Northcote, VIC 3070 · inner north
Kitchen renovations in Northcote
Complete kitchen renovations from $24,999 — cabinetry, benchtop, splashback, appliance installation and GST all in. Typically 5–7 weeks on site. We're a small local team — the people who quote your job are the people who build it, so you're not paying for a showroom or a sales rep.
- Registered building practitioner
- Fixed written price before we start
- Free inspection across Northcote
Local knowledge
What we see in Northcote homes
Northcote kitchens sit in rear additions of wildly varying quality — some are 1980s brick, some are 1950s fibro, and some are a lean-to on a Victorian cottage that has been patched for a century. The California bungalows through the flatter streets are more consistent, with the kitchen in a rear service wing.
The thing that catches people out here
Northcote kitchens sit in rear additions of wildly varying quality. It's worth assessing the addition itself before spending money on joinery inside a structure that needs work.
It is worth assessing the addition before spending money on joinery inside it. We have seen good kitchens installed into structures that needed restumping, re-roofing or both, and the kitchen then has to come out again. Half an hour under the floor at the inspection stage usually settles it.
Before you get quotes
Three things that decide the price in Northcote
1. What your house is built on
Victorian and Edwardian stock on stumps, with bungalows through the flatter parts. Timber subfloor means the sink can move. The additions are the variable: differing floor levels between the original house and the rear section are common, and a step down into the kitchen has to be either kept deliberately or fixed properly, because a half-solution reads as a mistake for as long as you own the house.
2. Permits, overlays and owners corporations
No planning permit for internal work. Heritage Overlay applies across parts of Northcote and is worth checking. Rear additions of the relevant era frequently contain asbestos-cement sheet, and old wiring behind a kitchen wall is common in the original cottages — both are better found at demolition than after. Taking out a load-bearing wall is a different matter: that needs a building permit and an engineer's computation for the beam, and both belong in the quote.
3. What a renovation is worth here
Northcote buyers are comfortable with contemporary work in a period house, so there is no need to pretend. What they are less forgiving of is a kitchen that has obviously been done around a structural problem rather than after it.
None of the above is guesswork on a quote — we look at the subfloor, whether the dividing wall carries load, the switchboard and where a rangehood can duct to during the free inspection, then put a fixed written price on it.
Pricing
Kitchen renovation cost in Northcote
One number, everything in it. Take it to any other quote you get and compare line for line — that is the comparison worth making.
What's included at $24,999
One price for the cabinetry, the benchtop, the splashback and the trades, with GST in it. Appliances are the one thing you buy yourself.
- Removal of existing kitchen and disposal
- New cabinetry, 6–8 linear metres
- Laminate, porcelain or natural stone benchtop
- Tiled or glass splashback
- Plumbing and electrical by licensed trades
- Appliance installation (you buy the appliances, we fit them)
Appliances are not included — you buy them, which means you pick the brands and catch the sales, and we install them as part of the job. Removing a load-bearing wall, moving the sink or dishwasher to a new position, a switchboard upgrade, upgraded finishes and hidden damage found during demolition are quoted separately and always in writing before any extra work starts.
Also renovating the bathroom? See bathroom pricing for Northcote →
Questions
Northcote kitchen renovations — common questions
Do you actually work in Northcote?
Yes — Northcote is inside our regular service area, along with Thornbury, Fitzroy North, Preston and the surrounding inner north. Site inspections across Northcote are free and there's no travel charge.
How long will the job take?
Around 5–7 weeks on site for a standard kitchen of this type. Northcote is mostly Victorian and Edwardian cottages, and that's the kind of place we work on most — so the timeline we give you at quote stage is the one we work to.
What could push the price above $24,999?
Four things, in order of likelihood: taking out a load-bearing wall, which means an engineer's beam design and a building permit; moving the sink or dishwasher, which is cheap on a timber subfloor and expensive on a slab; a switchboard that cannot carry a modern appliance load; and finishes above our standard range. Appliances are yours to buy, so they sit outside the price either way. In Northcote, where the stock is Victorian and Edwardian cottages, the third one matters — you get a written price before anyone touches it.
Can I see photos of your work?
Yes — there are real before-and-after photos and video walkthroughs of finished work on the home page. We'll bring more kitchen renovations to the inspection, along with what each job actually cost.
Do you do whole-house renovations in Northcote?
No, and we'd rather say so plainly. We don't do extensions, second storeys, re-roofing or anything that changes the outside of the house — we do bathrooms and kitchens, for a fixed price, and that narrow focus is the reason we can quote the way we do. Taking out an internal wall to open a kitchen to the living area is part of a kitchen and we do that, with an engineer's beam design and a building permit where the wall is load-bearing. If you're planning a full home renovation in Northcote, these are usually the two rooms that blow the budget, so it's worth getting a firm number on them early even if someone else is managing the rest. We're happy to quote just our part and work alongside your builder.
Free, no obligation
Book your free site inspection in Northcote.
Tell us a bit about the room and we'll call you back to arrange a time. You'll get a fixed written price — and an honest answer about what your budget can realistically buy.
Thanks — we've got it.
We'll call you back to arrange a time, usually the same day.