Reservoir, VIC 3073 · northern suburbs
Kitchen renovations in Reservoir
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 Reservoir
Local knowledge
What we see in Reservoir homes
Reservoir kitchens are typically compact and closed off — 1950s and 60s brick veneer and weatherboard on generous blocks, with the kitchen at the rear and a dining room through a doorway. It is one of Melbourne's most consistent bodies of post-war housing, which makes it predictable to quote.
The thing that catches people out here
Reservoir kitchens are typically compact and closed off. Where the wall to the dining room isn't load bearing, opening it up transforms the house for a modest cost.
Where the wall to the dining room is not load-bearing, opening it up changes how the house lives more than anything else available in this stock. That is the single highest-value change available in this stock, and whether it applies to your house is settled by a look in the roof space rather than by anyone's opinion in the kitchen.
Before you get quotes
Three things that decide the price in Reservoir
1. What your house is built on
Post-war brick veneer and weatherboard on timber subfloors. Services move without concrete work, which keeps a relocated sink or a plumbed island affordable. The wall between kitchen and dining is sometimes structural and sometimes not, and it is common enough either way here that it is not something to assume on a quote.
2. Permits, overlays and owners corporations
Internal kitchen work needs no planning permit. Asbestos-cement sheet behind the splashback is common in this stock and requires a licensed asbestos removalist. Electrical upgrades are frequent here too: an original board often cannot carry an induction cooktop, an oven and a dishwasher without more ways or a mains upgrade. The new circuits need a certificate of electrical safety. 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
Reservoir blocks are generous and a lot of owners are here for the long term. An open kitchen-dining space is what changes how these houses live, and it is usually achievable without touching the outside of the building at all.
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 Reservoir
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 Reservoir →
Questions
Reservoir kitchen renovations — common questions
Do you actually work in Reservoir?
Yes — Reservoir is inside our regular service area, along with Preston, Thornbury, Coburg and the surrounding northern suburbs. Site inspections across Reservoir 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. Reservoir is mostly 1950s–1960s brick veneer and weatherboard, 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 Reservoir, where the stock is 1950s–1960s brick veneer and weatherboard, 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 Reservoir?
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 Reservoir, 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 Reservoir.
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.