New kitchen

Mylife · 10 December 2017 at 4:02PM

Hi guys I have a very small kitchen , I want to convert the dinning room into a kitchen and use the old kitchen as a utility room. I am not sure what I need to do. Who do I hire first? do I need planning permission from the council?? Thanks in advance

cattie · 10 December 2017 at 4:39PM

Unless you live in a council owned property a job like this is nothing to do with them.

Do you know who you wish to do to do the work? If not start asking around as it will be cheaper to employ the traders yourself rather than going through the kitchen company who often use sub contractors to do the work.
Some kitchen supply companies may have a list of independent fitters & can supply you with contact details if you are stuck. Some companies such as Howdens usually only deal with trades people & not general public, so discount offered is via the person you are using to do the work as the client.

Once you've decided what kitchen supply company to use & got a fitter lined up, then get the kitchen supply people to come & do a design plan for you, taking into account your requirements. You can get more than one kitchen design plan by using different companies & often can play them off against each other to get the price down a bit.

Sourcing appliances yourself will save you a lot of money as will sourcing extras such as sink, taps & even door knobs/handles.

Mylife · 10 December 2017 at 4:55PM

Thank you, I wasn't sure if I needed an architect to do a plan first ie where the cupboards, sink, cooker etc go . I will contact some companies and ask.

Thanks

jbainbridge · 10 December 2017 at 6:15PM

Architect? No.

Go down to B&Q or Ikea with your room plan / measurements and they’ll do you a plan. Use that as a starting point.

Mylife · 10 December 2017 at 8:11PM

Thanks jbainbridge I'm completely clueless . I will start with homebase just to get an idea.

I also need to move the pipes and drains to the new room

Ruski · 10 December 2017 at 8:27PM

You need to ADD water and drainage to the new kitchen if you want to maintain your old room as utility

HTH

Russ

Mylife · 10 December 2017 at 10:39PM

Cheers, is it very expensive and who do I approach for that. Sorry but I'm completely clueless. However from the replies I am getting good ideas

Ikea charge £40 for a kitchen planner for 2hrs (home visit) or a Skype appointment

Ruski · 11 December 2017 at 9:14AM

Assuming the rooms are back to back and you want the new pipework in relatively close proximity to the existing, then either the fitter or a plumber would do the work. Problems arise when you want to put things a long distance away from the existing, so bear that in mind

HTH

Russ

LandyAndy · 11 December 2017 at 11:07AM

cattie wrote: »

Sourcing appliances yourself will save you a lot of money as will sourcing extras such as sink, taps & even door knobs/handles.

That wasn't my experience. My kitchen designer was a Siemens supplier. His prices were substantially cheaper than I could get them for independently (think £150 cheaper on a washing machine that I could get for £650).

macman · 11 December 2017 at 12:16PM

If you are doing any structural work (eg taking down a load-bearing wall) then you need LA Building Control approval. Nothing to do with planning permission, unless it's a listed building.

Mahsroh · 13 December 2017 at 12:58PM

Others may approach this differently, but if I was starting this project, the first thing I would do is get a Plumber/Gas Engineer and an Electrician in to look at it, and take their advice on where appliances and the sink are best suited based on the current set up to minimize costs. Starting a kitchen in a complete new room can be straightforward, but the last thing you want to do is get a kitchen designed and ordered, only to then be told by tradesmen that it doesn't work. As you say, water supplies and drainage are the key, but you also need to think about electrical supply (and/or gas) for the cooker.

Once your sparky and Plumber have told you where to locate the appliances etc and quoted the work, then get a kitchen designed. Usually, this is a free service provided by kitchen suppliers (as they obviously want the sale!). If you go to a mainstream kitchen supplier (Homebase / B&Q / Wickes etc) don't go for the option for them to fit - you'll pay a premium for this. You'll get a better job done more cost effectively by using a reliable local tradesman. Just buy the units from them. I bought mine earlier in the year from Homebase and paid a local kitchen fitter £600 to fit it.

The main benefit you have is that you'll have the use of your existing kitchen while the new one is being fitted, so this gives you a little more time to co-ordinate trades etc. If you were ripping your old one out and putting a new one in it's place then time would be a crucial factor. In your case, you can get a Sparky to chase electrical supplies into the wall a week before the kitchen fitters come in (for example), so Project Managing it yourself using separate trades should be more cost effective, and easily manageable as you have time on your hands.

New kitchen

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