fitting a kitchen

dreaddan

dugowly, I would not have a problem with paying someone to do it - however I've seen too many jobs done by local fitters. Inc some that have been done in this house before we moved in.
Plus Ive blagged a mate who is has more kitchen fitting experience than me

daveyjp

Due to the narrowness of our kitchen one cupboard needed reducing in depth - not a job for the amateur.

If you are fitting youself hire a worktop cutting jig and a router, get to know how to use it so you get seemless joints when the worktop turns a corner - much better than those awful metal strips which collect crumbs.

jennifernil

dugowly wrote: »

Dan m8,
from what i've read, bite the bullet get someone in to do it for you and you and your wife can look at it when it's done and say what a lovely job they've done.
It's an easy job if your a kitchen fitter when they have routers, chop saws, decent cordless drills etc.
If you've not done it before it could all far too easily end in tears.
It's extremely easy to make an expensive kitchen look crap just by missing the simple touches a kitchen fitter would do without thinking!

Save yourself some money by stripping the old one out, do the plumbing yourself, organise the sparks and gas guy yourself, that way you arn't paying a mark up

Go to your local Howdens Branch, they are the trade division of Magnets anyway, see something you and the other half like, they always have a board up with local fitters business cards onand ask their advice as to who to ask to fit it.
No I don't work for Howdens either

Hope this reality check works

I would second that. If you have not done any joinery before, this is not the project to start with.

Mikeyorks

Having fitted 2 Magnet kitchens, back to back, at my last house (main + granny flat) - it is doable. Provided your planning / organisation is impeccable and you're a perfectionist. But it's really hard work to do it all and get an ace finish. And when you start by asking how the worktops are fitted ..... I see that as not a promising omen;)

If the worktops have to be joined ..... you will not do that. To get it right is a professional job .. using jigs / routers etc. Our kitchen fitter at this house was excellent - but it's the one job he called in assistance for. My Mum had one fitted by Wickes - you can see the worktop joint even on a dark night with the lights out. It's not pretty - as it's the cosmetics you see when its all done

dreaddan

Mikeyorks wrote: »

And when you start by asking how the worktops are fitted ..... I see that as not a promising omen;)

I was checking because I would have thought you would have needed to attach the worktop directly to the wall. However no where mentions this.
I'm not going to attempt to do a join any more - I'm going to order longer worktops, some omega ones from bushboard as they look ok..

The only thing I can see I can get wrong (this is asking for it , sods law and all that) is cutting of the worktops or attaching the handles. Or have I missed something - cupboards and wall units are screwed to the wall and each other, doors are screwed to them when the handles are put on. a few holes cut in the worktop for sink & cooker and unless the wall is flat 're shaping' of worktop is needed .

Again don't get me wrong I do appreciate the comments and recommendations.

Mikeyorks

dreaddan wrote: »

I was checking because I would have thought you would have needed to attach the worktop directly to the wall. However no where mentions this..

That's because you don't do it. You fix it to the base units (and attach the base units to the wall - but only in 2/3 places overall). But only after you've scribed it to the wall (if necessary - as tiles / upstand will cover any small inconsistencies) and done any cut outs for the sink / hob etc.

dreaddan wrote: »

I'm not going to attempt to do a join any more - I'm going to order longer worktops, some omega ones from bushboard as they look ok.. ..

You're in with a chance then. The worst is where you have an 'L' shape - but it's not quite 90 degrees!

dreaddan wrote: »

The only thing I can see I can get wrong (this is asking for it , sods law and all that) is cutting of the worktops or attaching the handles. ..

Measure 20 times ... cut once!;) Handles with a single fixing point are easiest. A vertical run of drawers with two fixing points for each handle ... requires much extra care!

dreaddan wrote: »

Or have I missed something

Set all the units up 'dry' - several times if needed, as you offer up the worktop and adjust it. Particularly check the levels. Getting all the base units level (left to right and front to back - and then precisely with each other) is time consuming - particularly if the floor undulates. And make sure the gap from worktop to wall cupboards is consistent. You can lose the odd millimetre inconsistency if you're tiling the whole gap - but you'll amplify any problem if the tiles stop short of the bottom of the wall cupboards.

mountainchrisriver

dreaddan... if you feel confident, have a degree of common sense and a fair amount of DIY skill then go for it... I fitted the kitchen in my old place, having completely gutted the old one; it took bloody ages but the sense of satisfaction when I had finished was great... :cool: My advice would be not to expect to have a servicable kitchen for a while (plan accordingly), DIY always takes a while, especially when you come across unforeseen problems! Good Luck!

stan747

hanging the doors should be the last part of the job as they can be quite fiddly to level out if you have units that are even slightly out of line, dont forget to account for the doors when checking the overhang of the worktop on the base units and for cutting the worktop, try and get hold of a circular saw with a blade that has as many teeth as possible, i would reccomend at least 80+, and cut the worktop upside down going from the fron to the back, this will minimise any chipping of the finished surface and leave a nice, clean cut.
for the handles, you can make a template for a drill to maintain the correct position but you may find some manufacturers will have a small indentation to mark where the handle should go.
also make sure the units are in the correct position and levelled before screwing them together, most of the job is in the preperation, run through in your head and on paper what you need to do in what order and you should be able to see any complications before they happen.

dreaddan

Cheers, its' all coming in to place now.
The wife wants a perticular look, but has settled on expensive units because our current kitchen has cheap units in that have started to fall apart although they've lasted 4+years..

I know I probably wont do as good as a proper fitter but with the wifes vision it wont matter

stan747

glad you've settled on a plan, please let us know how you get on, good luck!