Any kitchen fitting tips please ?

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Gary111

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Hi, I have a basic diy knowledge and am looking to fit a small l shape kitchen.

I was wondering if there are any tips or good videos / web pages please.

Questions that occur to me are,

would you normally start with wall or base units ?

I only have a small spirit level, but I know its accurate, do I need a long one ?

theres no flooring now so to not have to cut the kickboard down I guess I should allow a generous amount as long as the worktop wont be too high ?

theres pipework boxed in the corner, am I ok to cut the back corner of the cupboard ?
and maybe move the leg position ?

I am unsure about routing the joints, I dont have a jig or router, is it hard or should I get someone to do that ?

should I fit the cooker hood before getting it wired in ?

Is there any adhesive I can use to fix the base units to the wall instead of drilling and plugging angle brackets which seems like a risk for it to move out of level ?
eg pu18 ? or gripfill ?

are there any other tips on kitchen fitting ?
thanks
 
Start with the corner base unit.

Do you have any full height larder or oven unit -that sets the height of the wall units.

Do you have any appliances to be fitted?
 
I've always started from the corner base and installed base units and full height units first, otherwise getting the height of the upper units correct, so that it aligns with full height units, can be a nightmare. Also if you are tall instslling upper cabs first is a sure fire way of smacking your head and making problems for yourself when putting the worktops in

You need a 2ft level and a longer one, ideally a 4 or 6 footer. Each and every cab must be kevelled side to side znd front to back accurately before it is attached to the adjoining cab and/or the wall. To fit a worktop your cabs must br perfectly level or youll have problrms

Allow approx. 150mm for your kickboards. If your floor is uneven and you are having slot in appliances such as washer or cooker you need to ensure that you can get them in (i.e that you have sufficient height). Ideally your flooring should run to the front of the legs and into any appliance recesses because pulling a washer out over a 25mm lip where a stone floor ends when it needs repairing is no fun. Top of units should be around 870mm (150 plinth + 720 lower cab). Put kickboarss in after the flooring has gone in as you may need to remove them to do a plumbing fix in the future

It is normal to modify the backs of cabindts to a co..odate plumbing, etc. Most cabs (exceot IKEA) have a 50mm void at the rear to permit this

Worktop joint routing requires a jig and a 1/2 in plunge router of at least 1500 watts (ideally 1850 watts and above). If you are unsure sbout using a 4 to 6kg router, I'd suggest paying someone to do thst job for you as you'll also need at least three trestles, a decent jig saw (for cut outs) and sufficient strength to manhandle worktop lengths on your own to do the job. If your corners are out of square (yse a 1metre flooring square to check) this makes for a more interesting install. Once installed the worktops need to be protected, especially when installing the upper cabs afterwards, so consider Correx sheets and masking tape

Run all wiring in before installing the units if possible because brick dust and plaster dust ars both abrasive so breaking out over your nice new worktop is inadvisable to say the least

You can't glue the units to the wall. Use stretcher plates with slots rather than round holes to accommodate inaccuracies
 
Fit any full height cabinet if any so to have an idea of where the wall cabinets will end up.
Make sure you leave a 5/10mm gap at plinth so it can be easily removed.
If need to be, consider slicing it (if base cabinet would end up too high).
Fit brackets for wall cabinets and do a dry run to see if they're ok.
Remove and put to one side, they will be hang last.
Fit base cabinets starting from full height if any or corner.
I don't like stretcher brackets because they eventually come loose.
Level all cabinets perfectly, drill L brackets into the wall at correct position, then check level again, screw brackets to cabinets.
You don't glue the cabinets to the wall, no, no.
All cabinets to be joined together as if they are one unit once job is finished.
Wiring, plumbing, plastering and ceiling painting are to be done before all of the above starts.
A coat on untiled walls will be easier now, finishing coat at the end of the job.
Floor tiles: many criticise me, but I run the tiles all the way, in other words, I tile the whole room, then fit the kitchen.
It must be my mum who always cursed the untiled bit of floor under the cabinets when she weekly used to remove the plinth to clean underneath.
Mitre cut for worktop needs a professional, if you don't want to pay, they sell metal joining strips that allow you to cut the worktop straight and join it.
They don't look as good as a mitred joint, but are ok.
Talking laminated worktops here, wood or granite is different.
Extra advice: if it's your kitchen, don't save the penny.
A little bit more money will be your best investment.
If tiles will not be installed, use a good waterproof paint.
If you are very tall or very short, this is the opportunity to have the worktop the height you want.
You can only go as low as appliances will allow, however there's no limit on how tall you go.
Just let electrician know so he can position the sockets correctly.
If going tall, the gap above the appliances can be filled with sliced plinth.
One of my last large jobs was a gigantic kitchen for a very tall family.
Worktop at 970mm.
Filling strips above appliances looked good, I was not keen when it was first proposed.
Got to say, it felt more comfortable and i'm only 6'.
Come back as you go for more advice.
 
Start at the floor: Is it concrete or timber?
Either way get the floor finish completed first on the whole floor. (If timber lay 5mm plywood first to prevent the joints from showing.) After the first leak you will never regret doing that.
Level the floor where the floor cupboards will sit to find the high spot; Set the legs on that cupboard at half height and level the others from that one. fix all floor cupboards together in one line first before fixing to wall. (I also had 2x2 (50x50mm) bearers on the wall to space the floor units away and the wall units sat on top of the bearers. I used Splashback and Upstand above the worktop to hide the bearers (I hate tiles on walls).
Fix wall units at each end first and work towards the middle. you can get adjustable spacers to ensure the units stay in line.
Once you have worked out the cupboard placement mark the wall at the middle joint and extend it up the wall for the wall cupboards for the visual correctness.
In a small kitchen you may find it easier to fit the wall units first. If you are having a cooker extractor hood do the drilling/cutting out for that first. Similarly for any pipe work if possible.
If you are not use to a router get a professional in to cut and fit the worktops - I strongly recommend use 50mm rather than thinner ones.

Consider having accessible FCU's for undercounter appliances.

Worthwhile having a look at the 'Gosforth Handyman' youtoob channel for hints.
 
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One thing that surprised me a bit when I fitted our kitchen is the amount of tools you need. OK, some aren't strictly necessary to so the job, but to get it looking tip top, It really helps.
 
Thanks very much for your detailed replies, I really appreciate that.
 
My top tips

#1. if you are going to do some DIY is invest in a little laser level like the bosch quigo. Makes so many jobs so much easier. For example, leveling your kitchen cabinets - you can just place some little blocks (like lego bricks - if you use different colours you can set a very clear height line) across the tops of all the cabinets at once, laser on and see exactly what is high and low. (its easier to check the level shining across lots of blocks than it is to try and catch a cabinet edge - you can also do the backs and fronts of the cabinets at the same time)

#2 Rooms are seldom square. When fitting a kitchen "if it looks right, it is right" - sometimes you have to fettle an out of square error, so one tip is to spread the error about so it doesn't all show in one place, and another is to try and move errors to wider sections. e.g. a 10mm out of square error will be highly visible on a 20mm wide fillet because 20-30mm is a big change. No-one will notice the side of a tall cupboard that stretches from 590-600mm.
 
thanks for that, I have some boxed in pipes running up the corner of the wall , Im thinking I shouldnt cut into the side of the wall cabinet to accomodate this ?, hence do I need to sink them into the wall ?

I could do with the wall unit being quite flush to the wall or the cooker hood wont line up.
 
Gary111 said:
thanks for that, I have some boxed in pipes running up the corner of the wall , Im thinking I shouldnt cut into the side of the wall cabinet to accomodate this ?, hence do I need to sink them into the wall ?

I could do with the wall unit being quite flush to the wall or the cooker hood wont line up.
Click to expand...
Unbox pipes , they may be redundant, the boxing may be unnecessarily large meaning less needs removing from units.
 
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