Kitchen's Kitchen

excited?

Totally... it's a huge thing, but the work needs to happen anyway to solve so many problem with the existing kitchen, and it's going to make a qualitative improvement to me and make this a far happier space for me :)

I assume you're planning on staying there for a long time? This kind of premium work doesn't tend to translate well to uplifted property values but if you're planning to be there a long time and it's important to you then go for it.

Yes. I realised I'd need to spend £25k on a cheap job (because of the plumbing, electrics, boiler issues, ripping up the floor, etc)... and really the +£30k difference is me thinking I am not moving from here for a significant period of time - a decade or two perhaps, so going for super high quality to make that a low cost of ownership with few to no surprises, at the cost of a high expenditure now.

For me, aside from all of the existing problems - that end of the house doesn't feel like a home to me. I want it to. I want it to be a space that emotionally entices me to be in there, I want to want to be in there. The colours, the materials, the quality, the light, the atmosphere in there... all of it contribute to being a space in which I want to be.

If you get that, it's money well spent.

A list of trades you used and whether you'd recommend them would be super helpful for me (hopefully in the not too distant future). If you can be arsed/want to share such a thing.

We have a great bathroom and kitchen fitter if needed. We would recommend them without hesitation. Plus he's a roadie and can talk bikes.

Awesome, thanks. Maybe an idea for a thread (if it doesn't already exist) so as to not derail this one. Just a place where people can ask for or drop recommendations. Might take some noise out of the Owning Your Own Home thread too.

Yeah I had said the same thing on the OYOH thread

There is one. It's not the most popular https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/291015/?offset=25#comment15405305

Final plans approved... deposit paid... builder approved... now waiting to find out from them talking about when this will all happen.

This morning's surprise, underlining the need for the work... a perished hose within the boiler leaking water over the boiler and causing a little rust to the case. Potential for it to be condemned immediately... and it turns out the flue isn't even long enough and might be leaking into the room.

Plumber is here still evaluating how bad this is.

Leaking carbon monoxide into the kitchen... so the current setup is going to require remedial work just to get it through to January.

Carbon monoxide leak is registering at 175ppm around the flue, it should be below 10ppm (so says the Pimlico engineer) and above 6ppm should be cause for investigation anyway just to determine source and safety level.

If this sounds wrong to anyone please say... but yup, his device is showing 175ppm when the hot water is heating, which is solidly in the not good area. The flue is basically venting directly into the kitchen (as well as outside).

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Edit: just seen you’ve amended your post - turn it off and open the window!

Anything above 35ppm and I get people out of a confined space at work. Any reading at all and we’d prefer not to have anyone inside.

For an indication of cost, we recently paid just over £3k for a 35kw high-end Vaillant combi with smart controls, power flush, new thermostatic valves across the house and a new bedroom radiator. There was a fair bit of work involved in re-routing pipes/etc - they were here for three days IIRC.

just seen you’ve amended your post - turn it off and open the window!

Yeah, it went higher :D

All windows in the kitchen open, and he's off to buy a new flue, pipe and siphon... the boiler will be OK until it's replaced in January as it's not failing on other fronts.

But the flue... I mean fuck, this thing has been leaking since installation because it doesn't even fit and never has done. I have service records going back a decade and not one engineer caught this.

At least it's going to be good after today, but this is today's four figure surprise.

Blimey. Seems not too bad to have caught it now. In all this grimness, 'naseau' and 'fagitue' made me laugh, though (at 200ppm in the table). :)

Do you have a CO2 alarm? (Or rather did you, I'm sure you do now!)

Yes.

I have a Nest Protect, but apparently a carbon monoxide alarm must be within 1m of the boiler to get an accurate reading. Mine is located 5m away and has not triggered. I've moved it close to test and it triggered.

Lesson here: If your alarm isn't close to the boiler it is worthless.

Cheers, that's interesting. Given that smoke alarms are generally in the middle of the room and boilers at the edge that does seem to make combined ones a bit useless.

Nightmare scenario. Glad you're okay and have found it now so it can be sorted.

I never understood the appeal of Nest Protect. I mean I get it, smart home and all, but they're inferior to a proper panel hard wired system and you're better off saving your money and asking your local Fire and Rescue Service for a free home fire safety visit, where they'll also fit free smoke alarms and advise best places for CO alarms too.

I have two of these FireAngel 7 year CO alarms, one near the boiler and one near the gas fire

paired that with 10 year heat alarm in the kitchen (middle of ceiling) and lined the escape route from the bedroom with 10 year smoke alarms; in my case that is the living room, and communal landing on each level.

I used to have one, being able to mute it whilst cooking was convenient as was the warning it was about to go off but it was still a bit finicky.

Eventually though I needed something that complied with building regulations so ended up with a load of mains powered, hard wired ones.

Knowing if your fire alarm is going when you're out of the house, whilst also having it auto turn-on a camera and show you what's happening within the house is a good feature.

Nice.

Will pick up one of those FireAngel CO alarms in addition to the Nest... it's this one, right? https://amzn.to/2HRw1dd

that's the one.

didn't realise there was a camera, or is that linking it with another device?