The essentials in 1 minute
- The reliable test for any kitchen offer is a fixed euro sum for the installation instead of a line that charges installation by time.
- The order confirmation must copy the offer line for line, because it is what fixes the price.
- A good offer names every conditional item with a price instead of hiding it in a charged-by-time item.
- Installation charged by time typically ends between €2,500 and €8,000 in the offers customers bring in.
- The offer with the lowest total often has the most open items, such as appliances as a lump sum.
Rusi KolevArchitect & Founder
Real Estate Economist (ebs)
Questions in this guide 13
- The test for any offer: a fixed sum instead of "by time"
- What delivery and installation include and what stays with others
- The order confirmation is the copy of the offer
- The delivery date should be named specifically, not as "approx."
- The mistake: the offer with the lowest total has the most open items
- What we do not need: time pressure and a second price
- How we do it at Kolev
- Frequently asked questions
- Next step: the first consultation
The test for any offer: a fixed sum instead of “by time”
In the offers that customers bring us for comparison, installation charged by time typically ends between €2,500 and €8,000. Installation charged by time with no fixed sum is the fourth mistake in the 12 Kitchen-Buying Mistakes guide. The reason is simple: a line that bills by the hour names no final sum before installation, and what ends up on the invoice depends on the time spent, not on the offer. The reliable test for any kitchen offer is therefore a fixed euro sum for the installation plus clearly named conditional items, each with a price. The table below shows, line by line, how an item often reads in an offer, how it should read, and what you can ask the supplier about it.
| Item | How it often reads in the offer | How it should read | Question for the supplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Installation | “charged by time” or an hourly rate | a fixed price in euros | Is the installation stated as a fixed sum? |
| Delivery and travel | missing or “to be charged” | free to point of use, given as a figure | Is delivery included? |
| Old kitchen: removal and disposal | missing, comes later | a named item with an amount, or clearly excluded | Is the old kitchen in the price, or does it come on top? |
| Appliance connection for water and power | “bauseits” (by others) with no explanation | preparation by the kitchen, final connection by the trade contractor, named separately | What is preparation, and what stays with others? |
| Carcass | “carcass 16 mm, white finish” | board brand, emission class, thickness, edge | see the carcass guide |
| Hardware | “brand hardware” or “or equivalent” | the model, named | Which hardware model exactly? |
| Worktop | “worktop of your choice” | material, thickness, cut-outs and joints named | Are cut-outs and joints in the price? |
| Appliances | a lump-sum item | each appliance with its model and position | Is every appliance listed with its model? |
| Conditional items | hidden in “by time” | named and priced, for example if the wall is not plumb: an amount | Which items are conditional, and what do they cost? |
| Delivery date | “approx.” or open | as a calendar week, factory holidays included | Is the date given as a calendar week? |
| Order confirmation | recalculated, differs from the offer | a word-for-word copy of the offer | Is the order confirmation item-for-item identical to the offer? |
For ceramic, check the worktop line with our free cost calculator, item by item.
Such installation costs charged by time are what we observe on the market. For removing and disposing of an old kitchen we deliberately give no fixed market figure, because it depends heavily on the effort and the disposal route; we try to avoid it where we can, or help you organise it, and we keep an eye on safety and clean work throughout.
What delivery and installation include and what stays with others
At Kolev the installation is stated as a fixed sum in the offer, and water and power break down into two separate steps: preparing the connections through the kitchen, and the final connection by a licensed trade contractor, because drinking water and power belong in a master tradesperson’s hands. A good offer names both separately, instead of letting them disappear into the single word “bauseits” (by others), so that you can see what the kitchen delivers and what your trade contractor takes on. The old kitchen should be named too: removal and disposal are either a separate item with an amount in the offer, or clearly excluded, so they do not surface later as extra costs. Delivery free to point of use, and travel, belong in as a figure, not as “to be charged”. With us, the customer usually organises the removal and disposal of the old kitchen. We take it on as a full service on request, but by default it is not part of our offer. Ask us about it, and the removal is then a separate item in the offer.
The order confirmation is the copy of the offer
With us the order confirmation documents the offer line for line, and the price is fixed with it. The law provides, for works contracts in general, that the agreed contract price applies, and the order confirmation is the document that records that agreement. If it differs from the offer, it records a different agreement from the one you checked. What you can ask any supplier: is the order confirmation item-for-item identical to the offer? An empty or open field should be clarified before you sign, not after, hence the second question: what will be in this field when we sign? An order confirmation that differs from the offer is one of the most common points of dispute after the purchase.
The delivery date should be named specifically, not as “approx.”
A delivery date should be named specifically, as a calendar week or a tight window, not as “approx. spring”, with the summer factory holidays and those around Christmas factored in. An open date, or one marked “approx.”, is not reliable planning but an intention that slips with the first bottleneck. The exact installation date is usually only fixed after the site survey and your approval, and is then recorded in the order confirmation as a specific calendar week, with the factory holidays inside it. How long the production of an Architektenküche takes and why is in the pillar guide.
The mistake: the offer with the lowest total has the most open items
The offer with the lowest total often has three open spots at once: installation charged by time, appliances as a lump-sum item, and hardware with no model names. These three lines name no dependable sum and no reorderable type, so the final total is only settled once the kitchen is built. If the workshop drawing is missing on top of that, a later replacement front or a second shelf is hard to obtain to the exact size, but with us the workshop drawing is archived permanently and names every board and every fitting. The honest price for an open item is not saved, only paid later.
What we do not need: time pressure and a second price
A price that is only valid until Saturday says something about the calendar, nothing about the kitchen. Our offer has one price, in writing, valid for three weeks, and the same price is in the order confirmation. We have no second price, which is why the first one is the best. Get three offers and compare them line by line, and you will see which one names every line and which leaves them open. What makes up a fixed price is shown in the cost guide with a cost calculator.
How we do it at Kolev
At Kolev the installation is a fixed price, not a charged-by-time item, and the order confirmation is the line-for-line copy of the accepted offer. There are crooked walls in every home, and a reason why an installation becomes more work can always be found. With us that does not turn into an extra charge: I planned the kitchen and priced in the installation, so that is my risk and not yours. Every item is named in the workshop drawing, every fitting by name, Hettich, Blum, Kesseböhmer, and the run ends with 3 to 5 mm of clearance to the wall. Cheap hardware causes trouble in the long run, and we reject it so firmly that we carry the price difference to good hardware out of our own margin. It is fitted by our own installation team, not by changing subcontractors. The workshop drawing stays archived permanently, so that a shelf or a front can be remade to the exact size even years later, as long as the finish is available. A kitchen starts from €14,999 incl. VAT, including planning, delivery and installation; for the warranty, the statutory provisions apply.
Frequently asked questions
What does “installation charged by time” mean?
Installation charged by time means that the installation is billed by the hour rather than as a fixed sum. The final total is only settled after installation. In the offers that customers bring us for comparison, it typically ends between €2,500 and €8,000. Only a fixed price plus clearly named conditional items is reliable.
Must the order confirmation match the offer?
With us the order confirmation is the line-for-line copy of the accepted offer, and the price is fixed with it. Check that items, models and prices match. Anything added afterwards belongs in a variation agreement in text form. How things go after you sign, with the deposit and instalments, is in the guide deposit and payment plan.
What does “bauseits” (by others) mean in a kitchen offer?
“Bauseits” means work that you or your trade contractors carry out, for example the final electrical connection and the water connection. We prepare the connections; the actual connection is made by a licensed trade contractor. Ask what is preparation and what stays with others.
Should the disposal of the old kitchen be in the offer?
The disposal of the old kitchen is in the offer if it is named as a separate item. Otherwise it is not included and may be charged separately. Before you sign, ask whether removal and disposal are included.
What is retention of title when buying a kitchen?
Retention of title until the final instalment is in almost every kitchen contract, including ours. The more important question is when the final instalment falls due: with us, after acceptance.
Next step: the first consultation
If you have an offer on the table and want to know whether installation is in it as a fixed sum or “by time”, what stays with others and whether the delivery date is specific, then let’s talk. In the first consultation we look at your room, your wishes and your budget, directly with the architect, 45 to 60 minutes, for Frankfurt and the Rhine-Main region.
And a piece of advice no kitchen studio likes to give: get three offers and compare them. We are one of them.