At this time of year many of my customers are thinking about updating their kitchen, taking advantage of those new year sales. Remodelling your kitchen can be a very expensive project, so in this blog I’d like to share some insider tips and ideas on how you can save some serious money.

 

Most of us purchase our kitchens from our nearest DIY store, but don’t get locked into the process of using one store to supply and fit your whole kitchen. It might be convenient but it also extremely expensive. More on this later.

Use a free kitchen design service from your local DIY store but get them to experiment with a few different options, and use this free service to help resolve the practical stuff like utilities.

Buy the kitchen you want from where you want, but don’t buy your taps, sink, waste, appliances or worktops from them. You’ll notice that during sale periods it is the cabinets/doors that are reduced. Everything else is full price and the mark-up can be astonishing. Plumbing items like sink, taps etc can come from your local plumbing merchant (often more than 60% cheaper), worktops (even solid wood) can come from online retailers like Screw Fix (up to 50% cheaper) and appliances can be chosen in store locally and then ordered online from more competitive shops like www.bootskitchenappliance.com (around 40% cheaper).

Watch out for fitting accessories that have been added to your bill as these will also carry a high mark-up and can be sourced elsewhere for a fraction of the price. Look for things like worktop joining bolts, mitre bond adhesive and oils that may be sold at inflated prices. Ask for these to be removed from your bill.

 

Dismantling the old kitchen is an expense in itself, but doing this yourself could save you upwards of £100. Don’t get stuck when you get to the kitchen sink – if you spot some isolation valves on the hot and cold supply pipes, close them and you are away!

If you are planning lots of changes, like a new socket here and there, repositioning the cooker, new flooring, moving the sink a little, tiling the splashback… all these are separate trades and calling in a different tradesperson for each job will soon get very expensive. Not to mention that scheduling each trade to be on site at the right time, on the right day, with the right tools and materials is in itself a headache. This is where Handyman House & Garden saves you even more money, because as a multi-trade service we can handle all these jobs, co-ordinate and schedule them, and minimise the inconvenience to you. And responsible handyman services like ours will schedule the necessary gas works and electrical safety checks so that you have piece of mind and the relevant paperwork for when you one day sell your house on.

 

By following these simple tips you’ll be able to save up to half your total purchase costs and get your kitchen fully installed for less than half the price quoted by your DIY store. You didn’t hear it from me. Sssshhhhh.