Measuring your kitchen: the dimensions your supplier needs

To design your kitchen, the designer needs the room dimensions and the positions of the connection points. Mark windows, doors and obstacles too. This helps you see which layout fits and whether cupboard doors and drawers will open properly.

Start your kitchen measurements with a floor plan

Draw the room from above. Record each wall separately and write the dimensions in millimetres:

• the length of each wall
• the floor-to-ceiling height in several places
• recesses, service shafts and pipe boxing: the enclosed casings that conceal pipework
• radiators and projecting windowsills
• which way windows and doors open
• the position and depth of door and window frames

Measure each wall at the bottom, in the middle and at the top, as older walls are often out of true. A centimetre may seem a small difference, but it can stop a tall unit or filler panel from fitting. A filler panel is the narrow panel that closes the gap between a unit and the wall.

Map all the connection points

Measure every point from the same corner of the room. Note its distance from both the floor and the side wall. If you want to move a connection, first read about the cost of the pipework.

Record at least:

• hot and cold water supplies
• the waste outlet, including its diameter if known
• sockets, switches and lighting points
• the cooker connection, such as a Perilex socket for electric cooking
• the gas point, if it will remain in use
• the ventilation opening or extractor duct, including its diameter
• radiators, underfloor heating and the manifold

Note whether the property has a single-phase or three-phase electricity supply. You might see 1x25A or 3x25A. The first figure is the number of phases. The second is the current rating in amperes. Have an electrician confirm the supply and the circuits available.

Use the same reference point and time the final survey properly

Keep using the same corner as your reference point. Measurements taken from different corners can appear to line up on paper even when the overall dimensions are wrong.

Measure the room, rather than only the existing kitchen. The new kitchen will be fitted to the room, not to the old units. Measure the bare space and the fixed parts of the building.

Allow for the finishes when arranging the final survey. Plaster, a new wall lining or a thicker floor will change the dimensions. Schedule the final measurements once the walls and floor build-up have been decided. Kitchen delivery before or after plastering and flooring explains when those layers are installed.

Measure the kitchen yourself or use a professional

Your own measurements are enough for an initial design and budget discussion. For a corner kitchen, a bespoke worktop, uneven walls or an island, have a professional record the dimensions before you order.

You can arrange this through the kitchen supplier, an independent kitchen fitter or platforms such as NeedHelp, Werkspot and Zoofy. Ask in advance whether you will receive a measurement report and who is responsible if a kitchen ordered using those measurements does not fit.

What to do now

• measure everything in millimetres from the same corner, noting the distance from both the floor and the side wall
• measure the bare room and fixed building elements, rather than the existing units
• record how many circuits are available and which electricity supply the property has
• schedule the final survey once the plaster, wall lining and floor build-up have been decided
• ask who checks the measurements, whether you receive a report and who is responsible if the kitchen does not fit