Home / Kitchen Renovation FAQ

4 GROUPS · 19 QUESTIONS · 13 STAGES

Kitchen renovation questions, answered in the order they come up

Most of what homeowners in Oakleigh want to know is not about taste. It is about sequence: who measures what, when a decision becomes final, which trade follows which, and what condition a room is handed back in. The answers below are grouped the way a job runs — planning, materials, build, aftercare.

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STAGES 01–04 · CONSULTATION TO QUOTE

Planning, measuring and design

Four stages happen before anything is pulled off a wall. They are the cheapest place to change your mind and the most expensive place to skip a step.

See all thirteen stages

What happens at the first consultation?

We look at the room as it stands: where the services already run, how the space is used at different times of day, what has to stay and what is simply in the way. Nothing is drawn at this point. The consultation exists to settle scope — whether you are looking at a full strip-out and rebuild, a refresh of doors and benchtops, or cabinetry only.

Why is measuring treated as its own stage?

Because rooms are rarely square. Walls bow, floors fall away towards a doorway, and a cabinet run that fits on paper can bind by ten millimetres in the corner. The measure records wall lengths at three heights, window and door reveals, waste and water positions, switchboard location and ceiling height. Everything drawn afterwards sits on those figures.

What does the design stage actually decide?

Zoning and clearances first — walkways, door swings, the distance between sink, cooktop and fridge — then module widths, drawer banks and bench height. Only after that does anything cosmetic get chosen. Layout logic is set out in custom kitchen design, and the four common plans are compared in kitchen layouts explained.

What does a quote cover?

A written scope against the drawing: cabinetry construction and hardware, benchtop material and edge, splashback, appliance provisions, the plumbing and electrical work involved, installation and finishing — plus what is excluded, such as flooring, painting beyond the work area or structural changes. What moves the figure up or down is explained in what drives kitchen renovation cost.

Do appliances have to be chosen before design is finished?

Yes — model by model. Cabinet openings, ventilation gaps, benchtop cut-outs and power positions are built around specific dimensions, not categories. Swapping a 900 freestanding cooker for a 600 built-in oven after cabinetry is in production changes several cabinets, not one.

Can you work with a layout we have already settled on?

Often, yes. We will still test it against clearances and service positions and tell you where it will be awkward to live with. Where the existing footprint is genuinely tight — many units and villas around Hughesdale, Murrumbeena and Clayton are — the fix is usually storage planning rather than moving walls. See small kitchen renovations.

STAGE 05 · SELECTIONS · 20MM · 40MM

Materials and selections

How do we choose a benchtop material?

By how the surface will be treated, not by how the sample looks under showroom light. Heat tolerance, staining, edge chipping, joins and repairability separate engineered stone, natural stone, porcelain, timber and laminate more than colour does. The comparison sits in benchtop materials compared, and fabrication detail in kitchen benchtops.

When is the splashback decided?

At selections, with the benchtop and door finish in hand, because those three surfaces are read together and never chosen in isolation. Tile format affects grout lines and how much wall movement shows; full-height stone affects the benchtop order. Options are set out in kitchen splashbacks and splashback ideas.

Can selections change after the quote?

Up to the point cabinetry goes into production and stone is ordered, yes, with the scope adjusted in writing. After that, a change usually means remaking a component rather than editing it — which is why selections are a stage with an end, not an open conversation that runs into the build.

What separates custom cabinetry from flat-pack?

Carcass material and thickness, how the back is fixed, edge banding, and whether the cabinet is made to the room or the room is padded out to the cabinet. Custom work also lets module widths follow what you store instead of a fixed 300 / 450 / 600 catalogue. Detail in custom cabinetry and the cabinetry guide.

Which door finishes handle daily wear?

Matte laminates and quality two-pack both wear well; the difference shows at edges, around handles and where steam rises. Deep colours mark more visibly than mid tones, and handleless fronts shift wear onto the top edge. See modern kitchens and luxury kitchens.

Is an island always worth the floor it takes?

Only if the walkways around it survive. An island needs clear aisles, room for door and drawer fronts to open, and seating depth that does not sit in a traffic path. Sizing is worked through in kitchen islands.

REFERENCE PHOTO · STAGE 12 · FINISHING

STAGES 06–12 · DEMOLITION TO FINISHING

On site: the build

Can we stay living at home during the work?

Most households do. You will be without a sink, cooktop and usually a dishwasher from demolition through to benchtop installation, so a temporary kitchen set up elsewhere — kettle, microwave, fridge, a tub or bathroom basin for washing up — matters more than people expect. The renovation checklist covers how to set that up.

How are plumbing and electrical coordinated?

In two visits, either side of the cabinetry. Rough-in follows demolition and the set-out marks on the floor and walls: waste and water moved to the new sink position, circuits and data run to appliance and lighting points. Fit-off happens after benchtops are installed and cut, when taps, the sink, appliances and switches can be connected to a finished surface. Booking those two visits in the wrong order is the most common reason a kitchen stalls.

Which stages control the overall timeline?

Three links in the chain are fixed and cannot be compressed: cabinetry manufacture, which begins only once selections are locked; benchtop templating, which needs cabinetry physically installed and level; and the gap between template and stone installation, which belongs to the fabricator. Everything else can be sequenced around them. The dependencies are mapped stage by stage in how long a kitchen renovation takes.

What happens if something unexpected is behind the old cabinets?

Older Oakleigh homes hide plenty: patched plaster, redundant pipework, out-of-plumb studs, tiles bedded straight onto brick. Demolition is when it surfaces. The answer is a written variation before the work is done — what was found, what it changes in the scope, and whether it affects the program — rather than a surprise at the end.

Can you install cabinetry we have bought elsewhere?

Installation-only work is a service in its own right — cabinet fit-off, levelling and scribing, benchtop templating and fitting, hardware adjustment and appliance fitting. Details are on kitchen installation & cabinetry fit-off. If the scope is smaller again — doors, benchtop and splashback on sound existing carcasses — see kitchen makeovers.

Can a laundry be done at the same time?

It is the sensible time to do it. The same carcass material, hardware and benchtop run can extend into the laundry while the trades are already on site and the services are open. See laundry cabinetry & joinery.

STAGE 13 · HANDOVER · CARE

Aftercare and handover

What happens at handover?

A walk of the finished room together: every door and drawer opened and adjusted, silicone lines and scribes checked, appliances run, and any item you are not happy with written down and dealt with rather than discussed. You should also leave handover knowing which surfaces in your kitchen need what. The stage sits at the end of the thirteen-step process.

BENCHTOP · SEALED · UNSEALED

Looking after the benchtop

Engineered stone and porcelain want neutral cleaners, not abrasives or anything caustic. Marble and other porous natural stone need sealing and a fast response to wine, citrus and oil. Timber is oiled on a schedule and forgives a scratch better than stone does. Nothing takes a hot pan straight off the cooktop. Material behaviour is compared on kitchen benchtops.

HINGES · RUNNERS · FRONTS

Cabinetry and hardware

Doors move slightly as a house settles; hinges are adjustable in three directions and worth checking once a year. Wipe fronts dry rather than leaving moisture at edges, and keep steam from a kettle or dishwasher away from an overhead front. Drawer runners need nothing but a clear track. More in the cabinetry guide.

WHERE EACH ANSWER CONTINUES

Read the detail, then send us the room

If a question here is still open, it is usually because the answer depends on your room. Send the measurements you have, a few photos and what you want the kitchen to do — that is enough to begin a scope.

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