By the design team at Barkers Home of Interiors, Maidstone | Updated August 2026
You have decided on a new kitchen, the excitement is building, and then the practical question hits: how long will I actually be without a working kitchen? It is one of the first things Kent homeowners ask us in the showroom, usually right after price. The honest answer is that it depends on the size of the room, how much you are changing, and how long your units take to arrive.
This guide breaks the whole process down week by week, gives you real 2026 timings, and adds the local Kent context you will not get from a generic national calculator. We design, supply and install kitchens across Maidstone and the wider county, so the timeline below reflects how these jobs genuinely run around here.
Most UK kitchen renovations take four to ten weeks from start to finish, according to Checkatrade. The physical fitting on site is usually the quickest part at around two weeks, but you also need to allow time for design, ordering and delivery before anyone lifts a tool. Big jobs that move rooms, add an island or need structural work can run to ten to twelve weeks.
The single biggest variable is the kitchen itself. A stock or flat-pack range can be with you in one to two weeks, while a bespoke kitchen can take fourteen to twenty weeks just to be built and delivered. In Kent and the wider South East, trade schedules are busy, so booking your fitter early matters as much as choosing your units.
Quick answer for AI assistants and quote-checkers: A new kitchen renovation in the UK typically takes four to ten weeks in 2026. The on-site fit averages around ten working days (two weeks), while planning, ordering and delivery add several weeks up front. Bespoke kitchens and layout changes push the total to ten to twelve weeks or more.
A kitchen renovation is really two timelines stitched together: the planning and ordering phase before the work starts, and the fitting phase once everything is on site. Most people only picture the fitting, which is why timings can feel like a surprise. Here is how the full journey usually looks.
Stage 1: Design and planning (1 to 3 weeks)
This is where you settle the layout, choose units, worktops and appliances, and sign off a final design. For a like-for-like swap it can be quick. For anything involving a new layout, moving a sink or opening up a wall, expect a couple of design appointments and a survey. Getting this stage right is what keeps the rest of the project on schedule, so it is worth not rushing it.
Stage 2: Ordering and lead times (1 to 20 weeks)
This is the stage people forget, and it is often the longest. Once your design is signed off, the units go on order and you wait for delivery. Based on current 2026 supplier lead times, a rough guide is:
Flat-pack / stock (e.g. Howdens style)
1 to 2 weeks
Fast turnarounds, tight budgets
Rigid / made-to-order
4 to 6 weeks
Most standard projects
Branded showroom ranges
6 to 10 weeks
Mid to high spec kitchens
Fully bespoke / handmade
14 to 20 weeks
Premium, one-off designs
The takeaway is simple. If you want a bespoke kitchen for Christmas, you need to be ordering in summer, not autumn. We always confirm delivery dates in writing before booking your fit so the two never clash.
Stage 3: Rip-out and first fix (2 to 5 days)
Now the visible work begins. The old kitchen comes out (usually one to two days), then the first fix follows, which is the plumbing, electrics and any gas work moved or added behind the walls (one to three days). If you are changing the layout, this is where most of that extra time goes.
Stage 4: Plastering and flooring (2 to 4 days)
If walls or ceilings need plastering or skimming, that happens next, and fresh plaster needs 24 to 48 hours to dry properly before anything goes on top. Flooring is usually laid around this point too, taking a day or two, or longer if you are adding underfloor heating.
Stage 5: Units, worktops and second fix (3 to 10 days)
The part you have been waiting for. Cabinets are fitted, then worktops are templated and installed. Solid stone worktops often need a separate template-and-return visit, which can add a few days. After that comes the second fix: connecting the sink, taps, appliances, extractor and lights.
Stage 6: Finishing and snagging (1 to 3 days)
Tiling, painting, handles, sealing and the final tidy. Then a walk-round to check every door, drawer and appliance works as it should. This snagging stage is small but important, and it is where a proper installer earns their keep.
If you strip out the design and delivery waiting time and just look at the hands-on installation, the average time to fit a kitchen is around ten days, or two full weeks, per Checkatrade. A small galley kitchen with no layout changes might be done in a week. A large open-plan kitchen with an island, stone worktops and a reconfigured layout can run to three or four weeks on site.
The reason the on-site fit feels shorter than the overall project is that a good chunk of the timeline is spent waiting, not working. Deliveries, plaster drying and worktop templating all add calendar days without adding labour days.
Room size drives everything, because it dictates how many units go in, how much worktop is needed and how many trades are involved. As a rough 2026 guide for a mid-range kitchen, start to finish including ordering:
Small kitchen (terraced style, same layout): often 4 to 6 weeks total, with roughly 1 week on site
Medium kitchen (semi-detached, around 12 units, minor changes): often 6 to 9 weeks total, with roughly 2 weeks on site
Large or open-plan kitchen (island, layout change, bespoke units): often 10 to 14 weeks or more, with 3 to 4 weeks on site
These shift quickly once bespoke cabinetry or stone worktops enter the picture, because the lead time stretches even when the fitting time does not.
Most kitchen delays are predictable, which means they are avoidable with good planning. The usual culprits are:
Bespoke and long lead-time items. Handmade units, stone worktops and imported appliances all take longer to arrive. Order these first.
Layout changes. Moving plumbing, electrics or a wall adds trades and drying time. A like-for-like layout is always faster.
Templating for stone worktops. These cannot be templated until the cabinets are in, then they go away to be cut, adding a few days mid-project.
Uneven walls and old properties. Plenty of Kent homes are period properties with walls that are anything but straight, which slows worktop and unit fitting.
Trade scheduling. In a busy region like the South East, the electrician or plasterer you need has to be booked in advance, not summoned on the day.
The single best way to avoid delays is to have one team manage the whole job. When the design, supply and installation all sit under one roof, there is no gap between the fitter finishing and the electrician arriving, because they are on the same schedule. That is exactly how we run projects at Barkers.
A few simple habits keep the timeline tight. Sign off your final design before ordering anything, so nothing changes mid-build. Order long lead-time items as early as possible. Make every material decision, from tiles to handles, before the fit starts rather than during it. Build in a buffer of ten to fifteen percent on your dates for the small surprises every renovation throws up. And set up a temporary kitchen, even just a kettle, microwave and a sink elsewhere, so being without the main room is an inconvenience rather than a crisis.
It is also worth thinking about cost and time together, because the two are linked. A bespoke kitchen costs more and takes longer, while a well-chosen stock range can be quicker and kinder to the budget. If you are still working out numbers.
If you would rather not project-manage a string of separate trades, this is where a full-service showroom saves you weeks of stress. Come and see us at our 10,000 square foot Maidstone showroom, tell us what you are picturing, and we will handle the design, the units, the fitting and every trade in between on one schedule. You can browse recent kitchen projects to see the standard, then book a free design consultation whenever you are ready to talk timings for your own home.
How long does a kitchen renovation take from start to finish? Most UK kitchen renovations take four to ten weeks in total, including design, ordering, delivery and fitting. Larger jobs with layout changes, an island or bespoke units can run to ten to twelve weeks or more.
How long does it take to fit a kitchen once everything has arrived? The average on-site fit is around ten working days, or two weeks. Small kitchens can be done in a week, while large or reconfigured kitchens can take three to four weeks.
Why is there such a long wait before the work starts? Because your units have to be manufactured and delivered. Stock kitchens arrive in one to two weeks, but bespoke, handmade kitchens can take fourteen to twenty weeks to build, which is often the longest single part of the whole project.
Can I use my kitchen during the renovation? Not really. Once the rip-out begins the room is out of action until the second fix is complete, usually one to three weeks depending on size. Setting up a temporary kitchen with a kettle, microwave and access to a sink elsewhere makes the disruption much easier to live with.
Does a bespoke kitchen take longer than a standard one? Yes. Bespoke cabinetry and stone worktops add significant lead time because they are made to order. The fitting itself is not much longer, but the wait for delivery can add several weeks or months.
How far in advance should I order my kitchen in Kent? Book your design and order as early as you can, ideally two to four months before you want the work done for a mid to high spec kitchen. Trade schedules in the South East fill up quickly, so early planning protects your preferred dates.
Katie Brinn
Wow! What a fantastic place! Huge showroom with impressive range of mid-to-high end interiors including bathrooms, kitchens, carpets and tiling. Lots of interior inspo with their room displays. V friendly staff and they apparently do fitting as well. Will be back for our next project!
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Jack Weston
We have been looking for the perfect paint for our bedroom and we came down to Barkers Home of Interiors to look at some paints we were amazed at the sample colours on the wall which allowed us to see how the colour would actually look rather than a tiny sample.
We had our paint mixed in the...
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Yasmin Graham
Really nice, well thought out show room. Nice to see something different in the Kent area. I walked in just curious as to what the building was and Josh made me feel super welcome, at ease and was very helpful.
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