Helpful video reference. We use the video "How To Wire Your Kitchen For Electrics: The First Fix" as the video reference here. It shows a real UK kitchen extension first fix, including cable routing, the cooker supply, and marking out socket heights before plaster goes on.
1. List every appliance and socket position
Start with a scaled drawing of the kitchen (even a rough sketch will do) and mark on it every fixed appliance: hob, oven, fridge, freezer, dishwasher, washing machine, extractor fan, and any under-cabinet lighting. Then mark the worktop sections where you will want socket outlets, usually at the back of each run of worktop.
For each appliance, note whether it is hard-wired (hob, oven, dishwasher, washing machine) or plug-in (fridge, microwave, kettle). Hard-wired appliances need a dedicated switched spur or cooker circuit. Plug-in appliances need a nearby socket.
2. Apply the 1-metre zone rule for sockets near the sink
This is the one that catches people out most often. No socket outlet (face of the socket) may be within 300 mm horizontally of the edge of the sink bowl. Between 300 mm and 1 metre from the sink, sockets are permitted but must not be positioned where water running off the sink could drip directly into them.
In practice, many electricians run worktop sockets up to the dishwasher position on one side of the sink and then start again on the other side, keeping them well away from the sink itself. Mark the zone on your plan before you commit to socket positions.
3. Plan the ring final circuit for worktop sockets
A standard 32 A ring final in 2.5 mm² T+E supplies the general worktop sockets, the microwave spur, and the fridge socket (unless you are giving the fridge its own circuit). The ring starts and ends at the consumer unit, so plan the route: from the consumer unit, around the base of the kitchen units, up to each back-box, and back again.
For a large kitchen-diner where the sockets are spread across a significant distance, consider two ring finals: one for each run of worktops. Two rings give you better diversity and mean a trip on one side does not knock out everything.
4. Dedicate a circuit for the hob
An electric hob (ceramic, halogen, or induction) draws a lot of current and must have its own dedicated circuit. The standard is a 6 mm² T+E cable protected by a 32 A type B MCB, controlled via a double-pole cooker switch. The cooker switch should be within sight of the hob but not directly above it (heat and grease attack switches over time).
The cable runs from the consumer unit to the cooker switch, and from the cooker switch down to the hob connection unit, all in 6 mm². Do not reduce the cable size between the switch and the hob: any reduction in conductor size creates a potential overheating point under load.
5. Dedicate a circuit for the oven
If the oven and hob are separate appliances (the norm in fitted kitchens with an eye-level oven and a separate induction hob), the oven also needs its own dedicated 32 A circuit in 6 mm². A combined cooker (range-style, or a slot-in with hob and oven in one unit) drawing more than about 14 kW needs 10 mm² cable on a 45 A circuit. Check the appliance data plate.
Mark the oven position on your plan and confirm the height of the connection point with the kitchen fitter: integrated ovens sit at a set height in their housing unit and you need the cable to emerge exactly there.
6. Plan the fridge and freezer supplies
The fridge and freezer ideally have their own circuit, or at minimum their own spurs off a ring that will not be tripped to isolation accidentally. There is nothing more annoying than finding that someone switched off the kitchen ring for a job and the fridge has been off all day.
A simple approach is a 1-gang fused connection unit on a short spur, fed from the ring. More thorough: a small 16 A radial from the consumer unit dedicated to the fridge and freezer. Mark the socket positions on your drawing and confirm that the kitchen unit beside the fridge has a cable chase or cut-out at the back.
7. Co-ordinate with the kitchen fitter
Share your electrical layout with the kitchen fitter before any cabinets are ordered. The key questions to agree on:
- Where does the integrated appliance (oven, dishwasher, washing machine) sit exactly, and does the housing unit have cable access at the back?
- Which base units will sit over the horizontal cable runs? Will there be a kick-plate or a plinth that hides a chase?
- What height do back-boxes need to be at for sockets above the worktop?
- Where is the extractor fan mounted and where does the switch go? Does it need a separate switched spur?
If the kitchen fitter and the electrician are not talking to each other, you end up with a double socket behind the fridge that can never be reached, or an oven connection point 50 mm too low for the housing.
8. Run the cables and fit back-boxes at first fix
With the plan agreed, the electrician chases out the walls, drops cables from the ceiling void, and fits the back-boxes. All cables in walls must run in the prescribed zones (vertically within 150 mm of a corner, horizontally within 150 mm of the ceiling, or along the edge of an architrave) unless they are in earthed metal conduit. Cables in floor voids or ceiling voids are fine as long as they are not a mechanical risk.
Leave at least 150 mm of slack cable at every back-box: enough to pull the socket or switch out for second-fix work, and enough to trim back a damaged end if needed. Fold the slack carefully into the back-box so plaster does not fill it.
When to call us
Richard covers kitchen first fix across Sandwich and east Kent and works to the kitchen fitter's programme. If you are planning a kitchen renovation in CT13 or the surrounding area, get in touch early so the electrical work can be booked in before the units arrive.
Planning a kitchen in Sandwich or east Kent?
Richard handles kitchen first fix: new circuits, cooker supply, worktop sockets, and all the Part P paperwork. Based in Sandwich CT13.
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