Kitchen worktop replacement
Discussion
Good afternoon
I am considering selling my flat in the not too distant future.
I want the kitchen to look nice, without spending a fortune on it.
I have repainted all the wooden doors and replaced the handles and would now like to replace the worktop (it is currently tiled chipboard!).
My questions:
1). Should I buy the worktop seperately? IKEA seem to do cheap ones.
2). In line with above, I was thinking of pre-treated oak wood. Would it be better to go for a laminate alternative? The flat isn't really at a price point that would warant granite or expensive finish (2 bed flat in Fulham).
2). Can anyone recomend someone to caryy out the work? As mentioned, I am in Fulham SW6, London.
As always, many thanks in advance.
I am considering selling my flat in the not too distant future.
I want the kitchen to look nice, without spending a fortune on it.
I have repainted all the wooden doors and replaced the handles and would now like to replace the worktop (it is currently tiled chipboard!).
My questions:
1). Should I buy the worktop seperately? IKEA seem to do cheap ones.
2). In line with above, I was thinking of pre-treated oak wood. Would it be better to go for a laminate alternative? The flat isn't really at a price point that would warant granite or expensive finish (2 bed flat in Fulham).
2). Can anyone recomend someone to caryy out the work? As mentioned, I am in Fulham SW6, London.
As always, many thanks in advance.
My advice would be to leave it. If it is really bad then choose the cheapest option. Or maybe choose a suitable distraction from the work surface when showing people around. Chances are the person who buys your flat will change the kitchen when they move in. When I bought my flat the kitchen looked great but in fact it is not functional. In my last house I was going to change the kitchen. One estate agent advised me to save my money as most people change a kitchen once they move in. I didn't and the person who bought the house thought the one I had was great.
depending on the size you need, go to your local Wickes. I have just put 6 meters (2 x 3 meter lengths) of really nice looking worktop in my garage at a total cost of £50!
Wickes have a clearance part for worktops that is usually in the same area as their new worktops (anytime I've seen it, it is anyway!) and they sell off 'slightly damaged' worktops for either £25 or £30 per 3 meter length - the ones I bought had a dent about 1/4 inch long on one length and a chip about 1/2 the size of a 5p peice on the other!
Wickes have a clearance part for worktops that is usually in the same area as their new worktops (anytime I've seen it, it is anyway!) and they sell off 'slightly damaged' worktops for either £25 or £30 per 3 meter length - the ones I bought had a dent about 1/4 inch long on one length and a chip about 1/2 the size of a 5p peice on the other!
I'm putting in new solid wood worktops in my house and am getting walnut. Found a place on the net that sells 3m lengths for about 200 quid. I think if you're selling your flat then a good worktop can make a difference. I sold a flat and had it valued before getting new carpets fitted and a general spruce up and the differencein the valuation was about 5k and I'd only spent 1k on it.
Laminate worktop needs a special jig and router (and a good deal of practice) to execute the corner joint that this type of worktop needs. Kitchen fitters rather than kitchen shops are what you need for this.
Wooden worktops are supplied square edged and joining these is simpler, but still requires care and ideally some practice.
Wooden worktops are supplied square edged and joining these is simpler, but still requires care and ideally some practice.
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