The short answer: yes. Most people stay at home while their kitchen is replaced, and for the 1 to 4 weeks a typical refit takes it's usually fine. The hard part isn't the noise or the dust. It's having nowhere to cook, wash up or do the washing.
What it's really like
Living through a kitchen refit is very doable, but it helps to know what's coming:
- Early starts and noise. Fitters often arrive around 8am. Taking the old kitchen out and the plastering are usually the noisiest days.
- Dust. It gets further than you'd think, even with dust sheets, especially while walls are chased, plastered and sanded.
- People in and out. Fitters, a plumber, an electrician, a plasterer and a tiler may all come and go, with doors left open.
- Gas, water and power off at times. The old hob or cooker is disconnected at the start, and the gas stays capped until a Gas Safe engineer connects the new one. Water and power go off for a few hours at a time while pipes and cables are moved.
- No kitchen at all. No sink, no cooker, often no fridge where you'd expect it, and if your washing machine lives in the kitchen, that's disconnected too.
None of that means you have to leave. It just means planning how you'll eat, wash up and get the washing done for a few weeks.
When it's worth thinking about moving out
For a straightforward refit, staying put is normal. It's worth weighing up moving out if:
- It's an extension or knock-through. Structural work can take 2 to 3 months or more, with open walls and building work in other rooms too.
- Lots is happening at once, such as a rewire, new heating or new floors through the house.
- Someone at home is vulnerable to the dust, such as a newborn or someone with breathing problems.
- There's asbestos to remove. If your home was built before 2000, ask your fitter whether anything needs checking before work starts, and follow the specialist's advice about staying out.
Even then, moving out isn't cheap: a hotel or holiday let, plus eating out for every meal, adds up quickly over a few weeks.
Your three options
1. Stay and make do
A camp kitchen in another room: kettle, microwave, washing up in the bath. Fine for a few days, tiring after a week or two. Cost: cheapest at first, but takeaways and meals out add up.
2. Stay, with a kitchen pod
A full kitchen on your driveway: proper cooking, washing up and laundry, so the daily routine carries on. Cost: from £349 a week, or £1,099 for 4 weeks.
3. Move out
No dust or noise, but you're away from home and further from the work and your fitter. Cost: usually the most expensive: rent or a hotel, plus eating out.
How to make staying at home easier
- Ask your fitter for a plan. Which days will the water, power or gas be off? Which days will be loudest? Knowing in advance makes a big difference.
- Seal the kitchen off. Dust sheets, a zip-up dust door and closed doors keep most of the dust in one place.
- Keep one room clean as somewhere to relax away from the work.
- Keep children and pets clear of the work area, tools and trailing cables.
- Cook and freeze before you start. Our guide to living without a kitchen has more tips.
- Add a week to the plan. Deliveries, stone worktops and drying plaster cause most delays. See how long a kitchen renovation takes.
Keep cooking with a kitchen pod
Our kitchen pod is a fully fitted temporary kitchen built into a trailer. We deliver it to your driveway, connect it to your water, waste and power, and collect it when your new kitchen is finished. Inside there's a gas oven and hob, a sink with hot and cold running water, a fridge freezer, a dishwasher, a washing machine and a breakfast bar.
- From £349 for a week, or £1,099 for 4 weeks, then £260 a week. See every price.
- Free delivery, set-up and collection within 30 miles of Sleaford.
- Needs a level space about 3m wide and 5m deep, an outside tap, a drain, and two plug sockets within 25 metres.
- Running over? Extend your hire if the pod is free.
Watch our videos to see inside the pod.
Questions
Can you live in your house during a kitchen renovation?
Yes. Most people stay at home while their kitchen is replaced. Expect noise, dust, trades coming and going, and some hours without water or power. The biggest challenge is having nowhere to cook or wash up, which a temporary kitchen solves.
How long will I be without a kitchen?
As a rough guide, a like-for-like refit takes 1 to 2 weeks and a full new kitchen 3 to 4 weeks. An extension or knock-through can take 2 to 3 months or more. Add a week for delays.
Should I move out during a kitchen renovation?
For a normal refit you don't need to. It's worth thinking about for extensions and structural work, if lots of the house is being done at once, or if someone at home is vulnerable to dust.
How can I cook during a kitchen renovation?
A kettle, microwave, slow cooker and air fryer in another room will cover a lot of meals. For a proper oven and hob, a sink, a dishwasher and a washing machine, hire a temporary kitchen pod for your driveway.