Your Complete Guide to the Kitchen Renovation Process in Perth

The quick version: A complete kitchen renovation usually moves through six stages: planning and design, preparing the existing space, cabinetry and benchtop installation, splashback installation, plumbing and electrical fit-off, and final finishes. Some trades, particularly your plumber and electrician, will be needed at more than one point.

At The Maker Designer Kitchens, we design your kitchen and take care of the cabinetry, stone and installation. You organise the surrounding trades needed to prepare and finish the room, using the cabinetry plans and pre-works guidance we provide. Once the sequence is clear, it becomes much easier to plan who needs to come in and when.

Planning a kitchen renovation can quickly raise practical questions. Should the plumber come before or after demolition? When does the electrician need to return? Who installs the splashback? And when should the flooring go down?

The Kitchen Renovation Process at a Glance

The professionals involved will depend on the scope of your renovation. A kitchen remaining within much the same footprint will generally involve fewer moving parts than one with wall, window, bulkhead or service changes.

Who Does What During a Kitchen Renovation?

For many homeowners, knowing who to organise, and when, is one of the biggest questions about the kitchen renovation process.

You’ll arrange the surrounding trades needed to prepare and finish the room. Depending on your renovation, this may include a demolition contractor, plumber, electrician, builder or structural engineer, splashback installer, flooring contractor and finishing trades.

At The Maker Designer Kitchens, we take care of your kitchen design, cabinetry, stone and installation. We also provide cabinetry plans and pre-works information to help your trades prepare the space correctly, while your external trades remain yours to organise.

Managing your own trades doesn’t mean completing specialist work yourself. Electrical, plumbing, gas and structural work should be left to appropriately qualified professionals.

Stage 1: Planning and Kitchen Design

Planning a kitchen renovation starts well before the old cabinetry comes out. This stage is where the new kitchen takes shape and you identify the other work needed around it. If you’re still at the beginning of the project, there are a few useful steps to take when getting started with a kitchen renovation in Perth.

Designing the kitchen

Think first about how the existing room works for you. Limited preparation space, awkward storage, poor circulation or a layout that no longer suits your lifestyle can all influence what needs to change. A kitchen renovation checklist can help you think through your priorities, storage needs and how you use the kitchen before the design develops.

Your designer works with you to develop a layout that addresses those needs and suits the way you want to use the space. Major appliances are considered as part of this process, as their dimensions and requirements can affect cabinetry, benchtop details and the location of plumbing, electrical or gas services.

Changes to the layout can also affect the work required elsewhere in the room. Moving the sink, dishwasher, cooktop or refrigerator, for example, may mean services need to be repositioned. Plans to remove a wall, change a window, alter the kitchen footprint or replace the flooring should also be raised during the design stage.

With these practical details considered, you can refine cabinetry styles, materials, finishes and benchtops with your designer. Getting these elements working together is central to designing a kitchen that feels considered and works well in everyday life.

Once you proceed, we provide cabinetry plans that can be shared with the professionals preparing your space. From there, your kitchen progresses through our design, manufacture and installation process, while you organise the surrounding work needed to prepare the room.

Organising the surrounding trades

The professionals you’ll need will depend on the extent of your renovation. For a typical full kitchen replacement, this will usually include:

• A demolition contractor
• A plumber
• An electrician

More substantial changes may call for a builder or structural engineer, while your chosen finishes can also bring in:

• A tiler or glazing company for the splashback
• A flooring contractor
• A ceiling fixer
• A plasterer
• A painter

Stage 2: Preparing the Room for Your New Kitchen

Once the kitchen design is resolved, the existing space needs to be prepared for the new cabinetry.

Disconnecting services and removing the old kitchen

Before demolition begins, your plumber and electrician disconnect the relevant services so the existing kitchen can be removed safely.

Once the services are safely disconnected, the existing cabinetry and other items being replaced can be removed. Some homeowners choose to handle the demolition themselves, while others engage a demolition contractor.

Any planned changes to walls, windows, bulkheads or other structural elements also need to be completed before the new cabinetry is installed. Depending on the work involved, you may need a builder, structural engineer or another appropriate professional.

Once the room is cleared and any site modifications are complete, your plumber and electrician can carry out the rough-ins for the new kitchen. The cabinetry plans help guide where the services need to be positioned.

Preparing for installation

As part of the preparation for your new kitchen, your Site Supervisor attends the site to take the final cabinetry measurements. You’ll also receive a pre-works checklist outlining what needs to be completed before installation.

Your Site Supervisor is available to answer questions and provide guidance during this stage, while you remain responsible for organising the external trades carrying out the required work.

Stage 3: Cabinetry and Benchtop Installation

Before installation starts, the renovation area needs to be clear and accessible, with the required plumbing and electrical rough-ins complete. Our team can then install your cabinetry in line with the approved plans, followed by the stone benchtops. If your design includes a stone splashback, this is also completed as part of our work.

Your Site Supervisor remains available throughout this stage to answer questions or address any concerns. Once our work is complete, your other trades can return for the remaining parts of the renovation.

Stage 4: Installing a Non-Stone Splashback

If you’ve chosen a tiled or glass splashback, you’ll arrange this separately with your tiler or glazing company. This work takes place once the cabinetry and benchtops are in position.

Stage 5: Plumbing, Electrical and Appliance Fit-Off

With the cabinetry, benchtops and splashback in place, your plumber and electrician return for final fit-off. Depending on your kitchen, your plumber may connect:

• The sink
• Tapware
• Dishwasher
• Refrigerator water supply
• Gas cooktop, where applicable
• Plumbed appliances such as steam ovens

Your electrician reconnects the relevant power points, lighting and electrical appliances. 

Stage 6: Flooring and Final Finishes

If the cabinetry footprint has changed, areas of your existing flooring may need to be patched. Where new flooring forms part of the renovation, your flooring contractor completes this work, ideally towards the end of the project.

Other finishing work may include:

• Installing cornices above cabinetry or bulkheads where required
• Patching plaster around the completed kitchen
• Painting the surrounding surfaces

These final details help the new kitchen sit naturally within the rest of the room and bring the renovation to completion.

Which Trades Might You Need for a Kitchen Renovation?

What Order Do Kitchen Renovation Trades Come In?

Although each project is different, the kitchen renovation process typically follows this sequence:

Kitchen planning and design → service disconnection → demolition → structural or site modifications → plumbing and electrical rough-ins → cabinetry installation → stone benchtop installation → non-stone splashback → plumbing and electrical fit-off → flooring and finishing.

Some stages can only begin once earlier work is complete, so a delay in one trade can affect the work that follows.

When booking your trades, use the cabinetry installation date as a reference point and work backwards through the jobs that need to be completed beforehand, then plan for the trades that need to return afterwards. In Perth, preferred trades can book out ahead, so it’s worth starting these conversations early.

Keep your cabinetry plans, trade contact details and confirmed dates together as the renovation progresses. If one booking changes, check whether it affects the work that follows.

Before Installation: Five Things to Check

As your installation date approaches, check that:

• Demolition and any required site modifications are complete
• Plumbing and electrical rough-ins are finished
• Relevant trades have the current cabinetry plans
• The renovation area and access route are clear
• Any trades needed after installation are organised

Common Kitchen Renovation Planning Mistakes

When you’re planning a kitchen renovation, some early decisions can affect the work that follows.

Demolishing before the new kitchen is properly planned

Removing the existing kitchen can feel like the obvious place to begin, but the new layout should be resolved first. Cabinetry, appliances and service locations all affect what your plumber, electrician and other trades need to prepare, so demolishing too early can mean work begins before those requirements are clear.

Leaving appliance selections too late

Appliance dimensions and service requirements can influence cabinetry, benchtops, plumbing and electrical work. Selecting major appliances during the design stage allows these details to be considered before work begins on site.

Forgetting the work that follows cabinetry installation

Cabinetry and benchtops are a significant point in the renovation, with several trades potentially still needed afterwards. Depending on your project, this may include a non-stone splashback, plumbing and electrical fit-off, flooring, cornices, plastering or painting.

Planning for Life without a Kitchen

For part of the renovation, you’ll be without your usual sink, cooktop, benchtops and kitchen storage.

If you’re staying at home, set up a temporary food preparation area elsewhere with the small appliances, crockery, utensils and pantry staples you use most often. Where practical, relocating the refrigerator can also make day-to-day life easier.

Trades and installers will need clear access to move materials, tools and equipment through your home. If you have children or pets, consider how you’ll keep them away from active work areas during the renovation.

Ready to Start Planning Your Kitchen Renovation?

When you’re ready to move from planning into design, seeing cabinetry, stone and complete kitchen displays in person can help bring your ideas into focus.

At our Bassendean kitchen showroom, you can explore materials and finishes together and see how different elements work in a complete kitchen setting. You can also browse our recent kitchen projects for ideas from kitchens we’ve created for Perth homes.

When you’re ready to discuss your own space, book a consultation with our design team.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to have all my trades organised before the kitchen design is finished?

No. You don’t need every trade booked before the design is complete, but it helps to identify who you’re likely to need early. Your cabinetry plans can then be shared with the relevant trades so they can prepare their work around the new layout.

What should I take to my first consultation when planning a kitchen renovation?

Bring anything that helps your designer understand how you want the new kitchen to look and work. Inspiration images, appliance preferences and notes about what you would like to improve in your current kitchen are all useful.

Mention any wider changes you’re considering too, such as removing a wall, changing a window, altering the kitchen footprint or replacing the flooring. These decisions can affect the kitchen design and the other professionals you may need to involve.

What if I want to remove a wall or change a window?

Raise these plans with your designer early. Changes to walls, windows or other structural elements need to be considered alongside the new kitchen and completed before cabinetry installation.

Depending on the work involved, you may need a builder, structural engineer or another appropriate professional.

Can I keep my existing flooring during a kitchen renovation?

Potentially, but the existing flooring needs to be considered alongside the new cabinetry layout. If the footprint changes, areas that were previously covered by cabinetry may become exposed and require patching.

Let your designer know from the outset if you intend to retain the flooring so it can be considered as the new kitchen takes shape.

Can I remove the existing kitchen myself?

Some homeowners choose to remove their existing cabinetry themselves where appropriate.

Before anything comes out, the relevant services need to be safely disconnected. Electrical, plumbing, gas and structural work should be handled by appropriately qualified professionals.

If you’re deciding which parts you’re comfortable taking on, the risks of doing a kitchen remodel yourself are worth considering before demolition begins.

What can affect the kitchen renovation process?

The amount of work required outside the new cabinetry can affect how the renovation progresses. Structural changes, relocated plumbing or electrical services, a non-stone splashback and new flooring all add work that needs to be coordinated around the kitchen installation.

Trade availability can also influence how long a kitchen renovation takes, particularly when one stage needs to be completed before another can begin.