Kitchen upgrade

BoardsMember

We have a really old kitchen and are planning doing a bit if a half @ssed job, knock a couple of walls, but beyond that spend as little as possible.

One of the things the extra space will allow is an island or a peninsula. We'll be keeping the old units that are there already, so we either need to get a carpenter do build the unit for us, or else buy an off-the-shelf one and get a carpenter to fit & tie in the loose ends.

Anyone been through this? I dont fancy going into a posh kitchen shop and tell them all I am looking for is an island!

Dtoffee

Firstly, if you are taking down walls be very careful as you will more than likely need to install an RSJ (steel joist) to support the weight overhead..... get a few builders to quote and you will be surprised what you will learn in the conversations.

As for the island, a simple idea is to leave part of the wall you are knocking down as a back for your island but allow 200mm extra height over and above your normal countertop height, then buy your base units and fix them to the wall. You can then fit your countertop and fit a second one on top of the wall with an overhang for your chairs to fit under.

Ikea will sell you whatever you require and are a strurdy build, most kitchen suppliers will sell you an island as a seperate but it will cost more as you are not buying a full kitchen.

Another issue to bear in mind is electrics .... you will need a lot of sockets, so budget for them.

best of luck, hope it all goes to plan.

BoardsMember

Thanks very much Dtoffee, very helpful advice.

The wall we are knocking is defining too narrow a space for the current kitchen cooking area, so I'm not sure we have the option of leaving that as the back for an island, but there's no reason we can't use this type of approach for a peninsula type thing.

Agreed on the electrics, and the potential need for an RSJ, but the builder has said it looks ok, and has given us a price for an RSJ if it happens to be needed. He's a reliable guy, we know people he has done jobs for in the past.

Dtoffee

but the builder has said it looks ok :eek:

I know I sound like safety joe here, but building laws are changing all the time and saturday brings in the next lot of new laws that include certificates of compliance. To be devils advocate, lets just say you go ahead and knock the wall on the advice of your builder (dont forget, its a brick wall for a reason) and he completes the job. What come back will you have if you end up with ceiling coming down and a bed on your kitchen table?

Im not trying to wind you up here, these things have happened and for peace of mind .... I would suggest you phone a few other builders and ask them to quote. I would be amazed if they dont suggest an RSJ and to be honest, its possible that your builder is just getting his foot inside the door before he goes and discovers that on further inspection you in fact do need an RSJ.

Put it like this, if you go ahead and the worst happens ..... is your builder tax compliant and fully insured ? will he be financially able to make good your house or will he just say its your fault for chosing the no rsj option? More importantly, I can guarantee you that your insurance company will NOT pay out on a claim where shoddy workmanship has been signed off by the homeowner.... home insurance is a nightmare to claim off and most people only find out when its too late (believe me I have experience of this).

Regards
Safety Joe