Can the new kitchen go somewhere completely different?

Usually, yes. The limit is the waste: water from the sink and dishwasher needs a steady fall to a drain. Move them a long way from the old drain and either a new drain run goes in under the floor or outside, which is groundwork we do ourselves, or a pumped waste unit does the job instead.

Does a new kitchen need Building Regulations approval?

A straight swap of old units for new in the same layout generally does not. It becomes Building Regulations work once you take out a load-bearing wall, add new circuits, move or add drainage, or put in a new window or door opening, so a big redesign usually involves at least one of those.

Can the knock-through and the new kitchen be one job?

Yes, and it is better that way. The opening should go in, the steel be signed off and the walls and ceiling be finished before the units are measured, so nothing is ordered for a room that has since changed shape.

Which is easier to keep clean, a bath or a walk-in shower?

A walk-in shower or wet room, as a rule, because there is no bath panel or tray edge for grime to collect around. The trade-off is that a bath still matters to a lot of families with young children, and to buyers when you come to sell, so if there is only one bathroom many people keep a bath with a shower over it.

Light grey gloss handleless kitchen with a quartz island, gold veined marble effect splashback and black ovens

Kitchens and bathrooms

Kitchens and bathrooms in Barnsley, built and fitted

We fit kitchens, bathrooms, wet rooms and bespoke joinery across Barnsley, and we do the building work that comes before them: walls out, drains moved, floors put right. One firm from the strip-out to the last worktop. Ring Liam on 07709 099108 to arrange a free look.

Get a quote

Why use a builder for your kitchen or bathroom in Barnsley?

A kitchen fitter fits units. That is fine when the new kitchen goes exactly where the old one was. The moment the plan involves taking a wall out, moving the sink to the other side of the room, levelling a floor for herringbone or bringing a new drain run in, you need a builder as well, and the fitter waits for them.

We are both. The structural opening, the new drainage and the fit are handled by one firm, and the other trades on the job are people we have worked alongside for years rather than strangers meeting on your doorstep. One firm answers for the whole room, start to finish.

One of our kitchens, finished

Island, splashback and tall units
Open through to the dining area
Ovens and hood wall
The sink run
Herringbone floor

What decides how big a kitchen job is

Whether any walls move. Opening a kitchen into a dining room usually means a steel beam, with the engineering and sign-off that go with it.
Where the sink and dishwasher go. Waste pipes need a fall to the drain. Move them far from the old spot and the drainage has to follow.
The state of the floor. Long runs of units and floors like herringbone need a flat, level base, which old floors rarely are.
Power. An oven, hob or island often needs new circuits.
Gas. Moving a gas hob means moving the supply, which must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Extraction. Where the cooker hood can vent to outside.

What goes into a new bathroom or wet room?

Most of a good bathroom is hidden. Once the old suite and tiles are out, the pipework and any wiring are run while the walls are open, the areas that will get wet are waterproofed, and only then do the boards, tiles and fittings go on. Skip the waterproofing and the first sign of trouble is usually a stain on the ceiling below, long after the job is paid for.

A wet room goes further: the whole floor is tanked and laid to a fall so the water runs to the drain rather than across the room. That is easiest on a solid ground floor. Upstairs, on timber joists, the floor has to be built up and stiffened first, which is building work rather than fitting.

A bathroom, and another kitchen going in

Freestanding bath and brass fittings
Second kitchen, mid-fit
Worktops on, walls next

Electrics and ventilation are part of the job

In England, any new circuit and any electrical work in a bathroom has to be notified under the Building Regulations, either by an electrician registered with a competent person scheme, who certifies it, or through Building Control. Ventilation has minimums too: an extractor fan in a bathroom should shift at least 15 litres a second, and a cooker hood venting outside over the hob at least 30. Keep the certificates. You will want them when you sell.

Fitted joinery: media walls, alcoves and bedrooms

We also build fitted furniture into the house itself: media walls with the television and fire set in, shelving and cupboards to fill the alcoves either side of a chimney breast, and fitted bedrooms. Built into the room rather than bought flat packed, they fit walls that are never quite straight.

"Excellent workmanship, very tidy, very reliable and competitive with prices."

Fitted bedroom customer, S63, on Checkatrade

Our reviews single out Liam's advice on what will look best, not just the price for fitting it. If you have a plan, we will build it. If you have a room and a rough idea, that is a good place to start too.

Arranging a price for a kitchen or bathroom

We work from Barnsley across South and West Yorkshire. If the kitchen belongs to a bigger project, such as a knock-through or an extension, our renovations and extensions work covers the structure, and our work page has more photos of rooms we have finished. Call 07709 099108 and speak to Liam, or leave your details in the form below.

Kitchen and bathroom questions

Can the new kitchen go somewhere completely different?
Usually, yes. The limit is the waste: water from the sink and dishwasher needs a steady fall to a drain. Move them a long way from the old drain and either a new drain run goes in under the floor or outside, which is groundwork we do ourselves, or a pumped waste unit does the job instead.
Does a new kitchen need Building Regulations approval?
A straight swap of old units for new in the same layout generally does not. It becomes Building Regulations work once you take out a load-bearing wall, add new circuits, move or add drainage, or put in a new window or door opening, so a big redesign usually involves at least one of those.
Can the knock-through and the new kitchen be one job?
Yes, and it is better that way. The opening should go in, the steel be signed off and the walls and ceiling be finished before the units are measured, so nothing is ordered for a room that has since changed shape.
Which is easier to keep clean, a bath or a walk-in shower?
A walk-in shower or wet room, as a rule, because there is no bath panel or tray edge for grime to collect around. The trade-off is that a bath still matters to a lot of families with young children, and to buyers when you come to sell, so if there is only one bathroom many people keep a bath with a shower over it.

Tell us what you are thinking of

It takes about a minute, and you do not need drawings or a budget worked out. We will come and look, and you will get a written price.

Get a quote Call 07709 099108

Free estimate, no obligation.

Finished rear garden with a porcelain patio and a new lawn