how to measure your kitchen

To measure your kitchen accurately, watch our instructional video and read on for some top tips to help you along the way, as well as a guide on exactly what and how to measure your kitchen space!

step by step guide to measuring your kitchen

step 1: sketch your kitchen

• The first step is to sketch your kitchen. A couple of pieces of paper will work, or, if you have access to a printer, you can download and print our planning grid sheet here that will help you record measurements more accurately. Draw a rough plan of your existing layout – from overhead, marking up any door, window, plumbing and power points.

• Then using another planning grid, draw up a front view of each wall, remember you’re measuring the space not the existing cabinetry.

step 2: measure horizontal surfaces

• Then, using a tape measure or laser measure, start with the horizontal measurements. Measure the full distance of each wall, even the areas where there isn’t currently any cabinetry.

• Then measure the walls with windows, including the window length and the space between any windows – from the outside of the window frame, marking all windows with a W. Being conscious to note all wall and window lengths, i.e. wall to wall, wall to window, wall to door.

• Handy tip! Be sure to factor in the thickness of your splashback to your overall horizontal measurement.

• Next, measure the door frames from the outside of the frame, marking all door frames with a ‘D’ or ‘SD’. Check for any other wall obstacles like light switches, PowerPoints, or pillars and posts. Mark all light switches with an ‘LS’ and PowerPoints with ‘PP’.

step 3: measure vertical surfaces

• Now measure vertical distances. Record the distance between your floor and ceiling. If there is a bulkhead, measure this separately.

• Then measure the height of the floor to the bottom of the window, the height of the window, then the height of the doorways.

• Where possible, repeat your horizontal and vertical measurements 600mm in from the wall. This will help identify if there are any uneven walls or floors. If your walls are not square, add wall panels or re-plaster to bring them to square.

step 4: measure and mark service points

• Finally, measure and mark all service points such as the rangehood ducting, plumbing and other utilities. Mark down the height of the incoming water source (usually located inside your sink cabinet), as well as the outgoing water waste service points, usually a wall waste pipe (‘WWP’) or a floor waste pipe (FWP).

• Mark any gas service points (mark with ‘G’) and electrical for the cooktop and oven, plus any additional power points (‘PP’).

• Whether you’re replacing appliances or using existing ones, it’s always good to have the appliance dimensions handy. Don’t forget to write down the height, width and depth. Make sure you always leave enough space for your appliances, you can find all the specifications in the manufacturer’s instructions.

step 5: bring your room to life

• Now you’ve got your measurements, bring your room to life in the kaboodle 3D planner, ready for your new kitchen design! Use your sketch to help create your room in 3D and form a floorplan for your new design.

• If you’d prefer to have someone do it all for you, book an in-home consultation with a Bunnings kitchen consultant.

handy measuring tips

• Ever heard of the saying, measure twice and cut once? That applies here too! It helps to be as accurate as you can by double-checking your measurements. We always recommend measuring your kitchen space twice over.

• Rely on good tools. Make sure you own a good tape measure that’s free from kinks and bends. Or, for keen DIY’ers, digital measuring tools are a great alternative. Learn more about DIY measuring tools here.

• Keep it consistent by jotting down your dimensions in one type of metric, millimetres is usually best.

• If you are seeking advice from a professional, have some photos of your existing kitchen handy, it gives context and clarity on the space, and will reveal if any further measurements are required.

• Your waste service point is normally a 50mm PVC pipe that carries waste water out from your kitchen sink. A waste service point will flow through either the floor or the wall. If your waste pipe is installed on the wall, you’ll simply need to measure the distance from the floor to the pipe in the wall. But if it flows through the floor, look inside the sink cabinet, and measure from the middle of the pipe to the wall. Remember, when it comes to plumbing and electrical works, you always need a licensed trade to manage these parts of the renovation for you.

• mark any other permanent fixtures such as balustrades, beams, pillars, low ceiling

• mark all windows with a 'W' (measure to the outside of the architrave)

• mark all doorways with a 'D' or ‘SD’ (measure to the outside of the architrave)

• mark the location of any service points if you can see them (sometimes they’re not accessible).

• mark any light switches/PowerPoints with an 'LS' or ‘PP’

• mark any gas service points with a ‘G’

floor plan sample

legend

note: the ‘c’ symbol (with a cross through the middle), means that the measurement is taken from the centre point.

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