What Does a Kitchen Installation Survey Involve?

Why a Pre-Installation Survey Matters

Kitchen plans produced by retailers are based on measurements you or a store designer provided — typically a tape measure and a few key dimensions taken during a brief visit or given over the phone. These plans are a useful starting point, but they are not a guarantee that everything will fit perfectly in your actual room. Walls bow, floors slope, pipes are not always where they appear to be on a plan, and ceilings vary in height.

A pre-installation survey is a professional visit to your home where these realities are assessed, documented, and planned around before installation begins. Without a survey, problems are discovered on installation day — when the fitter is on site, the old kitchen has already been stripped out, and addressing the problem means delay, cost, and significant inconvenience. With a survey, the same problems are identified in advance and factored into the programme and the price.

What Happens During the Survey Visit

At Install My Kitchen, every survey is conducted personally by Pindi Sahota. The visit follows a consistent process designed to capture all information relevant to the installation. Here is exactly what happens:

1. Plan Review

The visit begins with a review of your kitchen retailer's plan. Pindi checks the plan for completeness — are all units listed? Are worktop lengths shown? Are appliance positions marked? Are service connection points indicated? The plan is the reference document for everything that follows. If the plan has obvious gaps or inconsistencies, these are noted and discussed.

2. Room Dimension Check

A series of precise measurements is taken across the room: width at ceiling height, width at floor height, length at both ends, diagonal measurements, ceiling height at multiple points. These measurements are compared directly with the plan. Any discrepancy — even a small one — is noted. In Coventry's period housing stock, walls that appear square and parallel are often neither. In Victorian terraces in Earlsdon, measurements can vary by 20–30mm between floor and ceiling on the same wall. This affects how the run must be planned and where cuts will fall.

3. Floor Level Assessment

A long spirit level or a laser level is used to check the floor across the full kitchen footprint — from one end of the base unit run to the other, and across the room. Any gradient above 5mm is noted and planned for. In older properties, floor gradients of 15–25mm are common and require careful use of leg adjusters and packing to achieve a perfectly level top line on the base units. This affects both the installation method and the time required.

4. Wall Plumb and Condition Check

The plumb of each wall that will carry units or against which units will be installed is checked. A wall that is 20mm out of plumb over a 2.4m height requires scribing of any end panel that closes against it — a process that takes time but is essential for a tight, professional finish. The condition of the wall is also assessed: solid brick, dot-and-dab plasterboard, studwork, or solid concrete. Wall construction affects the fixing method and the fixings used.

5. Service Position Confirmation

Every plumbing, electrical and gas connection in the kitchen is located and compared with the plan. The existing cold water supply position, the hot water supply position, the waste pipe outlet, the electrical sockets, any switched fused connection units for appliances, the gas inlet point — all are checked against where the plan requires them to be. Any service that needs moving is noted, and the homeowner is advised what first-fix work is required from their plumber or electrician before installation day.

6. Appliance Position and Housing Check

The planned position of every integrated and freestanding appliance is confirmed. Appliance cut-out dimensions from the manufacturer's specifications are checked against the unit sizes specified in the plan. A common issue is a plan that specifies a particular oven housing unit without accounting for the actual cut-out dimensions of the specified oven — the oven will not fit, or requires adjustment. This is caught at survey, not on installation day.

7. Access and Delivery Assessment

Access to the property and the kitchen is checked. This includes: front door width, corridor width and length, any staircases or tight corners, the kitchen doorway width, and any obstacles that will affect delivery of large units. This information is used to plan the delivery logistics and to advise the homeowner about any access requirements. Some properties in central Coventry have narrow access that requires units to be carried through rather than wheeled in — this affects the handling plan.

8. Structural Features and Risk Identification

Any structural features that affect the installation are identified: chimney breasts, boxing around pipes or beams, alcoves of non-standard width, low ceilings, sloped ceilings, or window positions that conflict with the plan. Each of these features requires a specific approach and, where relevant, additional time. They are all priced into the fixed quote so there are no surprises.

After the Survey — The Written Quote

Within 24 hours of the survey visit, you receive a written fixed price for your installation. This price covers everything within the agreed scope — cabinet installation, levelling, fixing, door and drawer adjustment, plinth, cornice, pelmet, end panel scribing, and snagging. It is a fixed total, not a day rate. You know exactly what you will pay before any work begins.