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| Cupboards assembled ready for fitting |
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We did a lot of preparation prior to Keith coming to fit the new kitchen.
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| Kitchen contents in the guest room |
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| We made a temporary micro kitchen in the living room |
This is the room Vickie and Jerry will sleep in - so hopefully it will be clear before they arrive!
The night before Keith was due to start I painted the ceiling white and the walls grape - a bold choice we felt, but it looks really nice with the white tiles and black worktop.
Day one - Keith spent the first day dismantling the kitchen - he brought down a couple of the new units so I could see how they would look.
Day two saw all the base units fitted into place - starting to look good! Sam fitted a new black nickel light switch, which looks very swish! The gaps are for appliances - which will all be integrated.
However day three was not so good - after much measuring Keith started to hang the wall units. He got three in place but at the end of the day realised the measuring was out and the units were too far to the right. This meant a cupboard had been modified for the ducting that didn't need to be! Keith had also forgotten to put the Deco panels in place. He arranged for reinforcements to come and help him on day four! Sam was not pleased when she got home from work - but we went out to celebrated our 6th anniversary and forget about the kitchen for a while. When we got home we had both decided there was no point to stressing!
Day four was Saturday. The kitchen was meant to take two men three days - but so far there had only been Keith working on it. Today saw two Polish chippies come to join him. They were certainly skilled and careful workers. They mitred the worktops and cut out for the sink and hob. Today felt as though there had been real progress.
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| Pixel checks out the work |
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| Worktop in place and runners in drawer unit. |
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| Sam cleans the new Neff gas to glass hob |
Day five was very productive - the Polish guys were here again! All the units are now installed, some doors are on and the sink is in - but not yet plumbed. We both love the anthracite sink - it looks great!
Feels like a kitchen now!
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| It is the camera that is not straight ! |
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| Pixel checking out the work again! |
Day six the handles went onto the top cupboards and the pelmet under the cupboards. The plumber came to connect the sink and the hob - which means the oven can go in tomorrow!
Day seven and the oven is now in place and a cupboard that needed repairing has been. Sam and I spent the evening fitting the door to the dishwasher - which was a real mission due to the position of the door in relation to the panelling - but we did it!
Day eight saw the cooker hood go up - sadly not quite evenly in the gap so it will have to be moved over. The washing machine and fridge went in also - but Sam took them out again in the evening so that she could make up the tiling level to make it easier to move the appliances in the future.
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| Making level the tiles |
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| Washing machine ready to go in |
Day nine saw the socket for the cooker hood moved over and the hood repositioned. Also the oven was lowered slightly to line it up with the drawers on its left and close the gap between the oven and the oven drawer below it. Sam and I had a trip to Ikea to get a few extras - including hinges. When we got home we manoeuvred the washing machine and fridge back into place. I took some photos - but they seen to have gone!
Day ten saw Keith make good the tiling - around the extractor hood and behind where the fridge-freezer used to be. He also put the door on the cupboard over the sink.
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| Door on under sink cupboard |
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| Tiling round cooker complete |
Day eleven was Saturday and Keith was not here - however work on the kitchen continued. Sam and I made good the backs of the modified corner cupboards and cut shelves to fit them. We also cut a shelf to fit round the electric box in one cupboard. Sam then fitted the two carousel shelves into the big corner cupboard - so that just needs a door now. Sam then fitted the ducting but hit a hitch when she got to connecting it to the extractor hood. Keith had removed the duct from the top of the hood and plaster had fallen inside and was rattling around inside the fan. One of the nuts that connect the duct had also fallen down inside. This meant the hood had to come down off the wall and be completely stripped down to get the bits out of the fan. I took the opportunity to clean some of the components. The extractor hood was a great buy from ebay, so has been used - so it was good to have the chance to make sure it was all clean. Once this was done Sam fixed it back on the wall.
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| Ducting in place for hood |
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| Back of cupboard made good |
Day twelve - our second Sunday without a kitchen. Sam fitted the door to the carousel cupboard and also worked out how the fridge door fitted on. This is a work in progress - the afternoon was spent away from the kitchen!
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| Doors in place |
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| Carousel fitted |
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| New under counter fridge |
Day thirteen - Monday again! When I got home from work at 1.30 Keith said he had only just got there as he had had to take his wife to the dentist. He then went off to get the washing machine door re routed out - as the holes he had made were in the wrong place. He said the template was misleading! Once back Keith fitted the door on the washing machine and put on the remaining handles.
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| Handles on drawer unit |
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| Handles on corner cupboard and fridge |
Day fourteen - Keith said he would be here for the morning as he had to go to London in the afternoon. I didn't see him today as I was at work. When I got home I found he had completed the little bit of tiling above the worktop and clamped a little shelf in place in the gap between the cupboard and wall. This will be used to store trays on.
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| Last bit of tiling above worktop - just needs grouting! |
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| Shelf for trays |
Day fifteen - hopefully the last day of kitchen fitting, however at 9.20 still no sign of Keith!
Jobs remaining -
- Tiling above the extractor hood
- Grouting of new tiling
- Plinth
- Fitting filler pieces
- Fixing brackets to correct place in one cupboard
- Sealing back edge of worktop round tiles
Keith arrived at about 12.30 - he had lost his debit card and had to go back to London to try and find it at the venue he went to yesterday. He got straight on with the plinth - and finished part of it! Looks like we are going into day sixteen!
Day sixteen - I was at work until 3.30 and got home to find Keith not there. He had left a note to say he would be back in an hour - he was a bit longer than that! However he had tiled above the cooker hood, grouted and fixed up the chimney. When he returned, Keith said he had had to go because his daughter had had a stroke. Maybe the kitchen will be finished tomorrow!
Day seventeen (Friday) - When I got home at lunch time, Keith had finished the plinth and lined the fridge up properly. He spent the afternoon putting a filler piece in by the window and grouting the last of the tiles. He has promised that Monday will be the last day of kitchen fitting!
Day eighteen (Saturday) - Sam and I fitted the new towel rail to replace the old, rather boring radiator. It was a complicated job and took all day - but looks very nice now it is in place. The plumbing is untested as we have another towel rail to connect in the en suite tomorrow and so we don't want to re-fill the system till then. Hopefully there will be no leaks!
Day nineteen (Sunday) - a day off from the kitchen! Sam fits a towel rain in our en suite instead!
Day twenty (Monday)
Keith finished the tiling under the wall units, put in the last piece of filler and sealed round the edge of the work top - the kitchen is finished at last!
I move the small appliances, food and crockery into the new cupboards. Just a little touching up of paint and some making good round the radiator to go! I am very pleased with the end result - it was worth the wait!
