Kitchen design: getting the plan right before anything is ordered

Most showroom and retailer designs are produced to sell that company's units, and the price of design is often absorbed into the order or credited against it. That can be good value, but the drawings are tied to one range, and you may not be free to take them elsewhere. Ask before the first appointment whether there is a design fee, whether it is refundable, and whether you receive the drawings if you do not order.

An independent designer charges for the design itself and can specify units from different makers. That suits people who want to buy the units in one place and have them fitted by someone else, or who have an unusual room. The designer's role should be written down: drawings only, or also checking the order and visiting during the fit.

A plan view alone is not enough. A fitter needs to know heights, gaps and positions of everything that is fixed to a wall or runs behind a unit.

Before signing it off, stand in the room with the drawings. Check the door and window swings, radiator positions, where the boiler flue and meter sit, and whether a dishwasher door can open while someone stands at the sink.

• plan and elevations with all dimensions and unit codes
• position of water, waste, gas and each electrical point
• appliance models with cut-out and ventilation requirements
• worktop material, thickness, joints and cut-outs
• lighting plan and switching
• extraction route, fan rate and where it vents
• a list of what is excluded, such as flooring or tiling

Moving a sink means moving the waste, which needs a fall to the drain; a sink on an island may need the floor opened or a pump. Moving a gas hob means new pipework by a Gas Safe registered engineer. New circuits for an induction hob or ovens are notifiable electrical work in England. None of this is a reason not to move things, but the design should show it, and the quote should price it.

Removing a wall to make a kitchen-diner is a structural question for an engineer and Building Control, not a design choice that can be settled on a drawing alone. If the design depends on a wall coming out, get that confirmed before units are ordered.

Approved Document F sets minimum extract rates for kitchens: 30 litres per second where a cooker hood extracts to the outside, and 60 litres per second where there is no hood or the hood only recirculates. Where a hood extracts to the outside, its height above the hob should follow the manufacturer's instructions, or be between 650 and 750 millimetres if none are given.

The design should show the duct route to an outside wall. Long ducts with many bends reduce the real extraction rate, and a hood over an island may need to duct through the ceiling void. Check that the ceiling joists allow it before choosing the hood.

The best designers ask questions before drawing: how many people cook at once, whether you bake, how much you shop at a time, where bins and recycling go, whether children do homework at the table, and what must be hidden away. Those answers decide drawer versus cupboard storage, the length of clear worktop beside the hob, and where the fridge sits so people can reach it without crossing the cooking area.

It is also the point to think about later years: drawers rather than low cupboards, pull-out larders, a wall oven at a comfortable height and lighting that does not leave the worktop in shadow.

Tell us whether you want design only or a full package, the size of the room and your timescale, and confirm your phone number and email. Kitchen businesses in your area see it without your details, and exactly one can buy it; after that it is no longer offered. We email you the business's name, address and phone number before it gets your details. It is free for you, a taker is not guaranteed, and it is withdrawn after 21 days if unsold. Offrano checks registration only, not design quality.