How long kitchen production actually takes, what drives the timeline, when it slips, and how to plan your installation date correctly.
What the timeline is made of
"Production lead time" is only one stage. The full journey from signing the contract to a finished kitchen in your home consists of several steps.
- Project sign-off and final survey: 3–7 days after signing
- Release to production: 1–3 days after sign-off
- Production itself: 10–30 working days depending on complexity and factory load
- Delivery: 1–5 days depending on distance
- Installation: 1–3 days for a standard kitchen
- Total from signing to finished kitchen: 3–7 weeks normally, 8–12 weeks in peak season
Realistic timelines by manufacturer type
| Manufacturer type | Production lead time | Notes |
|---|
| Large factory (production-line) | 10–15 working days | Standard configs are faster |
| Mid-size manufacturer | 15–25 working days | Non-standard adds 5–10 days |
| Small workshop | 20–35 working days | More flexible on bespoke work |
| Import kitchen (IKEA etc.) | 1–4 weeks | Depends on stock availability |
When timelines slip
- Peak seasons: Aug–Oct (renovation season) and January (post-holidays) — queues can double
- Non-standard items: made-to-order fronts, unusual sizes, complex routing
- Imported hardware or appliances on order — waiting for delivery
- Manufacturer is overloaded but didn't say so — the most common cause of lateness
- Survey error: a part needs re-measuring and re-manufacturing
How to plan the installation date
- Don't schedule plumbing and electrical work to coincide exactly with the delivery date
- Build in a 1–2 week buffer between the promised delivery and your tradespeople
- Appliance and plumbing connections are a separate call-out after the kitchen is installed
- If a renovation is running in parallel: fit the kitchen last among the major works
Don't plan a move or flat handover around a specific kitchen delivery date. A 1–2 week slip is normal, not an exception.
How to lock the timeline into the contract
- "No later than" date — a specific calendar date, not "approximately 4 weeks"
- Delivery date and installation date listed separately
- Late-delivery penalty: typically 0.1–0.5% of the order value per day. Without it there is no incentive
- Force majeure clause: clarify what it covers. "Delay in material supply" is a business risk, not force majeure
What to do when the deadline has already been missed
- Send a written request for a new delivery date — this formally records the delay
- If the new date is also missed — grounds for a penalty claim or contract termination
- Don't accept a partial delivery without a signed note listing the missing items
- Final payment only after full installation and signing the acceptance certificate