New Kitchen...Get a fitter or do it myself?

gwjones42

Hi folks,

I've just ordered a new kitchen from Homebase. Money's tight and I'm wondering if installing it myself might help me save some. The kitchen will be delivered completely flatpack...not even the cabinet frames will be assembled and the worktop will need to be cut.

I'm handy enough and have always been able to do my own jobs around my parent's house but am afraid this is taking it too far.

Are there "special" tricks of the trade that kitchen fitters use to get a professional look that I couldn't possibly do with my normal tools, or can anybody who knows their way around a hammer and saw and who takes their time carefully do a good job?

And if so....any tips?

Thanks

P.S. The Plumbing is sorted

Martron

my dad intalled his own.

he would be fairly handy but no craftsman.

would not have had all the proper tools either.

chalk line, spirit level, tape meaure.

i bought him one of those laser levels to do the job. that worked fine.

one thing i would say is that just because you install the cabinets perfectly level does not mean that they will look perfectly level. the ceiling might be off. so you might have to split the difference to make it level and make it look level

gerry28

Hi gwjones42,

What type of kitchen did you get from there? - i was looking at the framed cream one it looks very good.

Let us know if you put it in yourself and how you got on

Cheers

bugsntinas

do it yourself.last year we were lucky enough to get a kitchen from a friend for free =8 base units,6 wall unit,cooker unit and fride freezer unit.never done this before but done it meself.no special tools used apart from good wall fixings as there were no wall studs well three over 15 feet of wall.plumbed in sink and dishwasher and wired up cooker and hob all for free labour.the friend had her new one installed for 1000 euro:eek:

3dsteel

Do it yourself, I installed my own utility room units a few months ago and I'm no chippy! You'll need an extra hand lifting up the wall units but apart from that it's fairly straight forward.

gwjones42

gerry28 wrote: »

Hi gwjones42,

What type of kitchen did you get from there? - i was looking at the framed cream one it looks very good.

Let us know if you put it in yourself and how you got on

Cheers

I was also looking at the framed cream, but I've cancelled my order with Homebase (I hadn't paid yet) after a trip to B&Q showed me I could get a more-or-less identical kitchen for 700 euro less! It's called "ivory"....which sounds a bit vague in that it only describes the colour of the kitchen and nothing else, but it's very similar to the one from HB. Total cost is about 1700 euro instead of 2300 from HB and that includes 14 units, worktops, a sink and taps, (I have the appliances already). The lad in B&Q quoted me 1300 euro extra for fitting and was honest enough to not recommend the service at that price!........Needless to say I'm going to do it myself, but thanks to all the posters for the encouragement to do the job myself. I'll rope my dad into the process of lifting the wall units with me......he's happy to do anything that gets me out of the family house sooner!

Kashkai

DIY is the way to go as its not hard at all apart from manhandling the wall units (I had no help so this was the trickiest part). However, I have solid brick walls so anchoring the wall units in place was easy - I wouldn't fancy this on a stud partition wall as you'd have to find the studs to screw into.

Putting the units together is a piece of p1ss. A must have is a spirit level as you don't want to put down say an apple on the new counter top to have it roll away on you. However, as the base units will (or should have!) adjustable legs, then it will be an easy matter to get a level surface for the counter top, unless your kitchen floor is really skewed. You'll also need a jigsaw to cut out a hole for the sink - just make sure that you seal around the sink well (if using a laminate counter top) or else you'll be replacing your new counter top very soon .

eosirl08

Definetly do it yourself if possible. There really isn't much to it. If you don't feel confident, get a friend that in the carpentry game to walk you through it and you will be flying. Best of luck