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What should you ask about an electric cooker installation?
In Cheshire, an electric cooker installation is priced from the circuit, the connection and any making good, not from the price of the appliance. This page prints no pound total, and it explains which new circuits are notifiable and who should do the work.
Last reviewed:The installation is not the price of the cooker
Cheshire first: an electric cooker installation in Crewe, Nantwich or Sandbach is the work of getting a cooker safely connected in that kitchen. It is not the shop price of the appliance, and this page does not print either figure. Anyone in the UK can post or register.
Say which appliance is coming. A freestanding cooker, a built-in single oven with a separate hob, and a range that needs a dedicated circuit are different connections. Give the model if you have it, or say you have not bought it yet. An electrician cannot price a connection for an unknown load with any honesty, and a quote that pretends to is not comparable with one that lists the assumptions.
Electricians covering this part of Cheshire still need to know where the consumer unit is, how far it is from the cooker, and whether a cooker point already exists. Photographs of the consumer unit, the cooker wall and the route between them belong in the enquiry. Do not open the consumer unit to take a cleverer photograph.
A complete new circuit is on the notifiable list
Electrical installation work in a home or garden in England and Wales must comply with the building regulations [S1]. The Planning Portal describes an installer registered with a competent person scheme, who can self-certify that compliance [S1]. If the installer is not registered, certain riskier jobs, identified as notifiable, need to be inspected and certificated by a building control body, or in England by a registered third-party certifier [S1]. That body or certifier must be told before the work starts [S1].
Notifiable jobs include a new consumer unit, and the installation of a complete new circuit [S1]. The page's examples of a new circuit include a ring, a lighting circuit, and a new circuit for a cooker, a shower or an immersion heater [S1]. If your quote says "new cooker circuit", that example is the one to read. Do not run that circuit, open a consumer unit, or energise anything.
Alterations to existing circuits, such as an extra socket, are notifiable only in a special location [S1]. In England those locations are the spaces around baths and showers. In Wales they include kitchens and outdoors [S1]. Most repairs, replacements and maintenance, and alterations outside special locations, are not notifiable [S1]. A kitchen in England is not, on that page, a special location. A brand-new cooker circuit still is, because it is a complete new circuit, not a minor alteration [S1]. Ask the electrician to write which of those categories they are pricing.
The building regulations require fixed connections of appliances to be safe. They do not set the safety standard of the appliance itself [S1]. A cooker that is damaged, recalled or simply the wrong product is not made acceptable by a neat connection. That split belongs in the quote: who supplies the appliance, who connects it, and who certificates the electrical work.
Look the registration up yourself on the Electrical Safety First search, the NICEIC register or the NAPIT register. Electrical Safety First: find a registered electrician; NICEIC; NAPIT. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.
The readable categories are on the Planning Portal electrics page. Money questions about electrical work, still with no hourly rate printed here, are on the electrician cost guide for Cheshire.
If the old appliance used gas
Some kitchens are changing from a gas hob or a gas cooker to an electric one. Work on the gas supply is not an electrical extra. It belongs with an engineer listed on the Gas Safe Register. Gas Safe Register. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation. Do not deal with a gas pipe, a bayonet or a valve.
Ask for two scopes if both trades are needed. The electrician's quote should stop at the electrical connection. The gas engineer's quote should say what they are attending for. A single sentence, "swap the cooker", can leave one of those scopes out. Plumbers are a different trade again if the job is a leak, a waste or a sink move rather than the cooker. The plumber cost guide is about reading a plumbing quote, not about connecting a hob.
If there is no gas in the kitchen, say that too. Otherwise a cautious quote will include a visit to look for a supply you do not have.
What to line up before you compare totals
Citizens Advice says a quote is a fixed price and an estimate is a rough guess, so an estimate can cost more in the end [S2]. The trader cannot charge above the quoted price unless you ask for extra work, you agree to extra work they have told you about, or they made a genuine mistake in the calculation [S2]. Collect written quotes from at least three traders, and treat a price that is much lower as a prompt to check the scope, not as a bargain [S2].
| What you hand the electrician | Why it changes the work | If it is missing |
|---|---|---|
| Appliance model, or "not bought yet" | The connection has to suit that appliance | A generic "cooker point" |
| New circuit or existing point | A complete new circuit is a notifiable example [S1] | One quote assumes the cable is already there |
| Distance from the consumer unit | Route, drilling and making good | A price for a cupboard next to the unit, applied to a far wall |
| Who supplies the cooker | Supply and connect is not connect-only | The appliance appearing on one bill only |
| Gas, if any remains | Gas work is a separate attendance | One trade assumed to cover both |
| Certificate | Registered installer, or building control [S1] | No paperwork when you sell |
| Making good | Plaster, tiles, decorations | A hole left as "builder's work" |
| VAT | Whether 20% is inside the total [S3] | A net figure beside a gross one |
GOV.UK charges VAT at 20% on most work to houses and flats by builders and similar trades [S3]. A new house may be at a zero rate if the conditions on that page are met [S3]. Connecting a cooker is not that case. Ask if the electrician is registered for VAT. The threshold is taxable turnover over £90,000 in the last 12 months [S4].
A deposit, if one cannot be avoided, should stay at or under 25%, with a receipt, which is the Citizens Advice ceiling [S2]. For a short connection visit many electricians invoice at the end. If yours asks for money first, the same ceiling applies. Buying the appliance yourself does not remove the need for the connection to be priced. Tell the buildings insurer if the work is part of a larger kitchen alteration. Cover can cost more while work is going on and afterwards, and the insurer will probably want the trader's insurance details [S2].
Crewe, Nantwich and the route from the van
Crewe station stands on the West Coast Main Line. Nantwich stands on the River Weaver. Sandbach market square has the Saxon crosses. None of that prices a cooker circuit. The path from the kerb to the kitchen does.
A range is heavy. Say whether there are steps, a narrow hallway or a turn past a washing machine. A quote that includes two people to place the appliance is not the same as a quote that assumes the cooker is already in position. Write which one you need. If the consumer unit is in a cupboard full of coats, say so. Access is part of the hour the electrician spends, and it should be in the description rather than discovered on the day.
The town name in the post is enough. Three written quotes for the same appliance and the same circuit description are the comparison. No fourth number is printed.
Jobs you might post
These are examples, not taken from real job posts.
- Connect a named freestanding electric cooker in a Crewe kitchen, using the existing cooker point if it is suitable, or say if a new circuit is required.
- Install a new cooker circuit for a built-in oven and a separate electric hob in Nantwich, with making good of the plaster included.
- Attend with a Gas Safe engineer where a gas cooker is being removed from the kitchen and an electric cooker is going in its place, scopes written separately.
- Move a cooker point along the same wall in Sandbach as part of a unit change, and state whether the circuit itself is new.
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Questions about electric cooker installation
Does QuoteZila check the businesses?
No. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire. You can report a quote or a business from your job page.
Is a new circuit for an electric cooker notifiable?
The Planning Portal lists the installation of a complete new circuit as notifiable, and its examples include a new circuit for a cooker, a shower or an immersion heater. If the installer is not registered with a competent person scheme, a building control body or, in England, a registered third-party certifier must be told before that work starts. A like-for-like connection on an existing suitable circuit is a different question, and the electrician should say which case yours is.
Are kitchens a special location for electrical work?
In England, the Planning Portal says special locations are the spaces around baths and showers. In Wales, special locations include kitchens and outdoors. Most repairs, replacements and alterations to existing circuits outside special locations are not notifiable. A brand-new cooker circuit is still in the notifiable list, in either country, because it is a complete new circuit rather than a small alteration. Ask which of those two descriptions fits the quote.
What if the old cooker was gas?
Any work on an existing gas supply belongs with an engineer listed on the Gas Safe Register. Do not touch a gas pipe. The electric cooker installation is the electrical connection, which has to comply with the building regulations in England and Wales. Ask, in writing, who is doing the gas part and who is doing the electrical part, so one quote is not assumed to cover both.
Why can two connection quotes look far apart?
Citizens Advice says a written quote should include a breakdown of the work and the materials. Be cautious if a price is a lot lower than other quotes: it might mean the trader does not have the right skills or experience, or is not being honest, and it could also mean they are not quoting for exactly the same work. Put the same written description of the job on both enquiries.
Is VAT charged on the installation?
GOV.UK says VAT for most work on houses and flats by builders and similar trades is charged at the standard rate of 20%. Connecting a cooker in an existing kitchen is not described there as building a new house. Ask whether the total includes VAT, which Citizens Advice says a written quote should state. Registration for VAT is required when taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000.
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- Electric Gates Cost: What Changes the Price. Swing or sliding, the motor, safety devices, the power supply and groundwork: what moves an electric gates quote in Cheshire, and what each quote should list.
- Electrician Costs in Cheshire: What Affects the Price. An electrician is around £400 a day in Federation of Master Builders guides. That is not a Cheshire price. Prices vary. QuoteZila does not set prices.
Sources
- QZ1: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila pricing line.
- QZ2: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila matching cap.
- S1: Electrics: building regulations, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-26. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/electrics/building-regulations-general-information
- S2: Before you get work done on your home, Citizens Advice. Accessed 2026-10-26. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/before-you-get-building-work-done/
- S3: VAT for builders, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-26. https://www.gov.uk/vat-builders
- S4: Register for VAT, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-26. https://www.gov.uk/register-for-vat