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Kitchen design / Installation specialists - what you need to know

Good kitchen design is a lot more than choosing the worktops you like and ordering them in the right size. A kitchen specialist who plans and designs kitchens will take a lot of things into account to make sure the kitchen that gets installed is fit for purpose and looks great.

Some of these things are:

• The distance between work areas.
• Worktop materials and whether they can withstand spillages and heat.
• How easy the kitchen is to clean.
• The positioning of different work areas (e.g. is the sink too far from the hob).
• Storage options.
• The positioning of windows and lights – to help create a clean, bright environment to cook and prepare food in safely.
• The location of plumbing and electrical fixtures.

They’ll also consider who the kitchen is being designed for to make sure it meets that person’s tastes and needs. That can mean accommodating disabilities or recognising that a left-handed person might prefer a dishwasher to be to the left of the sink rather than to the right. At the very least, it’ll mean taking that person’s height into account to make sure they don’t need to tip-toe or bend down too far to access cupboards.

A good kitchen designer will draw up plans for the kitchen to help you visualise how the new room will look and make sure the room meets current building regulations. They can also remove an old kitchen before a new one is fitted.

Cost of kitchen design work

The qualifications your tradesperson needs

There’s no one recognised qualification for kitchen specialists but most of them have taken a general interior design course with City & Guilds or a similar body before learning the trade on the job. They might start out as interior designers but they could also begin their careers as carpenters or cabinet makers before deciding to specialise in kitchen design.

As well as kitchen design principles, they’ll have a good knowledge of current building regulations and may have connections with other tradespeople like plumbers, electricians, tilers and carpenters who they can call on to help bring a new kitchen space to life. If a gas cooker is on the wish list, only a tradesperson with a valid Gas Safe qualification can fit it. A similar thing goes for electrics. They’ll need to be fitted by a tradesperson with a Part P qualification. They might have both of these qualifications themselves but it’s more likely that they’ll bring in a Gas Safe registered plumber or Part P qualified electrician to carry out the work.

What is a Gas Safe accreditation?

A tradesperson is Gas Safe when they’re on the gas registration body, Gas Safe Register. The register is an official list of gas engineers who are qualified to work safely on gas appliances like boilers and cookers. All qualified engineers carry ID cards with an identification number which you should check on the main Gas Safe Register website, along with their company name, before allowing them to work on gas in your home.

Building regulations and Part P for kitchen jobs

Part P is one section of building regulations which says that anyone carrying out electrical installation work in a home must make sure it’s designed and installed to protect people from fire and electric shocks. When a tradesperson has this certification, they’re known as Part P certified, so can self-certify that any work they carry out is compliant with the building regulations. It’s not a must-have qualification legally but it comes hand in hand with safety and means a tradesperson won’t have to then apply for building regulations approval for the work.

You won’t need approval to refit a kitchen but drainage or electrical work might need building regulations approval. If the kitchen is to be fitted in a room where there wasn’t a kitchen before, you’ll need approval to make sure that the room has appropriate ventilation and drainage and meets fire safety, electrical and structural stability requirements.

For guidance around the latest building regulations, visit the Planning Portal

Planning permission for kitchen jobs

You won’t need planning permission to install a new kitchen unless it’s part of a house extension. If you live in a listed building, you should check with your Local Planning Authority before carrying out any work as planning permission may be required.

Insurance for kitchen design work

While it isn’t a legal requirement, it’s a good idea for your kitchen specialist to have public liability insurance to protect against any personal injury or property damage claims.

Questions you should ask your kitchen specialist

• How long have they been trading for?
• Can they show you examples of previous kitchens they’ve designed?
• Will they be fitting the kitchen themselves as well as designing it?
• Will they give a guarantee for the work and how long does that last?
• How long will the room be unusable for while the kitchen’s being fitted?
• Do they have public liability insurance and what does this cover?
• Will they be sorting the plumbing and electrics themselves or bringing in someone else? If they’re doing it themselves, do they have a valid Gas Safe and/or Part P qualification?