Kitchen landed on the Sunshine Coast

The kitchen we priced

About 8 lineal metres plus an island, 2-pac doors, moisture-resistant carcasses, Blum hinges and runners, flat-packed over 1 metre.

Landed on the Sunshine Coast, line by line

Every line from the factory gate to your site. Low, middle and high use the low, middle and high of every published rate at once. Estimate: no delivered Elje job sits behind this figure yet.

Against Sunshine Coast prices

Supply only is the fair comparison with a landed price; installed prices include labour, which you pay either way.

No Sunshine Coast per-lm source. WTD index puts the Sunshine Coast about 3% under Brisbane.

The local supply-only figure is worked out from published per-metre cabinetry rates, not a single quote, so treat it as a guide.

Is it worth it?

Yes, on the numbers we have. About $17,808 landed against $20,000 to $33,000 for local joinery, supply only, so roughly $2,192 to $15,192 less, before you add the benchtops, tapware and anything else that rides in the same shipment for far less than it would on its own. Estimate.

The Sunshine Coast market

The Sunshine Coast runs about 3 percent under Brisbane on the cost index: kitchens $11,650 to $43,650 installed, bathrooms $9,700 to $33,950. Few local suppliers publish prices online, so Brisbane prices are the practical benchmark, and most showroom shopping happens there anyway.

How it gets to the Sunshine Coast

Foshan factory to Nansha or Shekou, a South China service to the Port of Brisbane, then about 100 km by road up the Bruce Highway to Maroochydore, further to Noosa.

The Sunshine Coast has no container port. Goods land at Fisherman Islands in Brisbane and come up the Bruce Highway.

A container can usually go straight to a new-build site on acreage. Check the access road can take a side-loader before the booking.

What moves the number

• Door finish. 2-pac and timber veneer cost more than a decorative board, at the factory and here.
• Volume. Pieces over 1 metre come flat-packed, which can halve the shipped volume. Freight is charged on cubic metres.
• What it travels with. A kitchen on its own pays a whole set of port, broker and delivery charges. In a whole-house container it shares them.
• Hardware. Name the hinge and runner brand on the quote (Blum or Hettich). Unnamed hardware is where a cheap quote gets cheap.
• Benchtops are a separate line. See stone benchtops.

What it has to comply with

• Board: E0 or E1 formaldehyde emission, with the test report for the batch.
• Timber products: as the importer you run illegal logging due diligence and answer the community protection question on the import declaration.
• Tariff 9403.40.00, general duty 5 percent, Free from China with a ChAFTA certificate of origin.

Notes for the Sunshine Coast

Coastal and subtropical. The same salt and humidity rules as the Gold Coast: PVD or 316 stainless outside, moisture-resistant board inside.

• Freight, port and border charges are the Brisbane figures. Cartage is the only line that moves.
• Hinterland sites (Maleny, Montville, Eumundi) often need a smaller truck for the last few kilometres. Ask before booking a 40 ft container.
• Plenty of Sunshine Coast builds are new houses on acreage, where the whole fit-out fills its own container and the cartage cost is spread over far more goods.

Questions