How to price a kitchen fit: a worked example for UK tradespeople

A mid-range kitchen fit is one of the most profitable jobs a multi-trade builder does — or one of the most painful, depending on whether they priced it right. Here’s a worked example of getting it right. Customer: Mr & Mrs Henderson. Job: full kitchen rip-out and fit.

The scope

• Remove existing kitchen (7-day skip)
• Plumbing adjustments for new sink/dishwasher location
• Electrical adjustments: new ring main, under-cabinet LED, extractor circuit
• Plastering where old tiling was
• Tile a 6m² splashback
• Install new kitchen: 14 units, worktop, island, appliances
• Mrs Henderson wants an integrated wine cooler (variation)

Total estimated duration: 18 days across one builder, one plumber, one electrician, one tiler/plasterer.

Materials (your cost, trade price)

• Kitchen units (Howdens, mid-range): £4,800
• Worktop (quartz composite, 3m run): £1,200
• Appliances (oven, hob, hood, dishwasher, fridge-freezer): £2,400
• Sink and taps: £280
• Splashback tiles + adhesive + grout: £340
• Plumbing sundries: £180
• Electrical sundries: £220
• Plastering board + materials: £140
• Skip: £340
• Miscellaneous (silicone, screws, filler, masking, etc): £200

Materials cost: £10,100

Apply 15% markup for sourcing/warranty/transport: £11,615 on the invoice.

Labour

Using the proper real hourly rate from our pricing for profit guide:

• Builder (you): 10 days × 8hrs × £50 = £4,000
• Plumber subcontractor: 2 days × £350/day = £700
• Electrician subcontractor: 3 days × £350/day = £1,050
• Tiler/plasterer: 3 days × £300/day = £900

Labour cost: £6,650

Add 15% management/coordination fee (you scheduling the subbies, handling materials delivery, being the single point of accountability): £7,648.

Contingency

Surprise always lurks in kitchen jobs — old wiring, uneven floors, soft wall behind tiles, plumbing that doesn’t quite line up. Add 10% contingency on the combined materials + labour: £1,926.

The total

• Materials (marked up): £11,615
• Labour (marked up): £7,648
• Contingency: £1,926
• Subtotal: £21,189
• VAT (if you’re registered): £4,238
• Total: £25,427

If you’re not VAT-registered, price is £21,189. Round to £21,000 clean.

How to present the quote

Don’t send a single lump sum. Break it into three sections:

1. Strip-out and preparation: £2,800
2. Kitchen installation and finishing: £12,500
3. Electrical, plumbing, tiling: £5,700

Customer sees specific deliverables, not an opaque number. Variations priced as add-ons.

The wine cooler variation

Mrs Henderson adds an integrated wine cooler mid-job. Cost to you: £620 plus 1 extra labour-day adapting units (£400). Your variation price: £1,250. Send it as a separate variation order on WhatsApp. She signs off, you crack on.

Payment schedule

• 20% deposit on contract signing: £4,240 (to cover initial materials purchase)
• 30% at strip-out complete: £6,360
• 30% at kitchen installed: £6,360
• 20% on completion and sign-off: £4,240

Wine cooler variation invoiced separately at completion.

What you make

If you spent £10,100 on materials and £2,650 on subbies (plumber + electrician + tiler), your take on the £21,189 net is £8,439 for 10 days of your labour — roughly £850/day. That’s a proper kitchen-fit day rate after everything’s paid.

Making the paperwork painless

18 days, 4 stage invoices, 1 variation, 2 subcontractor CIS invoices received, and receipts for materials from 6 different suppliers. That’s what kills most builders’ margins — admin time on top of the 18 days on site.

Holdfort manages it as one WhatsApp project. Voice note "stage 2 invoice for Henderson, £6,360" and it goes. See Holdfort for builders →

What can go wrong — and your mitigation plan

A kitchen fit has more opportunities to haemorrhage margin than most jobs. The common unplanned costs:

• Old wiring that doesn’t meet current regs. Lifting floorboards or opening stud walls for new circuits reveals aluminium cable, no RCD protection, or overloaded ring mains. Budget: 8-12% of quote value as a contingency specifically for electrical remedial.
• Plumbing that won’t take new appliance loads. Old 15mm copper runs can’t handle a new dishwasher + sink combination, or lead waste pipes need replacing before the new suite can connect. Mitigation: include a plumbing survey clause in your quote allowing a re-quote if pipework needs replacement beyond agreed scope.
• Uneven floors. A £2,000 worktop won’t sit flat on a 12mm-out floor. Self-levelling compound and additional labour = £400-£800 uncosted.
• Asbestos. Textured ceilings, vinyl tiles, pipe lagging in pre-2000 homes. Even if you don’t touch it, you may legally need to stop work for survey. Include a "stop-work" clause for suspected asbestos.
• Customer scope creep. "While you’re here, can you..." is where margin dies. Every additional request = written variation with price, signed before it happens.

Supplier direct vs retail mark-up strategy

Most kitchen fits are material-heavy. Your choices for handling the materials:

Customer buys direct from supplier

You give them the list, they go to Howdens / B&Q / Wren. You invoice labour only. Pros: no materials risk, simpler invoice, no cashflow impact. Cons: you don’t earn markup, you’re waiting on customer orders so timeline slips.

You buy trade price, mark up 15-20%

Standard approach. £10,000 trade materials = £11,500-£12,000 to customer. Margin covers sourcing time, transport, quality control, and warranty hand-holding. Cons: materials cashflow impact (you pay supplier before customer pays you), storage and damage risk.

Managed supply with upfront payment

You specify supplies but customer pays deposit equal to materials cost + 15%. You order with that money. No cashflow exposure, you still earn markup. Many professional builders use this for jobs over £10k. Requires trust but a signed quote and stage schedule provides the paperwork.

Full worked example — £21,000 kitchen fit breakdown

Extending from the main article’s structure:

• Materials (trade cost £10,100):
  • Howdens kitchen, 14 units + worktop + appliances: £8,450
  • Plumbing fittings, waste, sink: £630
  • Electrical: new ring main, LED under-cabinet, extract hood circuit: £520
  • Plasterboard + materials: £140
  • Tile splashback 6m²: £340
  • Sundries: £20
• With 15% markup: £11,615
• Labour:
  • Lead builder (you): 10 days @ £350: £3,500
  • Plumber subcontractor: 2.5 days @ £350: £875
  • Electrician subcontractor: 3 days @ £350: £1,050
  • Tiler: 3 days @ £300: £900
  • Subtotal: £6,325
• With 10% management overhead: £6,957
• Skip + disposal: £280
• Contingency (10%): £1,885
• Net total: £20,737
• VAT (if registered, 20%): £4,147
• Final quote: £24,884 inc. VAT, or £20,737 ex. VAT

Your take-home on the 10 builder days: £3,500 less 25-30% tax = ~£2,500 net in your pocket. Plus margin on materials of ~£1,500. Plus markup on subcontracted labour of ~£630. Total personal benefit: ~£4,600 for 10 days of actual building. Respectable.