How it works · Canberra & the ACT
The kitchen renovation process, stage by stage
Seven stages, in order, run by one business. This page sets out what happens at each one, what you decide, and what everything else is waiting on — so you can plan a renovation rather than react to it.
- 01
Enquiry
You tell us your suburb, what the kitchen is doing wrong and roughly what you want to spend. We come back to you and say honestly whether we're the right business for the job.
- What you decide
- Decide whether a complete renovation is what you want, or whether you're after cabinetry only — we do complete renovations.
- What it depends on
- Nothing. This is the cheapest possible time to find out we're not a fit.
- 02
Consultation
We come to your home, measure the room properly, look at the service positions, the walls, the floor and what's likely to be behind them, and talk through how you use the kitchen day to day.
- What you decide
- Talk through the layout you're imagining, your storage frustrations, your appliance plans and any wall you'd like gone.
- What it depends on
- Accurate measurements. Everything drawn, quoted and manufactured afterwards comes from this visit.
- 03
Design
We draw the kitchen: dimensioned 2D plans and elevations, then 3D drawings in your chosen finishes with Vortek walkthrough capability. Revisions happen here.
- What you decide
- Layout, storage, finishes, benchtop material, hardware, handles or handleless. These are the decisions that shape both the kitchen and the quote.
- What it depends on
- Your appliance choices, because they set cabinet sizes and service positions.
- 04
Quote
An itemised quote built from the approved design: cabinetry, benchtops, installation and the trades involved, each shown separately rather than hidden in a lump sum.
- What you decide
- Approve the scope, or adjust it. Changing the design at this point costs a drawing revision. Changing it later costs materials.
- What it depends on
- Signed-off drawings and a settled finish schedule.
- 05
Manufacture
Your cabinetry is cut and built on our own machinery in Mitchell, for your walls specifically. Benchtop and hardware orders are placed against the approved schedule.
- What you decide
- Nothing, other than confirming any final detail we raise. This is the quiet stage and your kitchen still works while it happens.
- What it depends on
- Material and hardware lead times, which we confirm with you rather than estimate on a web page.
- 06
Renovation and installation
The old kitchen comes out, services are made safe, plumbing and electrical are done, cabinetry goes in, benchtops are templated to the installed cabinetry and then fitted, splashback follows, then flooring, plaster, paint and appliance connection.
- What you decide
- Live around it. We tell you before we start which days are the disruptive ones and roughly how long you'll be without a working sink.
- What it depends on
- Sequence. Benchtop templating can't happen before cabinets are in, and splashbacks can't happen before benchtops are down — which is exactly why the whole job is run by one business.
- 07
Handover
We walk the finished kitchen with you, note anything that needs adjusting, and come back and deal with it. Doors and drawers are set, hardware checked, appliances tested.
- What you decide
- Use the kitchen and tell us about anything that isn't right. Our cabinetry carries a 7-year structural cabinetry warranty; supplied products carry their manufacturer's warranty.
- What it depends on
- Nothing — this is the stage most companies treat as optional and we treat as the point.
Why it stays controlled
The sequence is the product
Almost every kitchen renovation horror story is a sequencing failure: the benchtop templated from a drawing instead of the installed cabinets, the tiler booked before the electrician, the cabinetry delivered while the floor is still up. Each trade did its own job correctly and the renovation still went badly.
We hold the sequence because we own most of it. Design, manufacture, installation and site management are ours; the licensed trades are people we've used for years and who know how we run a job. There's one schedule and one person maintaining it.
We give you real dates with your quote rather than a generic timeframe, because the honest answer depends on your scope, your selections and current material lead times.
Related reading
Start at stage one
An enquiry takes a couple of minutes and commits you to nothing. We'll tell you straight away whether we're the right fit for your kitchen.