Kitchen overhaul

J

JONXLR8

Joined
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Devon
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United Kingdom
Hi all. I’m new to DIY-not but have been reading for a little while and have seen some excellent advice on here so glad I joined. My first post was on the thread about Focus going into administration. Our initial fears about losing the kitchen we ordered and not seeing our money back were relieved when the kitchen turned up last Saturday.

We started work straight away so I thought I’d share the project on here. It’s probably going to be slow progress compared to a lot of projects on here, mainly because I work full time so only have evenings and weekends to get stuck in along with trying to spend time with my family, but also because I’m relatively new to DIY, I’ve done the odd bit here and there but this is by far the biggest thing I’ve taken on myself.

I’d like to do as much of it as possible myself to save money and gain experience but with certain things like the electrics and gas I’ll obviously have to get someone in. Luckily our next door neighbour is an electrician.

A bit of background, we moved from Birmingham to Devon and recently moved into this lovely 1897 terraced house. It’s had a new bathroom fitted and in general is in pretty good nick with a few little things that needed sorting straight away (leaky bathroom sink & decorate our little girls bedroom). It’s a two bed with room for expansion into the loft and at the rear eventually.

So this was the kitchen on the estate agents advert.

[GALLERY=media, 34030][/GALLERY]

And this was it last Saturday after having fun with my new Bosch-2900-FRE on rotary stop.

[GALLERY=media, 34031][/GALLERY]

Floor tiles came up dead easy.

[GALLERY=media, 34032][/GALLERY]

Tile adhesive not so easy. Strangely enough, I actually had better results getting it up with a 5lb lump hammer and bolster chisel, the SDS dug in a bit but the bolster sort of lifted it off.

[GALLERY=media, 34033][/GALLERY]

So this is the floor as it looks this morning, tonights job is to get the very last of the adhesive up around the door and any other high spots I find, give it a good sweep and mop out. Then a layer (or two?) of PVA.

[GALLERY=media, 34034][/GALLERY]

I’ve bought some Sika latex self levelling compound to level the floor out as we want to put vinyl flooring down, I haven’t used SLC before so there’s a bit of trepidation but before I actually get that far I need to do something about the holes I’ve uncovered near the door. I’m guessing the SLC isn’t designed to fill this sort of thing as it’s loose and a bit crumbly. I’m thinking it may worth be applying PVA and then using something like Hanson Sand and Cement Mortar in there. That’s about a fiver for 25kg in B&Q.

[GALLERY=media, 34035][/GALLERY] [GALLERY=media, 34036][/GALLERY]

I also want to PVA the left hand wall where the crumbly old DPC sheeting was and paint it with Everbuild 901 bitumen paint. I’ve also bought some B&Q insulation roll which is plastic one side and silver the other. There’s only one baton on the wall so I’m thinking I might be able to bond it on.

Regarding my thoughts above, I’ve asked direct questions in the appropriate forums about the best course of action, as I understand I need to keep this thread to updates and photos.

Any hints and tips appreciated. Thanks.
 
Not really a hint or tip, but research everything thouroughly, there are alot of very experienced and knowledgable tradespeople on here, it's a mine of information. Take advise, even if it's not what you want to hear. Take your time, you can, or infact anyone else for that matter, acheive a professional finish and have a long lasting, safe, sound and attractive kitchen.
 
Thanks John, yeh really learnt a lot reading this forum already. Just got to put it into practice now.

Sweeped, PVA'd and patched the floor last night using Hanson sand & cement mortar.

[GALLERY=media, 34062][/GALLERY]
 
Had a really good weekend on it, got quite a bit done thanks to my mrs dad coming over and giving us a hand.

Friday night I put the SLC down, my god does it go off quick and I used more than I thought I would. Pretty pleased with the results though.

[GALLERY=media, 34153][/GALLERY]

Black Jack on the walls and the start of the insulation first thing Saturday. We can still smell that bitumen paint, it's evil!

[GALLERY=media, 34154][/GALLERY]

And by mid-day Saturday we'd got one side base units in

[GALLERY=media, 34155][/GALLERY]

I'll upload some more pictures later as my batteries went shortly after taking the last one.
 
I like to decorate the walls before fitting the units. And of course let the electrician finish any wiring changes , new sockets, appliance switches etc so they can be plastered.

I like the walls to look smart even when you can't see them (it's easier than fiddling round units)

have you seen those hanging rails for wall cabinets? greatly preferable to the liitle brackets and not too dear at Woodfit or somewhere.
 
Electrician coming round tomorrow hopefully so I can then fit the units on the other side of the room. All cabinets built now apart from the drawer unit.

Good shout about that rail system John, wasn't aware of them. I did leave the old brackets on the wall hoping they may be in the right location for the new units, no such luck so I think I probably will get a rail.

They're not cheap though, £20+ a length! Unless I buy in bulk and resell which could be an option. I may pop down the local Howdens tomorrow to see if they can sell me a length for a reasonable price.

Anyone tried using electrical DIN rail for this purpose?

[GALLERY=media, 34166][/GALLERY] [GALLERY=media, 34167][/GALLERY] [GALLERY=media, 34168][/GALLERY]
 
You might get them cheaper from BK services, http://www.bkservicesonline.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_85

though it is very difficult to find on their website.

I last had some on part no
Cabinet hanger wall rail (290.10.900)

I think they were hafele or blum or some good name german brand like that

just checked again, looks like an unbranded rail now, but the price is way less than I paid last time. Fill your boots!

http://www.bkservicesonline.co.uk/s...t_info&cPath=1251_1306_1469&products_id=26054

I think it is a really excellent product to buy, no problems lining up all your cabs, can slide them along at whim, easy to put screws at a convenient place. You do have to notch the back of the cab so it will fit tight to the wall though. You can paint them white or wall colour to blend in better. Buy some round-headed galvanised nails rather than countersink, or you may need washers. They are very strong when well-screwed. You know about no-more-nails in the hole before you push the plasplug in?

p.s.
your wall looks horrible
 
Good find, I'll be ordering some soon.

I was wondering about how the back of the cabinet would fit against the wall with the rail sticking out. I suppose I could either cut a notch out of the cabinet or cut the rail so it fit just inside the back of the cabinet between the ends. There's only two wall cabinets to put up, a 1000mm and a 400mm and the extractor will be sitting between them so that may be the way to go.

No-more nails (or Gripfill as I've got some) in the hole just to give extra strength to the fixing then? What sort of plugs would I need? The existing brackets didn't even have plugs in them, just screwed straight into the wood panelling.

your wall looks horrible
Click to expand...

Tell me about it, that stuff is all throughout the house as we discovered when stripping the wallpaper in the little ones bedroom. It actually looks alright painted and it will be well hidden when there's tiles over it :)
 
JONXLR8 said:
it will be well hidden when there's tiles over it :)
Click to expand...
the tiles might fall off :(

if there are timber studs, you can screw into them. However if you have a crumbly block wall, where the holes are loose, you can make sure they're plenty deep and long enough, squirt out the dust (I use a water jet) then put the adhesive nozzle deep into the hole and fill from the back so there is no air gap, press in your plasplug so it is slightly below the surface and has a good penetration into brick or block (ignore the plaster as it has no strength). The next day when the adhesive has stiffened your plasplugs will be firmly held and will not rotate or come loose when you later drive the screws home.


kitchen cabinets are heavy when full so use good long screws.
 
The old tiles were stuck on well enough so can't see a major issue.

I've picked up a length of rail from the Howdens in town for £6-£7

I'll need to check when I get in but I'm not sure the screws holding the existing wall units up are actually going into the solid wall behind, seemed to me they were just screwed straight into the panelling.

The wood panelling isn't that thin so if I put enough screws in the rail would I really need to fix them into the solid wall behind? Especially if I can attach it to some of the existing batons as well?

Worth putting plasterboard fixings in to grip the back of the panel or is that likely to make it weaker?

Thanks for the tip on securing plugs with adhesive, I'll remember that one.

No electrician today, hopefully next week. Just keeping my eye on Clearance Comet for ovens and hobs.
 
I have a feeling you don't know how securely and reliably attached the panelling is to the battens, and the battens to the wall. Therefopre you can't rely on it.

If it was me I would pull it off and start again. Might be damp, mould and insects behind it.
 
After a short break...

Electrics done and base units in.

[GALLERY=media, 34420][/GALLERY]

Marked out for wall units. The pipes will be moved up to accomodate when the hob gets connected up

[GALLERY=media, 34421][/GALLERY]
 
Looks like a kitchen now. Franke sink & tap. Hotpoint hob and oven from Clearance Comet. Turboair hood. Splashback from alcoeng.

[GALLERY=media, 34990][/GALLERY] [GALLERY=media, 34991][/GALLERY]
 
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