Kitchen Fitting?

[Distinterior]

Sorry to resurrect this but....

plinths...

I'm about to embark on one where there are both out of true floors (by 10mm over a 2.4m run) and mitres. In terms of the out of true floors is this method reasonable:

measure under-cupboard to floor height on one side of plinth run and at other side....deduct 10mm for clearance and mark. Join these two lines and then cut the now tapered plinth. I don't need to scribe the floor do I??

It depends on whether the taper is constant ie, a straight taper.

Invariably, the floor may well undulate up & down a bit in the middle of the 2.4m run so you may need to account for that when you mark & cut the plinths.

Personally, i usually scribe all my plinths just to be certain.

Are you fitting any kind of flexible trim/seal on the bottom between the plinths & the floor? If so, this will help to take up any slight discrepancies, but you will have to take the height of the trim into consideration whilst doing the scribing.

 

[screwpainting]

Jesus! Hasn't anyone heard of a datum line?

Run a level line around the whole room at a say 1200 high, use this to establish the highest point on the floor, the level of the heads of windows, cills, door heads and check all connecting floor threshold levels. Absolutely establish, what thickness (including adhesive) the finish flooring is going be, the plinth height as supplied, and the carcass height. Add this total up and set another level line from the highest point of the floor. This will now be the correct level of the top of the carcasses with all the problems with levels identified and allowed for.
I say this because most people invariably choose to go for rectified Porcelain floor tiles and believe me they have to go down perfectly level and flat else they look bloody awful due to the very sharp edges on them and 'they don't bend'.
This is extremely important as once the kitchen is fitted, if you have to level the floor chances are any appliances will not go under the worktop.
Regardless of any other advice, always seal the underside and back edge of any timber based worktops with a good polyurethane,even under the front edge. It takes a few minutes and costs bugger all . Give all cutout edges a good couple of coats and for oak block stuff use an additional sheet of building paper over tumble driers or washing machines for added moisture protection.

If you can, stick a 650 deep top on the sink run, a 700 deep is even better as gives you a really good plumbing void and the sink area has a much cleaner look with the added depth.

Don't underestimate the value of an initial datum line it means you know all the problems before you even set the thing out, gives you accuracy and avoids nasty surprises with floor levels.

Personally we always try to get the customer to let us prep and tile the whole floor first, cover it with Corex or hardboard then fit the kitchen on top.
One tip I would use is, if there are any mdf end panels involved, cut them 5 mm up off the floor, pop a couple of screws to space them up off the floor covering, seal the bottom cut edge, then run a bead of silicon around them to keep water off the ends.

Diy kitchen fitting is easy, its the F/ups you haven't made before that kill the joy. Watch your levels and read everything for plumb and square so you don't get any surprises, seal everything you think may benefit from it and you should at least start right.

Steve

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I should have explained this is an existing kitchen....I'm only replacing old plinths (plastic rubbish)....not fitting the entire kitchen. Thus I'm stuck with whatever the disrepancy in the floor is. Sounds like I have to scribe in case of undulations. Also I'm using sliced up inch thick engineered oak worktop as the plinth so that plastic channelling wont fit since its generally manufactured for 3/4" plinth stock. I guess at a push I could knife the back side off so it still sits under the oak with just the front side to mask any little differences.

 

[Trigs]

Spend time making sure the cabinets are plum and level as this will make the doors fit better, worktops seem difficult but take your time and triple check everything before cutting. Look on gumtree for old worktops and practice cutting them if you can

 

[RossJarvis]

I should have explained this is an existing kitchen....I'm only replacing old plinths (plastic rubbish)....not fitting the entire kitchen. This I'm stuck with whatever the water in the floor is. Sounds like I have to scribe in case of undulations. Also I'm using sliced up inch thick engineered oak worktop as the plinth so that plastic channelling wont fit since its generally manufactured for 3/4" plinth stock. I guess at a push I could knife the back side off so it still sits under the oak with just the front side to mask any little differences.

Without seeing the thing itself it's difficult to comment. If the floor's uneven you may want to scribe the lower surface, but may need to use thin strips of card to fit into the gap for scribing, cutting these first before transferring to the final material. You probably can't fit the finished material in to do a scribe. Then you've got the issues of for-to-back clearance which I can't quite get in my mind. I'm not sure what you mean by the channeling. A picture of the whole thing may help.

depending on the size of kitchen you can hide an awful lot of issues at the top of the plinth as you won't see this bit unless you spend a lot of time lying on the floor. I can recommend Adnam's Broadside for this as you never remember what it was you saw when down there.

 

[Woodmonkey]

Cut your plinth to length. Measure the height at both ends and mark these measurements on the plinth. Put in position in front of the cupboards, set your compass to the highest mark and then shim up the other end so it's the same, scribe your floor line and you're done.

 

[Homerjh]

i fitted a B&Q kitchen when we moved, had the original 1930 kitchen in, so nowhere for cooker, and whilst very nice not practical, so stripped back, someone plastered and was left with 2 square rooms with 2 pipes and a waste outlet.

the doors still are not all straight (will get round to it, only needs a fettle on the hinges...) and the worktop are butt jointed rather than routed together.

so some things from someone who had NEVER looked at anything like that before.

1 - your kitchen will not be square or level. Granted mine is a 1930 semi so not expected, but don't assume anything or use anything other than the same spirit level to get it straight.
2 - Make sure you have a reliable and good quality spirit level that has a good size to it, you need it to rest and not move.
3 - get some easy to use clamps, so when you screw the carcases together they will not move.
4 - make sure your cutting tools are suitable, so jigsaw for the sink doesnt have a bit of damage that scratches the worktop (grrr)
5 - I got a Lidl circular saw for the worktops, worked well, but easier to clamp a straight edge and use that for perfect straight cuts
6 - Beware of white good sizes, some washing machines are slightly more than the (i thnk) 65cm worktop size, so beware that may stick out.
7 - measure and measure, and measure, and mark then walk away, then re-measure.
8- base ALL wall markings from a middle mark and use straight edge level for the carcass estimate. Our kitchen floor was around 3/4" higher at one end than the other (at a 3.5m length). we measured a mark at one end and the other and was stumped for a while as it wasnt straight then worked out the floor was the issue. We then marked the wall from the middle, marked the wall with straight edge to ensure it was what we wanted, then could level to that mark one carcass,when happy, did the rest.
9 - get a trade card from B&Q, saves a fortune if you are buying from there, just need a business card or flyer when we did
10 - Factor in extra costs for odds and sods, so you will mis-drill a door handle hole, or run out of screws.
11 - it will be finished one day!