An installation that fails almost never fails because of the appliance. It fails because a socket is on the wrong wall, the cabinet opening is 10 mm short, or the gas connection needs a licensed worker who is not booked until next Thursday.
All of that is knowable weeks in advance. Here is the checklist, roughly in the order things need to happen.
Four to six weeks out: decide the specification
The appliance you choose determines the trade work, so this has to come first. Two things drive everything else.
The cutout. Every built-in appliance needs a specific aperture, and they are not standard. Our 60 cm built-in ovens need cutout heights ranging from 575 mm to 600 mm depending on the model. Our 78 cm hobs need cutout widths from 650 mm to 750 mm. If the carpenter is building the cabinetry, they need the number for the exact model, not a category average.
The supply. Ovens in our range run from 2300 W with a plug up to 3600 W on a 16 A fuse. Induction hobs run from 3000 W up to 7400 W. Anything above roughly 3000 W cannot use a standard 13 A socket and needs a dedicated circuit.
Three to four weeks out: book the trades
Electrician. Needed for any hardwired connection, any dedicated circuit, and any new socket position. Ask two specific questions: does the distribution board have a spare way, and can the cable be run without opening finished walls. Both change the cost and the timeline.
Licensed Gas Service Worker. Required in Singapore for connecting any gas hob, to a piped supply or a cylinder. Book it around the delivery date. A hob sitting boxed for a fortnight waiting on a gas appointment is the most common avoidable delay in this whole process.
Plumber. Needed if a dishwasher is going where there has never been one. You need a water tee off the supply, a waste connection and a socket, all present before the machine arrives.
Carpenter. For the cabinet aperture and any worktop cutout. Give them the model number and the published cutout dimensions in writing.
One week out: check the route
Measure the path the appliance travels, not just where it ends up. Cartons are larger than the appliances inside them, sometimes by a lot. A Bosch KFN96PX91I fridge is 906 mm wide and ships in a 998 mm carton. An oven like the HBF512BB1H ships in 665 x 670 x 685 mm.
Check the main door clear width with the door fully open, the narrowest point of the corridor, any turn, and the lift door and internal height. If any of those is marginal, tell whoever is delivering in advance so they can plan rather than improvise.
The day before: clear and prepare
- Empty the cabinet the appliance is going into, and the ones either side if an installer needs access from behind.
- Clear the walkway. Bulky appliances get carried, not wheeled, over the last few metres.
- If a fridge or dishwasher is being taken away, disconnect it, empty it and defrost it. A crew will not wait for a freezer to thaw, and most will decline to remove a unit still full of water.
- Have the old appliance pulled out if you can do it safely, so the installer is not spending their slot on removal.
- Know where your main water stopcock and consumer unit are.
What an installer will not do
This varies by installer, so confirm scope with whoever you book rather than assuming. As a general rule, appliance installers connect and commission appliances. They typically do not:
- Cut or modify cabinetry, or enlarge an aperture that is too small
- Cut worktops, particularly stone or sintered materials
- Alter gas piping or run new gas lines
- Upgrade an electrical circuit or work at the distribution board
- Tile, patch or make good after an old appliance comes out
If the opening is wrong on the day, the appliance goes back in the box. That is not obstruction, it is the only safe outcome, and it is why the carpentry has to be checked against the published cutout before delivery.
Order of installation matters
If several appliances are going in at once, sequence them. Worktop and cabinetry first, then anything hardwired, then anything gas, then freestanding items last so they are not in the way. A hob and an oven stacked in the same cabinet run are usually fitted together, since access to the connection points behind one may run through the other.
Where you are buying a hob and a hood together, agree who is setting the hood mounting height. It is specified in the hood manual and it depends on whether the hob below is gas or induction, so it is a decision that needs both manuals in the room.
Before you order anything
Measure the opening. Then pick the appliance to suit it. Working the other way round is how the carpentry bill appears. Our built-in ovens, hobs and cooktops, cooker hoods and dishwashers all list cutout, product and carton dimensions on the models where the manufacturer publishes them, and we say so where they do not.
Common questions
How far in advance should I book the electrician?
Before the appliance is delivered, and ideally while any renovation work is still open. Running a new circuit through finished walls is much more disruptive and expensive than doing it during a renovation.
Can the installer enlarge my cabinet opening?
Assume not. Appliance installers fit appliances; cutting cabinetry is a carpenter's job and most installers are not equipped or insured for it. Confirm the aperture against the published cutout before delivery day.
Do I need to be at home?
Someone needs to be, to give access, confirm the position and sign off. It also gives you the chance to watch the commissioning and ask how the appliance works, which is worth more than it sounds on a hob with unfamiliar controls.
What if the appliance does not fit?
It goes back unopened. This is why the five minutes of measuring beforehand matters. If your opening is close but not exact, get the carpentry adjusted before the delivery date rather than hoping.
Who takes away the old appliance?
Confirm this when you order rather than assuming, because it is a separate service from installation and it has conditions attached. At minimum the old unit needs to be disconnected, emptied and, in the case of a fridge or freezer, fully defrosted.