Full kitchen renovations in Pakenham & Cardinia.

Level 1: Smart full renovation ($25K–$38K).

New custom cabinetry to the existing footprint, a compliant low–silica engineered–stone or laminate benchtop, new sink and tapware, a tiled splashback, repaint and a fresh set of appliances. No walls move. This is the sweet spot for a 15–20 year old Cardinia Lakes or Lakeside builder kitchen that is tired but sound — everything is replaced but the plumbing and power stay where they are, which keeps the cost down.

Level 2: Reconfigured renovation ($38K–$60K).

Everything in Level 1 plus a layout change: a new island, relocated sink or dishwasher, a wider opening to the living area, or a galley turned into an open–plan kitchen. Often involves moving plumbing and adding electrical circuits, and sometimes removing a non–structural wall. This is the most common Lakeside and Heritage Springs job — opening the original closed–off kitchen to the family living zone.

Level 3: Premium custom renovation ($60K–$90K+).

Full custom cabinetry, a stone waterfall island, a walk–in butler’s pantry, integrated premium appliances, feature lighting and a structural wall removal (with engineer’s computation and building permit). The Heritage Springs and Beaconsfield spec where the kitchen is the centrepiece of the home and the budget reflects it.

A worked example.

A typical Cardinia Lakes early–2000s kitchen of about 14m²: new custom cabinetry, a 40mm low–silica engineered–stone benchtop, a 2.4m island, induction cooktop, integrated dishwasher, full splashback and re–located sink plumbing. Design, demolition, all trades and appliance fit–off lands at around $42,000 on a fixed–price quote.

Compliance we handle for you.

• VBA registered building practitioner (DBU) overseeing the works.
• Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (VIC) contract for your protection.
• Domestic building insurance (DBI) on every job over $16,000.
• AS/NZS 3500 plumbing with a Compliance Certificate on the sink, tapware and dishwasher.
• AS/NZS 3000 electrical on power, lighting and cooktop/oven circuits.
• 2024 engineered–stone silica–ban compliant benchtops only.
• Cardinia Shire building permit arranged where the renovation is structural.

Common pitfalls we avoid.

• Quoting a wall removal without an engineer’s computation — then discovering it is load–bearing mid–demolition.
• Specifying the old high–silica engineered stone that is now illegal to install.
• Re–using tired plumbing or a corroded isolation valve and leaving you a leak six months later.
• Ignoring the wasted corner — we design in a corner carousel or a deep drawer instead.