Apart from cabinetmaking, the main trades involved in a typical kitchen or bathroom project are actually part of the 'building' industry.

Cabinetmaking stands out because it is considered part of the 'furnishing' industry, given the fact that it comes from the tradition of making free standing furniture.

For the purposes of the summaries shown below, we have kept the descriptions of the building industry tradespeople to their roles in kitchen and bathroom installations.

However, in practice their skills would extend to many other aspects of building and construction.

Cabinetmaker

Kitchen and bathroom cabinetmakers build modular units and customised cabinets. Some cabinetmakers spend all of their time in the workshop, prefabricating the cabinets, bench tops and other components that will go into the project. Others specialise in on-site measure-ups and installations.

In small businesses, the whole process may be carried out by the same person or team.

Carpenter

Carpenters have a lot in common with cabinetmakers, and use many of the same tools. However, they are more involved in the structural aspects of the project, particularly when the building framework is made of timber or steel.

Their job is to carry out the modifications or new work on the floor, walls and roof, which may also include installing windows, hanging doors, and fixing skirtings and architraves.

Plumber

Plumbers look after all work involving water, gas, sewerage and wastewater. They need to work on the job before and after the cabinets are installed and tiling is done.

Their first visit will be to run the pipes through the wall frames or floor, ready for the internal fit-out. Once the cabinets have been installed and tiling or other wall linings completed, they will come back to connect up the taps, sinks and other plumbing fixtures.

Electrician

Electricians work with 'mains' electricity, often referred to as '240 volt power'. In some cases they also work with 'three phase' electricity, particularly in industrial buildings.

Like the plumber, they need to come on-site before and after the cabinetry installation, firstly to run the wiring that will be needed and, when they return, to connect the appliances, power points and other electrical fixtures.

Tiler

Not all kitchen projects use tiles, but just about every bathroom job does. This is because tiles are an excellent way of producing durable, waterproof and easy-to-clean walls and floors.

Tilers generally work with ceramic or slate tiles, which are either glued in position or bedded in with cement-based mortar.