A kitchen renovation follows a fixed logic: plan every position first, strip out, renew water, waste, electrics and the extraction route, prepare walls and floor, then fit units, template and install the worktop, add the splashback, connect appliances and test. Each step hides the one before it, so changes become expensive once the next stage starts. Gas and electrical work is done by authorised partner installers, and any work touching shared elements of the building involves the community.
Why does the order matter so much in a kitchen?
A kitchen packs more services into a small area than any other room: cold and hot water, waste for the sink and dishwasher and sometimes a washing machine, a high-power circuit for the hob, another for the oven, sockets for small appliances and a duct for the extractor. Once units and a worktop are installed, all of these disappear behind them. Getting the order wrong means taking out finished work to fix something that should have been done first.
Step 1: what has to be decided before anything is removed?
The layout of the new kitchen, at least to the level of where each appliance and the sink will go, where the extractor will be and how high the worktop will sit. If you are buying units from a kitchen supplier, their plan should be available before strip-out. From the plan we derive the position of every water outlet, waste connection, socket and switch, and the route for the extractor duct.
This is also when you decide whether the floor will run under the units or stop at them, and whether the kitchen will open to another room, which is covered in our open-plan kitchen page.
Step 2: strip-out and checking what is behind
Old units, worktop, appliances and usually wall tiles come out. In older buildings this often reveals tired pipes, makeshift wiring and old waste connections. We photograph what we find and adjust the plan if something needs more work than expected, always with your approval before going further.
If an old flue, pipe or panel looks like asbestos cement, work on it stops until a registered specialist has dealt with it.
Step 3: water, waste, power, gas and extraction
New supply pipes run to the sink, dishwasher and any washing machine or fridge with a water connection. Waste pipes are laid with a continuous fall to the soil stack. Electrical circuits for the hob, oven and sockets are installed by our authorised partner installers; any gas work is carried out by an authorised gas installer, coordinated by us.
The extractor route is prepared now: a duct to an existing shaft or through an outside wall, or a recirculating position if ducting is not possible. A new opening in the façade affects a shared element of the building; under Spain’s Horizontal Property Act, owners may modify their own installations only where this does not alter the building’s exterior or harm other owners, so the community must be involved.
Step 4: walls, ceiling and floor
Walls are made good and plastered or boarded flat, especially where tall units and the splashback will sit; uneven walls leave gaps behind worktops. Any new ceiling, for example to hide an extractor duct or to add recessed lighting, goes in now. The floor is laid either across the whole room or up to the unit line, depending on what was decided in step 1.
For new dwellings, the CTE’s indoor air quality section, HS 3, expects kitchens to have extraction and air to flow towards the wet rooms. How it applies to the renovation of an existing kitchen depends on the scope (to be verified case by case); we plan extraction as a priority regardless.
Step 5: units, then the worktop
Base units are set level, then wall units. Only when the base units are fixed and level is the worktop templated, because its exact shape depends on the finished walls and the units underneath. Stone and engineered worktops are cut to the template off site, then installed with the sink and hob cut-outs. Timber worktops can be cut on site but need sealing at every cut edge.
Templating before the walls or units are finished is one of the commonest causes of worktops that do not fit.
Step 6: splashback, appliances and testing
The splashback goes on after the worktop, so it sits on it and covers the joint. Then the sink and taps are connected, appliances are installed and connected, lights fitted and every circuit and connection is tested. Finally the kitchen is cleaned, inside the units as well as out.
Our kitchen renovation page explains how we run this sequence as one coordinated job.
Is there paperwork for a kitchen renovation?
For interior works in Andalusia, many town halls accept a declaración responsable, a sworn notice filed by the owner before starting, under the regional planning law, Ley 7/2021 (LISTA). Whether your kitchen falls into that category, and what each ayuntamiento asks for, has to be confirmed locally (to be verified for each town). Structural changes, such as removing a load-bearing wall, need professional involvement and more than a simple notice.
In an apartment block, notify the community’s representative before the works. The filing itself is the owner’s responsibility.
Can the sequence be shortened?
Some steps can overlap a little, for example plastering one wall while services are finished on another. What cannot be skipped is curing and drying time for screeds, plaster and adhesives, and the gap between fitting base units and templating the worktop. A plan that removes those gaps is a plan that will need fixing later. For more on how open layouts change the work, read open-plan kitchens: pros and cons.
Official sources
- Ley 49/1960 de Propiedad Horizontal, art. 7.1 – BOE consolidated text
- Código Técnico de la Edificación, DB HS Salubridad (HS 3 indoor air quality)
- Ley 7/2021 de impulso para la sostenibilidad del territorio de Andalucía (LISTA) – BOE
Bauman Raymond Attila · Reforma Baños Málaga · Avenida Antonio Belón 3, Marbella. Last reviewed: 05/11/2026.
