How do I bathroom / kitchen / extension? etc.

Use a Mapei grout instead, with matching Mapei sealant.

Sounds like a great idea. They don't do a pink though.

Ikea cabinets + 3rd party fronts - what are the gotchas? Do any funny cabinet dimensions play well with other manufacturers sinks/hobs/appliances?

There's not really any funny dimensions I think, if we're talking about metod?
They are on the higher side for kitchen cabinets,which is a good thing, and many other manufacturers do the same.
Higher means integrated dishwashers need a funky door mechanism. Loads around, but confusing.

Thanks, that's something to look out for. Considering going freestanding on the dishwasher as we already have a decent one and fidget is tight plus form<function maybe.

Lack of space for pipes/wiring behind is something a few people have pointed out, but I think we might be alright on that front.

My wife was concerned about fridge fitting in their cabinets if we go for a 3rd party one but I assume they must be standardised right? Again my preference is probably freestanding.

There's loads of dishwashers that fit, but you have to dig for the info. I'd change ours for a new kitchen as it's really old and loud, but wouldn't if we had something nice.
Regarding fridge, I recently almost started crying when I saw how much space there is in the freestanding equivalent of our inbuilt one that's not built in. We have a normal high Siemens with freezer underneath, and the thing is not big enough for two adults with a foodie problem.

Don't know about pipes, but UK seems to have a thing about pipes in the way. Germany the pipe comes out the wall, and that's where your sink goes ;-).

Getting a door onto an integrated dishwasher in an IKEA kitchen is a fucking nightmare.

Get an integrated dishwasher that looks good with the door off because guaranteed you will end up with the door propped up against a nearby unit.

Or just get a freestanding dishwasher.

IKEA Metod got it right with the low plinth height and no service void; maximum cabinet volume and you just set the cabinets 50/100mm off the wall and have a deeper worktop.

Services being just pipes really right? Wires get buried in the wall. The sink and dishwasher are going right next to the water inlet & drain, washing machine moving to the utility aka garage. Can't really think of much else beyond plumbing in my coffee machine which I can live without.

Just get an AEG, they all have sliding door mechanisms as standard and are a piece of piss to integrate into a Metod kitchen; just did it myself.

A few other manufacturers also have limited ranges of models with standard sliding door mechanisms.

get one of these, they're easy to fit
https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/behjaelplig-sliding-hinge-fully-int-dishwasher-60492349/

Which 3P front companies are you looking at?

I fitted ours. The door went on fine, all lines up, but you're meant to put a couple of screws up through the top of the dishwasher into the worktop. I'd extended the feet pretty much as far as they could go but it was still about 10cm short so ended up wedging a piece of wood between it and the worktop. Seems to work fine but not sure what I did wrong.

Nearly there.

2 Attachments

Fuck.

1 Attachment

On the other side of the door… walls down and patched. Ready for paint.

1 Attachment

Shit! What happened there?

That aside, banging upgrade. Great use of the space now.

At least it's freestanding.

Think it was the delivery company. Unfortunately outside of return window for damage.

Installer took the plastic covering off today and it all came apart. Looked fine when I checked it at delivery. £500 for a new one being delivered next Tuesday.

That's what we had, the plastic hooks on the door kept breaking.

New house doesn't have a proper kitchen yet but when it does we might look at AEG or the Miele outlet

What a bastard.

You'll have forgotten all about it after the first bath.

Siemens also have the sliding door fixture.

If 40k kitchening again I'd probably just do Miele outlet to match the oven and combi

Yeah, those IKEA sliding door kits are a bit shit, and look weird.

I bought an AEG 6000 series dishwasher from John Lewis for £430 (reduced from £750), using gift vouchers from our wedding. It’s the only brand new appliance I’ve ever bought in my life.

Sliding mechanism was a piece of piss to fit the door onto and integrate into our Metod kitchen, and the dishwasher itself is very good… auto-open door for air drying, everything comes out spotless.

Contents insurance for accidental damage?