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Free kitchen fitter calculator
Kitchen units calculator: worktop, plinth, cornice and fixings
Measure the runs along the wall, say how the kitchen is laid out and which ends are on show, and get the shopping list: worktop boards and joints, plinth, cornice and pelmet with the returns counted, end panels by type, doors, hinges, handles, corner posts and fixings. Runs beat unit counts because units come in 300 to 1000mm widths, and it follows the DIY Kitchens and tradecalculator rules for returns and joints.
What you need
Units
- Unit carcasses
- 13 unitsabout 6 base, 6 wall and 1 tall at an average 500mm (600mm tall). Use your plan's count if you have oneHowdens: units 300–1000mm
- Doors and drawer fronts
- 16 fronts5 base doors, 1 drawer pack with 3 fronts, 6 wall doors, 2 tall doors
- Hinges
- 26 hinges2 per base and wall door, 4 per tall unit (3 on a door over 900mm)tradecalculator
- Handles
- 16 handles
- Drawer runner packs
- 1 packsabout one base unit in five is a drawer pack
- Corner units or corner posts
- 1 cornersL-shape: a corner base unit (900 to 1000mm a side) or a corner post so the doors clear each other
Worktop
- Laminate worktop
- 2 × 3m boards4.2m of run over 2 runs (about 2.1m each) plus 5% for cuts; tall units take none, appliances dotradecalculator: 3m most common, 3.6 and 4.1m
- Worktop joints
- 1 joints1 at the corner (mason's mitre)
- Worktop bolts and jointing compound
- 3 bolts3 per joint plus a tube of colour-matched compound
- Edging strip and end seal
- 5 cut endsiron-on edging or end caps for laminate, end seal on every cut
- Upstand
- 2 × 3m lengthsalong the back of the worktop; skip if you are tiling to the top
Plinth, cornice and pelmet
- Plinth
- 3 × 3m lengths4.2m base + 0.6m tall + 0.6m for each of 2 exposed ends, plus 5%DIY Kitchens: 600mm per return
- Cornice
- 2 × 3m lengths3.0m wall + 0.6m tall + 0.4m per wall return + 0.65m per tall return, 45° mitresDIY Kitchens; Howdens: 3m lengths
- Pelmet (light rail)
- 2 × 3m lengths3.0m wall + 0.4m per return, both sides of a hobDIY Kitchens
Panels and fixings
- Base end panels
- 2 panelsone per exposed end, cut to size
- Wall end panels
- 2 panels
- Tall end panels
- 1 panelsDIY Kitchens: one per exposed end by type
- Wall unit hanging brackets
- 12 brackets2 per unit, usually supplied
- Wall unit hanging rail
- 3 m
- Legs and plinth clips
- 24 legs4 legs and 2 clips per base unit, usually supplied with the carcass
- Sink and mixer tap
- 1 set
- Waste and trap kit
- 1 kit
- Appliance housings or fixing kits
- 3 kitsoven housing, hob cut-out, integrated door hinge kits
- Unit connector and fixing packs
- 3 packsone per 6 units
- Silicone sealant
- 2 tubesone per 4m of worktop
Round up to whole packs and bags. Figures include the wastage you chose and match TradeCalc in the app.
For kitchen fitters: turn this into a quote
In the app, TradeCalc hands these quantities straight to ProQuote with your regional material prices, and the customer gets a branded PDF. Free to download.
Or claim your free profile link nowHow the maths works
- Runs, not counts: units come in 300, 400, 500, 600, 800, 900 and 1000mm widths (Howdens, tradecalculator), so a count at 600mm can be 30% out. Doors and hinges are estimated from the runs at an average 500mm unit with one base unit in five a drawer pack; use your plan's count if you have one.
- Worktop follows the base run. Tall and larder units go to the ceiling and take no worktop; under-counter appliances sit in the run and do. Boards are 3.0, 3.6 or 4.1m (tradecalculator) with 5% for cuts, counted per run so an L-shape gets whole boards on each leg.
- Joints are one per corner (a mason's mitre) plus one wherever a run is longer than a board, with three bolts and a tube of jointing compound each. Stone and quartz are templated on site at 0.62m² per metre of run.
- Plinth is the base run plus the tall run plus 600mm for every exposed end, the DIY Kitchens rule, in 3m lengths with 5% for cuts.
- Cornice is the wall run plus the tall run plus 400mm for every exposed wall-unit end and 650mm for every tall-unit end; pelmet is the wall run plus 400mm per return, including both sides of a hob (DIY Kitchens), mitred at 45° (Howdens). Both in 3m lengths and both optional: many handleless kitchens have neither.
- End panels are one per exposed end, by type. Fillers go where a run meets a wall. Hinges are two per base or wall door and four per tall unit; wall units get two hanging brackets and a rail; base units get four legs and plinth clips, usually in the box.
Worked example
An L-shaped kitchen with a 4.2m base run including a dishwasher and a washing machine, 3m of wall units and a 0.6m larder is about 6 base, 6 wall and 1 tall unit: 16 fronts and 26 hinges. The worktop is 2 laminate boards at 3m with 1 joint at the corner and 3 bolts. Plinth is 4.2 + 0.6 + 1.2m for two exposed ends, so 3 lengths; cornice 2 lengths and pelmet 2 lengths; 2 base, 2 wall and 1 tall end panel.
Questions people ask
How much worktop do I need?
Measure the front edge of every run of base units at worktop height, including where the dishwasher and washing machine go under it, but not tall units, which take none. Add 5% on a straight run or 10% with a corner, and count whole boards per run: an L-shape with a 2.1m leg and a 2.1m leg is two 3m boards, not one 4.1m board.
How many worktop joints will there be?
One at every corner, cut as a mason's mitre with three bolts underneath and colour-matched jointing compound, plus one wherever a run is longer than the board you buy. Plan the joints away from the sink and hob.
How much plinth, cornice and pelmet?
DIY Kitchens' rule: plinth is the base and tall run plus 600mm for every exposed end; cornice is the wall and tall run plus 400mm per wall return and 650mm per tall return; pelmet is the wall run plus 400mm per return, both sides of a hob. All in 3m lengths, mitred at the corners.
How many end panels do I need?
One for every exposed end, by type: a base end panel where a run of base units stops in the open, a wall end panel for wall units and a tall end panel for a larder. Ends against a wall get a filler instead. Islands and peninsulas add two base ends each.
Is a 600mm unit really 600mm?
The carcass is, but kitchens are made of 300, 400, 500, 600, 800, 900 and 1000mm units plus corner units and fillers, which is why this calculator works from the run you measure along the wall rather than a count of 600mm boxes.
How much does it cost to fit a kitchen?
It varies with the size of the kitchen, the worktop and how much plumbing, electrics and plastering are involved, so there is no single figure. Post the job with your plan and photos and let fitters quote from it.
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