Kitchen Plinth Calculator — Strips, Clips & End Caps

The standard UK kitchen plinth (kickboard) height is 150mm, designed to fit beneath base units whose adjustable legs are typically set in the 140–160mm range (giving the usual 720mm carcass + ~150mm legs + 40mm worktop = ~910mm finished worktop height). Heights vary by supplier — Howdens, for example, list 165mm and 180mm plinths, and shorter 100mm options exist. Howdens, Wickes, B&Q and most major UK kitchen suppliers treat 150mm as the common reference height, but always measure your own leg height before cutting.

There is no single universal length. Plinth is sold in individual strips, commonly 2.5m (2500mm), 2.75m or 3.0m — Howdens, for instance, supply 3m strips (described as "3m long for fewer joins"). This calculator lets you pick the length you are buying so the strip count matches your supplier. Whichever you choose, round up to whole strips per run and allow for cutting waste — there will always be offcuts at corners and run ends.

As a rule of thumb, allow roughly one clip every 500mm along each run plus one at each end — for example about 6 clips on a 2.5m run. In practice the clips push onto the base-unit adjustable legs, so the real spacing follows your cabinet leg positions (typically a pair of legs per ~500–600mm cabinet) rather than an exact fixed pitch. Set the spacing in this calculator to match your leg layout. Most plinth clips are sold in packs of 10.

Yes. Kickboard heaters (plinth heaters) fit in the void beneath base units. You cut an opening in the plinth and fit a grille — opening sizes vary by model (commonly around 360–450mm wide), so work to your specific heater datasheet rather than a fixed figure, and allow clearance around the unit. They run off the central-heating circuit or electrically. Typical outputs are around 1.2–2.4 kW, with some models up to ~3 kW (e.g. Myson Kickspace, Smith’s Space Saver) — a useful option for kitchens without a wall radiator.