How Much Does a Kitchen Renovation Cost in the UK? (2026 Prices)

A kitchen renovation covers everything from replacing units and worktops to a full strip-out and refit including plumbing, electrics, tiling, and flooring. In the UK in 2026, costs range from £5,000 for a basic refresh to £30,000+ for a high-spec complete refit — with most mid-range kitchen renovations landing between £10,000 and £20,000.

Whether you're a homeowner budgeting for the project or a builder quoting the work, understanding where the money goes is essential. This guide breaks down every cost element, gives you a realistic example quote, and flags the hidden expenses that catch people off guard.

1 Budget Ranges: What You Get at Each Price Point

Kitchen renovation costs in the UK vary enormously depending on what's being replaced and the quality of materials. Here's what to expect at each level.

Basic Refresh — £5,000 to £8,000

A budget kitchen renovation typically involves replacing the doors and worktops while keeping the existing carcasses, layout, and most of the plumbing. You might fit new handles, add a tile splashback, and swap the sink and taps. The flooring stays or gets a budget vinyl overlay. This is a cosmetic refresh rather than a structural change, and it's a sensible option if the existing kitchen is sound but tired-looking.

Mid-Range Refit — £10,000 to £20,000

This is where most kitchen renovations land. You're stripping out the old kitchen completely and fitting new units, worktops, appliances, splashback tiling, flooring, and decorating. Plumbing and electrics get updated to current standards. The layout usually stays broadly the same, though you might reposition the sink or add a dishwasher feed. Materials are decent quality — think solid laminate or quartz worktops, soft-close hinges, integrated appliances, and ceramic or luxury vinyl tile flooring.

High-End Refit — £20,000 to £35,000+

A high-end kitchen renovation involves a complete strip-out, potential layout changes (moving walls, repositioning plumbing and gas), bespoke or premium branded units, stone worktops, high-spec integrated appliances, underfloor heating, and professional lighting design. If you're knocking through to a dining area or adding an island with a gas hob and extraction, expect to push past £30,000 comfortably. Structural work, building regulations approval, and extended timelines all add cost.

2 Cost Breakdown by Element

Understanding where the money goes helps you prioritise and identify where to save — or where cutting corners will cause regret. Here's a typical breakdown for a mid-range kitchen renovation.

• Kitchen units & worktops: £3,000–£8,000. This is usually the single biggest line item, accounting for 30–40% of the total. Flat-pack from a big-box retailer sits at the lower end; rigid carcasses with solid wood or quartz tops push higher.
• Appliances: £1,500–£4,000. A mid-range oven, hob, extractor, fridge-freezer, and dishwasher. Integrated models cost more than freestanding. Premium brands can double this figure easily.
• Plumbing (inc. gas): £800–£2,000. Connecting the sink, dishwasher, and washing machine. If you're moving the gas hob or boiler pipework, costs climb. Gas work must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
• Electrics: £600–£1,500. New sockets, lighting circuits, extractor fan wiring, and cooker connection. A rewire of the kitchen circuit or adding underfloor heating control pushes towards the upper end. All work must comply with Part P regulations.
• Tiling (splashback & floor): £1,000–£2,500. Splashback tiling is relatively quick; a full floor tile with underfloor preparation is slower and pricier. Material choice matters hugely — porcelain tiles at £40/m² versus natural stone at £80+/m².
• Flooring (if vinyl/LVT instead of tiles): £500–£1,200. Luxury vinyl tile is popular in kitchens for its warmth, water resistance, and lower cost versus ceramic. Supply and fit for a typical kitchen runs £600–£900.
• Plastering & decorating: £600–£1,200. Walls usually need patching and skimming after the old kitchen comes out. Two coats of paint and possibly new coving. A full plaster skim on all walls adds £300–£500.

3 Labour Costs

Labour typically accounts for 20–30% of a kitchen renovation. For a straightforward strip-out and refit with no layout changes, expect to pay £3,000 to £6,000 in fitting labour. This covers the kitchen fitter (usually 8–15 days depending on complexity), plus the plumber, electrician, tiler, and decorator as separate trades or subcontracted by the main fitter.

Kitchen fitters generally charge £250–£350 per day in most of the UK, rising to £350–£450 in London and the South East. If you're managing trades yourself rather than using one company, you can save 10–15%, but you take on the coordination headache. If you're a builder pricing this work, our guide on builder profit margins covers how to mark up subcontracted labour fairly.

4 Factors That Affect the Final Cost

Two kitchens with the same footprint can cost dramatically different amounts. The main variables are:

• Kitchen size: A galley kitchen at 6m² needs fewer units, less tiling, and less flooring than an open-plan kitchen-diner at 20m². Material quantities scale directly with area.
• Layout changes: Keeping the same layout is significantly cheaper than moving the sink, repositioning the gas supply, or relocating the boiler. Every pipe and cable you move adds labour and materials.
• Moving plumbing or gas: Repositioning a gas hob by even a metre can add £300–£600 for new pipework and certification. Moving waste pipes through floor joists requires careful routing and may need building control sign-off.
• Quality of materials: The gap between budget and premium is enormous. A flat-pack kitchen with laminate worktops might cost £2,000 for supply; a rigid, handleless kitchen with quartz worktops could be £10,000+ for supply alone.
• Property age and condition: Older properties often need more preparation — stripping multiple layers of flooring, dealing with uneven walls, upgrading antiquated electrics, or replacing lead supply pipes. Budget extra contingency for anything pre-1970.
• Location: Trade rates vary by up to 40% across the UK. A kitchen renovation in central London costs meaningfully more than the same job in the Midlands, simply because of labour rates, parking, and access logistics.

5 Hidden Costs People Miss

Every kitchen renovation has costs that don't make it into the initial budget. Being aware of them upfront avoids nasty surprises mid-project.

• Skip hire and waste removal: £250–£500. An old kitchen generates a surprising amount of waste — units, worktops, tiles, plasterboard, appliances. A mini skip or two grab bags are almost always needed.
• Temporary kitchen setup: £50–£200. You'll be without a working kitchen for 3–6 weeks. A microwave, kettle, and temporary worktop in another room, plus increased takeaway spending, is a real cost.
• Building regulations: If you're doing structural work — removing a wall, adding a steel beam, or altering drainage — you'll need building control approval. Fees typically run £300–£600, plus any structural engineer calculations at £200–£400.
• Asbestos: Textured ceiling coatings (Artex), old floor tiles, and pipe lagging in pre-1990s properties may contain asbestos. Testing costs £30–£50 per sample; professional removal starts at £500+.
• Appliance delivery and connection: Some appliance suppliers charge separately for delivery and installation, particularly for gas appliances that need Gas Safe certification. Budget £100–£200.
• Contingency (10%): Always add 10% to your total budget. Something unexpected will come up — rotten joists under old flooring, a hidden leak behind units, or a tile quantity miscalculation. Having contingency built in prevents the project stalling.

Tip: When quoting a kitchen renovation as a tradesperson, include a contingency line in the quote itself. Customers appreciate the transparency, and it protects your margin when issues arise. Our free builder quote template includes a contingency section by default.

Example Quote Breakdown

This example reflects real-world 2026 pricing for a typical mid-range kitchen in a semi-detached house, using decent-quality materials and professional tradespeople. If you're a builder, learning how to quote a building job properly ensures your own version of this table is accurate and profitable every time.

How Long Does a Kitchen Renovation Take?

A typical mid-range kitchen renovation takes 3 to 6 weeks from strip-out to completion. Here's a rough timeline:

• Week 1: Strip-out old kitchen, waste removal, first-fix plumbing and electrics, any plastering or wall preparation.
• Weeks 2–3: Fit new units, worktops, and splashback tiling. Second-fix plumbing and electrics (connecting appliances, fitting sockets and lights).
• Week 4: Flooring, decorating, final connections, snagging, and handover.

Jobs that involve structural changes, building control inspections, or bespoke elements (like stone worktops with long lead times) can stretch to 6–8 weeks. A simple like-for-like refit with no layout changes can be done in 2–3 weeks by an experienced fitter.

Tools like VoxTrade help tradespeople create itemised kitchen renovation quotes on-site in minutes — just walk through the space, describe the work out loud, and the app generates a professional, priced document you can send to the customer before you leave. No more evening spreadsheet sessions.

Wrapping Up

A kitchen renovation in the UK costs between £5,000 and £35,000+ depending on the scope, materials, and whether layout changes are involved. The most common mid-range refit lands at £10,000–£20,000. Kitchen units and worktops are the biggest single cost, followed by labour and appliances. Always add 10% contingency, budget for skip hire and temporary living costs, and get building control involved early if you're doing anything structural.

For tradespeople pricing this type of work, accuracy is everything. Underquote and you lose money; overquote and you lose the job. A detailed, itemised breakdown — like the example table above — builds customer confidence and protects your profit margins.