Kitchen Specialists - what you need to know
A quality, local kitchen specialist will be able to take care of your whole kitchen installation, from start to finish. They’ll pull out the old kitchen, make sure all the cables and pipes are in the right place, then install the new units. Once that’s done, they’ll be able to finish the kitchen with tiling and flooring, and of course, they’ll tidy everything away leaving you with a shiny new place to cook up a storm.
What a kitchen specialist can help with
- Planning and designing new kitchens.
- Measuring out work areas.
- Ripping out and disposing of old units and appliances.
- Marking the location of pipes and cables.
- Measuring and cutting worktops, recesses and joints.
- Fitting new units and appliances.
- Tiling walls and laying flooring.
Along the way they’ll probably use specialist tradespeople such as a plumber who’s Gas Safe-registered and qualified to work with gas. They might also use tilers, carpenters and plumbers.
At the initial stage, they’ll help with the design of your kitchen – either themselves or by recommending an architect. It’s important to consider the placement of all your appliances and work surfaces, so that they’re in practical locations, and within budget. Your kitchen specialist will be able to advise on all of this.
Once everything’s decided, your kitchen specialist will rip out everything that needs to go, and then mark out all the new positions. After that it’s down to business with installing the cupboards and appliances, followed by the finishing touches – tiles, floors, doors… whatever’s needed.
Costs for common kitchen installation jobs
Some typical jobs |
Low |
High |
Small kitchen, remove kitchen first |
£500 |
£800 |
Small kitchen, no kitchen to remove |
£400 |
£600 |
Medium kitchen, remove kitchen first |
£700 |
£1200 |
Medium kitchen, no kitchen to remove |
£600 |
£1100 |
Large kitchen, remove kitchen first |
£850 |
£1,500 |
Large kitchen, no kitchen to remove |
£700 |
£1,200 |
The qualifications your kitchen specialist needs
There are no specific requirements or qualifications to become a kitchen specialist, and often their experience will cover a range of different skills.
They might have a card from the Construction Skills Certification Scheme which you could check.
If they’re going to be working with gas, they need to be registered with Gas Safe. It’s more likely that they’ll use a plumber or heating engineer to do this, in which case that person needs to be registered with Gas Safe specifically.
For anyone working with electricity in England and Wales, they need to be registered with Part P.
For both of these qualifications, the tradesperson will carry a valid ID which you can check.
What is the Gas Safe Register?
The main focus of Gas Safe is to improve and maintain gas safety to the highest standards. They make sure all gas engineers are qualified to work with gas.
What is Part P?
In 2005 the government introduced electrical safety rules for England and Wales. Because of this, most fixed electrical installation work in homes must, by law, meet the building regulations.
Part P shows that anyone carrying out electrical installation work in a home, must make sure that work will protect people from fire and electric shocks.
Planning permission for kitchen specialist jobs
In general you won’t need planning application for installing a kitchen, unless it’s part of a house extension. However, if your property is a listed building you should speak to the local planning authority.
Insurance for kitchen specialist work
Your kitchen specialist should have public liability insurance, which will cover you and them if someone gets hurt or if the property is damaged.

Questions you should ask a kitchen specialist
- Do they have public liability insurance and what does this cover?
- How long have they been trading for?
- Can they give you up to 3 references of recent work they’ve completed?
- Do they use sub-contractors or their own employees?
- What experience do their sub-contractors/employees have and are they covered by insurance?
- Will they give a guarantee/warranty for the work and how long does it last?
- Will they source all materials and equipment?
See the latest questions that homeowners have been asking kitchen specialists.
Kitchen ideas
There’s a whole host of inspiration for your kitchen over on our blog. If you’re thinking about starting from scratch with your kitchen then you’re in the right place. To help you along, check out these 4 common kitchen design mistakes. Phil Spencer’s got some tips on planning permission and building regulations too, which is always worth knowing about. Lastly, if you’re not quite in the market for a renovation, then have a look at these tips to give your kitchen a speedy makeover.