Your kitchen design is complete, and the main event is approaching. We’ve seen a range of experiences and some valuable ways to make the process run smoothly. The key is in the preparation…
Everything must be removed from the kitchen ahead of the start date. You will need plenty of boxes and packing materials and we promise you, it will take longer than you think, so you want to start at least two weeks ahead of time.
Select a practical room in your home for your camp out kitchen, that is close to a bathroom or sink. You are likely to be washing up by hand and needing a place to stack dirty dishes, as well as dry clean ones without ruining a wooden floor beneath for example.
Put aside vital high use items for the impending camp out, such as crockery, pans, microwaveable bowls and cutlery. You’ll also need your handy electrical equipment such as a kettle, toaster, microwave and if you can get a portable electric hotplate, that will really help.
Consider where you can relocate your refrigerator or even consider buying or renting a small unit if a relocation isn’t possible. Remembering not all refrigerators can be placed in garages or unheated areas, so check the manufacturers details.
You may also be without running mains water for a day or overnight so have plenty of bottled water on hand.
Depending on your location you may consider you ‘will just eat out’. Aside from the growing cost and associated expanding waistline, this often isn’t practical in real terms, whether that’s time pressures or an unforeseen illness/injury and besides those trades people do like a cup of tea.
For the average 4-6 bedroomed family home a kitchen replacement will take an absolute minimum of around two weeks (if fully delivered by an experienced kitchen company with no surprises) but it’s reasonable to expect it can run into 3 or even 4 weeks, sometimes longer. A lot of this will depend on the size of the kitchen, any unusual or bespoke items, whether all trades and products arrive as suspected and undamaged, but most of all no hidden surprises are uncovered.
So, you need to be prepared to safely store food, cook and wash dishes for that period.
Any adjacent rooms to the kitchen are likely to get dusty, so getting some good recyclable plastic decorating sheets will help protect belongings.
Outside your property there will need to be a place for waste to accumulate, whether that’s a skip or a sectioned off area (your kitchen company will advise).
Inside or in dry storage you will need to provide a place for the new units to be stored until they are ready to be fitted. This may be only a few days, but it could be for longer, so be prepared.
Finally remove all delicate items between the entrance to your property and the kitchen, as there will be a lot of traffic and a lot of large items being moved around.
The biggest surprise will be how quickly your old kitchen is ripped out, most of it will be gone in the first day!
You are then at the mercy of planning, lady luck, the trades and your property not presenting any unexpected surprises.
A good kitchen company should put plenty of flooring protection and dust blocks around the doorways and clean up the worst of any mess each day. You should expect a rough project timeline and be kept informed of progress to that plan, including any unforeseen issues.
Be prepared that you may have to make some quick decisions if an unforeseen situation arises, this could be anything from positioning of lighting to swapping a product out. This is normal and if you are available and able to make quick decisions, undue delays can be mitigated.
The most important thing is to be clear on any expectations you have up front and keep open professional lines of communication going. Do take time to inspect the work at the end of each day and raise any questions or concerns the following day, in writing if necessary.
As your gorgeous new kitchen comes to life the last few days can feel frustrating, the flooring will need to be laid before the unit kick plates can be cut and you may not be able to walk on the floor for 2 or 3 days. It will all be worth it!