Updated 30 July 2026
Kitchen electrical installation RAMS template
Twenty steps for isolating, installing and handing over electrical work in a fitted kitchen.
Method statement: kitchen installation sequence20 steps
- Write down the kitchen layout, the circuits being added or altered, the appliances being connected and every item excluded from the job.
- Confirm who is the client, who controls the site and whether another contractor will work in the kitchen during your visit.
- Agree when the kitchen is handed over to you, who keeps occupants out and which sink, cooker, fridge or socket supply must remain available.
- Obtain the asbestos information for the walls, ceiling, floor coverings, service ducts and any board you will drill or cut.
- Survey the existing installation, earthing, bonding, protective devices and available supply before fixing the circuit plan.
- Mark every proposed accessory, appliance outlet, isolator, cable route and penetration on the kitchen drawing.
- Check those positions against cabinets, splashbacks, water and gas pipes, extraction ducts and appliance service spaces.
- Scan the full drilling and chasing route for concealed electrical and other services. Stop and open up safely where the result is unclear.
- Record whether the work adds a new circuit or replaces a consumer unit, and agree who makes the building-control notification where one is required.
- Remove food, utensils and loose contents from the work area. Seal adjacent units and set dust extraction before drilling or chasing starts.
- Isolate the circuit at the correct point, lock it off, retain the key, prove the tester, prove dead at the work point and prove the tester again.
- Identify and protect every circuit that remains live. Label temporary supplies and do not assume that one local isolator makes the whole kitchen dead.
- Set barriers and a tool-storage area so occupants cannot enter the work zone or reach removed accessories and open enclosures.
- Coordinate first-fix routes with the kitchen fitter and plumber before either closes a void or fixes a cabinet over a joint or accessory.
- Drill and chase with on-tool extraction. Keep cables, pipes and appliance connections protected from sharp edges, heat and later fixings.
- Install containment, cables, boxes, accessories, isolators and appliance connections to the approved design and manufacturer instructions.
- Terminate dead, inspect the work and complete dead tests before any circuit is energised.
- Control live testing as a separate stage. Keep covers in place where possible, restrict the area and record why the test cannot be done dead.
- Refit covers, remove temporary supplies, clear dust and sharp waste, and confirm that water, gas and ventilation services were not damaged.
- Hand over the electrical certificate, circuit information, building-control record where required, appliance instructions, defects and any work left incomplete.
Paste into your own document and edit every line.
What does a reviewer check on kitchen electrical work?
| Question | What the provision says | Where |
|---|---|---|
| QuestionIs electrical work notifiable because it is in a kitchen? | What the provision saysNo. In England, reg 12(6A) names a new circuit, consumer-unit replacement and additions or alterations in a special location. A kitchen is not listed. The work itself can still fall within one of the named categories. | WhereBuilding Regulations 2010, reg 12(6A) |
| QuestionWhat result does Part P require? | What the provision saysP1 requires reasonable provision in a dwelling's electrical installation to protect people operating, maintaining or altering it from fire or injury. | WhereBuilding Regulations 2010, Sch 1 Part P |
| QuestionWhat must the isolation plan identify? | What the provision saysReg 12 requires suitable means for cutting off, isolation and identifying circuits where needed to prevent danger. A local label does not prove every nearby cable is dead. | WhereEAWR 1989, reg 12 |
| QuestionCan testing be done live? | What the provision saysOnly when it is unreasonable for the conductor to be dead, reasonable in all the circumstances to work live, and suitable precautions are taken to prevent injury. The RAMS should answer all three limbs. | WhereEAWR 1989, reg 14 |
Once equipment is dead, prevent it becoming charged under EAWR reg 13. Before cutting, check for asbestos. HSE says silica may be responsible for the deaths of over 500 people each year who worked in construction; use extraction when chasing or drilling.
Who holds the householder's CDM duties?
On a domestic job with one contractor, the contractor holds them under CDM reg 7(1)(a). If more trades are involved, record who plans and controls the shared kitchen.
What does this page leave to the design?
Cable sizes, protective devices, positions and test values. The approved design sets those. The Word download is the general electrician RAMS.