Dry fit or full fit kitchen: what each one covers

What is left to you on a dry fit

Stripping out and preparation sit on the full-fit list, so on a dry fit they are normally done before we arrive, by you or your own trades. The plumber, the electrician and the tiler are also yours to book.

Gas work must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer. New electrical circuits are notifiable building work, normally done by a registered electrician who can certify them. That applies whichever route you take. On a full fit we coordinate them with the fitting. On a dry fit you arrange them.

A dry fit suits you if you already have trades you trust, or if the layout stays as it is and the pipes and sockets are already where the new units need them. If the layout changes, there is more for the other trades to do, and a full fit is usually easier to run.

The order the work happens in

The sequence is the same however the job is split. The gaps between trades are where dry fits go wrong.

• Old kitchen out, walls and floor made good.
• Pipework and cabling brought to the right places and left ready.
• Units levelled and fixed, then doors, then worktops.
• Sink, hob, tap and appliances connected.
• Splashback tiling, which goes on after the worktops so the tiler knows where the worktop edge sits.
• Plinths, trims and final adjustments.

Worktops set how long the kitchen is out of use

Many worktops are cut and fitted on site. Tell us the material and we will confirm what we fit. Stone and quartz are normally different: the supplier templates the worktop once the units are fixed, makes it and installs it. We fit the units ready for it, and the kitchen then waits for the supplier's date.

Until the worktop is in, the sink and hob cannot be connected. Plan how you will cook and wash up in the meantime.

The plumber and electrician usually come twice, once before the units go in and once after the worktops. On a dry fit you book both visits and keep them in step with ours.

What moves a labour-only price

Units and appliances are bought separately, so fitting is quoted as labour. The main drivers are how big the kitchen is, how many units go in, which worktops you have chosen, and how much preparation or plumbing the room needs. Other things that change it:

• Whether the old kitchen is coming out.
• Whether the layout changes, because pipework and sockets then have to move.
• The worktop material and the cut-outs for the sink and hob.
• Whether we are also fitting the sink, tap and appliances.

Comparing a dry-fit quote with a full-fit quote

A dry-fit figure is smaller because it covers less, but the two are not directly comparable. Add the plumber, electrician, tiler and whoever prepares the walls to the dry-fit quote before you compare.

We price from photos, the plan and measurements sent on WhatsApp, and for bigger jobs we visit first. Before you order, send us the unit list too. We check it covers what the fitting needs, such as plinths, cornice and filler panels, because a missing filler panel on fitting day stops the job.

Which one to choose

Choose a dry fit if you have your own plumber, electrician and tiler, you are happy to coordinate them, and the room is already prepared. Choose a full fit if you would rather deal with one team from stripping out to the final adjustments. For an IKEA kitchen, see IKEA kitchen fitting.

If the rest of the house is being redone too, room and home renovation keeps the trades in sequence around the kitchen. For the kitchen itself, see kitchen fitting.