Kitchen Renovation in Delémont

Are you looking for a kitchen renovation in Delémont, or a tradesperson to transform the kitchen of your home in the town? The capital of the canton of Jura combines an old town and a castle, older buildings and detached houses, in the Birse and Sorne valley. This mix explains why two kitchens in the same town are almost never renovated in the same way.

This page helps you frame your project before asking for quotes: which works are involved, what the location changes, which procedures to check and how to compare offers.

The most common kitchen works in Delémont

A renovated kitchen is rarely a single job. It is a series of interventions that follow one another in a precise order:

• stripping out the old kitchen: units, worktop, appliances, sometimes tiling;
• plumbing: water supply, drainage, connection of the dishwasher and sink;
• electrics: sockets, worktop lighting, power supply for appliances;
• fitting: units, fronts, worktop;
• appliances: oven, hob, fridge, dishwasher;
• tiling or a splashback behind the sink and hob;
• ventilation or the extractor hood.

In Delémont, the type of home shapes these works. In a small urban flat, the challenge is to gain space: made-to-measure units, built-in appliances, storage fitted up to the ceiling. In an older building, the job often starts with what the walls and floors are hiding. In a villa, people are more inclined to rethink the whole: opening onto the living room, an island, a new layout.

A kitchen in Delémont’s old town or in an older building

Delémont’s old town, with the castle overlooking the town, is part of what gives the Jura capital its identity. The old towns of the canton, Delémont’s among them, are among the groups of buildings that cantonal rules treat with particular attention. In practice, if your kitchen is within this perimeter, anything affecting the exterior of the building (a window, a ventilation outlet on the façade) must be checked with the municipality or the relevant cantonal department before you order anything.

In an older building, several points are worth flagging as soon as you request a quote:

• Walls and corners that are not square. A kitchen fitter must then take measurements on site rather than rely on a plan, and allow for adjustment finishes.
• Old pipework. Opening a wall or floor to move the sink can reveal pipes that need replacing. It is better if the quote says how this case is handled.
• Outdated electrical installation. Connecting a modern oven, hob and dishwasher to an old panel may require an upgrade, which the electrician should price separately.
• Sometimes narrow access. Stairwell, no lift or a narrow street: the delivery of the units and the removal of the old kitchen depend on it, and it affects working time.

If you plan simply to replace the fronts and the worktop while keeping the layout, the job remains simpler. If you move the sink or the hob, allow for plumbing, electrics and ventilation on top.

Villas in the Birse and Sorne valley: what the kitchen requires

Around Delémont, in the Birse and Sorne valley, part of the housing stock is made up of detached houses. Their kitchens are renovated differently from those in flats: the space is generally freer, and the owner decides alone, without going through a landlord or an owners’ meeting.

In a villa, the questions that come up are rather these:

• should a partition be taken down to open the kitchen onto the living room? If so, you need to know whether the partition is load-bearing, and a professional must confirm this before any strip-out;
• where to vent the hood’s air, and which type of hood to choose depending on the layout;
• how to link the kitchen to the patio or garden if that is what you want;
• whether to redo the floor and tiling at the same time, to avoid a new kitchen in a room with a tired floor.

A more ambitious renovation, involving the structure or the façade, may require authorisation: the municipality of Delémont is the right first point of contact.

Jura winters: ventilation, hood and energy in Delémont

The canton of Jura has cold, snowy winters, although the Delémont valley is milder than the high-altitude Franches-Montagnes. For a kitchen, this has a very practical consequence: people air the home less when it is cold, and cooking steam, smells and humidity stay inside longer.

Ventilation is therefore a subject to treat properly, not on the cheap:

• an extraction hood venting outside and a recirculating hood are not chosen in the same way, and the choice depends on the building;
• an outlet on the façade, especially in an older building, must be compatible with the exterior appearance and with local rules;
• a kitchen that is better insulated and made more airtight by new windows calls for a rethink of the air supply.

If your project involves energy, for example replacing appliances or associated work on the building envelope, the canton of Jura has a cantonal energy department and a subsidy programme. Check the conditions with them before signing, as any aid may depend on an application made before the works begin.

Permit, landlord, co-ownership: the procedures for a kitchen in Delémont

Three situations, three procedures:

1. You own a house. A like-for-like replacement does not usually require authorisation. As soon as there is a change to the façade, an opening or the structure, or work on a protected building, contact the municipality. In the canton of Jura, the building permit is issued by the municipality or by the canton depending on the scale of the project.
2. You are a tenant. The landlord’s written consent is required. Describe precisely what is changing, and ask them to specify what they expect when you leave.
3. You co-own a flat. The co-ownership regulations may govern works affecting the common parts: water risers, ventilation ducts, façade. Read them before incurring costs and inform the administrator or the other co-owners if necessary.

In all cases, these points should be checked with the municipality or the relevant cantonal department: rules change and each situation has its own particulars.

Describing your Delémont kitchen so you can compare quotes

The quality of the quotes you receive depends on what you have written in your request. Specify:

• the type of home (flat, older building, villa) and the floor;
• access: stairs, lift, street, parking;
• what you keep and what you change: units, worktop, appliances, floor, tiling;
• whether the position of the sink, hob or fridge changes;
• the type of ventilation you want;
• whether you want a single contact for all trades, or whether you coordinate yourself;
• constraints specific to the location: old town, co-ownership, landlord’s consent.

To compare properly, check that each quote itemises the items: strip-out and removal, plumbing, electrics, fitting, appliances, tiling, ventilation, finishes, and what is left to you. A quote that lumps everything into one line cannot be compared. Also look at how unforeseen issues are handled, which are common in an older building, and who ensures coordination between the trades.

The cost depends mainly on the range of the units and appliances, the extent of the plumbing and electrics to be redone, access to the home, the tiling chosen and the complexity of the ventilation. Only the quote can price it for your case.

When your description is ready, you can request a quote: your request is passed to tradespeople and companies in the region, who will contact you to prepare a free, no-obligation quote.

Other useful pages for Delémont

• The trade in general: kitchen renovation
• The municipality: works in Delémont
• The canton: canton of Jura
• In the same municipality: bathroom renovation in Delémont, air conditioning in Delémont, electrician in Delémont