Quote to get kitchen redone. Does this seem reasonable?

Grumpy_chap

The real trouble with looking at kitchen prices is how the very same kitchen can vary greatly so comparisons are actually challenging to make.

I recall, back in about 2002, one of the houses in my road came on the market at £400k, which was above top end for the road at the time. One of the features noted in the marketing information was "£30k designer shaker style kitchen". I remember looking at the pictures of the kitchen and thinking it looked absolutely horrendous and the first thing I'd want to do if I got the house was to take that kitchen out and put in something nice 😨

Looking at the OP's quote again:

"

• Electrics additional: £1,700
  rewire all circuits within the kitchen
  supply and install appropriate sized consumer unit fitted
to suit kitchen layout
whole house certificate

"

Do you actually need a full rewire and new consumer unit? If you can reduce the scope by £1.7k plus VAT, that's over £2k saved.

rob7475

There's bits on the list that look a bit high.

Have you compared the Howdens quote with someone like DIY Kitchens - £1000 for laminate worktop sounds very high (I'd expect less than £300 for a 3 metre length of 12mm laminate). If you're builder is buying through Howdens, make sure they are passing their discount on to you as they normally get between 50-70% discount off the retail prices.

Electrics seem a bit high. £2700 should cover a full rewire of a house, not just a kitchen. It's the second fix that's bumping up the price as it needs a second visit so another day's labour. If I'm getting electrical work, I usually get my electrician to first/second fix at the same time. I can then just remove socket fronts etc. as I'm making good any chases.

I think it's well mentioned that kitchens and bathrooms massively affect the value of a property and many trades use this to their advantage to charge a premium.

Albermarle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81869700#Comment_81869700

Rates for labour and materials have gone up

That is probably a bit of an understatement.

After Covid, there were very serious supply chain disruptions, and an upturn in demand for building materials and projects at the same time. The cost of Steel, timber, bricks, plastics etc all shot up, by double in some cases.

At the same time many European building workers and tradespeople went home and never came back again, due to Brexit and the restrictions on EU workers. So labour costs also shot up.

Although both these issues have eased, especially the raw materials costs, the recent bout of general inflation has kept prices a lot higher than they were 5 years ago.

Zippy29

In 2021, I paid £18,000 for my tiny new kitchen. Three people standing up and the kitchen's full.

jonnydeppiwish!

if it’s £9k for everything, that’s good. If that doesn’t include the units and new appliances, it’s very expensive. Look at DIYKitchens.com to design and price the kitchen. You can rip out and dispose of your current kitchen at the local tip for free.

Electrics are a tad expensive as well.

I’ve done this for £12k and that included full tiling, plastering and electrics

silverwhistle

Seems quite expensive, as I'm currently planning a new kitchen myself and it's also small and a galley kitchen. The problem with Howden prices is the complete lack of transparency to the final customer so I am avoiding them.

My plumber/kitchen fitter has given me a rough estimate of £4k for budgeting purposes for his labour and probably a bit more for his labourer (this is to keep under VAT limits and the paperwork that involves).

I think I'm getting towards 20K but the units and doors are only just over 3k so far, before expensive worktops, appliances, plus extractor, taps, handles and sundries to add.

Yorkie1

@jonnydeppiwish! nice kitchen - where are the units and worktop from??

darkazuria

@silverwhistle "(this is to keep under VAT limits and the paperwork that involves)." - So they wouldn't be charging VAT? How does it work?

The VAT plus his PM fee for the project is over 2k which is quite high

plumb1_2

something you might encounter when you supply your own kitchen for a builder to install, what’s happens if a vital part is damaged or missing and only a few of the units can be fitted. And it’s gonna take 5 days for it the arrive?
The builder will have no choice but to leave and will want paying for the work carried out so far.

And if he’s got other work booked in, you could be left with a part completed kitchen for several weeks.

That’s why most builders will use Howdens, as replacement parts available same or next day.And it’s their responsibility to sort any issues out. That’s why you pay a little bit more.

bob_a_builder

Interesting supplier comparison here
Yes - its 2 years old now but ….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkNmhyEFX5U