Kitchen redo

salboy

Hello all

We bought our flat about 14 months ago and it came with a decent functional kitchen. It is one of those fully integrated kitchens that are a part of almost every new block nowadays. I estimate it is about 13 years old.

2 things that are priority and I will do is replace the dishwasher which has never worked for us, and replace the fridge freezer. It is a tall De Dietrich fridge/freezer which is in working condition but it seems to have developed a crack at the back wall and feels warm to touch from inside the fridge. The freezer just can't be defrosted and it has developed piles of ice. I'm expecting a second baby and rather spend a bit now to replace it rather than have it break down on us when it is stock full and I'm in the hospital!

One question I have is that do I need to replace it with an integrated fridge/freezer again or can I buy a freestanding one. I can see that it is "sitting" in a cupboard of sorts and is on a raised platform. I am happy to have no cupboard doors on the unit as it is a corner cupboard so to say and I have no problem having a fridge out in full view. A fridge is a fridge; I don't feel the need to hide it. In fact if it is open I can use my lovely fridge magnets that I have collected over the years.

Then the next thing is depending on how much will it cost me. While the kitchen is fully functional and there's nothing wrong with it, I find it butt ugly. The cabinet doors are chip board and the laminate is chipping off here and there. I have read about cabinet refacing and I'm wondering how much it would cost me. I have about 10 cabinets and drawers and the back of one of the counters faces our living room so that will have to be refaced too. The worktop is laminate and I don't have anything against it. The over counter lights are shot but I guess that should be a cheap replacement. And I want a decent splashback put up too. My cooking is just destroying the painted wall behind it.

How much should I expect to spend on all this and how inconvenient would it be? I'm still in full time work but do have some time off coming up. None of it will be DIY as neither my husband nor I have any DIY intellect. I will be getting our local handyman to come in who did some work for us when we moved in. I know he'll charge us more because he knows we won't trust anyone else around our house with our two year toddling about. But I'm willing to overlook it.

Eejay

I'm not sure about the rest, but:

salboy wrote: »

I will be getting our local handyman to come in who did some work for us when we moved in. I know he'll charge us more because he knows we won't trust anyone else around our house with our two year toddling about. But I'm willing to overlook it.

Don't let him rip you off! Get a couple of quotes and if they are cheaper, show him them, tell him you trust him but that with a new baby on the way money is a little tight and you can't afford a big difference in price and see if he'll match them or at least reduce his quote a little.

salboy

Thanks for the warning Eejay. I won't let him rip us off, but that's what I meant when I ask about the convenience factor. Both my husband and I work full time so getting people to come around to give us quotes is quite the hassle. We are never home in their preferred time slots!

By the way how should I look for reliable handymen? This guy comes recommended by the neighbours.

Going back to my original questions it seems all the cabinet doors are 60cm wide, with two that are 40cm. Is this a fairly standard size that is easy to buy?

Eejay

The units in our kitchen (IKEA) were all 40cm or 60cm so think it should be easy enough to replace them. Have a look on their website and compare the height measurements too. Could it be an IKEA kitchen? The one in our old flat was - they have little 'IKEA' labels under the shelves etc. although they may have been removed.

http://m.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/systems/10379/24254/23598/?chapterId=

When I was sorting out people to come do the work at our house I just sent texts to various people lol... Some of them are prepared to come after work - I'm at home with my baby but my husband doesn't get back until 17:30 or so and I preferred having him there for the initial quote. I just looked for online reviews and asked for recommendations from Facebook friends before getting in touch with anyone.

Bigphil1474

We used to have a fully integrated kitchen but I've gradually ripped bits away to make it nicer. Our fridge freezer used to be in a cupboard which was part of an horrible L shaped unit in the middle of the kitchen. I ripped the whole thing out and now we have some freestanding cupboards/shelving, kitchen table, and free standing fridge/freezer with all our fridge magnets on. Can't see why you couldn't replace an integrated with a freestanding unless there is a size or weight issue with the cupboard.
In relation to the doors, if you source them and they can be fit with the same fittings then less of a job, but if they need new fixings as well then it might be harder. I was lucky that ours were solid wood, so I managed to fix up and repaint the ones we kept.
You should get an electrician to look at the lights unless it's just new bulbs.
Most of what you are doing seems to be self sourced materials and a handy man just to come and do the work, so he'd be only charging labour which shouldn't be extortionate. As an alternative, have you considered going to a local kitchen shop who may be able to sort it all out for you? at least they could give you a quote.

salboy

Thank you all for your advice. I spoke to a few people and it turns out folks in our neighbourhood have had cabinet dorrs replaced sourcing them from Howdens. Apparently they are a good fit. I had someone come around and he's promised me to get a trade quote from them. I will compare it with what I've been seeing at B&Q and Ikea.

I also need to buy 3 appliance and I'm trying to keep it all under a grand if possible:
A canopy extractor - less than 100 hopefully. It will have to be a re-circulate one as there is no provision for a duct. I just want it as quiet as possible for that price, with a removable grease filter that I can change or wash.
An integrated dishwasher - trying to keep it at around 250 though the ones I'm seeing are way more than that. I don't use it frequently so a budget one would do. I only ask for a child-safety lock and half-load/eco option.
A free standing or integrated fridge freezer - would like to keep it at 600 though if the above two are costing me more it may have to come out of this budget. I need a 50/50, frost free and as energy efficient as possible. Nice extras would be glass shelves and transparent freezer drawers.
Oh and everything should be a standard 600mm width.

I hear good things about Bosch appliances. Who are the good retailers/online sellers where I can have a look and compare prices?