Most kitchen plans start with door colours and worktops. The plumbing gets thought about later, often once the units are ordered, and that is when people find the sink cannot go where they drew it or the new dishwasher has no water to connect to.
If you are planning a new kitchen in Leiston, these are the plumbing and gas decisions worth making before anything is ordered. Andrew handles both sides, the plumbing and the gas cooker and hob connections, so he can look at the kitchen as one job.
1. Decide what stays and what moves
Keeping the sink where it is, or within a unit or two, is straightforward because the pipes and waste are already there. Moving it across the room or onto an island is a different job. The water has to reach it and, more awkwardly, the waste has to get away.
A waste pipe needs a steady fall all the way to where it leaves the house, and a long run with too little fall blocks easily. That is usually what decides where a sink can go, more than the supply pipes. Look at where your current waste goes out through the wall before you settle on a new layout.
2. List the appliances
Write down every appliance that needs water or gas, and whether it is staying, moving or new. Each one needs something different.
- Dishwasher and washing machine: a cold feed with its own isolation valve, and a waste connection.
- Fridge freezer with a water dispenser: a small cold feed, usually with its own valve.
- Boiling water tap: a cold feed and an electrical supply, often with a filter in the cupboard.
- Gas hob or cooker: a gas supply in the right place, connected and tested by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
The easy one to miss is an appliance that was never in the room before. A dishwasher where there used to be a cupboard needs a feed and a waste run to that spot.
3. Sort the gas before the strip-out
If there is a gas hob or cooker, it needs disconnecting, and the supply capping and testing, before the old kitchen comes out. That is a Gas Safe job. Andrew is registered under number 306633 and handles that gas work from the disconnection through to testing the new hob.
Moving the hob means extending or rerouting the gas pipe, and the route has to be planned before the units go in. A freestanding or range cooker on a flexible hose also needs a stability bracket, so it cannot tip forward and strain the connection. If the boiler sits in a kitchen cupboard, the new unit has to leave the space the manufacturer asks for around it and room to get the casing off for a service.
4. Keep what you need to reach within reach
Once the worktop is on, anything behind the units is hard to get at. Put the isolation valves for each appliance where you can reach them with a door open, usually at the back of the sink unit rather than behind the dishwasher.
The stopcock is often under the kitchen sink. Make sure it stays easy to get to, and check it turns. A seized stopcock is worth replacing before the new kitchen goes in, not after. The gas meter and its valve need to stay reachable too, so do not let them disappear into a tall unit with a fixed back.
5. Agree who does what, and in what order
A kitchen usually involves a fitter, a plumber, an electrician and a gas engineer, and the gaps sit between them. The usual order runs like this:
- Gas disconnected and capped, water isolated, old kitchen stripped out.
- New pipework and gas run to their positions before the units go in.
- Units fitted and worktops cut.
- Sink, tap and waste connected, appliances plumbed in, hob or cooker connected and tested.
Ask who is doing each step. Who fits the tap to the new sink? Who connects the dishwasher? Who tests the gas? Settling that early stops each trade assuming someone else has it covered.
Talking it through with Andrew
A rough sketch is enough to start. Mark where the sink and appliances are now and where you want them, and take a couple of photos of where the pipes and gas come into the room. Andrew can then tell you which moves are simple, which need more work, and what it will cost before anything is ordered.
Questions people ask
Three that come up with most kitchen plans.
Do I need a finished kitchen design before ringing?
No. A sketch with the sink and appliances marked is enough to work out what the plumbing and gas involve. Ringing before the units are ordered is far easier than after.
Can my kitchen fitter connect the gas hob?
Only if they are Gas Safe registered. By law a gas appliance has to be connected by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and you can check anyone's registration on the Gas Safe Register website.
Will I be without a sink while the work happens?
Usually for part of it, between the old sink coming out and the new one going in. Andrew will tell you when the water and gas will be off so you can plan around it.
If you are planning a kitchen in Leiston or nearby, ring Andrew on 07801 988752 or send your sketch through the contact page before the units are ordered.
