Guide · The fitting
What to have ready before the fitters arrive
The KÜINA team · Updated October 11, 2026
The short answer
Five things have to be in place the day before: the kitchen emptied, a clear route from the street, water and power working in the area, your appliances on site if you are supplying them, and somebody reachable all day. If any one is missing, the fit slips by a whole day, not an hour.
What stops the job
| If it is missing | What it costs |
|---|---|
| The kitchen not emptied | Half a day, and your fitter is not the person to store your things |
| Blocked access or an unbooked lift | A full day; units do not go up just any staircase |
| Water or power off in the area | A full day: nothing can be tested |
| Appliances not delivered | A second visit to install them |
| Nobody home and an unanswered question | Hours standing still, or a decision made for you |
The day-before checklist
- Empty every cupboard and drawer, larder included. And whatever is sitting on top of the wall units.
- Take out of the kitchen anything that is not coming back: what stays in the way gets broken or lost.
- Clear the route from the front door: hallway, entrance and landing. A tall unit is over two metres.
- If the building requires it, book the lift and notify the management.
- Check there is power and water in the area and that the kitchen isolating valves actually close. A seized valve is a plumber and half a morning.
- Have the appliances at home, boxed or not, but present and with their manuals.
- Protect the hallway floor if it is timber or new. Cardboard and painter's tape.
- Set aside somewhere for the waste and ask where it will sit until it is taken away.
What is the fitter's job
So that the list above does not read as though it all falls on you, this is what the person fitting should bring and do:
- Protect what is not being touched: kitchen floor, door frames, the worktop if it stays.
- Fit to the plan and check dimensions before drilling.
- Level the base units. If the floor moves, it gets adjusted, not packed out with cardboard.
- Leave the hardware adjusted: doors aligned and drawers at a consistent height.
- Seal the joint between worktop and wall where needed.
- Take the packaging away and leave the kitchen swept.
The ten-minute snagging check
- Gaps between doors identical from top to bottom.
- No drawer catching or dropping as it closes.
- Plinth continuous, with no gaps at the corners.
- No drip under the sink after filling and draining it.
- The extractor pulling: a sheet of paper held to the grille should stay there.
- The hob level, and the controls not fouling the drawer below.
- Silicone where the worktop meets the wall, and cleanly done.
Questions we get asked
Do I have to be at home all day?
Not all day, but reachable and nearby. There are two or three moments when something irreversible is decided: wall unit height, which side a door opens from, and where the visible socket goes.
Who takes the old kitchen away?
It should be in the quote. If it is not, it is a €250 to €600 line, and it needs sorting before fitting day, not during it.
Should I paint before or after?
After, and preferably after snagging. Painting first guarantees touch-ups; fitting marks the wall at the fixing points.
What if they find a problem taking the old units out?
They should stop and show you before carrying on. If somebody carries on without saying and covers it with the new kitchen, the problem surfaces in two years and nobody can say whose it is.
Shall we look at it with your kitchen on screen?
An hour in the showroom, your kitchen on screen and the price fixed the same day. No commitment, and no follow-up calls unless you want them.
