How to quote for a kitchen fit

A kitchen looks like joinery, but it rarely stays that way. By the time you've moved a sink, run a new socket, plumbed in an appliance and made good the floor, you've pulled in plumbing, electrics, tiling and worktops. Quote it as a units-only job and the extras quietly eat your margin. Here is how to survey a kitchen, what to factor in, and how to structure the quote so the customer sees exactly what they are paying for.

Survey the job before you price it

Never price a kitchen off a planner printout alone. Go and see the room. The things that move the price are usually the services behind the units: where the existing waste, water, gas and electrics sit, and how far the customer wants to move them. A kitchen that keeps the same layout is a very different job from one where the sink, hob and units all shift.

• Measure the room and check it against the kitchen design and appliance list.
• Check where the existing waste, water supply, gas and sockets are, and whether anything is moving.
• Confirm the floor and wall condition: an uneven floor means levelling before units go down.
• Note the appliances and whether they're integrated, which is more fitting work than freestanding.
• Agree who supplies the units, worktops and appliances, because that changes the price a lot.

Know which trades the job pulls in

A kitchen fit is rarely one trade. Be clear on the quote which parts you are doing yourself and which need a plumber, an electrician or a worktop fitter. Either price their work into your figure or state plainly that it's excluded and arranged separately. The biggest arguments come from a customer assuming the wiring or the gas hob connection was in your price when it wasn't.

Break the job into stages

Kitchens quote cleanly when you split them into the stages you'll actually work through. It helps the customer follow the price and stops you forgetting anything.

• Strip out: removing the old kitchen, units, worktops and tiles, plus waste removal.
• First fix: any new plumbing, waste runs and electrics for sockets, lighting and appliances.
• Floor and walls: levelling, boarding or making good before anything goes back.
• Fitting: base and wall units, panels, plinths, then worktops (measured and templated if they're solid or stone).
• Second fix: connecting the sink, taps, appliances, extractor and any gas hob (by a qualified person).
• Finishing: tiling or splashback, silicone, sealing and a clean.

Price your own labour and materials

Work out your labour from the days each stage realistically takes, then price your materials from your suppliers. Don't forget the consumables that add up: fixings, sealant, adhesive, end panels and trims. Price your own materials and labour rather than copying someone else's number, because your costs, your area and the spec in front of you are what matter. A flat-pack budget kitchen and a solid-wood kitchen with stone worktops are completely different amounts of work.

Be clear about supply and exclusions

Kitchens generate disputes over who supplies what. State it plainly. If the customer is buying the units, worktops or appliances, say the quote is fit-only and excludes them, and note you're not responsible for items they've sourced or for parts that arrive missing. If a worktop template can only happen once the units are in, say the worktop is a separate stage with its own lead time. If you've allowed a figure for something not yet chosen, label it provisional and confirm it once they decide.

Timeline, deposit and the final figure

Give a realistic duration in working days and a start window, and be honest that a kitchen means no usable kitchen for part of that time. State any deposit needed to book and order materials, and that solid worktops add a gap mid-job while they're templated and made. Then present the total cleanly: a clear scope, the staged breakdown, your exclusions, and the price with VAT shown separately if you're registered.

For the standard items every quote should carry, see what every professional quote should include. For another worked example of breaking a multi-trade job into clear line items, see how to quote for a bathroom renovation.