Kitchen renovation in Dubai

A same-layout kitchen renovation replaces what you see: cabinets, worktop, splashback, sink, taps and lighting. The pipes and power points stay put, so the work is quicker and simpler to approve, and the kitchen is out of use for a shorter stretch.

A new kitchen layout means opening walls and floors to move water, drainage and power. An island with a sink needs a drain run under the floor. A wall taken down to open the kitchen to the living room can be structural, which brings drawings and an authority permit. Tell Dubai Renovations which you have in mind, and the partner confirms at the visit what the building allows.

The Dubai Building Code sets minimum sizes that matter when a kitchen is enclosed, split off or reshaped. An enclosed kitchen needs a net area of at least 5.4 m² and a minimum length and width of 1.8 m. The manoeuvring space between facing counters, or in front of a single-sided run, must be at least 1.2 m, which decides whether an island fits at all.

For villas and townhouses, Part K also says kitchens need windows with a net glazing area of at least 10% of the floor area, though daylight modelling can justify less. Closing in an existing window to gain wall cabinets is a change the partner checks against that rule before designing.

The electrical rules in Part K of the Dubai Building Code follow the British wiring standard BS 7671, and several of them shape a villa kitchen. There must be no sockets within 300 mm of the edge of the sink and no sockets or accessories above a gas or electric hob. Kitchen sockets are mounted 150 mm above the worktop, while general-purpose sockets elsewhere sit 450 mm above the floor.

Switches should not be mounted within 2 m of a tap or sink where the room allows it; in a tight kitchen the code allows insulated, cord-operated ceiling switches instead. Every stationary cooking appliance needs a cooker control switch mounted separately from the appliance, and the code says to avoid control units with a built-in socket, so socket circuits can be grouped behind a 30 mA residual current device. Ovens and induction hobs often need their own circuits, so send the partner a photo of your distribution board.

Under Part K of the Dubai Building Code, a range hood that discharges outside must use sheet metal ducts of galvanised steel, stainless steel, aluminium or copper, with smooth inner walls, airtight joints and a backdraft damper. A ductless recirculating hood is allowed where it is installed to the manufacturer's instructions and the room has mechanical ventilation from another source. In an apartment tower, any new duct through an outside wall is a building management question first.

If your hob runs on gas, moving it is gas work, and your building or community has its own rules for who may touch the supply. Keep the gas connection where it is unless the partner confirms the change is allowed.

A kitchen sink moved to a new wall or an island needs a gravity drain with enough fall to reach the stack or the external drainage. Part K of the Dubai Building Code asks for floor drains in every area with wet sanitary fittings or appliances, kitchens included, PVC-U waste pipework to BS EN 1329-1, and rodding eyes at the start of each run and at every change of direction so the pipe can be cleared later.

Unless the villa uses the code's alternative water calculation, the same part caps a kitchen sink tap at 7 litres per minute. A high-flow designer mixer can breach that limit, so ask the partner to check the tap's rated flow before you order it.

In an apartment, building management decides when work can happen, how materials come up in the lift and where debris goes, and it issues the NOC. Drainage in a tower runs to shared stacks, which limits how far a sink can move, and the unit below sits under your kitchen floor.

In a villa there is more room to change the layout, but a managed community still has a say. Emaar Community Management requires its approval for alterations in communities such as Arabian Ranches and Emirates Living, applied for through Home Modifications on the community portal.

Two kitchen quotes for the same room can differ widely because they price different jobs. A quote you can compare names each of these, or says plainly that it is excluded. VAT in the UAE has been charged at a standard rate of 5% since 1 January 2018, so check which line it sits on.

• Removal of the old kitchen, protection of the floors, and debris disposal
• Cabinet material, finish, number of units, hinges and drawer systems
• Worktop material and thickness, with the sink and hob cut-outs
• Plumbing and drainage work, and any new electrical points
• Splashback, wall tiling and flooring, if included
• Appliances: supplied and installed, installed only, or excluded
• Whether 5% UAE VAT is included in the total

Made-to-measure cabinets and stone worktops are produced after the final measurements, and worktops are usually templated once the base units are fitted. That means the old kitchen often comes out well before the new one is ready. Ask the partner contractor for the programme, and plan how you will cook in the meantime.