New project - Making a mess in the kitchen
Discussion
Been a while since I updated this, but work has been steadily progressing. I lifted all of the old screed relatively easily, but this left me with an uneven concrete slab which still wasn't low enough to allow me to put in the 50mm of insulation and 65mm of new screed that I wanted.
Luckily, one of the guys at work lent me this
Which allowed me to take off another few inches of concrete fairly easily, if noisily and with a fair amount of dust. I levelled it all out with a sand and cement mix
before leaving it all to dry out for a few days
Once it was all dry I put down a damp proof membrane, followed by 50mm of celotex
Which I then taped up
before laying the UFH pipes and connecting them up to the manifold
I also had a new boiler fitted and relocated to the opposite side of the house, to avoid venting over the neighbours garden
And that's pretty much where I am at the moment. The plumber is coming back this week to connect the UFH to the boiler and check for leaks, then a local guy is coming to screed it next week (hopefully) - I did think about having a go myself but decided that I wanted it level!
I struggled to find someone to do a polished concrete floor, and had a single quote of around £5k, which I wasn't going to pay so I've decided on a traditional screed and floor tiles of some description.
Luckily, one of the guys at work lent me this
Which allowed me to take off another few inches of concrete fairly easily, if noisily and with a fair amount of dust. I levelled it all out with a sand and cement mix
before leaving it all to dry out for a few days
Once it was all dry I put down a damp proof membrane, followed by 50mm of celotex
Which I then taped up
before laying the UFH pipes and connecting them up to the manifold
I also had a new boiler fitted and relocated to the opposite side of the house, to avoid venting over the neighbours garden
And that's pretty much where I am at the moment. The plumber is coming back this week to connect the UFH to the boiler and check for leaks, then a local guy is coming to screed it next week (hopefully) - I did think about having a go myself but decided that I wanted it level!
I struggled to find someone to do a polished concrete floor, and had a single quote of around £5k, which I wasn't going to pay so I've decided on a traditional screed and floor tiles of some description.
Edited by smn159 on Wednesday 20th August 15:31
Yes, it will have it's own thermostat.
There are two pipe loops in the kitchen of just under 40m each, so hopefully will be OK. There is a pump to be attached to the manifold, just haven't fitted it yet!. There's also a 22mm feed and return directly from the boiler (two pipes to the right of the manifold with the shut off valves on them).
There are two pipe loops in the kitchen of just under 40m each, so hopefully will be OK. There is a pump to be attached to the manifold, just haven't fitted it yet!. There's also a 22mm feed and return directly from the boiler (two pipes to the right of the manifold with the shut off valves on them).
Edited by smn159 on Friday 22 August 08:54
Bit more progress:-
UFH manifold connected up and pipework checked for leaks. It's on a different circuit to the main heating with it's own thermostat and timer
Screed down and starting to dry out
Need to start thinking about floor tiles next and then kitchens. I have a rough plan sketched out but haven't decided on what to go for yet. My wife likes the Fired Earth stuff, but I fear that the prices would bankrupt me (she's already picked out an induction Aga range cooker @ £3k+). Wonder how difficult it could possibly be to make a kitchen myself?
What could go wrong?
UFH manifold connected up and pipework checked for leaks. It's on a different circuit to the main heating with it's own thermostat and timer
Screed down and starting to dry out
Need to start thinking about floor tiles next and then kitchens. I have a rough plan sketched out but haven't decided on what to go for yet. My wife likes the Fired Earth stuff, but I fear that the prices would bankrupt me (she's already picked out an induction Aga range cooker @ £3k+). Wonder how difficult it could possibly be to make a kitchen myself?
What could go wrong?
Edited by smn159 on Tuesday 9th September 10:50
5potTurbo said:
It must be finished by now, OP?
Errr... No, not quite 
I did have an objective from the Mrs of getting the cooker in by Christmas, but I've failed miserably.
It is plastered and painted though, and the new LED spots from E36Guy are in and look fabulous - my only complaint is that they make the light in the rest of the house look rubbish. I'm about half way through fitting the sockets and my new limestone floor tiles turned up on a pallet yesterday.
Most of my time has been spent battening, insulating and plaster boarding, which took ages...
I'll get some better / current pics up soon as it's starting to (slowly) take shape
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Edited by smn159 on Wednesday 24th December 17:55
singlecoil said:
Nice cat.
Is that where the cooker is going to live? If you want worktop each side of it, you are going to need some shallower units on the right hand side.
Yes, was thinking of putting it there and using the existing pillar as one half of a mantle around the cooker. I sketched this up the other day using the Handmade kitchens Direct units to get a rough cost - looks like £12k all in to finish it off if we want something 'bespoke'. I also got B&Q to quote and their starting point is also £12k - of which £4k appears to be for fitting Is that where the cooker is going to live? If you want worktop each side of it, you are going to need some shallower units on the right hand side.
smn159 said:
Yes, was thinking of putting it there and using the existing pillar as one half of a mantle around the cooker. I sketched this up the other day using the Handmade kitchens Direct units to get a rough cost - looks like £12k all in to finish it off if we want something 'bespoke'. I also got B&Q to quote and their starting point is also £12k - of which £4k appears to be for fitting
What kind of style did you have in mind? Reason I ask is if painted Shaker was acceptable then I'd be happy to put in a design and quote. Everything I do is bespoke, but it's only the one style.singlecoil said:
smn159 said:
Yes, was thinking of putting it there and using the existing pillar as one half of a mantle around the cooker. I sketched this up the other day using the Handmade kitchens Direct units to get a rough cost - looks like £12k all in to finish it off if we want something 'bespoke'. I also got B&Q to quote and their starting point is also £12k - of which £4k appears to be for fitting
What kind of style did you have in mind? Reason I ask is if painted Shaker was acceptable then I'd be happy to put in a design and quote. Everything I do is bespoke, but it's only the one style.
We've been looking at the in-frame stuff, but in any case a design and quote would be great please
Bit annoyed with the B&Q quote frankly. The 'design' was done by a bloke who seemed totally unfamiliar with the software that he was using and looked awful to my eyes with gaps in a few places - although I did get a link to the software to have a play with myself at home. In any case the kitchen minus appliances was around £7k with £4k for fitting. I can't believe that anyone would seriously pay this, but I suppose some might.
The Handmade kitchens direct stuff was around £10k without appliances and I guessed about £1k for worktops if we went for the wooden block stuff and maybe £1k for appliances (we only need an integrated dishwasher, sink, taps and wine cooler). This is very much at the top end of what we wanted to spend, so we're going to have a look at their showroom tomorrow to get a feel for the quality of the stuff and whether it's worth the stretch. They apparently use reclaimed pine / MDF / tulipwood which 'feels' like a better option than the B&Q / Wickes / Ikea type of construction but we'll see.
The Handmade kitchens direct stuff was around £10k without appliances and I guessed about £1k for worktops if we went for the wooden block stuff and maybe £1k for appliances (we only need an integrated dishwasher, sink, taps and wine cooler). This is very much at the top end of what we wanted to spend, so we're going to have a look at their showroom tomorrow to get a feel for the quality of the stuff and whether it's worth the stretch. They apparently use reclaimed pine / MDF / tulipwood which 'feels' like a better option than the B&Q / Wickes / Ikea type of construction but we'll see.
We have just had a B&Q IT range kitchen fitted. Very pleased with it, but the design did have numerous errors. The Howdens matt finish shaker is quite nice.
Hope the OP went through the proper council procedure for knocking down an internal wall. Its a ball ache if you haven't and creates extra paperwork when it comes to selling the house.
Hope the OP went through the proper council procedure for knocking down an internal wall. Its a ball ache if you haven't and creates extra paperwork when it comes to selling the house.
smn159 said:
We've been looking at the in-frame stuff, but in any case a design and quote would be great please
OK, will have a go at that later today. My cabinets are birch plywood, by the way, made up of many thin layers of birch (which is of course, a hardwood) which I varnish on the inside and paint to match the doors on the outside. The drawers are made of the same material.It would be good if you would provide a dimensioned floor plan of the kitchen marking where the sticking out bits are, and where the windows (how far from the corners, how high from the ground and the size of the window reveal itself) and doors, of course. Once I've got that info I can model the shell of the room and start putting some units in it and we will see if I can come up with something you like. I see you, like me, are in Bucks, whereabouts might I ask?
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