quartz or granite worktops on the units you keep
Price	£800 to £1,600 for an average kitchen, on Checkatrade’s figures	No price	A 5m length averages £500 in laminate and £850 in granite, excluding VAT, plus labour
Watch for	Acrylic cabinets need a special primer	Worn hinges, and the plinths, cornices, pelmets and end panels new doors usually need	Granite and quartz need special cutting tools and careful fitting

Kitchen respray cost

An average kitchen respray costs £800 to £1,600 on Checkatrade’s figures, which also give a starting price for each facing, the front of a cabinet, larder unit or integrated appliance.

Facing	Price
Standard cabinet	From £80
Larder	From £100
Integrated appliance	From £80

These are starting prices, so the £800 to £1,600 range for an average kitchen, on Checkatrade’s figures, is the better guide to a whole respray. Acrylic cabinets need a special primer, and some sprayers offer up to a 10-year guarantee that the paint will not flake, crack or peel, the same guide says.

Describe the kitchen the way the facings are priced, with the number of each kind, say whether the cabinets are acrylic, and ask how long each sprayer’s guarantee lasts.

Replacing kitchen doors only

Checkatrade’s kitchen fitting guide lists keeping the carcasses and replacing the cupboard and drawer fronts and handles as one way to save, and puts a kitchen fitter at £250 to £350 a day, or £37 an hour. Get the doors, handles and any new hinges priced as separate lines on the quote, so you can see what the doors alone cost.

Kitchen door types

Replacement kitchen doors come in three types, Checkatrade’s replacement doors guide says: melamine-faced chipboard, MDF with an applied facing of veneer, foil or vinyl, and solid timber. Solid timber can be sanded and repainted, but it costs more.

Hinges, plinths and handles

Replacement doors hang on standard 110-degree hinges, Checkatrade’s doors guide says, and a door change is the time to replace any worn ones. New doors usually need coordinating plinths, cornices, pelmets and end panels as well, so the doors are only part of the order.

New worktop costs

Replacing the worktops means paying for the worktop and for the fitting labour, which Checkatrade’s worktop replacement figures price separately, with labour per m² and every figure excluding VAT.

Worktop	Price	Average	Fitting labour per m²
Laminate, 5m length	£200 to £800	£500	£40 to £60
Wood	£300 to £900	£600	No price
Quartz, 5m length	£500 to £1,100	£800	£80 to £130
Granite, 5m length	£550 to £1,150	£850	£120 to £180

A confident DIYer can replace a simple laminate worktop, while heavier granite and quartz need special cutting tools and careful fitting, which adds cost, Checkatrade’s worktop guide says.

Kitchen makeover or new kitchen

Spraying kitchen cabinets can cost up to 70% less than buying new ones, on Checkatrade’s respray figures. In Checkatrade’s new kitchen breakdown, the units alone cost £3,000 on average, from £1,500 in a small kitchen to £10,000 in a large one.

A whole new kitchen costs £10,550 on average, from £5,250 for a small kitchen to £28,400 for a large one, on Checkatrade’s figures, a price that includes removing the old kitchen and installing the new one. A makeover keeps the carcasses and the layout, so it suits a kitchen whose layout already works and whose carcasses are worth keeping.

Kitchen makeover quotes in Nottingham

Among the Nottingham kitchen fitters ranked on their guarantees and years in the trade, Nottingham Kitchen Fitter in Aspley does kitchen makeovers and facelifts and gives a 5-year labour and installation guarantee, while JCP Kitchens in Nuthall fits laminate, solid wood and Minerva worktops. All ten on the list give free quotes or consultations.