How long will you be without a kitchen during an extension?

Plan for 8 to 20 weeks without a functional kitchen on a full kitchen extension, and real builds regularly hit the upper end. Industry guides describing "a few weeks of inconvenience" tend to be optimistic.

What do you need for a temporary kitchen?

The essentials are a portable induction hob, an air fryer, a fridge, a microwave and a kettle and toaster, plus a washing-up station in another room such as a utility, garage or bathroom. You can set the whole thing up in a couple of hours.

Can you cook with just an air fryer during a renovation?

An air fryer handles most of what a conventional oven does (roast chicken, chips, vegetables, fish) while using far less energy. Paired with a single induction hob ring it covers the bulk of everyday cooking through the build.

When should you strip out the old kitchen?

As late as possible. If the extension is built as a separate structure first, you can often keep the old kitchen running through groundwork, structure and some first-fix work, and only lose it when the builder knocks through to connect the spaces.

Where do you wash up when your kitchen is out of action?

Most people set up a temporary wash-up station at a sink in another room, such as a utility, downstairs toilet, garage or bathroom. A second drying rack and a stock of disposable supplies for the worst weeks help keep it manageable.

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Phase 2 · Pre-Construction · Task 08 of 13

Setting Up a Temporary Kitchen During Your Extension

Your kitchen will be out of action for months. Here's how to set up a temporary cooking and washing station for £100 – £300, plus the food and laundry strategies that actually work.

9 min readUpdated 2026Premium

Timeline infographic showing the kitchen gap period between old kitchen strip-out and new kitchen installation, with icons for temporary cooking equipment at each stage

Prerequisites

Complete this first

Skip Hire and Site Setup

Your old kitchen gets ripped out months before the new one is ready. Not weeks. Months.

On one build, the old kitchen came out in August. The new kitchen fitter didn't arrive until December. That's 18 weeks of cooking on a folding table in the spare room with an induction hob and an air fryer. And that timeline is entirely normal for a full kitchen extension.

8-20 weeks

is the typical stretch without a functional kitchen during a kitchen extension. Expect to hit the upper end of that range rather than the lower.

The industry guides will tell you it's "a few weeks of inconvenience." It isn't. Plan for the worst case, and anything shorter feels like a bonus.

What this guide covers

01Timing the strip-out
02What you actually need
03Where to set it up
04The washing machine problem
05When your drains run through the build zone
06Food strategy
07The emotional side
08The kitchen pod alternative
09Before your builder strips the old kitchen

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