Guides
The things worth knowing before you sign
Consent, licensed trades, contracts, deposits, timelines and what materials really cost. Every dollar figure in these guides carries its source and the date we checked it, and where we could not confirm a rule from its primary source, we say so instead of paraphrasing it.
Updated
Do you need a building consent for a kitchen renovation?
Replacing fixtures in place, moving services, altering walls: three very different consent questions.
Read it →Who has to be licensed to work on your kitchen
One table: plumbing, gasfitting, fixed wiring and structural work, and the register for each.
Read it →What to look for in a kitchen renovation contract
Scope, payments, variations, defects and named trades: the five things a contract has to be clear about.
Read it →What kitchen designers charge in New Zealand
Free retailer design versus a paid independent plan, with the NZ fee benchmarks.
Read it →Kitchen deposits and payment schedules in New Zealand
Why deposits are big, what published NZ terms actually say, and how to structure the rest.
Read it →How long a kitchen renovation takes in New Zealand
Where the weeks actually go, and how long you are really living out of a microwave.
Read it →What a kitchen benchtop costs in New Zealand
Per square metre rates for laminate, engineered stone and granite, and what moves them.
Read it →Flat-pack or custom cabinetry: which is right for your kitchen
When the retailer's free design and flat-pack really is the right answer, and when it is not.
Read it →Reading is cheap. A wrong kitchen isn't.
When you want your own room measured, drawn and priced line by line, that is what the design consult is for.
Book a design consult →