Fitting a ikea kitchen, tips advice needed

[stolt]

Fitting a ikea kitchen, tips advice needed
hi, thought i would post this up to see if i can get some tips advice, i don't mind DIY but i'm dreading fitting this kitchen

Its about 8 units for a utility room, 4/5 wall units and 4 floor units plus a tall pull out larder cupboard also an integrated freezer, washing machine And a sink.

With it being a utility room, one cupboard is going to cover the boiler and another is covering the consumer unit and its a tight fit, i know i will have to cut the backs away and refit the bracket for fitting as the consuimer unit is near enough flush with the ceiling and we also want the wall units as flush as possible aswell. (the ikea units use adjustable brackets in each top corner)

Its not a massive room so working space will be tight plus I have to do it all in a week.

I have some plumbing work which needs to be done.
The cold and hot feed for the washing machine are near enough in the right place and waste pipe arent far either, its basically trying to calculate what i need for the angles to make it as neat as possible.
With regards to the supply pipes Ive read other sites stating that the is a Y peice for the cold and hot pipes as many washing machines wont work if just the cold is connected only.

I was going to use compression fittings for the pipework, but copper pipe is expensive and i stumbled across the plastic pipe and fittings, anyone had any experience of this stuff? Discussing it with my neighbour he said that the plastic fittings use rubber gaskets and he would be unsure long term how the rubber would hold up and possibly degrade to an extent where it leaks and causes a flood.
With regards to the waste for the sink and washing machine I was going to take the waste down under the sink and then run under the plinth to the waste outlet (it will be located under the tall larder unit) I thought it would save me having to make space behind the cupboard to run the waste (apparenly the ikea units do to have service gaps behind them)


The walls are dot and dab plasterboard, so i was going to use 3inch screws and some brown raw plugs to fix the wall units up.

[Blakeatron]

Waste pipe totally upto you but my preference is to have it against the wall and notch the cabinet access section.

Just remove the backs from wall cabinets where necesary, and use an internal top and bottom batten to attach the cabinet to the wall. Then you can re batten inside the cabinet and remount the back (it and the shelves will need trimming down).

For the wall cabinets just be sure you have a really firm fix and dont spin out the screws in the wall plugs. Use additional corner ('L') brackets above the cabinets if usure and or a batten full length underneath that the wall cabinets can sit on.

Just last week I was called to repair a kitchen where the wall cabinets had fallen down. Poorly installed, 2 screws per double cabinet into brown plugs in an 8mm hole (idiots). Cabinet had come down damaging ripping out the undermount light wiring and missing the hob by inches. Totally wrecked the worktop.

To be sure we always hang on wall units - if they can take our weight they will be fine!

Personally I dont like click on plumbing and I am no good at sweating joints. So I use the spanner on compression joints, pennies for parts and you can really get a feel for how tight the joints are.

[Simpo Two]

stolt said:

With regards to the waste for the sink and washing machine I was going to take the waste down under the sink and then run under the plinth to the waste outlet (it will be located under the tall larder unit) I thought it would save me having to make space behind the cupboard to run the waste

Is there enough 'drop' within the plinth height to make good drainage over the length? Could you take the pipes outside and run them externally?

stolt said:

raw plugs

Rawlplugs

[Arthur Jackson]

Try to get a tap with proper copper not flexi-hoses, the thickness of sinks these days mean the tap needs all the help it can get to avoid wobbling about.

[wolf1]

Am i right in remembering that Ikea units don't have a gap at the back like conventional units. As such the pipework etc will not be that easy to hide.

[Toilet Duck]

wolf1 said:

Am i right in remembering that Ikea units don't have a gap at the back like conventional units. As such the pipework etc will not be that easy to hide.

I believe you are correct; I'm sure this was mentioned when I started a thread about kitchen units.

[Silvertop_John]

I realise that some will love IKEA units but, having helped my son fit his kitchen with them, I would never use them out of choice. They may be OK for a new "factory built" house with square and vertical walls, but in an older property they can be a pain in the butt. One thing that caught us out was that the base units are designed as 600mm boxes, so there is no scope for running pipes behind them, or coping with plastered walls which are not properly vertical. We found that we had walls which met the base units low down, flared back and left a gap at the top. This meant that a standard depth worktop then did not cover the base units as well as they should. The moral? - check the walls first!

[stolt]

thanks for all the replies, its the kind of stuff i wanted to hear before starting the job.

still daunted by it.

i'm trying to figure out the right size screw to fix it in the rawlplugs....

i'm trying to choose the right screw to order from toolstation website.

I guess 3.5inch or indeed 4 inch might be better for me...


Stainless Single Thread Pozi Screw
Catalogue p76Top quality A2 stainless steel.
Code Delivered Leigh-on-Sea Price inc VAT
92142 Stainless Single Thread Pozi Screw 3.5x16 200 Pack 48 1 £3.65
83584 Stainless Single Thread Pozi Screw 3.5x20 200 Pack 50+ 5 £3.72
91987 Stainless Single Thread Pozi Screw 3.5x25 200 Pack 50+ 4 £3.85
98610 Stainless Single Thread Pozi Screw 4x25 200 Pack 50+ 4 £4.17
47194 Stainless Single Thread Pozi Screw 4x30 200 Pack 50+ 2 £4.87
30115 Stainless Single Thread Pozi Screw 4x40 200 Pack 50+ 4 £5.96
76614 Stainless Single Thread Pozi Screw 5x40 200 Pack 50+ 1 £8.98
93733 Stainless Single Thread Pozi Screw 5x50 200 Pack 50+ 1 £10.44


Stainless Self Tapping Countersunk Pozi
Catalogue p75Top quality A2 stainless steel. Selection pack available (Code 86732).
Code Delivered Leigh-on-Sea Price inc VAT
94733 Stainless Self Tapping Countersunk Pozi 6x1/2 100 Pack 42 8 £1.90
70685 Stainless Self Tapping Countersunk Pozi 6x3/4 100 Pack 50+ 5 £2.30
31732 Stainless Self Tapping Countersunk Pozi 6x1 100 Pack 50+ 3 £1.86
49422 Stainless Self Tapping Countersunk Pozi 8x3/4 100 Pack 26 3 £2.57
73874 Stainless Self Tapping Countersunk Pozi 8x1 100 Pack 50+ 3 £3.00
34724 Stainless Self Tapping Countersunk Pozi 8x1.1/4 100 Pack 26 2 £3.53
88891 Stainless Self Tapping Countersunk Pozi 8x1.1/2 100 Pack 50+ 7 £3.74
18348 Stainless Self Tapping Countersunk Pozi 10x1.1/4 100 Pack 50+ 4 £3.95
71581 Stainless Self Tapping Countersunk Pozi 10x1.1/2 100 Pack 23 2 £4.81

[Skyedriver]

Arthur Jackson said:

Try to get a tap with proper copper not flexi-hoses, the thickness of sinks these days mean the tap needs all the help it can get to avoid wobbling about.

+1

[Skyedriver]

Ikea kitchen quality is very good with a 25 year guarentee now or had when I bought mine.
There are differences however between them and other makers units. Sizes and lack of service area behind the cabinets for a start. That said it didn't worry me, and found them easier than Magnet stuff although Magnet is often factory built.
As for plumbing, I always used to use compression joints cos I too was useless at solder ones however of late i have found compression joints leak or won't seal properly.
A friend a Jewsons suggested Hep2O joints and so far they have been great. Also with the flexi pipe you can sometimes get away with working around units with less joints. A professional plumber my decry them but as someone else said "it works for me"

[Accelebrate]

Skyedriver said:

Arthur Jackson said:

Try to get a tap with proper copper not flexi-hoses, the thickness of sinks these days mean the tap needs all the help it can get to avoid wobbling about.

+1

I had this problem. You can buy tap stabilisation brackets, or fabricate one yourself. Mine's rock solid now.

[singlecoil]

Silvertop_John said:

I realise that some will love IKEA units but, having helped my son fit his kitchen with them, I would never use them out of choice. They may be OK for a new "factory built" house with square and vertical walls, but in an older property they can be a pain in the butt. One thing that caught us out was that the base units are designed as 600mm boxes, so there is no scope for running pipes behind them, or coping with plastered walls which are not properly vertical. We found that we had walls which met the base units low down, flared back and left a gap at the top. This meant that a standard depth worktop then did not cover the base units as well as they should. The moral? - check the walls first!

Some very good points there, only one thing to add for anyone reading this, don't rely on new builds to be straight, vertical or square.

[stolt]

thanks for all the replies, has anyone used the copper push fittings

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Plumbing/Copper+Pu...

for the amount i need it I will probably buy two lengths of copper pipe from homebase and either use the compression or pushfit fittings to connect up.

And one of these for the washing machine, Y piece
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Plumbing/Washing+M...

and this sort of thing for the trap on the sink and can connect the washing waste directly into that from the other side.
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Plumbing/Washing+M...

[schmokin1]

i used ikea for my 20 odd unit kitchen.

Pros: solid, easy to assemble, reasonably priced (in 2007). Well packaged, good support if fittings etc missing. Has stood up well to usual toddler abuse! Good range of trim bits to make it look 'custom' fitted. Helpful fiting DVD / online guides. Good online 3D planning tool.

Cons: no space behind for pipes (PITA). Units are sized so that ordinary worktop is not deep enough
to have an overhang over doors. Doors and drawers are ikea only sized so you can't replace doors with other types at a future date for a remodel, unless you get them custom made.

My verdict: good if the build is straightforward, a bit tricky if you have off plumb walls or plumbing runs along walls (i think swedish houses must have pipes coming up vertically from floors).

[Chris Type R]

I've used Ikea carcasses in my kitchen. They seem better made than the units from B&Q which when I was looking had some hideous pattern embossed on the chipboard.

They're not too difficult to modify the odd one or two carcasses if you need space behind for pipes. You can do this if you've got a circular saw, a straight bit of wood for a guide, and a drill.

I'd agree with the above post about the counter top overhang not being too deep. Mine IIRC are in line with the doors.

I had given the previous kitchen a make over with doors from B&Q. These fitted the Ikea cupboards and drawers without too much (if any) modification iirc.

[Chris Type R]

stolt said:

thanks for all the replies, its the kind of stuff i wanted to hear before starting the job.

still daunted by it.

IIRC when I did mine I used sleeve anchors for the wall cabinets - something like - http://www.screwfix.com/p/fischer-fsa-sleeve-ancho...

[stolt]

thanks ever so for all the replies, really appreciated. I will definatley check out the sleeve anchors for fitting the wall units up.

[Mojooo]

Just to bump this slightly.

If you fix the units in place first is the easiest way to get around unflush walls and service pipes to just buy a bigger worktop from elsewhere?

If you opt to fit the unit away from the wall in order to allow pipes to run behind then does that not affect the strength of the connection as the units will not be connected to the wall? Also how do you cover up end cabinets if they are sticking out as a result of moving them away from the wall?

As mentioned above, what is the ideal place for pipes to be? Not running behind but right in the floor coming upwards?

I just need to sort out my gas pipe which I think will have to come up behind the built under cooker and then into the hob somehow.

[Crafty_]

On most units I've seen the back of the unit is slightly forwards, thus leaving a small void (big enough for pipes) to go behind, the sides of the cabinet still meet up to the wall, letting you still fix the cabinet to the wall.

like this (noted as service void):



I guess if the units don't have that you could alter the unit to have it.

[Mojooo]

I think all IKEA units just have a totally flush flat back.

I spose I could just cut the pipe into the unit.

I belive IKEA units are also meant to conenct to the wall as they connect to a rail which is on the wall.