A kitchen renovation is usually the second-largest thing a South African household spends money on inside the home, after the roof. And unlike a car or a couch, there is no sticker price — the number depends on how much cupboard you need, what you clad it in, and how much of the room behind the cupboards you disturb.
This guide breaks a Gauteng kitchen renovation into its actual line items, with 2026 ranges for each, so you can put a realistic budget together before you speak to anyone. Every figure here is the same one we use when we quote.
The short answer
Most complete kitchen renovations in Gauteng land between R48,000 and R195,000 in 2026, with the majority of family homes falling in the R76,000 to R140,000 band once cupboards, countertops and installation are counted together.
That range is wide because it covers two quite different jobs. Replacing cupboards and tops in a kitchen that keeps its existing layout is one project. Moving the sink, opening a wall and adding an island is a different project with builders, plumbers and electricians in it. The cabinetry cost is often the smaller half of the second one.
Where the money actually goes
Here is how a typical mid-sized Gauteng kitchen renovation splits up. Cupboards and tops are the two biggest lines, and they are the two you have the most control over.
| Line item | Typical 2026 cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cupboards & units | R4,700 – R14,000 per linear metre | Installed. Finish is the biggest variable — see the finishes guide |
| Countertops | R950 – R5,900 per linear metre | Laminate at the bottom, engineered quartz at the top |
| Strip-out & removal | R2,500 – R8,000 | Removing old units, disposal, making good |
| Plumbing changes | R3,000 – R15,000 | Zero if the sink stays put; significant if it moves |
| Electrical changes | R3,000 – R18,000 | New plug points, isolators, under-counter lighting, hob wiring |
| Tiling / splashback | R4,000 – R20,000 | Depends on area and whether the floor is included |
| Appliances | R12,000 – R90,000+ | Freestanding at the bottom, integrated and panel-ready at the top |
Prices shown are estimates and starting points, not fixed quotations. The final price depends on the scope, complexity and specific requirements of each job — the size of the space, the finish and hardware you choose, the internal fittings, site conditions and access.
A firm, itemised quotation is provided free of charge once we have measured and assessed your requirements. Request a free quote and we will give you an exact figure, usually within one business day.
Indicative 2026 ranges for Gauteng. Cabinetry and countertop figures match our kitchen cupboard price guide. Trades are quoted independently — we can coordinate them or work alongside your own.
Why cupboards are quoted per metre
South African cabinetmakers quote by the linear metre because that is the honest unit of work. A metre of cupboard is a carcass, a door or two, hinges, a shelf or drawer box, edging and the labour to build and hang it. Measure the wall runs your units will sit against — a kitchen with 4m of base units and 3m of wall units is about seven linear metres — and multiply by the rate for your finish level.
Three real budgets
1. The refresh — R48,000 to R76,000
Layout stays exactly where it is. Sink, hob and plumbing are untouched. You get new cupboards in a good melamine or wood-grain, new hardware, a laminate or entry-level granite top, and a tiled splashback. This is the highest-return renovation in the country and the one most people should be doing.
2. The proper redo — R87,000 to R152,000
Same footprint, but everything is replaced to a higher standard: wrap or sprayed doors, soft-close drawer systems throughout, a pantry or appliance tower, engineered quartz tops, new under-counter lighting and a couple of extra plug points. Most family kitchens in Johannesburg and Pretoria sit here.
3. The reconfiguration — R160,000 upward
The room changes shape. An island goes in, a wall opens to the living area, the sink moves, a scullery gets built behind the main run. Cabinetry might be R105,000 of it; the rest is trades, tiling, flooring and integrated appliances. Budget a 10–15% contingency here, because opening walls in older Gauteng houses reliably reveals something.
How long a kitchen renovation takes
The part people get wrong is that most of the timeline happens before anyone arrives at your house.
- Measure and quote — 1 to 3 days. A site visit, then an itemised quotation.
- Design and approval — 3 to 10 days. Layout drawings, finish selection, sign-off. This step stretches if decisions stall, and it is the one you control.
- Manufacturing — 2 to 4 weeks. Boards cut, edged, assembled and finished in the factory. Sprayed duco adds time because of curing.
- Strip-out and installation — 2 to 5 days. Old units out, new units in, doors aligned.
- Countertop template and fit — 5 to 10 days after install. Stone tops are templated on the fitted carcasses, then cut and returned. You live with a temporary top for about a week.
Call it five to eight weeks from deposit to a finished kitchen for a standard job, with roughly a week of that being genuinely disruptive. Reconfigurations that involve builders run longer.
Five things people underestimate
- Moving the sink. It sounds like a small change. It means plumbing, waterproofing, possibly floor work, and it can add R10,000 before you notice.
- Countertops as a separate budget. Quartz on a seven-metre kitchen is R20,500 to R41,000 on its own. It is not included in a cupboard price and should never be assumed to be.
- Handles and hardware. Soft-close everything, drawer organisers and a decent pull-out bin are worth having, but they are a real line item, not a rounding error.
- The week without a kitchen. Plan for takeaways and a kettle on a table. It is short, but it is real.
- Old-house surprises. Walls that aren't square, floors that fall away, wiring that predates the current regulations. Older Johannesburg and Pretoria homes are full of them.
How to keep the number down without cheapening the kitchen
- Keep the layout. This is the single biggest saving available to you. Every service that stays where it is costs nothing to move.
- Split your finishes. Sprayed or wrap doors on the run you look at, plain melamine inside the scullery and on the utility wall. Nobody sees the difference; your budget does.
- Do the same with tops. Quartz on the island and main run, laminate in the scullery.
- Reface if the carcasses are sound. New doors, panels and hardware on existing boxes can transform a kitchen for a fraction of a replacement. We cover the maths in replace or reface.
- Insist on an itemised quote. A single lump-sum number gives you nothing to adjust. A line-by-line quote lets you trim scope deliberately instead of guessing.
Kitchen renovation FAQs
For a standard family kitchen keeping its existing layout, budget R76,000 to R140,000 in 2026 for cupboards, countertops and installation. A cosmetic refresh can be done from around R48,000, while reconfigurations that move plumbing or add an island typically start at R160,000. Appliances are separate.
If the existing carcasses are square, dry and structurally sound, refacing — new doors, panels and hardware — typically costs 40–60% of a full replacement. If the boxes are swollen, out of square or the layout doesn't work, replacement is the better spend because you are not building a good kitchen on a compromised base.
Typically five to ten days. Installation itself takes two to five days, and if you have chosen a stone countertop it is templated on the fitted units and returned about a week later. Manufacturing happens off-site beforehand, so your kitchen stays usable until installation week.
Kitchens and bathrooms are consistently the two rooms that most influence a buyer's decision and a valuation. A well-built kitchen that suits the house is a strong investment; an over-specified kitchen in a modest home rarely returns its full cost. Match the kitchen to the property, not to a magazine.
Countertops, appliances, plumbing, electrical work, tiling and flooring are normally quoted separately, because each is a different trade with its own materials. A good cabinetry quote will say so explicitly. Ours itemises what is included and flags what is not, so there is no assumption left to discover later.
Replacing cupboards, tops and finishes within an existing room does not require plans. Removing or altering a structural wall, changing the building footprint or relocating major services may require approval and a competent-person sign-off. If your renovation touches structure, confirm with your local municipality before work starts.
Getting an exact number for your kitchen
Ranges are for planning. The only number that matters is the one written against your actual walls. We measure on site, take you through finishes and hardware in person, and come back with an itemised quotation — usually within one business day — so you can see exactly what each part of the kitchen costs and adjust before committing.
Explore our custom kitchen units service, browse completed kitchens, or see local pages for Johannesburg, Pretoria, Sandton and Randburg.
