Installing kitchen

[Jim_cam]

Hi - just tore a very old, very manky kitchen out of our new place, and I'm about to put a new one in. I've a quick general question: given the state the walls are in, is there any prep you'd do before the units go in? They'll be covered up of course but I don't want to (eg) trap damp back there or cover over anything that will need to be fixed in the future. Thanks for any advice!

 

[mrrusty]

IMO no point doing anything to the walls, but do plan to get all your services in and in the right place before you start. Good time to think about external taps with internal isolators if you need one. Is the sink drain in exactly the right place? easier to sort now than later. What about leccy? is all that going in before the units? Have you thought about whether you need a new water feed to e.g. a plumbed in fridge? Planning is everything!

 

[^woody^]

Patch and skim the walls now before you start fitting the cabinets. Square the corners, to save messing with the worktops. Before that, put in any new sockets and spurs and cable.

 

[ladwey]

We're keeping the layout pretty similar to the old one, so it won't take too long to get the pipes in order, thankfully. There will need to be two new outlets, one for the dishwasher -- at bottom right, by the back door -- and one for the fridge, on the left. Both can come down through the ceiling where I've got the floors up anyway. I'll get an electrician to come and wire the oven in.

I'd hoped that the tiling the splashbacks would cover any gaps between the worktops and uneven walls! -- really hoping to get away without plastering.

 

[ladwey]

Mental, my computer logged me in to my old account whose password I forgot, then logged me in again to my new account. I'm the guy with the filthy kitchen above.

 

[diy_fun_uk]

This takes me back a bit to when mum and I moved into her new old house. Previous owners had been an elderly couple who'd lived there for decades. Place needed gutted. I was in my early 20s, had never tackled any major jobs, and the first room I set about was the kitchen. Spookily enough your pics remind me of it after I'd gutted it. Similar size and layout including where the window is!

As has been touched on, planning is everything. We chose the kitchen we wanted and I marked out where the new sockets were to go (the whole house was getting a rewire) and where gas pipes were to run for oven and hob. The place was also getting new double glazing and the fitters loved the fact the kitchen window was easier access than usual.

As has also been touched on above, we got the room skimmed before I installed the new kitchen.

When I think back I think it was the bravado of youth that saw me through gutting the house and putting new stuff in. No Internet or YouTube to call on either, although I bought a Readers Digest DIY book that came in very useful.

Those were the days as they say. Best of luck with the refurb

 

[DAZB]

A lot of people don't think of the tiling vs cupboard height, for example if you have 4" tiles then try set your units to a multiple of 4 plus grouting so you avoid having any difficult and fragile thin tile cuts. When i used to do several kitchens a month back in the day we always used 6 inch tiles which meant the units started 18 inch or so from worktop level and it made things easier.