Kitchen Painting vs Replacement: Cost Comparison for Derby Homeowners
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Where a Respray Job Stops and a Full Refit Starts
- Full surface preparation of doors and cabinet frames - sanding, filling and priming - before any topcoat goes on
- A factory-grade, dust-free spray finish rather than a brushed-on trade paint, colour-matched to ranges such as Farrow & Ball or Little Greene
- Removal and reinstallation of doors, drawer fronts and existing hardware once the finish has cured
- For a full replacement: new cabinet boxes, doors, worktops and appliances fitted by joiners, stonemasons and the relevant qualified trades
- Reconnection of plumbing, gas and electrics by qualified plumbers, Gas Safe engineers and Part P electricians where a replacement changes the layout
- Removal and legal disposal of the old kitchen by our own registered waste carrier
Not Included / Costed Separately
- Structural repairs to walls, floors or ceilings uncovered once old units come out - these are quoted separately once seen, not built into the original price
- New appliances themselves - fitting and connection is included, but the appliances are usually supplied separately unless agreed at quote stage
- Wall painting, flooring and lighting upgrades around a respray project - these can be added but sit outside the core painting price
- Building regulations work such as moving a gas supply or adding a new electrical circuit - scoped and quoted once the extent is known on site
- Skip hire beyond standard waste removal, if a replacement produces more waste than a typical single-kitchen strip-out
How We Take a Derby Kitchen From First Call to Finished Job
- Free assessment call -- You get in touch to talk through what's bothering you about the current kitchen - finish, layout, or both - and book in a free assessment visit.
- On-site condition check -- We look at the cabinet construction, joints, doors and drawers in person to judge whether they're genuinely sound enough to paint, or whether the layout or structure means replacement is the better route.
- Written, itemised quote -- You get a written quote for the route we recommend, broken down item by item, with nothing added once work starts that wasn't agreed up front.
- The work itself -- For painting, that's full preparation, spraying and hardware refitting on site. For a replacement, every trade - joiners, plumbers, Part P electricians and Gas Safe engineers where a hob or range is involved - is scheduled and project-managed as one team rather than a chain of separate contractors.
- Sign-off and guarantee -- A final walkthrough checks the finish or fit meets the standard agreed at quote stage, and you're left with the written 5-year labour and installation guarantee, plus a 2-year guarantee on any new units and products.
How Painting and Full Replacement Actually Compare
| Factor | Professional Painting / Respray | Full Kitchen Replacement |
|---|---|---|
| Typical total cost | £2,000-£15,000 for a full painting makeover, depending on kitchen size and extras | £10,000-£50,000+ depending on quality tier and scope |
| What it can fix | Colour, finish and hardware - layout and storage stay as they are | Layout, storage, appliance integration and structural issues, as well as finish |
| Time the kitchen is out of use | Typically a matter of days, since the carcasses stay in place | Commonly several weeks once design, ordering and every trade are scheduled in |
| Who's involved | Preparation and spraying specialists, plus joiners for hardware refitting | Joiners, plumbers, Part P electricians and Gas Safe engineers where gas is involved, project-managed as one team |
| Guarantee | Covered by the same 5-year labour and installation guarantee that applies to fitting workmanship | 5-year labour and installation guarantee, plus a 2-year guarantee on the new units and products themselves |
| Best suited to | Solid, well-built cabinets in good structural condition that just look dated | Cabinets with structural damage, or layouts that no longer suit the household |
Why an Independent Fitter's Advice Here Is Worth Trusting
A business that only sells its own new kitchens has no real reason to tell you a respray would do the job just as well. This team works as an independent installation specialist across supply-only ranges including Howdens, Wren Kitchens, Magnet and premium German handleless systems rather than pushing one product line of its own, which is part of why the assessment visit weighs up painting on its merits rather than defaulting to a sale.
What sits behind that assessment, whichever way it points, is two decades of fitting kitchens across Derbyshire and membership of both CITB and the FSB. The trades involved shift depending on the route: a painting job is prepared and refitted by joiners with City & Guilds training and a bench-joinery background, so doors, hinges and soft-close mechanisms go back on square rather than screwed back at an angle. A replacement pulls in more of the crew - plumbers qualified to NVQ Level 2 and City & Guilds for the pipework, Gas Safe registered engineers for any hob or range cooker, Part P registered electricians for lighting and power, and master plasterers for the wall and ceiling work a new layout usually disturbs. Old units and materials leave site with our own registered waste carrier either way, and the 5-year labour and installation guarantee applies to both a respray and a full fit-out, not just the more expensive option.
Where in Derby and Derbyshire We Take On Painting and Replacement Jobs
Most painting and replacement projects are in Derby itself, out from the workshop base at Sunny Hill, but the team travels out regularly to Chesterfield, Long Eaton, Belper, Ilkeston, Heanor, Alfreton, Swadlincote, Ripley, Duffield and Dronfield, and into Nottingham. Older stone-built properties around Matlock, Wirksworth, Bakewell and Buxton, out in the Derbyshire Dales, often have cabinetry worth saving through a respray rather than stripping out, while the newer housing stock around Long Eaton, Ilkeston and the Nottingham side of the patch tends to suit a full contemporary replacement better. Either way, the same free assessment visit applies wherever in the coverage area you're based.
Common Questions About Painting and Replacing a Derby Kitchen
How long does a professionally sprayed kitchen finish actually hold up?
It depends heavily on preparation and how the kitchen gets used day to day. A proper job involves sanding, filling and priming the doors and frames before the factory-grade spray finish goes on, which holds up far better than a brushed-on trade paint from a DIY attempt. Areas that take the most contact - around the hob, sink and main handles - are usually the first to show wear, which is why we check the existing substrate and door construction during the assessment before quoting, rather than giving a blanket lifespan figure that doesn't account for your specific kitchen.
Can any kitchen door be painted, or does it depend on the material?
Solid wood and factory-lacquered doors generally take paint the best and hold the finish longest. Laminate or foil-wrapped doors can be painted too, but they need a different primer system, and the edges are more prone to chipping over time if the original wrap has started lifting. Particle board or MDF doors that are damp-damaged or delaminating usually aren't worth painting, since the finish will only be as good as what's underneath - that's exactly what the on-site cabinet assessment is checking for.
Can we replace just the worktop and repaint the cabinets, instead of a full new kitchen?
Yes, that's one of the more common middle-ground choices. Worktops are laser-templated and fitted by our stonemasons across granite, quartz, Dekton and similar materials, and can be swapped out while the existing cabinet boxes stay in place and get repainted. It's a good option when the units themselves are sound but the worktop is worn, stained or simply doesn't suit the new colour scheme.
What happens to our old kitchen units when we go for a full replacement?
They're stripped out and taken away by us as part of the project - we're a registered waste carrier, so disposal is handled legally rather than left for you to sort out with a hired skip. That removal and disposal is factored into the replacement cost ranges quoted above. The one thing that can add cost is if something unexpected turns up once units come out, like water damage to a wall behind a cabinet, which we'd flag and quote separately rather than absorb into the original price.
Who does the plumbing, gas and electrical work on a full kitchen replacement?
Plumbing connections are carried out by plumbers qualified to NVQ Level 2 and City & Guilds. Any gas hob or range cooker is fitted and commissioned by a Gas Safe registered engineer, which is a legal requirement, not an optional extra. Lighting and power changes are handled by Part P registered electricians who issue the safety certificates you'll need. All of this is scheduled as part of the same project rather than you having to find and coordinate separate tradespeople yourself.
Will a repainted kitchen look as good as a new one when we come to sell the house?
Visually, a well-sprayed kitchen in a current colour can be hard to tell apart from new units at a viewing, which is part of why painting recovers a good proportion of its cost on resale. Where it falls short of a replacement is if buyers open drawers and cupboards and find dated hardware, awkward storage or an outdated layout underneath - painting changes the surface, not the layout or functionality. If those underlying issues matter in your local buyer market, replacement is the more honest long-term answer, and that's the kind of trade-off we'd talk through at the assessment stage.
Who does the plumbing, gas and electrical work on a full kitchen replacement?
Plumbing connections are carried out by plumbers qualified to NVQ Level 2 and City & Guilds. Any gas hob or range cooker is fitted and commissioned by a Gas Safe registered engineer, which is a legal requirement, not an optional extra. Lighting and power changes are handled by Part P registered electricians who issue the safety certificates you'll need. All of this is scheduled as part of the same project rather than you having to find and coordinate separate tradespeople yourself.
Will a repainted kitchen look as good as a new one when we come to sell the house?
Visually, a well-sprayed kitchen in a current colour can be hard to tell apart from new units at a viewing, which is part of why painting recovers a good proportion of its cost on resale. Where it falls short of a replacement is if buyers open drawers and cupboards and find dated hardware, awkward storage or an outdated layout underneath - painting changes the surface, not the layout or functionality. If those underlying issues matter in your local buyer market, replacement is the more honest long-term answer, and that's the kind of trade-off we'd talk through at the assessment stage.
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