Electrical Layout Planning
PremiumHow to plan your socket, switch, and lighting positions before the electrician arrives. Your kitchen layout must be finalised first.
Do this first:
Get your electrical layout wrong and you'll pay to fix it twice: once to move the cables behind the plasterboard, and again to replaster the wall you just ripped open. Sockets in the wrong position, a missing circuit to the island, an extractor fan that blocks a cupboard door. These aren't rare problems. They're the most common first-fix failures on kitchen extension projects, and every single one is preventable with a few hours of planning before your electrician picks up a drill.
This leaf covers the planning. The actual installation (first-fix electrics) is a separate task that happens after you've completed this exercise. You are the designer here. Your electrician executes your design. If you hand them a vague brief, you'll get a vague result.
Your kitchen layout must be finalised before you plan electrical positions. Every socket height depends on where worktops go. Every dedicated circuit depends on which appliances you've chosen. Every lighting zone depends on the room layout. If the kitchen design changes after first fix wiring is buried in the walls, you're looking at expensive rework. Don't start this until measuring and layout is complete.
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