Kitchen

The residential kitchen is the room where water, gas or high electrical loads, heat, grease and heavy daily use come together: cabinetry and benchtops, sink and tapware, dishwasher and laundry connections where present, cooktop and oven, rangehood, refrigerator, splashbacks and the floor beneath. Functionally it must work, stay dry, extract cooking moisture and fumes, and be safe from fire, gas and electrical hazards. Kitchens are usually refurbished for style long before they fail, but hidden leaks under sinks and dishwashers, and gas and ventilation issues, are real defects.

What shortens fitness for purpose:

• Slow leaks under sinks and dishwashers swelling cabinetry and floors.
• Ageing flexible hoses that burst.
• Recirculating rangehoods that leave moisture and combustion products in the home.
• Heavy use in rented and shared homes.

Leaks under the sink and appliances

Waste connections, tap connections and braided flexible hoses leak slowly into the cabinet base, which swells, delaminates and grows mould; dishwasher inlet and outlet hoses leak into the floor. Burst flexible hoses flood whole apartments and the units below, and are a leading cause of residential water damage insurance claims.

Inadequate extraction

Recirculating rangehoods or hoods ducted into the ceiling space leave moisture, grease and, with gas cooking, nitrogen dioxide and other combustion products indoors. Condensation and mould follow in poorly ventilated homes.

Gas safety

Flexible gas connections deteriorate; burners placed too close to combustible splashbacks or cabinets are a fire risk; cooktops fitted by unlicensed people may leak.

Fire

Cooking is the leading cause of house fires. Grease-laden rangehood filters, combustible materials near cooktops and the absence of fire blankets or alarms in kitchens of older homes raise the risk.

Electrical capacity

Induction cooktops and more appliances need circuits older kitchens do not have; overloaded circuits and power boards trip or overheat.

Benchtop and cabinet wear

Laminate swells at sink cut-outs and joints, stone chips and cracks at cut-outs, hinges and drawer runners fail. Engineered stone in place is not a hazard, but cutting it releases silica dust; Australia has banned new engineered stone installations.

In rented homes and shared housing, heavy use and slow reporting of leaks accelerate damage.

In the kitchen

• Swollen, stained or soft cabinet bases under the sink and dishwasher.
• Flexible hoses that are kinked, rusted or past their date.
• Rangehood type and where it discharges; greasy filters.
• Gas cooktop clearances to splashbacks and cabinets.
• Power boards running appliances; tripping.
• Swollen laminate at joints; cracked stone at cut-outs.
• Mould on ceilings or in cupboards.

In the records

• Gas compliance certificates.
• Appliance ages and warranties.
• Leak and insurance claims.
• Electrical certificates for renovations.

• No isolation valves under the sink, or valves that cannot be turned.
• Fire blanket and smoke alarm near the kitchen absent.

Kitchens are judged mostly on what cannot be seen: the cabinet base under the sink, the hose behind the dishwasher and the duct above the rangehood. Open them before forming a view.

Findings are graded by what they demand: safety (can hurt someone now), failure (failed and damaging the building), condition (distress present and progressing), lifecycle (renewal due on age and exposure), deadline (a regulator or ordinance sets the date), check (investigate before sizing works) and nil (cosmetic or stable).

A building surveyor or building inspector leads, with a licensed gas fitter for gas cooking and an electrician where circuits are in doubt; in apartments, access to the unit below helps trace leaks.

• Under-sink and appliance inspection with cabinets emptied: waste and tap connections, flexible hoses and their dates, isolation valves, cabinet bases and the floor beneath.
• Moisture readings in floors, walls and kickboards around the sink, dishwasher and refrigerator water connection.
• Dishwasher test: run a cycle and inspect for leaks at hoses, seals and the floor.
• Rangehood check: type, airflow, filter condition and where the duct actually discharges.
• Gas safety check by a licensed fitter: connection condition, leak test, burner clearances to splashbacks and cabinets.
• Electrical check: number and rating of circuits, RCD protection, use of power boards, tripping history.
• Condition survey of cabinetry, benchtops, splashbacks and appliances, with ages.

The report should list safety items, leaks and damage with their extent, and when the kitchen is due for renewal.

• Flexible hose replacement on a cycle, with quality braided hoses and accessible isolation valves, a cheap measure against flooding.
• Leak repairs of wastes and connections, with replacement of swollen cabinet bases and kickboards and repair of damaged floors.
• Ducted extraction: a rangehood ducted to the outside, sized for the cooktop, with filters cleaned regularly.
• Gas safety works: certified connections and compliant clearances, or conversion to induction cooking where electrification is planned.
• Electrical upgrades: dedicated circuits for cooktops, ovens and dishwashers, with RCD protection.
• Fire safety: smoke alarms positioned to avoid nuisance alarms, and a fire blanket near the cooktop.
• Leak detection: water sensors under sinks and dishwashers, especially in apartments.
• Refurbishment on cycle, with moisture-resistant carcasses and sealed benchtop cut-outs.

Hose replacement, leak repairs and leak sensors are small items with large avoided costs. Rangehood ducting is a lump sum, harder in apartments where ducts must reach the façade. Electrical upgrades are lump sums, sometimes requiring switchboard work. Induction conversion is a lump sum including the appliance and circuit. Kitchen refurbishment is priced per kitchen and in rented stock timed with vacancies.

Safety items are immediate; refurbishment is lifecycle; leak repairs are repairs and maintenance. In strata, water damage to other units from kitchen leaks usually falls to the owner whose fittings failed.

• Australia. AS/NZS 5601.1 sets gas appliance installation and clearances, and gas work must be done by licensed fitters with compliance certificates; the National Construction Code requires kitchen exhaust to discharge to the outside in newer homes; work health and safety law has banned new engineered stone installations since 1 July 2024; strata by-laws often control kitchen renovations.
• United Kingdom. Approved Document F sets extract ventilation rates for kitchens; the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 require Gas Safe registered engineers and annual gas safety checks in rented homes; electrical work must comply with BS 7671 and Part P.
• United States. The International Residential Code covers range hoods, kitchen circuits and GFCI protection; the International Fuel Gas Code covers gas cooking appliances and clearances; some cities restrict gas in new buildings.

• Gas compliance certificates for cooktops and ovens.
• Electrical certificates for kitchen renovations.
• Appliance ages and warranties.
• Leak and insurance claims, including damage to units below.
• Strata approvals for kitchen renovations.
• Records of flexible hose replacement.

• Records of any kitchen fires or near misses.
• Electrification plans affecting gas cooking.