If you think you might need a new kitchen in your church or community centre, one of the obvious questions will be ‘how much does a new kitchen cost?’ Unfortunately there’s no straightforward answer right away, because kitchen size, requirements, and equipment will all influence the cost. However, to make sure you can plan and manage the finances reliably, we have three tips to help guide the process.
Tip 1: Choose the right kitchen (rather than the cheapest)
When you are budgeting for your new kitchen, it is tempting to gather multiple quotes from alternative kitchen providers for the project and choose the supplier based on price. However, this is the wrong approach, because you should choose a kitchen based on its technical merits that serve your needs.
Compare the process to buying a car — imagine you want a car to get from A to B. You could visit three dealerships, one that sells Land Rovers, one that sells Ferraris, and one that sells Skodas, and that process will get you a range of prices to compare.
However, what if your ‘A to B’ driving involves going off-road? The cheapest option won’t meet the task at hand, and neither will the most expensive. There’s no point even visiting the Skoda or the Ferrari dealers, because what they offer is not fit for purpose. You want to choose the car based on its technical ability to survive, and do the job in to the future, so you have to decide the specifications and search for a car that meets that description. It’s the same for a kitchen.
The financial masters of a semi-commercial property will need proof of due diligence in the process, but that should be based on renovating to the correct specifications. The approach should be to choose your kitchen product on its technical merit, and then to tender for the installation (whether with minor works builders or installation companies).
This will need to cover all the remedial work need to install your new kitchen into your property and that can include the supply of your chosen kitchen company or product too. This then gets you what you need, with a competitively priced installation, not the reverse, which can just lead you to installing something cheap but unsuitable.
Tip 2: Beware the false economy of ‘cheap’ kitchens
A community centre or church group will be working with tight budgets, and that can make it tempting to choose the cheapest available option. The trouble is, that choice can easily become the most expensive one.
Inexpensive options are made of materials that cost less, but are usually unsuitable for communal kitchen environments. Domestic-style kitchens, for example, are often made of MDF, with vinyl-wrapped doors — those materials deteriorate quickly, leaving a less pleasant and less hygienic environment which easily absorbs moisture and harbours bacteria. That kind of kitchen will need replacing again before long, ultimately costing more in the long-run (or possibly even the short-term).
For a church or community centre, we would always recommend a semi-commercial kitchen made of powder-coated steel, which is more durable than a domestic kitchen, but less austere and intimidating than a commercial kitchen made of full stainless steel. For materials, a powder-coated mild steel carcass and stainless-steel worktop will provide a suitably robust kitchen, halfway between domestic and commercial.
Tip 3: Maximise the return on your investment
When you are assessing the finances of your kitchen renovation, it is easy to think only about the upfront cost, but don’t forget the potential of the new kitchen as a revenue-generator well into the future.
When you have a stronger, more durable, more welcoming kitchen that more people feel comfortable and enthusiastic about using, you can use it for a greater range of fundraising activities, and you will find it easier to attract external bookings for the facilities.
Think about what you decide to spend on your kitchen materials as a long-term investment rather than simply purchasing a cheap kitchen. Investing in the correct kitchen materials in your refurbishment is imperative to sustain revenue for other areas of the church rather than having to reinvest the hard-earned money from the hirings back into refurbishing the kitchen in the future.
Would you like to talk to a design expert about the specifications your new kitchen will need? Get in touch with the design experts at Steelplan Kitchens for a free consultation on how to transform the kitchen in your church or community centre. Call 0844 809 9186 or email [email protected].
