What Should Be Included in a Kitchen Fitting Quote?

For customers

A kitchen fitting quote shouldn't leave you trying to work out what the fitter meant. If all you have is Kitchen installation – £4,500, you know the price, but you don't necessarily know what you're buying.

Does that include removing the old kitchen? Plumbing and electrics? Waste? Appliances? Worktops? Tiling? Returning after a stone worktop has been fitted?

Those details matter because two quotes that look very different in price may not actually be quoting for the same job. A good quotation should make that much clearer.

Start by checking exactly what work is included

You should be able to read the quote and understand the main parts of the installation. Depending on your project, that might include:

• removing the existing kitchen
• disposing of the old units and waste
• fitting the new cabinets and panels
• fitting worktops
• plumbing
• electrical work
• gas work where required
• fitting appliances
• plastering or making good
• tiling
• flooring
• decorating
• final adjustments and completion

Not every kitchen fitter will provide every one of those services, and that isn't necessarily a problem. The problem is when you think something is included and the installer thinks it isn't.

Does everything need to be individually itemised?

Not necessarily. You should understand what you're buying, but that doesn't mean you need to know what the fitter has allowed for every screw, length of timber or hour of labour. There is a difference between asking for a clear scope of work and asking a business to show you its entire internal costing.

An installation company might quite reasonably offer Complete kitchen installation – £10,000 and then clearly explain what that £10,000 includes and excludes.

That can sometimes be more useful than a quotation containing dozens of tiny individual prices, because once every part has its own figure beside it, it's very tempting to start looking at each number on its own rather than looking at the complete job.

Be careful about removing individual parts just because they look expensive

Imagine the quotation includes plumbing and you look at the amount allowed and think, “My brother can do that for much less.” He might be able to. But before removing it, ask what you're actually removing.

The installation company's plumbing price may also include arranging the plumber, making sure they attend at the right stages, coordinating them with the fitter and electrician, dealing with any problems and taking responsibility for getting that part of the project completed.

You're not always comparing one plumber's hourly rate with another. You may be comparing a managed part of an installation with somebody doing you a favour. Those are different things.

“My brother can do that bit”

In nearly 30 years of running kitchen installations, whenever a customer introduced a friend, relative or their own tradesperson to take care of the plumbing, electrics, tiling or another part of the job, my experience was that it rarely worked as smoothly as they expected. That doesn't mean the person wasn't good at their trade. Quite often the problem was timing.

If somebody is helping you around their normal workload, your kitchen may not be their first priority. And kitchen installations depend heavily on different jobs happening in the right order. The plumber may need to finish something before the fitter can continue. The electrician may need to complete first-fix work before units cover an area. The tiler might need the room ready on a particular day. A kitchen installation isn't just a collection of separate jobs. Those jobs have to happen in the right order.

Saving money can sometimes create another cost

Suppose your own plumber is meant to complete something on Tuesday so the kitchen fitter can return on Wednesday. Tuesday comes and the plumber doesn't make it. The fitter arrives on Wednesday and can't continue. That can create a wasted visit, lost time or the need to rearrange other work. Depending on the terms you've agreed, there may also be an additional charge for that lost time or return visit.

So the money you expected to save by removing one part of the installer's package can sometimes disappear very quickly.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't use your own plumber, electrician or tiler. You absolutely can. Just understand that when you do, you may also be taking responsibility for making sure that person is there when the installation needs them. Ask the fitter how that will work before changing the quote.

Check the exclusions as carefully as the inclusions

A quotation might look cheaper because the installer isn't doing the flooring, waste removal or decorating, while another fitter may have included all of it. Neither quotation is necessarily wrong. They're just different.

Look for anything specifically excluded and ask about anything you're unsure of. If you've assumed the electrician, plumber or worktop fitter is included, make sure the quotation confirms it. A question before the job starts is usually much easier to deal with than an argument halfway through it.

Who is supplying what?

A modern kitchen can involve products from several different companies. The cabinets might come from one retailer, appliances from another, stone worktops from a specialist fabricator and flooring from somewhere else entirely.

The quotation should make clear, where relevant, who is supplying what. This is particularly important for:

• cabinets and associated panels or trims
• worktops
• appliances
• sink and tap
• flooring and tiles
• fixings and specialist materials

If you're supplying products yourself, ask what happens if something is missing, damaged or incorrect. It is much better to understand that before the installer arrives than discover on day one that an essential part hasn't turned up and nobody knows whose problem it is.

Does the quote relate to the correct kitchen plan?

Kitchen designs change, sometimes several times. Make sure the fitter has priced the current plan and specification.

Moving an appliance or changing a run of cabinets might look like a small design change, but it can affect fitting time, services, flooring, worktops and other trades. If your design changes after the quote has been produced, tell the installer and ask whether the price or programme needs to change too.

Is it a quote or an estimate?

People often use the words interchangeably, but they are not quite the same. A quotation generally represents an agreed price for the work described, while an estimate is closer to a guide to what the work is expected to cost. So check what you've actually been given.

If it is a quotation, the fitter shouldn't simply increase the price because the work took longer than expected. That doesn't mean the price can never change. If you ask for additional work, or genuinely extra work is discovered and you agree to it, the final cost can change. The important bit is that the change is discussed rather than appearing as a surprise on the final invoice.

What happens if extra work is needed?

Kitchens have a habit of hiding things. The old units come out and a wall is in worse condition than expected. Pipework isn't where the plans suggested. An electrical problem appears. The floor underneath the old kitchen needs work. A fitter cannot always know what's behind something they haven't been able to see.

A good quotation should explain how unforeseen work will be handled. You should expect the installer to tell you what has been found, what needs to be done and what it will cost before carrying out substantial additional work wherever reasonably possible. The same applies if you change your mind during the installation. If you ask for more work, expect the price and possibly the completion date to change. The safest approach for both sides is to record that change in writing.

Check the payment terms

The quotation should tell you when money is due.

That might include:

• a booking deposit
• a payment before or at the start
• staged payments as work progresses
• the remaining balance at completion

There isn't one payment schedule every installer has to use. What matters is that you understand it before accepting the quotation. If payment terms aren't shown, ask for them.

Look at the timing too

You don't necessarily need an exact promise that everything will be finished at 3:30pm on a particular Friday. Kitchen projects have dependencies. Worktops may need templating after the cabinets are installed, products can be delayed and other trades need to arrive in the right order.

But you should have a reasonable idea of:

• when the installer expects to start
• approximately how long their part of the work should take
• whether there will be planned gaps
• whether another trade or supplier controls part of the programme

That helps you plan around what can be a fairly disruptive couple of weeks.

Does VAT apply?

Check whether VAT is included where applicable, particularly when you're comparing quotations. A price that looks lower can suddenly look very different if VAT still needs to be added. Don't assume. Ask.

How long is the quote valid for?

A quotation may only be valid for a set period, and that's reasonable. Material prices can change and an installer who has space in the diary today may not have the same availability six months from now. Look for a validity date, particularly if you aren't planning to make a decision immediately.

Can I compare quotations just by looking at the total?

I wouldn't. Price obviously matters, but compare the work as well.

If one quotation is £1,500 cheaper, try to understand why. It might simply be a fitter with lower overheads who is offering excellent value, or the cheaper quotation might not include the electrician, plastering, waste, worktops or something else included in the other price.

You're trying to compare the same job. And remember that asking for clarity doesn't necessarily mean demanding that every single part of the installer's price is exposed. You want to understand the value and scope of what you're buying.

A detailed quote isn't unnecessary paperwork

Sometimes a longer quotation can look as though the fitter is making things unnecessarily complicated. I tend to look at it differently. A good quotation is trying to remove opportunities for disagreement later. It gives both sides something to go back to if somebody says, “I thought that was included.”

It also helps you recognise a business that has thought about how it manages the customer as well as how it fits the kitchen. A professional installation business is more than somebody who can fit cabinets well. The paperwork, communication, coordination and way problems are dealt with are all part of the service.

Looking for a kitchen installer?

The Every Install Trade Directory lets you search for tradespeople and installation businesses by location.

Profiles are provided by individual members, so you should still carry out your own checks, confirm relevant insurance and qualifications where required, and make sure the scope, price and payment terms are agreed clearly before appointing anyone.

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Why does Every Install answer customer questions?

Every Install was primarily created to help installers run stronger installation businesses. Clear quotations are part of that. They're good for the installer because they protect the price and scope of the job, and they're good for the customer because they make it much easier to understand what you're buying.

Better paperwork isn't about making installation more complicated. It's about making misunderstandings less likely.

This article provides general information for UK consumers and isn't legal advice. Contract and consumer rights can depend on the circumstances of the individual job.