Fitting a kitchen...

Quatre Mains

Hi
I'm moving into my new house next week(only a year later than expected). The builders aren;t putting in any kitchens on the estate so instead we get a lousy allowance of 2000 Euro, and reffered me to a local company. What they offered me was a complete rip-off so I'm starting to think about other options. I'd love to hear some experiences/opinions on the following;

1. Buying a 2nd hand kitchen - would that be a case of discovering
I'd bought a square peg for a round hole?

2. Fitting a kitchen - how hard is it? Would it end up looking like when Homer made the clown bed for Bart?

- its not a big one I need, L-shaped about 8ftx12.

Thanks
Neil

Borzoi

Most of a kitchen consists of flatpack furniture,if you're anyway DIY handy you should have no problem assembling it.

Standard chipboard Countertops with veneer, can be cut using domestic jig-saw for hob and sink holes.

Tricky/fiddly bits are the door hinges, unit feet (to ensure they're level) but this is just a matter of time.

Who will you get to do the plumbing for you? ie sink taps, waste from sink, washing machine/dishwasher.

slave1

can't go to sleep, clown's gonna kill me
can't go to sleep, clown's gonna kill me

Victor

You could insist on the builder doing it, **if** it is in the contract.

Originally posted by brocklanders
Buying a 2nd hand kitchen - would that be a case of discovering I'd bought a square peg for a round hole?

Sounds dodgy, but if you get some for €100 it might be worth it for a few years and then when you can afford it, upgrade. Trying to put new screws in old holes oftern results in crying.

Quatre Mains

- thanks 4 the advice. Unfortunately the contract said kitchen or 2000 allowance.
I'm still not sure what to do yet, but I'm definitely not spending
3k on a few MDF cupboards. There's a lad I used to know fits kitchens for a living, might ask him to fit it. Only thing is he's in Dublin and the gaff is in Edenderry. Well, you never know.
Never buy a gaff off the plans!

Neil

pipers

do try www.cashandcarrykitchens.com or look at googles cache of the site.

I have used them for my own house, 5 - 10 day lead time, quality units, not flatpacked.Simply hang them on the wall.

All you need to do is cut the worktop for the hob and sink.

Be careful that the allowance is not for a nominated company.
If it is you are snookered

Pipers

www.pipersplumbing.com

a_ominous

I fitted a new kitchen this summer. With a bit of help from a guy who's a general handyman. Bought in B&Q which is a flatpack kitchen. The carcass is the same for all their kitchens, you buy the doors you want for whatever style. Take a look at the B&Q website so you can cost it. Priced C&C kitches but they were quite a bit more expensive. Assembling the units (about 10) took 20-30 minutes each, depending on size.

The kitchen cost about 1600 Euros. We picked solid oak doors, 100 euro a pop. :eek: Slight variation depending on size but not much. Chipboard/MDF doors about 30-40 euro a go and there may be special offers on at the time.

I had to make several trips as not all the items were in stock at one time. Wasn't too much of a problem as I live nearby. My father was able to borrow a truck from work to carry big items like counter top (heavy and 3m long).
The plumbing didn't cause any real problem, just put sink back where it had been. YMMV with a new kitchen. There are still some things I need to finish off in the kitchen. Some a bit tricky which is why I've not done them, but will have to sort these out before Xmas.

If you've not done this before, make sure your mate has all the tools and experience. It could be an expensive mistake. Edenderry is only 30-40 miles from Dublin. The job would take about 3 days tops full time.

-ao-

janeymac

Go with Cash and Carry Kitchens as advised above ar anybody that will supply the cabinets made up and ready to hang. B&Q flat pack stuff is a pain in the arse.

I ordered a kitchen from Cash and Carry and had no problems at all. Get every single measurement before you go. Yes even that silly measurement between the door and radiator. You have no idea how clever these boys are at squeezing storage out of nothing! fully made up cabinets are delivered in a week or so. (Buy a spirit level!)

an_taoiseach

There used to be a company in Cherry Orchard Ind Estate ( Ballyfermot ) called Frank Flanagan Fittings

They sold all sort of bits for fitted kitchens - panels, hinges, tops, knobs etc

Dont know if they are still there - it must be about 8 - 10 years since I was there ( installing a LAN )


An T

joto

Frank flanagan's do hardware only- hinges, legs, knobs, etc. & afaik are trade only.

Cash & carry kitchens as recommended above are the best way to go. They can supply fitter also. I'd do it but am in West. B&Q are crap. Cheap & nasty & don't last.
BTW nearly all companies buy in carcases "flat-pack". It's not the box that counts but whats in it. C&C just make the units up in their depot.

2000 allowance wouldn't cover it though. Make a visit to the Co. thats supplying kitchen to builder & see what he'll do. He'll prob. try to rip you off if you're looking for extra units, but no harm trying. Standard kitchen might be big enough?

antoinolachtnai

Panelling Centre is worth a look too. I got one there. They gave me a 20 percent discount for 'trade' (which basically means knowing what you want when you get there).

Panelling Centre is all self-assembly. If it suits you, do go somewhere that will give you made-up carcases.

A few warnings though - it often happens that you have to 'customise' a carcase for some purpose. If this is the case, you will almost certainly need to disassemble it.

Reasons for needing to do this include:

- cutting down a unit to fit

- having to fit drawers in a narrow unit

- fitting one of those slide-out larders (which i really recommend you get if you can find space for it at all)

If you want a really good result for the long-term, avoid using any full-depth standard units in your kitchen. The reason for this is that the space at the back of these units is basically 'dead' space. You can't get easy access to it. Of course, I should warn you that fitting drawers, etc. takes a lot of time, especially if you're not used to this type of work.

It does take time to put everything together, so don't be in any rush.

If you really want something simple to fit, consider the non-fitted kitchen systems that Habitat sells. They are a little pricey, but the quality is pretty good, they look nice and not too much assembly is required. Of course, it is a matter of taste.

joseph brand

If you buy small parts it will fit almost anywhere!!!

Quatre Mains

- thanks for all the inputs folks. I went into the Panelling centre out by Santry and lo and behold a lad I know is a manager...
in the meantime I went to C+C 1st near Blanch. They didn't have the widest selection, but the lady who was there was great at design etc. and she drew me up an excellent template in a few mins. I brought that back to the other place and they did me up a kitchen from that. My friends da is going to fit it at the weekend.

I would still advise anyone else looking around to have a look in C+C tho, they seemed to know more about designing the kitchens than the panelling centre. They just didn't have one I liked, plus they said it might have to wait till after xmas as they were so busy.

The local kitchens place was a complete rip-off as predicted.

Here's to not having to wash plates and fill the kettle in the downstairs jacks sink

Neil

joto

leaving it a bit close to christmas! (Why do people do that?)

Hope it all goes well & let us know how it goes.;)

Greenman

So brocklanders,
How did you get on???
Myself and the wife fitted kitchen cabinets in our utilityroom/laundrette. Just one question, how is the worktop secured to the lower cabinets???
Thanks in advance.

antoinolachtnai

'L'-brackets of course. Sometimes there are plasticfittings on the units which do the same job. Make sure your screws aren't too long.

Victor

And make sure the counter top is level!

joto

And seal it to the wall with silicone sealant

antoinolachtnai

And don't forget to cut a whole to put the sink in!

yop

Will be in the same situation pg in the next 8-10 months. Will be doing the whole kitchen myself and I definately will not consider a 2nd hand kitchen. As the lads said trying to "rescrew" the units together then you are going to have a problem.

I have not yet looking into a supplier but wheather it be pre-assembled or flat packed you will save yourself a fortune.
The quality of your fit will have a lot to do with the tools you have available and also of course your ability to do a bit of carpentry. If it is a straight forward kitchen you should have no bother once your walls are square(chances of that!!! ) and you have given correct measurements.

Keep us updated on how u get on.

Gluck

Quatre Mains

- sorry for the delay getting back but I was off work for a few weeks there. The kitchen is almost finished, here is what I thought of it, and a few things any other prospective DIY-ers might want to think about.

1. The assembly is easy, all instructions included, holes pre-drilled etc.

2. Cutting the worktops for the sink and hob was a bit tough - make sure to get the right jigsaw bit, with large teeth else its hard to control the direction when cutting.
Getting the 2 tops to match up wasn't easy either. The plates sold in b and Q etc which you use to cover the meetting point weren't long enough to use so we had to keep triiming them before glueing them together.
The worktops actually fix onto the lower units via tapping screws. There are little fixtures for the screws in the units. We used some brackets but the units are the main support. With the insulation layer put in modern houses it can be hard to find a beam to hang such a weight on so better off that way. And most importantly, make sure you have a spirit level.

3. The plumbing was a bit hard, had the aul lad sort that. This took a few hours as we kept getting small leaks.

4. hanging the upper units wasn't too hard. We just drilled the supplied brackets thru the plasterboard. We were a bit nervous about this but it worked out fine.

Some other points to note...

1. The panelling center don't drill the doors unless you specifically ask them to. Unless you have a pillar drill or something similar, ask to get them done! This delayed us by a day.

2. I would advise tiling the room before putting in the units. We didn't - what this means is that if I tile the space where the washing machine and dishwasher go, they might not fit under the worktop. If buying fully integrated stuff, no need to do this. Your machines will hide the untiled space unlike mine.

3. The sink didn't have a plughole or waste drain supplied. Only B and Q sell the 3.5 inch ones as far as I know, we didn;t see any in Altantic or Homebase.

....hopefully thats of some help to someone!

Cheers
Neil

yop

Neil

Thanks for the update

Just a quick question but where did i decide to go with in the end.

Also roughlty what sort of money did u spend on the kitchen?

Also how did u hang the wall unites exactly?

Lads, creative kitchens, do u recommend them, and what do they supply and how do they come, any pitfalls about them?

Quatre Mains

1. Went thru the Panelling Centre in Santry, because I know someone working there and got a discount. The kitchen came to 3150, would have been closer to 2200 but I got 2 solid wood worktops which were 300 each. I brought back the end panelling (stuff you stick onto the side of the units to make it 'nice') and got 500 back, so end result was 2650. The units were the same colour as the trim anyway, you'd never notice. If you're ever in the showroom, its the cream one!

- they were courteous enough to deal with but very poor service overall. I bought the kitchen 11 Dec. They have still not been able to supply all the doors, and because I'm not in Dublin, I have to drive up myself to get them when they finally do arrive. :mad:

- hanging the wall units was easy. The units have adjustable catches protruding from the top rear corners. We attached supplied brackets to the wall and literally hung them off them and tightened them up. It was one of the easiest parts of the whole job to be honest in the end. Beacuse you can;t adjust where the catches are, you can't go for a beam every time when drilling the bracket holes. We were apprehensive about going thru the plasterboard but it holds them fine.

- its a good bit of work putting it all together but most of it is straightforward. I would say get help as its definitely a 2-3 person job, but if at least one of you is good at DIY (the 2 that helped me were great, I was left doing the monkey work),
then go for it.


Cheers
Neil

Ro-76

I just bought a kitchen in Ikea in Glasgow.

It includes solid oak worktops and porcelain sink, with 900mm high cabinets.

It's flatpacked, and I have not yet installed it - this weeekend hopefully, so I can't really tell you how ell it works out, but it cost me 1250euro. The best quotes I had previously had were 2900 euro from Cash and Carry Kitchens, and Kitchenworld.

From what I saw in the showrooms, the Ikea kitchen look a lot better quality than C+C kitchens.

Will let you know how it goes,

Ro

Borzoi

Wow, that is some differnce in price.

Actually I've been looking to replace my laminate worktops with either soild wood or granite. I must check Ikea out.

Victor

Originally posted by Borzoi
Actually I've been looking to replace my laminate worktops with either soild wood or granite. I must check Ikea out.

Note with granite, you might want to beef up the structure of the units - granite weighs maybe 60-90kg/m2

joto

Hi Brocklanders. (and all).Glad to hear your kitchen is in! Thought I'd jump in. Your in my back yard now as I work as a kitchen fitter. *Ahem*.

hanging the wall units was easy. The units have adjustable catches protruding from the top rear corners. We attached supplied brackets to the wall and literally hung them off them and tightened them up. It was one of the easiest parts of the whole job to be honest in the end. Beacuse you can;t adjust where the catches are, you can't go for a beam every time when drilling the bracket holes. We were apprehensive about going thru the plasterboard but it holds them fine.

Plaster board won't hold wall units. Did you at least use "Gun-o-prene"? It's a good idea to screw an "L" bracket on top of wall unit & into stud ( they're spaced every 16 ins.). Screw an offcut of Chipbd on top of wall unit first & then you can use 30mm screw into top of wall unit thru "L" bracket & screw into stud.
It's a good idea before putting wall units up to fix a batten (chbd) onto back of wall unit at top & bott, & then you can screw thru back to fix to wall. (Stops it pulling out at bottom of unit.) You can cover screw hole with stick on covers.

- they were courteous enough to deal with but very poor service overall. I bought the kitchen 11 Dec. They have still not been able to supply all the doors, and because I'm not in Dublin, I have to drive up myself to get them when they finally do arrive.

I've dealt with the panelling centre once or twice. They only like you if you deal with them regularly, like all builders providers. Sometimes it feels like they go out of they're way to be awkward. If they have it in stock fine, otherwise go else where. Discount worth it?:(

Cutting the worktops for the sink and hob was a bit tough - make sure to get the right jigsaw bit, with large teeth else its hard to control the direction when cutting.

It's a neater job to cut sink out from underside of w/top before you fit it. I use skill-saw. Drill a hole in corners first, about 15mm or so. If cutting from top, score the line first with a knife.

I would advise tiling the room before putting in the units. We didn't - what this means is that if I tile the space where the washing machine and dishwasher go, they might not fit under the worktop. If buying fully integrated stuff, no need to do this. Your machines will hide the untiled space unlike mine.

Base units should always be fitted 870mm minimum high from fin. floor level. Free standing appliances are usually 850mm high. You should be able to tile afterwards in the spaces for the appliances. Not just for the look , but also to keep appliance level. If integrated app's then a piece of ply or offcut from w/top will do underneath. As you say, tiling should be done first really & tiled into wall. Better job.

Yes, you can save money fitting a kitchen yourself. The same way I save money fixing my computer....Doh!.........and I service my car......Doh!.........

Joto:)

yop

That is interesting, I actually meant cash and carry kitchens f

So how did u get Ikea kitchen home?

Ro-76

Originally posted by yop

So how did u get Ikea kitchen home?

I actually took a van on the ferry because I was getting a lot of furniture, to furnish a new apartment, but they do offer a home delivery service to Ireland for about stg60 per trolley. the trolleys are flat bed trolleys that can take a good deal of stuff, but not actually as big as I expected. the kitchen I bought would fit on 2 trolleys at a squeeze.

Ro

Quatre Mains

Originally posted by joto

Plaster board won't hold wall units. Did you at least use "Gun-o-prene"? It's a good idea to screw an "L" bracket on top of wall unit & into stud ( they're spaced every 16 ins.). Screw an offcut of Chipbd on top of wall unit first & then you can use 30mm screw into top of wall unit thru "L" bracket & screw into stud.
It's a good idea before putting wall units up to fix a batten (chbd) onto back of wall unit at top & bott, & then you can screw thru back to fix to wall. (Stops it pulling out at bottom of unit.) You can cover screw hole with stick on covers.
Joto:)

Hi Joto
thanks for that info - I will do that at the weekend. We couldn;t work out how to
utilise the studs given that the 'clamps on the unit rears were in a fixed position.
I haven;t got much stuff in them, and there's no doors on yet (STILL not in stock)
so hopefully I won;t come home to a disaster in the meantime

Cheers
Neil

joseph brand

Looks like I dug up a nice old thread.

Would like to hear if anyone else has bought a flat pack or pre-assembled kitchen lately?

My father and I are about to fit a kitchen for the GF's mother. She is still unsure of what one to get, plus she is on a tight budget as she is on a pension. Her kitchen is U-shaped and bigger than some.

Some places insist on fitting, and can be a little pushy, (think it's because she's an old woman)

Thanks,

Kev.