How Long Does a New Kitchen Take in Fulham? A Realistic 2026 Timeline

A new kitchen in Fulham typically takes 4–7 weeks from strip-out to sign-off. Anyone promising two weeks is either lying or doing a flat-pack refresh on the existing layout. Here's the realistic 2026 timeline, based on 20+ years of kitchens installed across SW6.

The honest 2026 timeline for a new kitchen in Fulham

Before day one (8–14 weeks of lead time):

• Design approval: 1–2 weeks.
• Bespoke or in-frame cabinetry: 8–12 weeks from order.
• Imported stone worktops (quartz, marble): 4–8 weeks.
• Appliances: 1–4 weeks; longer for integrated Miele or Gaggenau.

Most kitchen overruns aren't the fit — they're waiting on something that should have been ordered sooner.

On site:

• Week 1 — strip-out and first fix. Old kitchen out, walls opened where electrics and plumbing reroute. Side-return extensions include structural works and RSJ this week.
• Week 2 — plaster, screed, floor prep. Plaster needs drying time. Underfloor heating goes in now if used.
• Week 3 — cabinets arrive, dry-fit installed. Worktop templating happens at the end of this week. Stone worktops can't be measured from drawings on most jobs.
• Week 4 — waiting on worktops. 7–14 days template-to-fit. Not much happens on site unless other trades are scheduled.
• Week 5 — worktop fit, splashback, second-fix electrics and plumbing, appliances. It starts looking like a kitchen.
• Week 6 — snagging, flooring finished, paintwork, final clean.
• Week 7 (if needed) — carpentry snags, handles, anything rescheduled.

What makes a Fulham kitchen take longer

Local housing stock pushes timelines in specific ways:

• Side returns. Two-thirds of kitchen projects in Fulham come with a side-return extension. Adds 4–6 weeks and triggers a party wall agreement.
• Concrete floors on lower-ground conversions. Can't chase easily. You're running services in a boxed-in plinth or lifting and re-screeding the whole floor.
• Conservation areas. Hurlingham, Moore Park, parts of Bishop's Park. Original features need to stay, which changes the carpentry brief.
• Access. Mansion blocks without a service lift — everything goes up by hand. Adds labour days.

Four rules that keep projects on schedule

1. Order cabinetry before you break ground, not after. The single biggest cause of delay is cabinets ordered in week two of the fit.
2. Pick appliances first. Every cabinet dimension depends on them. Switching an oven brand in week four means re-making the cabinet.
3. Approve worktop templating on site, not from drawings. Drawings are close, not exact. Walls are never square.
4. Resist spec changes after week one. Every change costs a day.

Booking a new kitchen in Fulham

If you want a realistic schedule from someone who won't wave timelines around to win the job, see our kitchen work and request a fixed quote. 20+ years in Fulham, FMB and Chas accredited, no subcontractors.