Dream Kitchen Transformation
Old kitchen torn out, main brick walls removed, electrical upgraded and a brand-new kitchen installed.
Kitchen renovation in Wollongong and the Illawarra, priced before we start
We do kitchen renovations in Wollongong and across the Illawarra, from a benchtop and door swap through to a full strip-out with a new layout. If you own a home between Helensburgh and Nowra and your kitchen is worn out, badly laid out, or just stuck in the 1990s, start here.
What you get on a kitchen job with us
You get a written scope with the inclusions and the exclusions spelled out, a firm price against that scope before anything is ordered, and one person coordinating the trades. Get a ballpark from the instant estimate tool below, or ring Marcio on 0413 147 335. If the job takes in more than the kitchen, start with home renovations.
Handy Tradie 4 U. Licensed and insured. ABN 91 639 254 685. Wollongong NSW 2500. Plumbing and electrical work is carried out by licensed partner trades under their own licences, not in-house.
Four kinds of kitchen renovation, and which one you are asking for
Four quite different jobs all get called a kitchen renovation. Work out which one you are actually after before you start comparing quotes, because the scopes are not comparable.
Benchtop and cabinet refresh
The carcasses stay. New benchtop, new doors and drawer fronts, new handles, new hardware, usually a new splashback. Plumbing and electrical stay where they are. This works when the existing boxes are square, dry and solid. Chipboard carcasses that have swollen under a slow sink leak are not worth re-dressing, and we will tell you that at the quote rather than after. Measured in days.
Partial renovation
New cabinetry on the same footprint. Sink and appliances stay roughly where they are, so there is no major plumbing or electrical relocation, but you get new carcasses, new benchtop, new splashback and a proper set-out. The middle option, and often the sensible one.
Full strip-out
Everything out, including the old carcasses. New layout if you want one, which means the sink, dishwasher, cooktop and power all move. New set-out drawn before anything is ordered, new cabinetry, new benchtop, new splashback, new tiling or flooring if it is in scope. This is the version where an island becomes possible, where a wall can come out, and where the trade sequence actually matters.
Custom cabinetry, pantries and islands
Walk-in and butler's pantries, islands with a waterfall end, corner solutions that use the corner instead of wasting it, overheads taken to the ceiling so you stop losing a dust shelf at the top. Where an off-the-shelf carcass does not fit the run, we make it fit rather than filler-panelling the gap and calling it a feature. It is the same joinery approach we use for custom built-in wardrobes.
How we quote your kitchen
We do not publish prices, rates or ranges for our own work. Kitchens vary too much for a band to mean anything useful, and we would rather look at yours and give you a figure we can stand behind.
What we are reading when we quote: how much comes out and how much of the existing kitchen can be kept, the size of the room and the number of cabinet runs, the access for getting material in and rubbish out, the benchtop material, whether the cabinetry is modular or custom, whether the sink and the appliances relocate, and the condition of what sits behind the old cabinets. Old wiring without an earth, a slow leak under the sink, and a floor that is not level across a long run are the three we find most.
Use the instant estimate tool below for a ballpark in about a minute. Then we come out, measure the set-out properly and give you a firm price against a written scope before anything is ordered, at no charge. Or ring Marcio on 0413 147 335.
Benchtops: what is actually on the table
Worth sorting out before you go shopping, because the benchtop drives a large part of how the kitchen looks and most of the lead time on the job. Here is what we work with and what each one asks of you.
If you are wondering why nobody is offering you engineered stone, that is the law rather than a preference. Australia prohibited the manufacture, supply, processing and installation of engineered stone from 1 July 2024, with the import ban following on 1 January 2025, because of the silicosis risk to the people who cut it. Natural stone is not covered by the prohibition. Engineered stone already in your kitchen does not have to come out, and it can still be repaired, modified or removed under controlled conditions with the work notified to the WHS regulator beforehand. If your old benchtop is engineered stone, we handle its removal that way.
Natural stone
Granite, marble, quartzite. Cut from a slab, so every top is unique and the join placement matters. Marble marks and etches with citrus and wine. It ages into a patina some people love and others hate, and you should decide which you are before you buy it. Granite and quartzite are harder and more forgiving. A mitred edge reads as a thicker slab without the weight.
Sintered stone and porcelain
Manufactured at high temperature and pressure, extremely hard, heat and stain resistant, and available in large-format slabs for a waterfall end with minimal joins. The profiles are thinner than natural stone, so the substrate and the support under it have to be right. This is where a lot of the premium market has moved.
Laminate
The budget option, and better than its reputation. Modern laminate handles a kitchen fine for years if you keep heat off it and water out of the joins. Where it shows is at the edge profile and the cut-outs. If the budget is the constraint, a good laminate top with good cabinetry and good hardware beats a stone top on cheap boxes every time.
Cabinetry, hardware and the parts you stop noticing
The parts you touch twenty times a day are the parts worth spending on. The carcass and the finish decide how the kitchen looks on day one; the hardware decides how it feels in year five.
Carcasses and panels:
Laminex panel product, specified through the Kaboodle range for modular runs, with custom boxes built where the run does not suit a standard size.
Hinges and runners:
Blum. Soft-close on every door and drawer as standard, not as an upgrade line on the quote.
Drawers over doors
in base cabinets wherever the run allows it. You can see and reach the back of a drawer; you cannot of a cupboard.
Splashbacks:
tiled, glass or laminate. Tiled to the underside of the overheads, with the join sitting where the eye does not land.
Details that cost little and read expensive:
a shadowline where the overheads meet the ceiling, handleless push-to-open on a run of drawers, an integrated bin instead of a freestanding one, a toe-kick drawer in a small kitchen.
Who does what on your kitchen
Plumbing and electrical are never done in-house. They are specialist licensed categories in NSW, carried out by the licensed partner trades we work with, and each issues the compliance paperwork for their own work.
Carpentry, cabinetry install, set-out, benchtop coordination, tiling and project management:
Handy Tradie 4 U, in-house.
Custom steel and fabrication
such as island frames, a steel-and-timber shelf, or a bracket made to span where nothing off the shelf will: in-house. Welding and metal fabrication is our own trade, so a one-off gets made rather than designed around.
Plumbing:
a licensed partner plumber handles the sink, mixer, dishwasher and any water or waste relocation, under their own licence.
Electrical:
a licensed partner electrician handles power, new circuits for an oven or induction cooktop, lighting and appliance connection, under their own licence.
Our four-stage kitchen renovation process
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1. Measure, scope and quote.
We come out, measure the room, work through what you want and put the scope in writing with the inclusions and the exclusions. You get a firm price against it before anything is ordered.
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2. Design and selections.
Layout drawn and signed off, then materials chosen and ordered. This is the stage people underestimate. Stone and sintered slabs, custom cabinetry and imported appliances all have lead times, and the benchtop can only be templated after the carcasses are in. We give you the ordering dates up front so the schedule is yours to see, not a surprise.
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3. Strip-out and install.
Old kitchen out and removed. Plumbing and electrical rough-in by the licensed partner trades. Carcasses in and levelled, benchtop templated and fitted, then splashback, doors, fronts and hardware. Then fit-off: sink, mixer, dishwasher and appliances connected.
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4. Handover and clean-up.
Every appliance tested, every door and drawer adjusted, snag list written with you and worked through. Product and manufacturer paperwork handed over. Site left clean.
Realistically you are without a working kitchen for part of stage three. We will tell you how long at the quote, and we can usually leave you a temporary sink and a bench to work off.
Appliances: cutouts, clearances and connection
Appliance coordination is where kitchen jobs go wrong, and it is almost always a measurement problem rather than a trade problem. Bring us the model numbers early. We work to the manufacturer's spec sheet for cutout size, clearance above a cooktop, ventilation behind an integrated fridge and the rangehood duct run, not to the nominal size on the box. If you are reusing existing appliances we check they still fit the new set-out before anything is ordered, because an oven a whisker wider than its cavity is a very expensive surprise on install day.
Induction cooktops and most electric ovens need their own circuit. That is the licensed partner electrician's work, and it needs to be in the scope from the start rather than appearing as a variation later.
Contracts, insurance and your protections
Doing the kitchen at the same time as another room is usually the better move, and the same contract rules cover the combined job. See bathroom renovations for the wet-area detail.
Insurance.
We are licensed and insured and carry public liability cover. Ask and we will send you the certificate of currency.
Written contract.
In NSW a written contract is required for residential building work when the contract price is over $5,000 including GST. A small works contract covers work worth $5,000 to $20,000; work worth more than $20,000 requires a full home building contract.
Deposit.
The maximum deposit that may be requested is 10 per cent, and that cap applies to both small jobs and large jobs. We do not ask for more than that.
Home building compensation cover.
HBCF cover, and the insurance certificate that goes with it, is required when the contract value is over $20,000 including GST.
Variations.
Agreed in writing before the varied work happens, every time. A variation that is not in writing first is not a variation.
Warranties.
NSW statutory warranties apply to residential building work, and manufacturer product warranties are passed through to you with the paperwork at handover.
Recent kitchen work across the Illawarra
The photos and short clips in this section are kitchens we have finished across the Illawarra, captioned with the suburb and the scope of work and nothing else. There is more on our our work page.
Kitchen renovation service areas
Based in Wollongong, working across the Illawarra and South Coast: Helensburgh, Thirroul, Woonona, Bulli, Corrimal, North Wollongong, Fairy Meadow, Figtree, Unanderra, Port Kembla, Dapto, Horsley, Albion Park, Warilla, Oak Flats, Shellharbour, Shell Cove, Minnamurra, Kiama, Jamberoo, Gerringong, Berry and Nowra. The full list sits on our service areas page.
Being local matters more on a kitchen than people think. The gap between template day and benchtop install is the week your kitchen does not work, and a fifteen minute drive instead of a ninety minute one is the difference between us dropping in to sort a small adjustment and you waiting until next Tuesday.
Get a ballpark estimate on your kitchen
Use the instant estimate tool below for a ballpark in about a minute. If it is in the right territory we come out, measure the set-out properly and confirm a firm price against a written scope at no charge.
Or ring Marcio on 0413 147 335, or email info@handytradie4u.com. Handy Tradie 4 U, ABN 91 639 254 685, Wollongong NSW 2500.
Our Work
Recent Work
Kitchen renovations, from cabinetry to splashback
Timber Floors Revived + Home Refresh
Floors sanded back to their natural colour, plus an air-con fix, new hot plate and range hood, bathroom ceiling, courtyard tidy-up and cupboard repairs.
Want a firm price on this?
Send a photo and a short description. You get a straight answer on what it needs and what it costs before anything starts.
Questions
Kitchen Renovations Questions
How do you price a kitchen renovation?+
We do not publish prices, rates or ranges. Kitchens vary too much for a band to mean anything, so yours is quoted individually after we have measured it. What we look at is how much comes out and how much can be kept, the size of the room and the number of cabinet runs, the access for material and rubbish, the benchtop material, whether the cabinetry is modular or custom, whether the sink and appliances relocate, and the condition of what is behind the old cabinets. The instant estimate tool on this page gives you a ballpark in about a minute, then we give you a firm price against a written scope before anything is ordered, at no charge.
Should I refresh my kitchen or do a full renovation?+
Refresh if the carcasses are square, dry and solid and the layout works. Renovate if they are swollen, the layout fights you, or you want the sink or cooktop somewhere else. Open a cupboard and look at the base of the carcass under the sink. If it is soft or swollen, you are renovating, and dressing it up is money thrown away.
Can I still get an engineered stone benchtop?+
No, and neither can anyone else. Australia prohibited the manufacture, supply, processing and installation of engineered stone from 1 July 2024, with imports banned from 1 January 2025, because cutting it causes silicosis. Natural stone, sintered and porcelain surfaces and laminate are all unaffected and are what we work with now. Engineered stone already installed does not have to be removed, and we can take an old one out under the controlled process the regulator requires.
What benchtop material should I choose?+
Sintered stone or porcelain for hardness and stain resistance, natural stone if you want a unique slab and will live with marble's patina, laminate if the budget is the constraint. Whichever you pick, the substrate and the support under it have to suit the material, and join placement is worth deciding before the slab is cut rather than on template day. We will walk you through the trade-offs against your set-out at the quote.
How long does a kitchen renovation take?+
On site, a refresh is days and a full strip-out is usually two to four weeks. The longer part is before that: material lead times, and the benchtop template, which can only happen once the carcasses are in and then takes its own turnaround. We give you those dates at the design stage.
Will I be without a kitchen, and for how long?+
Yes, for part of the install. We will tell you how many days at the quote and we can usually leave you a temporary sink and a bench. Plan a fridge, a kettle and a microwave somewhere else for that stretch.
Can you work with my existing appliances?+
Yes, if they fit the new set-out. Give us the model numbers before anything is ordered so we can check cutouts, clearances and the duct run against the manufacturer's spec sheet. Reusing an old integrated dishwasher sometimes takes more cabinetry work than replacing it does, and we would rather you knew that before the order goes in.
Who does the plumbing and electrical?+
Licensed partner trades, under their own licences. Plumbing and electrical are specialist licensed categories in NSW, we do not claim them as ours, and each trade issues the compliance paperwork for their own work. We schedule them and coordinate them so you are not chasing separate numbers.
Can I supply my own cabinetry or benchtop?+
Yes. We will give you the set-out dimensions and the tolerances so what arrives actually fits. If you supply it, the product warranty is between you and the supplier, and our work covers the installation. Flat-pack supplied by you plus our install is a legitimate option and we will scope it that way if you ask.
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