sensible budget for small galley kitchen?

[GeX]

Our kitchen is long over due being ripped out and redone.

It's a galley kitchen, 4.4m by 2.0m like so;



We've got someone from a local kitchen company coming round next week to have a look, but one of the questions they asked was that we set a budget for them to work to. Never bought a kitchen before, so I've no real ballpark for what it should cost and so no scope to set a budget.

There's plenty of money to use for it - it just comes down to do we want/need to spend it on the kitchen.

There's an amount of building work we'd like done, the end of the kitchen is quite dark so a skylight down there would be good - as would adding some insulatiion above the ceiling as it's an old (1900) house and the kitchen sticks out the back and gets cold.

Another consideration is that we will sell this house in the short to medium term as it's not really big enough for us anymore.

 

[GeX]

Fair point re the skylight. The answer might just be better lighting down there rather than a skylight - but something does need to be done.

I had about £10k in my head, which is bang in the middle - so I guess I'm not far off and of course the devil is in the detail

 

[GeX]

What doesn't help is that the downlights finish before the ceiling begins to slope at the end, and then at the end there's the floor to ceiling cupboard - it does make the whole end of the kitchen feel dark. There are lights on the cooker extractor but they don't light the whole area.

I am leaning more towards it being a bad idea to have a skylight installed tho

 

[GeX]

One thing I would say is i see you've gone for a slimline dishwasher. There is only 2 of us here and we inherited a slimline and it is a nuisance, go for a full size.

We haven't gone for it, it's what came with the house. I'd probably not have picked it - but now wouldn't get a larger one. Family of 4 here, and it's good as it gets full quickly and just get put on most nights. Don't need / want a bigger one - like @Rob_B I'd rather have the cupboard space

 

[GeX]

where the cooker and cupboard is...is that a wall at the end?
(i'm assuming your property is one of those victorian style semis/terraces with the kitchen at the rear?)

correct on both counts, but also in case it's not clear, the drawing I've done is how it currently is.

 

[GeX]

Yep, that's on the table too

 

[GeX]

I don't quite understand your insulation idea, but it sounds unnecessary.

There's a large, pitched, slate roof above the kitchen and based on the (lack of) insulation in the main loft I don't think there's much / any in the kitchen. There's no access into that space to see tho. That ceiling will need more holes put in it anyway as the downlights stop around where the tumble dryer is

 

[GeX]

honestly though, if you're going to move in the next couple of years, i'd strongly consider that putting up with the current kitchen may be the best idea, £8000 (or more if you're redoing the insulation) now for a new kitchen may not reflect in the house price in a couple of years
also would need to be prepared that your current home will be a building site, especially if you're redoing the structure and not solely the kitchen
caveat is that we cannot see pics of the current kitchen...so...

I was trying to find picture of it where it's not a tip, and I haven't yet. The amount the kitchen costs might not directly map to any increase in value but houses in this area are around £180k more than we paid for the house 7 years ago - and the kitchen was rubbish when we got it, so having a new one will help but also we get to enjoy having a nice kitchen for a few years too

 

[GeX]

Pics of current kitchen?

Found some

I think the doors / drawers are from around 2005 but the carcasses are from much earlier and it's all a bit wonky

 

[GeX]

Nah, it's damp behind units - we have problems with slugs, the cupboards don't shut properly / cleanly (hinge adjustment only goes so far), I've had to clean mould out of that end cupboard - fed up of it!

 

[GeX]

Yeah - just looking at this stage, so what can be done and what makes sense to do - and at what cost. If the insulation can't be done at the the same time, or it doesn't make sense to then I presume it can be done by taking all the slates off instead going through the ceiling

 

[GeX]

It was built 120 years ago. I do have a camera I could stick up there through one of the spotlight fittings tbf

 

[GeX]

Have you considered doing it yourself? With straight runs and no joins DIY kitchens will get you good premade units and worktop express will get you nice pre-cut wood tops. Easily under 3k for a lovely looking kitchen (not including appliances). Then rip out, get plumber and/or electrician to move supplies if required and a week or so to refit.

No. Many moons ago I worked for a small company doing house flipping. We'd always have a kitchen fitter do the kitchen, and it's not a job I fancy doing. Also, I don't get much free time so it'd take weeks, and I'd hate. I'm at a stage in life where I'm happy to pay for people to do stuff like this

 

[GeX]

Damp is somehow related to appliances ? - like, condensor/drip-tray on fridge/freezer, or, need to plan more ventilation around them ?

No, the damp is related to it being a 120 year old house and the kitchen sticks out towards the back. The only heating it had was an electric plinth heater that I had replaced with https://kitchenheaters.co.uk/product-category/hydronic-central-heating/ when the heating system was replaced shortly after we bought it.

The current fridgefreezer is frestanding, and the tumble dryer is heatpump condensing unit. No more ventillation for them is needed

 

[GeX]

Something that has come up, is boxing in the washer and dryer. Making the worktop a bit deeper and putting two doors in front of each. Hadn't considered that before, but it'd look quite neat?

Not sure what to do with the floor either. It's currently higher than the dining room and I don't like that. Don't like the current ceramic tiles. Kitchen guy seemed to think it'd be a hassle to get them all up - I'm not so sure. He also said that most people go for vinyl tiles rather than ceramic.. but I'm not sure about that as I'm quite keen for the kitchen floor to be hard wearing - if I drop something, the thing should smash not the floor!

 

[GeX]

I've given them a ballpark figure, to ensure we're not wasting each other's time tbh

We're not replacing all the appliances, perhaps the fridgefreezer and dishwasher as they came with the house - if we had those integrated then it'd be nice to have the washer and dryer boxed in. I don't think loosing a bit of the width would take much away. Counterspace matters more than floorspace

 

[GeX]

Noted, I do need to go and look at some. If appliances are replaced, they'll be ones I've picked - not what the kitchen company bundles