Kitchen fitters in Bishop's Stortford

How a kitchen fit runs in Bishop's Stortford

We are based in Bishop's Stortford, so most CM23 jobs get surveyed within days and started within three weeks. Day one is protection and strip-out, days two and three are first fix — waste and supply moved, new spurs run, walls made good and levelled. Then units, then worktop template, then a five to ten day gap while quartz is cut if you have chosen stone, and finally tiling, appliances, second fix and snagging. You get the whole programme in writing before we start so you know exactly which week you are without a cooker.

The old cottages and the Hockerill terraces

Central Stortford has a lot of Victorian and Edwardian property around Hockerill, Apton Road and South Street where nothing is square and the floors run away by 30mm or more across a small kitchen. Units go on adjustable legs and get set to a laser line rather than to the floor, plinths get scribed, and the worktop is templated after the cabinets are in — never measured off a drawing. That is why our kitchens do not have the tapering gap along the wall that a rushed fit always leaves.

New-build and Thorley Park layouts

On the Thorley, St Michael's Mead and Bishop's Park side the kitchens are newer but the builder-grade units are usually 18mm chipboard with soft-close bolted on as an afterthought. Replacing carcasses rather than just doors is normally the honest advice, and because the services are already in the right place a like-for-like refit there is often nine or ten days rather than eighteen.

Worktops, and what they actually cost here

Laminate is £450 to £900 fitted for a typical run. Solid oak block is £900 to £1,600 and needs oiling three times before it is put into service, which we do. Templated quartz is £2,200 to £4,500 depending on the slab and the number of cut-outs, and it is the single biggest variable in a Bishop's Stortford kitchen quote. We price all three so you can see the difference rather than being steered.

One team, one point of contact

Plumbing, electrics, carpentry, tiling, plastering and decorating are all done by our own people. Gabriel has been on the tools since 2001 and prices every job himself, which is why the quote matches the invoice and why there is no week-long wait for a tiler who is stuck on someone else's job.

Victorian terraces off South Street

Small galley kitchens in single-storey rear additions, usually with a solid floor, a boiler in the worst possible corner and a back door that eats a metre of run. The answer is nearly always taller units, a slimline dishwasher and moving the boiler behind a housing rather than knocking the wall out. Budget £7,200 to £9,800 for a proper job with a laminate top.

Thorley Park and St Michael's Mead

Nineties and noughties estate kitchens with services already sensibly placed. A carcass-and-worktop replacement without moving plumbing is nine or ten days and typically £6,500 to £9,000. Nine out of ten of these gain more from an island or peninsula than from a bigger footprint.

Village properties around the Hadhams and Farnham

Older cottages with uneven solid floors, thick walls and sometimes no straight run longer than 2.4m. Everything gets scribed and the worktop is templated after fit. We build in a proper extractor route to outside rather than leaving a recirculating unit blowing steam back at the ceiling.

How much does a new kitchen cost in Bishop's Stortford?

Fitting only, with units you have bought, starts around £4,800. A complete kitchen with new units, laminate worktops, tiling and electrics is usually £7,200 to £9,800. With templated quartz and appliances it runs £10,500 to £16,000. Units and appliances are listed separately so you control that part of the spend.

How long will I be without a kitchen?

Ten to eighteen working days. If you have chosen quartz there is a five to ten day gap between templating and fitting where you have units and a temporary top — we plan a working sink and a plug for the kettle across that period so the house still functions.

Can you fit a kitchen I have bought from Howdens or IKEA?

Yes, and we do it every month. Howdens, Wren, Magnet, IKEA, DIY Kitchens and B&Q all fit fine. We check the order against the room before you take delivery, because the single most common problem is a missing filler panel or a corner post nobody allowed for.

Do you handle the electrics and gas?

Electrics yes, to Part P, with a certificate on completion. Gas hob connections and boiler moves are carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer we work with regularly, and that cost appears as its own line in the quote.

Do you do kitchen extensions as well as the fit?

Yes. We build the extension and fit the kitchen inside it, which removes the usual argument about whose fault a badly placed waste is. See our builders and extensions pages for the structural side.

Are you insured, and is there a guarantee?

£5m public liability and a two-year workmanship guarantee. Appliance and unit warranties are whatever the manufacturer gives, and we register them for you on handover.