Installing new kitchen with no DIY knowledge

Newheight13

Just moved into a property that needs a new kitchen and there is a 3 months wait for fitters one most places so I’m going to have to do it myself.

I am useless at DIY, when I say useless I’ve never tried but I don’t l wow here to begin!

Any recommendations on where to buy units from if I was going to do it myself? Advise in general?

Thanks!

daivid

How long is the wait for the kitchen? I'm sure I waited a month for mine and that was pre covid and brexit. 

Do you have friends or family with experience fitting a kitchen who would help out? Everyone has to start somewhere but jumping in on a whole kitchen will be a steep learning curve.

stuart45

Have you got any tools?

grumbler

Newheight13 said:

Any recommendations on where to buy units from if I was going to do it myself? Advise in general?

Ikea units are very easy to assemble, but I think it's the case for most other manufacturers. It's not the most complex part of  installing a kitchen.

Worktops, hanging wall units, plumbing and tiling require more skills.

Robin9

I'd be inclined to wait - talk to those who have had kitchens fitted and find a good installer. When they do the job they will be in and out in a week or two -  you will probably still be there two or three months later.

Fitting a kitchen is not just about assembling units - plumbing, electrics, plastering ?, tiling .............

We moved into a house in desperate need of a new kitchen - took our time, tested a kitchen fitter with a small job,  got our design right.  25 years later all we've done is replace a sink, redecorated and changed the lighting and refloored.

Doozergirl

I agree with Robin9.  It's better to wait.  Much of the perceived quality of a kitchen is in the fitting. 

When I've known people fit their own kitchens over the years, they've never lasted as long as one fitted properly by a professional.   Our old kitchen was just a simple Ikea one and it was getting compliments after 10 years.  Friends who fitted their own had long fallen apart.  

Do it right, do it once.  

 

neilmcl

I'd wait. Fitting a kitchen would be a reasonable enough job for a competent DIY but for someone who admits to having no experience at all and you'd be asking for trouble.

TELLIT01

I fitted my own kitchen when we moved into our current house and it stayed in placed for well over 25 years.  Fortunately no work was required to the electrics apart from replacing single sockets with doubles, and the sink stayed in the same place too.  I had done quite a bit of DIY previously and wouldn't have wanted the kitchen to be the first thing I attempted.

FaceHead

I applaud the bravery of taking this on when most who are 'useless at DIY' would shy away. It'll take you a long time, and will probably be expensive buying and borrowing the required tools. 

You'll learn a lot fitting a kitchen, which will come in handy the once or twice more in your life you need to fit a kitchen. I chose to pay a kitchen fitter - I have little interest in learning to fitting a kitchen, as it won't be much use long term. Instead the skills I've picked up on my project of painting, tiling, electrics, carpentry etc. seem like they will be more use long term.  

I would have been able to manage fitting the kitchen myself, but it just wouldn't have looked as good. A made-to-measure wine rack to fill a bit of left over space, where I would probably just stuffed a bit of plinth, and a solid oak breakfast bar which probably wouldn't have been nice a level, square and even, with nicely chamfered edges if it was done by a first-timer. 

Choosing the kitchen and supplier took me ages. Then it took five days to arrive (two weeks ago). I'd suggest you book a fitter, ask the suppliers their lead times and then get on with designing etc, and be a bit more selective about the skills you chose to learn and those you chose to buy.

stuart45

I did my own kitchen, but being an old cottage the rustic look suited it.  

maisie_cat

It really does depend on the extent of the work, ranging from a simple like for like swap to a new layout, new electrics, flooring and tiling.
We fitted the kitchen in our last house, I refuse to pay £30k, the carcasses were mostly from handmade kitchens direct in Christchurch and the worktops from worktop-express. I made extra cabinets later from scratch once I'd seen how the HKD cabinets were made. In true MSE fashion that cooker hood was £30 and the light fitting £5, the sink was free and the high shelves were planed scaffold boards. 
Things we hadn't done before were learned mostly from youtube and hubby did a couple of courses.
The huge savings from doing it ourselves paid for hubbys part P & plastering courses as well a loads of tools that we still have.
When we moved into that house the kitchen was disgusting, so I ripped the kitchen out while hubby was at work, it enabled us to see what was there and we created a temporary kitchen using IKEA freestanding units. 
If the current kitchen is so awful that may be an option, gives a clean slate for when you can get a fitter and will probably save some money.