Help! Our kitchen needs sorting out: units/lino

[nonamenopackdrill]

We almost bought the free-standing kitchen units from Ikea.. glad we didn't in the end, when I saw my ex-boss had them in her kitchen

We paid about £8k for our kitchen, but it's definitely been worth the money.. and when we had our water meter fitted, the fitter said "I usually just bash a hole in the back of people's cupboards, but your cabinets are too well made" - which was good to hear

BTW, we have Ikea Billy Bookcases, and 2 HUGE Ikea wardrobes, and we're very pleased with them.

8 grand!

We were going to spend a lot of money (about 10K - solid Oak) but IKEA has cost us £900 (self installed) and been brill so we're well happy.

 

[marty21]

our kitchen is about 20 years old we keep putting off getting a new one, it seems to work ok at the moment

 

[squirmy the 2nd]

The walls of the editor's flat are steel reinforced concrete.

my whole house is made of this stuff. keeps it warm in winter but i'm fucked if i want to put some pictures up, let alone a new cupboard!

 

[Mrs Magpie]

One of the best feelings in the world was moving into a house where I could put up shelves without calling in heavy engineering equipment wielded by a son-in-law that took about 2 years to get it together....

 

[Errol's son]

my whole house is made of this stuff. keeps it warm in winter but i'm fucked if i want to put some pictures up, let alone a new cupboard!

Rent or buy an SDS hammer action drill. Use a metal detector to ascertain where the metal reinforcement runs within the concrete and avoid drilling there as the metal will knacker your drill bit.

If an SDS can't do it, I'd be surprised.

 

[pembrokestephen]

Weve just bought from IKEA
were really pleased, the quality is great its easy to clean, looks fab and had a fantastic range of units.(inc 'odd' sized ones which many suppliers dont do which was great)

we installed it ourselves but they do have a service for instalation if you need it
ETAthe only difference price wise is because of the doors, all the carcasses are the same quality so if you are choosing look at the doors for quality comparisons, we got the cheap white ones because were renting

And it's worth observing that IKEA carcases are considerably more substantial (and rather more nicely made) than most of the competition.

If your kitchen floor is ever likely to get quite wet, then avoid cabinets whose sides form the "feet", ie which go all the way down to the floor - the chipboard used to make cabinets is quite sensitive to getting wet.

Same goes if your floor is at all uneven - proper legs, with adjustable feet, give you the option of properly levelling each cabinet.

It won't come as a surprise when I tell you that IKEA cabinets use legs (or at least used to, last time I checked).

 

[pembrokestephen]

That sounds pretty complicated to me. Mind you, the whole do-it-for-me trend is quite popular now – I saw a programme recently where a woman bought everything from Ikea and hired some bloke to come round on his scooter and put it together. Don't know a reputable do-it-for-me handyman, though.

'S exactly what I do in between uni work to pay my way.

Trouble is, I'm not in Brixton, or I'd be touting my services to editor instead of writing this post...

 

[Mrs Magpie]

I am known as 'The Queen of the Flatpack', ask Ms T and hendo, but I have to say, I'd not really want to assemble a kitchen (and disassembling the old one even less so).

 

[pembrokestephen]

Wasn't so keen on the bathrooms at Ikea though, but that's another room. One thing at a time!!

Kitchen units make great bathroom furniture!

(Top tip: use wall mount units at floor level and cut-down worktops for a slimline cupboard effect, then use bathroom cabinet stylee things at eye level for slimmer-line, so you have some countertop space still)

 

[pembrokestephen]

I am known as 'The Queen of the Flatpack', ask Ms T and hendo, but I have to say, I'd not really want to assemble a kitchen (and disassembling the old one even less so).

I'm trying quite hard to find an excuse to refit the kitchen here...

But it would be a bit of a waste of money

 

[Hood]

I've fitted a few Ikea kitchens in my properties. There's no service void at the back of the base units which is crap if you've got pipes to run, but you can shift the rear panel forward if necessary with a bit of jiggery pokery. There's no pre-drilled holes for the handles, so there's a bit of faffing about getting them all in the right place. Also there's no 1000mm unit, which is odd. Apart from that they're made out of laminated chipboard just like every other prefab kitchen and they're so much cheaper than the others that I'm quite happy to put up with the hassle.

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

we cut our own holes for pipes etc
we fitted a corner unit behind the pipes so the pipe runs inside the cupboard, that was a pain but it was fine, just had to assemble it against the wall and slot one side in behind the pipe

 

[maximilian ping]

Go fuck yourself hard up the shitter, you ignorant racist cunt.

1. you got the wrong end of the stick mate (possibly because you're thick): i was saying that Polish builders charge the correct price and are more principled and that generally English builders charge way way over the correct price and do a worse job and make it last five times as long

2. raverdrew whoever you are, if i ever see you i'll fucking lamp you, you fuckwit

 

[Spion]

Ikea kitchens rule. Got ours for less than a grand and it's a pretty big kitchen. Fitted it meself. There's no dark art to fitting kitchen cupboards in if you're handy enough with things. A level and a good drill are the keys. The bit I did touch cloth on was the work surface - I really didn't fancy getting my measurements wrong on 600 quid's worth of oak, but checking and checking again meant I got the cuts right

 

[Errol's son]

1. you got the wrong end of the stick mate (possibly because you're thick): i was saying that Polish builders charge the correct price and are more principled and that generally English builders charge way way over the correct price and do a worse job and make it last five times as long

2. raverdrew whoever you are, if i ever see you i'll fucking lamp you, you fuckwit

Polish builders work for as little as £50 a day cash, some work for even less. So I think they are in many cases seriously undercharging, IMO. £50 a day is not much, and if they declare this money to the tax man which they should be doing (and you should always get a receipt for all building work) they are working for even less.

When you get building work quoted, you should always get at least three quotes. You must also remember that not all builders want to work for you. Surprise, surprise, but when a builder comes to quote for doing some work for you he is eyeing you up as much as you are eyeing him up, so to speak. If he thinks you are going to be a pain in the arse customer (ie, changing your mind frequently, late paying, hanging around watching him all day, loads of extras etc) he will chuck a premium on. He may also be too busy and so he quotes a high price hoping he doesn't get the work and then if he does get it, it is not too bad cos he is making a tidy profit.

There are cowboys out there, but there are English cowboys, Polish cowboys annd cowboys of every other nationality. IME the reason people have problems with builders is because they only get one quote (I know that getting several builders round to quote can be a very trying experience) and they don't discuss payment terms/schedule and also, in many cases, they pay cash and get ripped off.

 

[Hood]

Bear in mind that you have to notify building control if you're going to do any rewiring and you'll have to provide test results on completion

 

[pembrokestephen]

Bear in mind that you have to notify building control if you're going to do any rewiring and you'll have to provide test results on completion

Not strictly true - if the rewiring is just about adding a few points or light fittings, it's non-notifiable.

Also worth pointing out that lots of electricians tell big porkies when they say the work HAS to be done by a sparks. Not true - but the notifying building control is.

It's worth trying to get hold of twin-and-earth in the "old" colours, if you can, then anyone inspecting the wiring is in a position to assume the job was done prior to notification being required. I'm doubtful whether any inspection at the point of sale of the property is ever likely to be so thorough that they really notice this, anyway...

I'm sceptical about this whole notification thing after having seen the pig's ear that qualified electricians are capable of making of wiring jobs. I'd definitely get a qualified sparks in for any design/capacity planning that was needed, but I'm not convinced that the benefits are that great for simple rewiring/repositioning works, provided the person doing them is responsible, moderately competent, and knows what he's doing.

 

[RaverDrew]

1. you got the wrong end of the stick mate (possibly because you're thick): i was saying that Polish builders charge the correct price and are more principled and that generally English builders charge way way over the correct price and do a worse job and make it last five times as long

2. raverdrew whoever you are, if i ever see you i'll fucking lamp you, you fuckwit

1. That's not what you said in you op, you're also VERY wrong.

2. Would like to see you try it. If the interweb, provokes violence in you, then I suggest you step away from the keyboard and take a few deep breaths.

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Drew, stop now. You are guilty of breathtaking hypocrisy here....

 

[Mrs Magpie]

maximillian ping, ignore him, I know RD provoked this but your post was out of order too

 

[pembrokestephen]

maximillian ping, ignore him, I know RD provoked this but your post was out of order too

"Leave it aht, mate, 'e's not worf i'", etc, cue protagonists backing steadily away from each other in pub car park, muttering imprecations, exeunt stage left and right pursued by allegations re parentage...

 

[RaverDrew]

Drew, stop now. You are guilty of breathtaking hypocrisy here....

In what way ?

Do I go round threatening to lamp people in my posts ?

Or is that acceptable board behaviour now ?

 

[Mrs Magpie]

I know, this is suburban, not P&P, I like to keep it nice in here without people knocking over the teapot....

 

[Mrs Magpie]

In what way ?

Do I go round threatening to lamp people in my posts ?

Or is that acceptable board behaviour now ?

No, you threatened sexual assault. Shut up and go away or bannings will ensue

 

[Mrs Magpie]

half an apology I've reread your offensive post...it was verbal abuse of a sexual nature. I don't tolerate behaviour of the kind I've seen on this thread. This forum is different from other forums as I stated when it started. I've now put a sticky up reminding posters of this fact, I want this to be the forum where everyone behaves in something at least resembling a civilised fashion...Drew, you've been protesting too much I think. Don't go around telling people they are guilty of bad behaviour when you are just as guilty...I was only joking doesn't wash with me.

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Right, tablecloth smoothed, teapot topped up, biscuit tin replenished.....editor, if your units are standard size and the carcasses are sound, just fitting new doors and replacing worktops can transform a kitchen and save you a packet. Also, if I remember rightly the floor is made of those really hard but brittle Marley tiles rather than vinyl. They are a bugger to remove.

 

[editor]

.editor, if your units are standard size and the carcasses are sound, just fitting new doors and replacing worktops can transform a kitchen and save you a packet.

The tiles are pretty much fucked - we can't find any the same size anymore - and some of the kitchen units are in a rum old state - and not just the doors and worktops either.

There's some really daft design in there too - there gaps either side of the cooker so food goes sailing down with consummate ease and pulling out the cooker to clean up the mess can only be done on an empty stomach.

It really needs trashing out and rebuilding, I reckon.

Oh, and a note to others: I an DEEPLY FUCKING PISSED OFF with all the bullshit that's gone in this thread. If you haven't got anything constructive to add to this thread, kindly fuck off with the argy bargy or you will lose the right to post in this forum.

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Knowing Lambeth Council floors, I think you need a professional stripping out the old floor & laying your new kitchen floor....laminate floors can be a total pain and awful for the people below....sounds like demented giant millipedes tap dancing for anyone living below....I do know someone who laid thick carpet underlay on all their floors because the marley tiles and glue underneath was so difficult to remove and then screwed marine ply down. They then stencilled it, varnished it with layer upon layer of varnish and it looked great for all the years they lived there. Same thing, lambeth Council flat.

 

[RaverDrew]

half an apology I've reread your offensive post...it was verbal abuse of a sexual nature. I don't tolerate behaviour of the kind I've seen on this thread. This forum is different from other forums as I stated when it started. I've now put a sticky up reminding posters of this fact, I want this to be the forum where everyone behaves in something at least resembling a civilised fashion...Drew, you've been protesting too much I think. Don't go around telling people they are guilty of bad behaviour when you are just as guilty...I was only joking doesn't wash with me.

Apology half accepted

 

[Hood]

Not strictly true - if the rewiring is just about adding a few points or light fittings, it's non-notifiable.

A kitchen is a 'special location' and so all work is notifiable