Most kitchen renovations take between a few days and four weeks once work starts on site. A simple update to an existing kitchen can be done in under a week. A like-for-like replacement usually takes one to two weeks. A full renovation with a new layout, moved plumbing and stone worktops usually takes around 14 working days, or about three weeks. Most of that time goes on plaster drying and the wait for worktops to be made.
Knowing how long a kitchen renovation takes helps you plan meals, time off work and deliveries. This guide walks through the work day by day, explains why some kitchens take longer than others and ends with a checklist to help you keep your project on schedule.
Key Facts at a Glance
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Simple kitchen refurbishment | Often 2 to 5 working days when the units and layout stay the same |
| Like-for-like replacement | Around 5 to 10 working days with laminate worktops |
| Full renovation with a new layout | Around 14 working days (about three weeks) with stone worktops |
| Biggest single delay | Stone worktops take 7 to 10 working days to make after templating |
| Plaster drying before painting | At least 5 to 7 days, longer in cold or damp rooms |
| Time without a working kitchen | From strip-out until the sink and hob are reconnected |
| Who can connect a gas hob? | Only a Gas Safe registered engineer, by law |
How Long Does a Kitchen Renovation Take for Each Type of Project?
The answer depends on how much of the room changes. Swapping doors and worktops on an existing layout takes days. Moving the sink, adding circuits and fitting stone worktops takes weeks. Removing a wall or building an extension adds structural work and inspections, which adds more time again.
| Project type | What it usually involves | Typical time on site (guide only) |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen refurbishment | New doors, worktops, handles or appliances on the existing units | 2 to 5 working days |
| Like-for-like replacement | New units and laminate worktops in the same layout | 5 to 10 working days |
| Full kitchen renovation | New layout, moved plumbing, new sockets, plastering, flooring and stone worktops | Around 14 working days |
| Open-plan knock-through | A full renovation plus removing a wall and fitting a steel beam | 4 to 6 weeks |
| Kitchen extension | New foundations, walls and roof before the kitchen goes in | Several months |
These ranges reflect how the work is usually sequenced. Your own timeline depends on the size of the room, the materials you choose and what is found once the old kitchen comes out. Our kitchen renovations team includes a timeline with every quote, so you know what to expect before work begins.
If you are adding space as well, the build comes first and the kitchen follows. Our single storey extension cost guide explains what that stage involves.
Time on Site Is Only Part of the Story
The figures above cover the time trades spend in your home. Before that, there is a planning stage for the survey, design, quote and ordering. This stage often takes longer than the work itself. Made-to-order and painted kitchens can take several weeks to arrive, so ask your supplier for a confirmed delivery date before you agree a start date.
Kitchen Refurbishment vs Renovation: How the Timelines Compare
When people compare a kitchen refurbishment vs renovation, the main difference is what stays. A refurbishment keeps the layout, the units and usually the services. A renovation changes the room itself. That is why one takes days and the other takes weeks.
What a Refurbishment Usually Involves
- New cupboard doors, drawer fronts and handles
- Replacement worktops cut to fit the existing units
- New appliances in the same positions
- A fresh splashback and redecoration
Because the sink, hob and sockets stay where they are, there is no first fix, no plastering and very little waiting between trades.
What a Renovation Usually Involves
- Removing the old kitchen back to bare walls
- Moving pipes, adding circuits or rerouting gas
- Replastering, new flooring and new lighting
- Sometimes widening an opening or removing a wall
Each of these adds a stage, and some stages cannot start until the one before is finished. If you are weighing up the budget side of this choice, our kitchen renovation cost guide compares the two in detail.
What Happens in the Weeks Before Work Starts?
The weeks before strip-out decide whether the job runs on time. This is when the room is measured, the layout is fixed, everything is ordered and any approvals are arranged. A well-planned start is the best protection against delays later.
Survey and Design
A proper survey checks more than the room size. It looks at the condition of the walls and floor, where pipes and cables run and whether the electrics can take new appliances. This is also the time to decide where sockets, lights and the extractor will go. Changing these later means cutting into finished walls.
Ordering Units, Worktops and Appliances
Lead times vary widely. Some ranges are held in stock, while made-to-order or painted units take longer. Order appliances early as well, because the fitter needs their exact sizes. When deliveries arrive, check every box against the order. One missing corner unit can stop the whole fit.
Approvals for Structural Work
If you want an open-plan room, removing a load-bearing wall needs structural calculations, a steel beam and building regulations approval. These need to be arranged before the wall comes down.
Getting Your Home Ready
Empty the cupboards, clear the route from the front door and set up somewhere to make simple meals. Our guide to living in your house during a renovation has practical tips on setting up a temporary kitchen.
Kitchen Installation Stages: A Day-by-Day Fitting Timeline
The timeline below shows typical kitchen installation stages for a full renovation with a new layout and stone worktops, completed in 14 working days. That is just under three weeks. Simpler jobs skip some stages. Every kitchen is different, but the order of work stays much the same.
| Working days | Stage | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Strip-out | Services made safe, old kitchen removed, walls and floor checked |
| Days 2 to 3 | First fix | New pipework, cables, back boxes and any gas pipe changes |
| Day 4 | Plastering | Walls and ceiling skimmed or boarded |
| Days 5 to 6 | Flooring and units | Floor prepared, base and wall units fitted and levelled |
| Day 6 | Templating | Stone worktops measured once base units are secure |
| Days 7 to 12 | Worktop wait | Worktops made while painting and finishing work continues |
| Day 13 | Worktop fitting | Worktops fitted, sink and hob connected and tested |
| Days 13 to 14 | Tiling and second fix | Splashback tiled, sockets and lights finished, appliances fitted |
| Day 14 | Snagging and handover | Final checks, clean and walkthrough |
With laminate worktops, the worktop wait disappears. The same kitchen would usually be finished in around 8 to 10 working days, depending on how quickly the plaster dries for painting.
Day 1: Strip-Out and Making Safe
The first job is protecting the rest of your home. Floors and doorways are covered, and the water, electrics and gas are isolated. The old units, worktops and appliances then come out, along with any tiles that are being replaced.
Once the room is empty, problems that were hidden behind the old kitchen become visible. Damp, rotten floorboards, loose plaster and old wiring are the most common. It is better to find them now than after the new units are in. In homes built or refurbished before 2000, old floor tiles, textured ceilings or pipe boxing can contain asbestos. If anything suspicious turns up, work in that area stops until it has been tested.
Days 2 to 3: First Fix Plumbing, Electrics and Gas
First fix is the work that ends up hidden inside walls and floors. Pipes are run to the new sink and appliance positions. Cables are run for new sockets, lighting and the cooker circuit. If the hob is moving, the gas supply is rerouted.
What Do First Fix and Second Fix Mean?
First fix covers everything installed before plastering, such as pipes, cables and back boxes. Second fix covers the visible finishing after plastering, such as sockets, switches, taps and appliance connections. Thinking in these two stages explains why a socket cannot easily be moved once the walls are finished.
New electrical circuits must meet building regulations, and you should receive an electrical certificate when the work is complete. Any work on gas pipework or a gas hob must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Before the work starts, you can check an engineer on the Gas Safe Register to confirm they are qualified for the job.
Day 4: Plastering and Drying Time
Walls that have been chased for cables or damaged during strip-out are made good. In most renovations the walls are skimmed, and some ceilings are boarded and skimmed too. Fresh plaster needs at least five to seven days to dry before a mist coat, and longer in a cold or poorly ventilated room. Units can usually be fitted while the plaster dries, but painting has to wait.
Days 5 to 6: Flooring and Fitting the Units
Depending on the material, flooring is laid either before the units go in or afterwards up to the plinths. Tiled floors often go down first. Some vinyl and laminate floors are fitted at the end.
The base units are then fixed and levelled, followed by the wall units, tall housings and end panels. If you are wondering how long to fit a kitchen once the room is ready, the fitter's work on an average kitchen adds up to around three to eight days. It is spread across this stage and the worktop, door and appliance work later. Island units, larder housings and integrated appliances add time.
Day 6: Worktop Templating
Laminate and wooden worktops are usually cut and fitted on site straight after the units. Stone, quartz and solid surface worktops are different. They are templated, which means measured precisely with a laser or template boards, once the base units are fully fixed. Templating usually takes a few hours.
Days 7 to 12: The Worktop Wait
This is the gap that surprises most homeowners. Quartz and granite worktops typically take 7 to 10 working days to make after templating, and solid surface worktops can take longer. This 14-day timeline assumes the quicker end of that range. If your worktops take the full 10 working days, the finish date moves back by about three days. During this time there is no sink or hob, so the kitchen is still out of use.
The time is not wasted. Once the plaster is dry, the ceiling and walls can be painted. Lighting, plinths and other finishing work can go ahead, and the fitter can return when the worktops arrive.
Day 13: Worktops, Sink and Hob
Fitting stone worktops usually takes a few hours. The sink is then installed and plumbed in, the tap is connected and the water is turned back on. The hob is connected and tested, and gas hobs are checked by the Gas Safe engineer before they are used. For many households, this is the day the kitchen becomes usable again.
Days 13 to 14: Splashback Tiling and Second Fix
Splashback tiles go on after the worktops, because they sit on top of them. Grout normally needs around 24 hours before it is cleaned or gets wet. At the same time, the electrician fits sockets, switches and under-cabinet lights, and the appliances are slid into place and connected.
Day 14: Snagging and Handover
Snagging means checking every detail and fixing small faults. Doors are adjusted so the gaps are even. Drawers are tested, sealant lines are checked and every appliance is run. You should then be given the paperwork, including electrical and gas certificates, any building control sign-off and your warranty details.
Kitchen Fitting Timeline: Laminate vs Stone Worktops
Your worktop choice has a bigger effect on the kitchen fitting timeline than almost anything else. Laminate is fitted as part of the main installation. Stone adds a measuring visit, a manufacturing wait and a return visit.
| Stage | Laminate or wood worktops | Stone, quartz or solid surface |
|---|---|---|
| How worktops are measured | Cut on site during fitting | Templated once base units are fixed |
| Time to make | None, cut from stock lengths | 7 to 10 working days for quartz or granite |
| When the sink and hob work again | Usually the day after the units are fitted | Once the stone worktops are installed |
| Typical full renovation | About 8 to 10 working days | About 14 working days |
Neither choice is wrong. If stone is important to you, plan for the gap from the start. When you compare quotes, ask each installer how long to fit a kitchen with your chosen worktops, not just how long the units take. Ask whether templating can be booked for the day the base units are finished, as every day saved there shortens the whole job.
What Slows a Kitchen Renovation Down?
Most delays come from deliveries, hidden problems, late changes and drying times. Very few come from the fitting itself. Knowing the common causes helps you avoid most of them.
Late, Missing or Damaged Deliveries
A kitchen is made of hundreds of parts. A damaged door or a missing cabinet can hold up one section while the rest carries on. Check deliveries the day they arrive and report problems straight away, so replacements can be ordered while work continues elsewhere.
Hidden Problems Behind the Old Kitchen
Older homes often hide surprises. Common examples include damp patches, rotten joists under the sink, out-of-date wiring and uneven walls. Each needs fixing before the new kitchen goes in. Keep a small contingency in your budget and your diary for this.
Changing the Plan Part-Way Through
Moving a socket before first fix is quick. Moving it after plastering means cutting into the wall, re-plastering and waiting for it to dry again. Fix the layout, appliance list and socket positions before work starts, and walk through them with your installer on day one.
Drying and Curing Times
Plaster, floor screed, tile adhesive and grout all need time. These waits cannot be rushed without risking cracks or loose tiles. New screed in particular can take weeks to dry, so a new concrete floor adds noticeably to the schedule.
Structural Work and Inspections
Removing a wall adds the steel beam, building control visits and making good around the opening. The kitchen cannot be fitted until that work is signed off. If your project includes a knock-through, expect at least an extra week or two.
Gaps Between Separate Trades
When the fitter, plumber, electrician, plasterer and tiler all work for different companies, each one has to fit you into their own diary. A day's gap between each trade soon adds a week. Having one team plan the whole sequence closes most of those gaps.
Kitchen Renovation Checklist: How to Keep Your Project on Time
Use this kitchen renovation checklist to stay on track from planning to handover. Most of the points take only a few minutes, but they prevent the delays that cost the most time.
Before Work Starts
- Agree the layout, appliance list and socket positions in writing
- Confirm delivery dates for units, worktops and appliances
- Ask for a written timeline that shows each stage
- Check whether building control approval is needed
- Clear the kitchen and the route in from the front door
- Set up a temporary kitchen and plan simple meals
During the Installation
- Check every delivery against the order on arrival
- Be available on day one and at first fix to confirm positions
- Ask for templating to be booked as soon as base units are fixed
- Raise any concerns early rather than at the end
At Handover
- Open every door and drawer and run every appliance
- Check sealant lines, grout and splashback edges
- Collect electrical and gas certificates and any building control sign-off
- Keep your warranty details and appliance manuals together
Planning Your Kitchen Renovation With Greentek
A kitchen renovation usually takes days for a refurbishment, one to two weeks for a like-for-like replacement and around 14 working days for a full renovation with stone worktops. The work on site follows the same order every time. Strip-out comes first, then first fix, plastering, units, worktops, second fix and handover. Good planning before day one is what keeps that order moving.
If your kitchen is part of a wider project, our full home renovation service plans the kitchen alongside the rest of the work, so trades are not waiting on each other.
Greentek Energy Ltd carries out kitchen renovations for homeowners across the UK. Our own fitters, plumbers, electricians and plasterers work in sequence, and every quote comes with a fixed price and a timeline agreed in writing before work begins. If you would like to know how long your kitchen would take, book a free survey and we will talk you through it.
