How can a kitchen company build me a new kitchen when the units probably won't fit together?

[Deleted User]

This might be a stupid question but I honestly don't know the answer. So I have a crappy little council flat kitchen and I've thought about replacing all the units, getting a new surface and sink etc. So I check out the "fitted kitchens" and have a look through but when I mess around with the "design my kitchen" tool and enter my kitchens measurements and the location of the appliances, window, fridge etc nothing lines up.

Like I'll click on the corner piece and place it down, then I'll place the sink piece next to it so it connected, but then there's not enough room in my kitchen to fit the remaining piece, it's like 20cm too wide... 

And likewise on the other wall I'll place down the corner piece, put my cooker in, place down the other piece but then I'm only left with like 45cm for a fridge... 

I know I have a small kitchen size but I already have a kitchen in there that fits perfectly. Everything lines up and when I moved in there was a 60cm gap for the oven and a 70cm gap for the fridge. 

So yeah, as strange as it sounds, how the hell do they make a kitchen fit when the units don't actually fit? They're obviously not going to make custom size units surely that would be incredibly expensive and time consuming as every person has a different size kitchen?

Doozergirl

What are the dimensions of the room? Do you have a plan?  

It might be that you should have a galley kitchen instead of trying to turn corners if it's that small? Or are you trying to use corner cabinets without turning corners? 

marcia_

[Deleted User] said:

This might be a stupid question but I honestly don't know the answer. So I have a crappy little council flat kitchen and I've thought about replacing all the units, getting a new surface and sink etc. So I check out the "fitted kitchens" and have a look through but when I mess around with the "design my kitchen" tool and enter my kitchens measurements and the location of the appliances, window, fridge etc nothing lines up.

Like I'll click on the corner piece and place it down, then I'll place the sink piece next to it so it connected, but then there's not enough room in my kitchen to fit the remaining piece, it's like 20cm too wide... 

And likewise on the other wall I'll place down the corner piece, put my cooker in, place down the other piece but then I'm only left with like 45cm for a fridge... 

I know I have a small kitchen size but I already have a kitchen in there that fits perfectly. Everything lines up and when I moved in there was a 60cm gap for the oven and a 70cm gap for the fridge. 

So yeah, as strange as it sounds, how the hell do they make a kitchen fit when the units don't actually fit? They're obviously not going to make custom size units surely that would be incredibly expensive and time consuming as every person has a different size kitchen?

 Why are you planning on spending money to upgrade a property you don't own? Your council landlord should be doing this if it is required 

[Deleted User]

Doozergirl said:

What are the dimensions of the room? Do you have a plan?  

It might be that you should have a galley kitchen instead of trying to turn corners if it's that small? Or are you trying to use corner cabinets without turning corners? 

Yeah I measured it but on the website you just pick from 3 different sizes and then add / remove cabinets and units as required but you can't change the size of the units. 

So you either end up with gaps where a whole unit can't fit. Like I might connect 2 units together and have 80cm left but the unit that goes in that spot is 100cm for example. 

marcia_ said:

[Deleted User] said:

This might be a stupid question but I honestly don't know the answer. So I have a crappy little council flat kitchen and I've thought about replacing all the units, getting a new surface and sink etc. So I check out the "fitted kitchens" and have a look through but when I mess around with the "design my kitchen" tool and enter my kitchens measurements and the location of the appliances, window, fridge etc nothing lines up.

Like I'll click on the corner piece and place it down, then I'll place the sink piece next to it so it connected, but then there's not enough room in my kitchen to fit the remaining piece, it's like 20cm too wide... 

And likewise on the other wall I'll place down the corner piece, put my cooker in, place down the other piece but then I'm only left with like 45cm for a fridge... 

I know I have a small kitchen size but I already have a kitchen in there that fits perfectly. Everything lines up and when I moved in there was a 60cm gap for the oven and a 70cm gap for the fridge. 

So yeah, as strange as it sounds, how the hell do they make a kitchen fit when the units don't actually fit? They're obviously not going to make custom size units surely that would be incredibly expensive and time consuming as every person has a different size kitchen?

 Why are you planning on spending money to upgrade a property you don't own? Your council landlord should be doing this if it is required 

I'm not spending anything at the moment, just looking around. And the reason why I am considering it is because I'm going to be here for the next 40+ years until I die so I may as well make it nice. And councils don't replace / upgrade things that aren't literally falling apart so the onus is on the tenant if they want new things based on cosmetics. I can't just tell them to give me a new kitchen because I don't like my current one.

And please don't give me a spiel about getting a mortgage and buying my own place etc I've had this conversation a thousand times. I cannot afford a mortgage, I can never own my own home, and I cannot upskill to earn the £60k a year that's required to get a mortgage.

ThisIsWeird

Hi SS.
There are lots of ways to make a kitchen fit 'perfectly', including lots of tricks.
As asked above, could we have a plan with dims of your kitchen, please, and some photos of what you currently have? 
And will the new one be a replication, or a change in layout?

marcia_

[Deleted User] said:

Doozergirl said:

What are the dimensions of the room? Do you have a plan?  

It might be that you should have a galley kitchen instead of trying to turn corners if it's that small? Or are you trying to use corner cabinets without turning corners? 

Yeah I measured it but on the website you just pick from 3 different sizes and then add / remove cabinets and units as required but you can't change the size of the units. 

So you either end up with gaps where a whole unit can't fit. Like I might connect 2 units together and have 80cm left but the unit that goes in that spot is 100cm for example. 

marcia_ said:

[Deleted User] said:

This might be a stupid question but I honestly don't know the answer. So I have a crappy little council flat kitchen and I've thought about replacing all the units, getting a new surface and sink etc. So I check out the "fitted kitchens" and have a look through but when I mess around with the "design my kitchen" tool and enter my kitchens measurements and the location of the appliances, window, fridge etc nothing lines up.

Like I'll click on the corner piece and place it down, then I'll place the sink piece next to it so it connected, but then there's not enough room in my kitchen to fit the remaining piece, it's like 20cm too wide... 

And likewise on the other wall I'll place down the corner piece, put my cooker in, place down the other piece but then I'm only left with like 45cm for a fridge... 

I know I have a small kitchen size but I already have a kitchen in there that fits perfectly. Everything lines up and when I moved in there was a 60cm gap for the oven and a 70cm gap for the fridge. 

So yeah, as strange as it sounds, how the hell do they make a kitchen fit when the units don't actually fit? They're obviously not going to make custom size units surely that would be incredibly expensive and time consuming as every person has a different size kitchen?

 Why are you planning on spending money to upgrade a property you don't own? Your council landlord should be doing this if it is required 

I'm not spending anything at the moment, just looking around. And the reason why I am considering it is because I'm going to be here for the next 40+ years until I die so I may as well make it nice. And councils don't replace / upgrade things that aren't literally falling apart so the onus is on the tenant if they want new things based on cosmetics. I can't just tell them to give me a new kitchen because I don't like my current one.

And please don't give me a spiel about getting a mortgage and buying my own place etc I've had this conversation a thousand times. I cannot afford a mortgage, I can never own my own home, and I cannot upskill to earn the £60k a year that's required to get a mortgage.

 No spiel, just my relative spent a small fortune replacing her kitchen and now has to move to downsize as the kids left home. So was a waste of money. 

[Deleted User]

marcia_ said:

[Deleted User] said:

Doozergirl said:

What are the dimensions of the room? Do you have a plan?  

It might be that you should have a galley kitchen instead of trying to turn corners if it's that small? Or are you trying to use corner cabinets without turning corners? 

Yeah I measured it but on the website you just pick from 3 different sizes and then add / remove cabinets and units as required but you can't change the size of the units. 

So you either end up with gaps where a whole unit can't fit. Like I might connect 2 units together and have 80cm left but the unit that goes in that spot is 100cm for example. 

marcia_ said:

[Deleted User] said:

This might be a stupid question but I honestly don't know the answer. So I have a crappy little council flat kitchen and I've thought about replacing all the units, getting a new surface and sink etc. So I check out the "fitted kitchens" and have a look through but when I mess around with the "design my kitchen" tool and enter my kitchens measurements and the location of the appliances, window, fridge etc nothing lines up.

Like I'll click on the corner piece and place it down, then I'll place the sink piece next to it so it connected, but then there's not enough room in my kitchen to fit the remaining piece, it's like 20cm too wide... 

And likewise on the other wall I'll place down the corner piece, put my cooker in, place down the other piece but then I'm only left with like 45cm for a fridge... 

I know I have a small kitchen size but I already have a kitchen in there that fits perfectly. Everything lines up and when I moved in there was a 60cm gap for the oven and a 70cm gap for the fridge. 

So yeah, as strange as it sounds, how the hell do they make a kitchen fit when the units don't actually fit? They're obviously not going to make custom size units surely that would be incredibly expensive and time consuming as every person has a different size kitchen?

 Why are you planning on spending money to upgrade a property you don't own? Your council landlord should be doing this if it is required 

I'm not spending anything at the moment, just looking around. And the reason why I am considering it is because I'm going to be here for the next 40+ years until I die so I may as well make it nice. And councils don't replace / upgrade things that aren't literally falling apart so the onus is on the tenant if they want new things based on cosmetics. I can't just tell them to give me a new kitchen because I don't like my current one.

And please don't give me a spiel about getting a mortgage and buying my own place etc I've had this conversation a thousand times. I cannot afford a mortgage, I can never own my own home, and I cannot upskill to earn the £60k a year that's required to get a mortgage.

 No spiel, just my relative spent a small fortune replacing her kitchen and now has to move to downsize as the kids left home. So was a waste of money. 

Oh ok, well there won't be any downsizing for me as it's a 1 bedroom flat, plus I have tenure now so it's mine for as long as I want it, as long as I pay the rent and be a decent tenant etc. 

I just want to make it a bit more homely. I've already decided I'm going to paint, get new carpet, curtain, other fixtures etc but getting a new kitchen and tiling the bathroom floor and walls is still up for consideration.

[Deleted User]

Mnoee said:

If the carcasses are sound you can replace the doors, handles, worktops/sink for a new look for quite a bit less than a full refit, if you're happy with the current layout. 

Yep this is what I'm going to do I think. It'll be far cheaper and I can even do it myself.

I'll just give the carcasses a nice lick of paint and with new doors and handles, a sink and maybe a new worktop I think it'll look great.

ThisIsWeird

[Deleted User] said:

Mnoee said:

If the carcasses are sound you can replace the doors, handles, worktops/sink for a new look for quite a bit less than a full refit, if you're happy with the current layout. 

Yep this is what I'm going to do I think. It'll be far cheaper and I can even do it myself.

I'll just give the carcasses a nice lick of paint and with new doors and handles, a sink and maybe a new worktop I think it'll look great.

You'll almost certainly require a joiner to fit the new worktops, a plumber for the sink, and possibly a sparky for the cooker, but - yes - this should save you a large sum.
Things to consider include your current cooker - is it freestanding? Are you happy to continue with that, or would you prefer built in?

Doonhamer

You'll be surprised how many size options there are, have a look at Howdens for ideas even though they are trade only suppliers. They even do "inbetween" sizes like 350mm base and wall units

casper_gutman

Some kitchen suppliers offer more unit sizes than others. Have a look at DIY Kitchens for example - they have more unit widths than most I looked at, plus reduces depth units etc.

Usually a kitchen refit would involve a certain amount of plumbing and electrical work to move appliances etc. How that works in a council flat I'm not sure, so check the rules. Plus, a skilled kitchen fitter will make good use of filler panels and occasionally modify the standard units to fit with the space you have.

One thing that might make the work easier is to stick as closely as possible to the existing layout. Nothing is set in stone and you will surely want to change something. But taking what you have as the starting point and identifying specific issues you want to address will almost certainly work better than coming up with a fantasy layout and then trying to impose it on the existing space.