A kitchen is the most quoted room in a house and the least comparable. Two suppliers can price the same plan at figures differing by three times, and both can be honest, because they are not pricing the same thing.
One is pricing cabinets and a worktop. The other is pricing the removal of the old kitchen, the electrical alterations, the plumbing moves, the plaster repairs behind the old units, the flooring, the decorating, the plinths, the panels and the skip. The units are often less than half of the total.
So a kitchen takeoff has to be built in layers, and the layers have to be written down. This guide covers them in the order they are measured.
Measure runs, not floor area
Kitchens are measured in linear metres of run, not in square metres. A 4 m by 3 m room is not a 12 m² kitchen, it is however many metres of cabinet the walls will hold.
Measure the wall length available in each elevation, deduct the gaps for a fridge, a cooker or a doorway, and add the returns. Then split the run into three heights, because they are priced differently:
Base units: the workhorse, typically 600 mm deep and 850 to 900 mm high
Wall units: 300 to 350 mm deep, mounted above the worktop
Tall units: full height, for ovens, fridge freezers and larders
A 4 m wall that is base and wall gives 4 m of each, which is 8 linear metres of cabinetry. That is the number suppliers quote, and it is worth checking that they count returns and peninsulas in the same way.
The worktop is its own takeoff
Worktop is priced by length, but the length that matters includes the joints and the cutouts.
Measure the total run in linear metres, then add 5 to 10 percent for joints and waste
Add the upstand, if specified, in the same linear metres
Count the cutouts: sink, hob, tap holes, and any socket or cable entry
Add the end panels and the returns where the worktop meets a wall
For stone, the joint count matters and the slabs come in fixed sizes, so a 3.6 m run needs two slabs and a joint
A stone worktop on an L shaped kitchen can easily consume 4.5 m of slab for 3.8 m of run. That difference is a real cost and it appears on the template drawing, not on the plan.
Cabinets, and what the price per unit hides
Base unit prices vary for reasons that are invisible on a photograph: carcass thickness, drawer runners, hinges, the presence of a service void, and the finish inside.
For a takeoff, count units by type rather than averaging:
Base cabinets, by width: 300, 400, 500, 600, 800, 1000 mm
Drawer packs, which cost more than a door cabinet of the same width
Corner units, which often need a carousel or a magic corner
Sink units, which need a void for the trap
Appliance housings for ovens, microwaves and integrated appliances
Wall units, by width and height
Tall units, by type
Then count the fillers, end panels and plinths. On a typical kitchen these come to 8 to 12 percent of the cabinet cost and they are frequently quoted as an allowance rather than counted.
Appliances and the services behind them
Appliances are typically priced in or excluded, and the decision changes the whole estimate. What matters for the takeoff is not the appliance price but the service each one needs:
Appliance
Service required
|---|---|
Electric oven
6 mm² dedicated circuit, often 32 A
Induction hob
Dedicated circuit, 32 to 40 A
Gas hob
Gas point plus an isolator, and ventilation
Extractor, ducted
Duct route to outside, plus a switched supply
Extractor, recirculating
Switched supply and filters
Dishwasher
Cold supply, waste, switched socket
Washing machine
Cold and hot supply, waste, socket
Fridge freezer
Socket, ideally on its own circuit
Boiling water tap
Cold supply, socket, and often a filter
The ducted extractor is the item that changes building work: a 150 mm duct to an outside wall is a hole, a route above ceiling level and possibly a fan in the loft. It is a construction cost, not a kitchen cost, and it is the most commonly missed line on the whole job.
Sinks, taps and the things that leak
Sink, by type and bowl configuration
Tap, and whether it needs a low pressure or high pressure supply
Wastes, traps and the connection to the existing soil or waste
Plumbing alterations to move a supply or a waste, measured in metres and fittings
Sealing and splashback
Moving a sink 400 mm along a wall can mean rerouting a waste with a fall, which is a plumber's job and a hole in the wall. Every kitchen fit includes at least one of these moves.
Electrics: sockets, lighting and the coordination problem
A kitchen fit always includes electrical work, and it is the part most often left out of a supplier's quote:
Socket outlets above the worktop, 4 to 8 depending on the run
Sockets inside base units for appliances, one per appliance
Cooker or hob circuit, if it is new
Under cabinet lighting, with a driver and a switch
Ceiling lighting, often 4 to 8 downlights on two circuits
Extractor supply
Consumer unit alterations and certification
Count them as points, then add the making good: every new socket above a worktop is a chase and a repair, and a tiled splashback that has to be removed and replaced.
A worked example, L shaped kitchen
A 3.6 m run along one wall and a 2.8 m return, with a 0.6 m gap for a doorway:
Base units: 3.0 m plus 2.8 m = 5.8 linear metres
Wall units: 3.0 m plus 1.2 m = 4.2 linear metres, leaving space for an extractor
Tall units: 2, one for a fridge freezer and one for an oven housing
Worktop: 5.8 m plus 10 percent for joints = 6.4 m, plus 5.8 m of upstand
That is roughly 45 lines once it is broken open, and any of them can add a day or a hundred pounds to the job.
Where the money actually goes
Break a mid range kitchen down and the proportions surprise most clients. Cabinets and doors are around a third. Worktop is 8 to 15 percent depending on material. Appliances are 15 to 25 percent. The construction work, meaning the electrical, plumbing, plaster, flooring and decorating, is the remaining third and it is the part with the widest spread between quotes.
That is why a client comparing three kitchen quotes should compare the construction scope line by line first. Two quotes with identical cabinets can differ by 40 percent on the plastering and electrical they have quietly included or excluded.
Wall removal and the open plan temptation
A large share of refurbishment kitchens involve taking out a wall. That single decision changes the estimate from a fit out into a building project.
A load bearing wall needs a structural assessment, a beam designed by an engineer, temporary support during the work, and building control approval. A 3 m opening can easily cost more than the kitchen cabinets, and the beam is usually ordered after the engineering, so it sets the programme.
The takeoff consequence is that a kitchen estimate should record whether the layout depends on a removed wall, and if so, that the structural cost sits outside the kitchen figure. Mixing the two produces a number that looks competitive and cannot be delivered.
Ventilation and the rules that catch people
Extraction is a building regulation in most markets, and the rule is about airflow, not about the presence of a fan. A recirculating cooker hood does not meet the requirement in many jurisdictions for an internal kitchen.
Ducting a hood to an outside wall needs a route. The good route is short, straight and slightly downhill to the outside, so condensate drains out rather than back. The bad route is a flexible duct squeezed through a cupboard, which halves the airflow and doubles the noise.
Cost the ducting, the wall terminal, the core drill and the making good as separate items. On a solid brick wall with a stone lintel above, that is not a small job.
Storage, accessories and the 10 percent nobody counts
Cutlery trays and drawer inserts
Waste bins, either pull out or under sink
Corner carousels and pull out larders
Wine racks and plate racks
End panels for exposed cabinets
Cornice and light pelmets
Handles, priced per unit and specified by drilling centres
Plinth clips, legs and levelling
Touch up paint and a spare door
Individually these are minor. Together they are 8 to 12 percent of the cabinet cost, and they are the items that get cut when a budget is trimmed after the contract is signed, which is exactly when they are most visible.
Sequence and the cost of getting it wrong
The kitchen is installed in a fixed order: strip out, first fix electrics and plumbing, plaster and make good, flooring, units, worktop template, worktop fit, appliances, splashback, sealing, snagging.
Two consequences for the estimate. The worktop template happens after the units are in, so there is a gap of a week or two when the kitchen cannot be used. And the flooring decision matters: laying flooring around units rather than under them saves material and creates a problem when an appliance is replaced.
Allow a realistic programme of two to three weeks with gaps, and write it into the quote. A kitchen quoted as a five day job is a kitchen that will overrun.
Payment, deposits and the risk that sits with the client
Kitchens are usually sold on a deposit, and the deposit is usually large enough to matter. A 50 percent deposit on cabinetry is normal because the units are made to order and cannot be resold.
Two things belong in the estimate as risks rather than costs. Made to order items cannot be cancelled after the order window, so any change after that date is a write off. And installation dates depend on the worktop template, which depends on the units being level and complete, so one damaged cabinet delays the whole room.
A programme with float between unit fit and worktop template is cheaper in stress than one without, and it costs nothing to plan.
Frequently asked questions
How do I compare kitchen quotes? Normalise to the same cabinet specification, the same worktop material, and the same scope of electrical, plumbing and making good. Then compare the exclusions.
How many linear metres is a kitchen? A typical domestic kitchen is 6 to 10 linear metres of base units, with wall units on roughly half of that.
Is the worktop included? Sometimes, often not, and almost never with the joints and cutouts counted. Ask for the template drawing.
Who does the electrical work? An electrician, certified. If the supplier's price excludes it, the number you are comparing is incomplete.
How long does a kitchen take? Two to three weeks for a full replacement, including the worktop gap. Ten days is optimistic for anything with plumbing moves.
Should flooring go under the units? Under the units is better for appliances and future changes, and it costs more material. Around the units is cheaper and creates a trap.
Build the estimate in FRELUX
The FRELUX kitchen takeoff counts units by type, worktop with joints and cutouts, appliances and the services each one needs, then prices the whole fit from your market's price book so the layers stay visible.