Home DIY

Am I being fussy?

As @withered_preacher says no. I'm assuming that the £2.5k is labour for fitting it and doesn't include units appliances sinks worktops etc. Its a lot of money and something you have to live with for a long time.

I would feel pretty uncomfortable fitting a kitchen for a client in the basis of a couple of texts. At the very least I would want some kind of layout drawing, but would prefer the client to have signed off on comprehensive plans that include things like socket locations as well as a render of what the finished kitchen should look like. Even with a good plan stuff can go wrong and things may need to be changed but you have a solid starting point. As the old saying goes "fail to plan, plan to fail"

Just labour, kitchen cost 6k no electricals.

We paid £1,500 for fitting a £5k Howdens kitchen. It was another £600 for the electrician but he did do some extra stuff like fit outside lights and sockets and there was quite a lot of first fix work... Tiling and plastering more again on top.

Worth every penny though as the kitchen is pretty much millimeter perfect in a very non-square room.

An expensive kitchen fitted badly looks much worse than a cheap kitchen fitted well is the mantra, I think.

Did you have the plasterboard work carried out as per your post from a year ago?

If not and it's held off for a year I'd be tempted to treat it with a fungicide. T tree oil works well and is natural / non toxic.

The problem is that the spores of some kinds of household mould can lie dormant for a long time so even if you have now created an atmosphere that is less hospitable to it, it can still flare up. Best thing to do is be vigilant and check regularly and clean if necessary, it may take a couple of cycles of this to fully eliminate the problem

Option 2 sounds interesting. So sand it flat, apply lining paper and paint? I have no experience with lining paper, can a noob do it?

An expensive kitchen fitted badly looks much worse than a cheap kitchen fitted well

This. With kitchens you need quality in the touch points (worktops, door handles etc.) And for it to be well fitted and pleasing to the eye. If this is done well a £5k can look and feel as good as a £30k custom kitchen.

Yes a noob can do it. The type I'm using at the moment is expensive but I've never found it easier. I have a big tub of ready mixed paste which makes life a bit easier but you probably won't want to fork out for one of those just to do a wall or even one room.

Erfurt variovlies is the wallpaper, it doesn't stretch or shrink and the finish is like cartridge paper so you get a great paint finish. (decoratingdirect.co.uk) Advantages of using this are you don't have to soak the paper to stop it shrinking on the wall.

If you do go with packet wallpaper paste mix it exactly by the instructions and make sure you give it enough time to get rid of lumps.

Make sure you prime the walls with something, I use Gardz but you can use wallpaper paste or PVA, this will stop the filler from soaking up all the paste.

Then paste the wall with a roller or big brush, don't paste the whole wall just work ahead of yourself one sheet at a time.

Measure the height of the wall and cut a piece of lining paper about 100mm longer, measure twice, cut once! Place the wallpaper on the wall and smooth out with Zinsser walwiz or a paperhangers brush.

Have a very sharp knife, Olfa do a specialised one with a thin blade, the blades get blunt very quickly and you won't be able to trim the paper properly if they are not razor sharp. You can use the smoother to get a clean cut.

While it drys you might get bubbles, don't play with them they will most likely disappear when it drys. It's very common to have loose edges where the glue gets squeezed out or is dry because of handling the paper onto the wall. Fix those seams with a decorators syringe full of wallpaper paste.

If you do get set up with paper and paste and a few tools to do this job you'll probably end up wanting to do it everywhere.

One other big consideration is keeping everything clean when you are doing this. You need the walls to be clean of any bits so sand lightly and check (some people do this with by running a hand covered with stocking over the wall). Make sure the floor is covered and the covers are clean. Any little bits that get on the back of the wallpaper or in the paste will stand out, you can not get rid of them once the wallpaper is up.

Most people get caught out coping with corners, lightswitches, plug sockets etc. There are plenty of tutorials but I always remove the sockets and switched from the wall and bag them in plastic bags. Do be cautious if you go this route. Coping with switches and sockets is the toughest part of the job to get right. If you find yourself messing about you can always add more glue but be careful about small pieces of plaster getting in to the glue from the edge of the sockets!

https://www.decoratingdirect.co.uk/viewprod/z/ZINWALW/
https://www.decoratingdirect.co.uk/viewprod/m/MAVNWLPV/
https://www.decoratingdirect.co.uk/viewprod/o/OLFA_12-5MM_WALLPAPER_CUTTING_KNIFE/

Ok, was not aware of the size of that post before I hit the button. Apologies to anyone not taking on a paper hanging job :)

very helpful post for me as i'm thinking of re-doing lining paper. Is there a paste that is resistant to heat / moisture? The lining paper i have is peeling off around our radiators, i'd guess from where we've been drying clothes etc

I've not come across one but I'm guessing you could stick your current wallpaper down if you paste the back of it.

It probably is caused by the extra moisture from clothes drying but often those areas are poorly adhered anyway, that happens for a few reasons but if you are pasting in the winter with the radiators on then the paste might have dried out a bit before you get the paper stuck on the wall. Also where you apply and then lift the paper to cut it which is common above radiators it can make the paste a bit less effective.

we didnt no, this is the first time its come back so ive just cleaned everything out with vinegar and then bit of soapy water, if i have to do this every 6mo-year i guess its better than 2 grand

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Well the kitchen saga continues, the inside of the units are the wrong colour. The unit sizes on the wall are three different sizes so look wrong. We can have them replaced for the ordered units but have to wait 6 weeks and they wont pay for the removal and reinstall.

The gaps around the dishwasher are massive and looks shit. Got told that the gap is 25mm either side. Which is wrong for a dishwasher, most spec 10mm each side to fit the units.

Worktops are the wrong length so 2 weeks till the kitchen can be finished.

So arguements as this dream kitchen isn't but a nightmare.

The unit sizes on the wall are three different sizes so look wrong. We can have them replaced for the ordered units but have to wait 6 weeks and they wont pay for the removal and reinstall.

If it's their fuck up they pay, simples.

The gaps around the dishwasher are massive and looks shit.

A competent chippy/kitchen fitter should be able to make good this using decor panels as infill.

Out of curiosity where did you get the kitchen from?

Homebase kuchen mobile range. Supposed to be German made. They were delivered by nobilia...so suspect they made it.

These are with infill panels.

EDIT: Not sure if I make sense, or less so than usual. This is pobaly going to end up as the final nail in the coffin of the relationship.

Finally, an electronic screwdriver.
I'm assuming it is reassuringly expensive.

It's eye watering. From memory the full kit is about £350.Target market seems to be 60+yr old electricians who are bored with unscrewing switch plates for EICR's. Apparently it's quite popular with that demographic.

Finally! I've been having to make do with screwdriver attachments on a cordless combi drill.

Now I can have all the benefits of...what exactly?

Now I can have all the benefits of...what exactly?

Obviously ...

But being serious, I assume the target is for employers to give to employees in situations where they are doing many many screws, and knowing that they are within a calibrated torque range will help for some reliability/liability stuff

The calibrated torque range is part of the recommendations for electricians working on consumer units. Loose screws or screws that loosen due to AC pulsing are a major cause of arcing and arcing is one of the big reasons for house fires.

I did meet an electrician who had been using one of these at the show, he had tendonitus from a lifetime of unscrewing and screwing stuff so it was very helpful for him.

Once the price comes down they will be great stocking fillers.

As an aside, don't keep flammable materials in proximity to your consumer unit. White spirits, aerosols, thinners etc help to turn an arcing fuse board into an inferno pretty rapidly. Especially pertinent when the consumer unit is in a cupboard under the main means of evacuation.

Once the price comes down they will be great main Christmas presents.

Ftfy

Wiha is never cheap.