DIY B&Q Kitchen Project (Some Advice needed)

[First-time-buyer]

Edited. For more information PM.

FTB

 

[First-time-buyer]

Edited. For more information PM.

FTB

 

[ifatfirst]

Informative pictures, great improvement. Had you fitted a kitchen before? If not, did you find it very difficult? Did you have a helper - apart from the crisp eater! Am pondering whether to have a go myself - no corners, just straight runs.

 

[CortinaV8]

Looks a good job, only thing thats a bit dissapointing is the use of a joining strip on the worktop not a proper joint cut with a router, but i can apreciate why you opted for that.

ifatfirst - I recently fitted my own kitchen, if its just straight runs you could easily do it by yourself, though I found it helpful to have a second opinion when I installed mine. Think we had 10 meters of worktop to install if that gives you an idea of the size I had to work with.

 

[sawking]

FTB,

Well a good job for somebody so small me thinks! First thing I would say it get the job finished. From personal experience I have got to your stage and left it a couple of weeks etc etc.

The worktop comment and joint is true but on a budget I think you did the correct thing, a router (save your pennies they are invaluable) would have made a nicer looking joint. But unless you know someone with a jig thats also another cost.

My only real concern (and again this is something I have discovered first hand) is the picture of the sockets for the oven? It does look like you have one socket spurred from another, this IS allowed and the recommendation as I understand it is that you are allowed 1 spur (again I think thats a recommendation) from each of your electrical ring mains. However, I think it has to be fused to conform to electrical standards.

As for the tiling, you have done the hard job of fitting the kitchen, circa £40 will get you a good tile cutter. Away you go!!! On that note use a good adhesive and grout, BAL do a great range of products, a little bit expensive but I think worth it.

Most important thing is you have done a bloody good job, pat on the back required, well done fella!!!

Charlie

 

[Steve]

My only real concern (and again this is something I have discovered first hand) is the picture of the sockets for the oven? It does look like you have one socket spurred from another, this IS allowed and the recommendation as I understand it is that you are allowed 1 spur (again I think thats a recommendation) from each of your electrical ring mains. However, I think it has to be fused to conform to electrical standards.

Never darken our doorways with such rubbish again.

From what I can see he has a cooker outlet, fed from that red neon switch above the worktop in the corner. Its not a ring main. Its a dedicated radial cooker circuit.

Below the cooker outlet is a 3 pin socket, fed from the cooker outlet, just like in my kitchen.

This IS allowed, it would provide power for an oven, which are normally less than 3kw. No fusing down is required since its a radial circuit and all cables are rated more than the protective device.

(On a ring main, 2.5mm² is rated at average 22 amps, but the protective device is 32 amps. This is ok since the ring circuit means the carrying capacity is effectively double. But if any single cable (spur) feeds more than a double socket, it must be fused at 13 amps to protect it.)

 

[First-time-buyer]

Edited. For more information PM.

FTB

 

[First-time-buyer]

Edited. For more information PM.

FTB

 

[ifatfirst]

Thanks CortinaV8 and First-time-buyer for the insights on your experiences. Valuable.

Tempted to follow your example and have a go myself - only a tiny kitchen. I dread paying someone then having to confront them if they do a rubbish job.

 

[First-time-buyer]

Edited. For more information PM.

FTB

 

[boggie42]

Hate to make u pig sick as your obviously a bargain hunter, we got our worktop joiners for £1.99 in "No frills"
Not sure if any of you have one of these near you, if so definately worth a visit. We also got the worktops we wanted from there £25 each for 3metre lengths.
I did not take the measurements before we left, just knew we had to buy 3 of them. So i ended up surfing home in the back of the car with the wife driving, me with one foot either side of the back door bear hugging the 3 worktops stopping them sliding out onto the road !!!

 

[mattylad]

It was so easy a child did most of the work

 

[RomanAbramovich]

Did you really buy a house for under 40K - or is that a typo?

 

[Homesafe]

Did you really buy a house for under 40K - or is that a typo?

yes thats interesting, you certainly picked up a bargain there

 

[John506]

I think you have done a great job, cute kid too.

I've seen joints on worktops such as on 90 degree angles where you can't even see the cut, how are these achieved so perfectly? (never had any experience in kitchen fitting).