Kitchen renovation FAQ

A budget flat-pack or contract kitchen costs €4,500 to €10,000 supplied and fitted, a mid-range kitchen runs €9,000 to €20,000, and a made-to-measure family kitchen with quartz worktops typically sits between €15,000 and €25,000 including VAT. A typical fitted kitchen starts around €13,000.

If your existing carcasses, drawers and hinges sit square and dry and you like the room layout, a professional two-pack spray finish in a workshop (€700 to €2,500) or fitting new doors and worktops (€1,350 to €3,600) gives the look of a new kitchen at a fraction of the replacement cost.

Allow 4 to 8 weeks from finalising the design and ordering units to completion. On-site rip-out, first-fix plumbing and electrics, cabinet fitting and worktop installation usually take 3 to 7 working days, leaving you without a working sink and hob for roughly one week.

Quartz, granite and sintered stone tops cannot be templated until the base cabinets are fixed level to the walls. The stonemason laser-templates the fitted base units, fabricates the slabs in the workshop over 5 to 10 working days, and returns to bond the tops and undermount sink.

Leave at least 1,000 mm to 1,200 mm of clear walkway on every working side of an island so dishwasher doors, oven doors and drawers can open fully while someone walks past.

Yes. In Ireland, new circuits for induction hobs, double ovens, island floor feeds or consumer unit upgrades are restricted electrical works and must be completed and certified by a Safe Electric Registered Electrical Contractor (REC).

Supply-and-fit kitchen installations qualify for the reduced 13.5% VAT rate under Revenue's two-thirds rule provided the cost of the materials and appliances supplied by the contractor does not exceed two-thirds of the total net price; otherwise the 23% rate applies.

Relocating hot, cold and waste pipes, core-drilling a new external extractor duct and chasing new cooker and socket cables typically adds €1,000 to €4,000 depending on whether the floor is suspended timber or a poured concrete slab.

There is no general grant for a cosmetic kitchen refit, but local authority Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability can cover lowered worktops and accessible layouts, and the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant can include a kitchen as part of bringing a vacant house back into use.

A factory-built rigid carcass is glued and dowelled under pressure in the workshop using 18 mm moisture-resistant MFC with solid 8 mm to 18 mm backs, whereas budget flat-pack units are cam-locked on site and often use thin hardboard back panels.

Engineered quartz (20 mm or 30 mm) and sintered porcelain slabs resist staining and scratching best; sintered stone also handles hot pans directly, whereas quartz requires trivets to protect the resin binder from thermal shock.

Lifting the old tiles back to a flat subfloor before fitting the units is best practice so appliance heights under the worktop stay standard (870 mm to 900 mm) and thresholds into the hall sit flush.

Upload or take a photo of your current kitchen, pick a door style (such as shaker, handleless or Scandi), cabinet colour and worktop, and the Studio renders that design onto your own room in about 20 seconds.

When you ask to have your kitchen priced, your request goes to one local kitchen company covering your county. They contact you to arrange a measure-up and written quote.