How do I bathroom / kitchen / extension? etc.

space in the skip

And there's probably an item in your invoice where you're paying for cost of waste disposal. Tell them to take it back at their own cost.

I've already paid for the 8yd skip. If there's space then they might as well use it.

I'm trying to remain calm, pleasant and polite, despite dealing with a whole litany of fuckwittery.

At least it got caught before they were fitted. Speaking from experience when there were massive supply problems with electrical goods around COVID time you've had a lucky break in not finding out the templated hole for your hob needed recutting once in situ. My god 😂

I hate this as I hate waste, have it recut for a backsplash/upstand/window sill/ vanity top or give it to somebody who can do something with it @dbr ?

Is there a fool proof way of telling whether a bit of oak has been oiled? I ordered a window board recently and paid a little extra for Danish oil treatment..but I'm not that convinced. It has that sort of dry dusty feeling that bare wood has...

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Doesn’t look oiled to me.

Wait until the kids put a drink on it......

Also - I want a few shelves in this space. A few small plants, pictures, and a smart speaker. Does the staggered look feel more correct (rather than having 3 all the same size)

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Made for Vitsoe 606

All looking really good. How much more to do?

It's coming along. Kitchen nearly done - just sockets and appliance wiring in really.

Few more windows to be installed upstairs. Other small things like threshold bars etc. Should be good when done, maybe another ten days?

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As for systems - I'm thinking floating oak, mostly to match the sill/wood elsewhere

Me too, but the backsplash is going to be glass, and the quartz on the window sill is a different thickness, and also needs to be recut. Apparently there's only one piece which is potentially reusable, and they don't think there's any real chance of finding it a home. It probably doesn't help being out in the wilderness of the Fens. Limited market.

Appliances were all from Gumtree, FB marketplace, local MILF/DILF WhatsApp groups etc.

Ended up with a 1 year old Fisher Paykel fridge from a Grammy-winner techno producer whose wife ripped their brand new kitchen out and re-did it cos she didn’t like bits of it. Twin Bosch ovens from two dudes in Crawley who did the same thing. A Neff induction hob and Miele extractor from someone who’s mum had to rip it out after getting a pacemaker. All still in warranty.

Dishwasher is a brand new (discounted) AEG with sliding door mechanism, bought using John Lewis vouchers we got for our wedding. First and only new appliance I’ve ever bought.

My dad has an induction hob and a pacemaker... (both for several years) should I be concerned?
The hob seems to require quite close range to induce a current/heat, it's not like he's resting on it.

Should also be noted that you can't take your induction hob into an MRI scan

NHS guidelines are to keep a gap of 60 cm between the induction hob and the pacemaker. The electro magnetic field generated by the hob can interfere with some pacemakers.

Are all the Pinterest islands/peninsulas/ breakfast bars designed too low, or is the key to just use less tall stools? Google tells me height should be around 1m, but then this kind of thing looks better than a step in worksurface height:

Standard worktop height is 900mm, can go a bit higher if it's a tall household. Bar stools seem to be quite tall but I always make them around 620mm. For a dining chair you want 300mm from seat height to table height, can be a little less for a bar stool.

tl:dr - find / get me to make lower bar stools

i got my worktops at 970mm (i'm 198cm tall) and DIY kitchens sent me extra panels to be ripped into taller plinths. Worked out well.

We bought counter stools for our island. The height is between 600-640 mm from memory - like @dbr says
Bar stools are much too high to fit under a kitchen worktop.

Ah yes I've come across this kind of counter/barstool categorisation just last week come to think of it. We're not giants so I think standard height counters and lower stools will work well and is probably my preference visually. Thanks guys.

found myself chuckling at the roughcaster who thought this would be acceptable

I really like the idea of the matching the surround with the other windows but there's about 40mm difference between the two sides. He's going to come back and fix ASAP

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Jaunty artisanal finish, I’m into it.

How are the Klar doors?

They are great tbh. I haven't really operated the pictured one yet as there's a 80cm drop from the floor to the ground (will be decked out eventually)

But the back door that we replaced is great. Reassuringly weighty. My builders were all marvelling at it (although also moaning because of the weight!). That's been the general theme of their response to the windows and the doors.

This is probably as much to do with the shitty quality of the old glazing but the place is already massively easier to heat and the noise transfer is night and day. Having seen how windows are actually installed now (at least in old buildings like mine) i'm astonished that airtightness tape isn't the standard everywhere. My guys also sort of grumbled (politely) about it but applied it diligently enough.

Are kitkat tiles a bad idea for a backsplash? I like them visually but wondering if they're a pain to wipe down