Kitchen Fitting?

[BearTricks]

How reasonable is it to fit a kitchen yourself? I'm seeing a lot of social media posts at the moment, either from blogs that are showing people how to fit their own kitchens (or build from scratch) or from people who have actually done it themselves.

I was under the impression that kitchen fitting was a fairly skilled task. I'm asking because, if all goes well, I'm hoping to be somewhere close to buying my first house by the end of the year, and the type of houses we've been looking at are generally lacking in the kitchen department.

 

[MatthewRedStars]

Woodwork-wise: If you're confident scribing end panels and worktops - it's pretty easy tbh.

Plumbing & electrics I'd leave to a pro.

 

[dzj]

I think a person with intermediate woodworking skills can manage it.
Perhaps pay someone to do the countertops.

+1 for Plumbing & electrics

 

[Paul200]

What they said. I dismantled a quality kitchen from the sellers address and fitted it in our last house. This included making a couple of additional units and a dresser to match. I won't go near worktops though - easier and cheaper to get in the guys who know what they're doing. I'm not trade, just keen DIY with 40 years behind me.

I've just moved our present kitchen out of the kitchen and into the dining room/hall of our cottage to enable the demolition of the old kitchen extension (built in the 60's to an atrocious standard!) and it took two days to move it and re-fit it. If you're half way practical it's pretty simple stuff.

Even the electrics and plumbing are do-able if you're just modifying what's there - but always get the experts in for new installations.

 

[Wuffles]

It's not that hard really. Depends on the kitchen you are buying/making of course. I learned how to do worktops from a Youtube video years ago and have been the go to guy for years with friends and family for that kind of thing - mostly because I have routers and jigs. Where in the UK are you, perhaps people can offer assistance when the time comes.

Meanwhile. What's going on with the sale of your Makita router? Did you ever see the guy's messages?

 

[No skills]

If you can get your units in level and square/plumb then the rest follows fairly easily. Learning to scribe any end panels/work tops takes some thought but it's not hard once you understand the techniques.

Dealing with walls that are majorly out is generally the problem, if you have the time to sort that out before you fit the kitchen the the actual fit becomes a lot easier.

 

[blackrodd]

I think a person with intermediate woodworking skills can manage it.
Perhaps pay someone to do the countertops.

+1 for Plumbing & electrics

+1 As above, Rodders

 

[Woodmonkey]

I just fitted a new kitchen (IKEA) it was pretty easy. Git a plumber in to sort the gas/ water pipes out. As others have said the trickiest part is the scribing & worktops, although solid wood tops are easier as they are just butt jointed. Go for it!

 

[Limey Lurker]

>I was under the impression that kitchen fitting was a fairly skilled task.

It is, but it's never stopped kitchen fitters from doing it!

 

[chippy1970]

I'll give you my opinion as a pro. Yes you can fit your own kitchen and depending on your skill level you might do a decent job.

Obviously a pro like myself will fit it much quicker and to a higher standard.

It's the same as anything really, like you could service your own car, do your own decorating or fix your own computer. Yes if you've got loads of spare time and you're happy to do it and learn by your own mistakes then go for it .

You'll get a lot of info on the net not all of it right lol.

Main advice I'd give you is make sure all your carcases are dead level or you'll never get the doors looking right.

Sent from my ALE-L21 using Tapatalk

 

[Rorschach]

Depends on your skills really. Unless you are doing major changes to plumbing and electrics then it is pretty straightforward. I would get someone in to do your worktops, not so much due to the difficulty as the fact that it requires a big router and jig (assuming you want mitres) and unless you have the use for these tools later on then it's a big investment and learning curve for a job that realistically you will only do a few times in your lifetime. Also a professional should have no trouble getting it done in a day or less so it's quicker too.

 

[RobinBHM]

Certainly possible to diy.

Kitchens often go wrong due to lack of planning, so put lots of your effort here first.

My tips:
-a laser level can make it easy to make your cabinets all nice and level.

-650mm worktops much easier than 600mm to accommodate appliances.

-work out services very carefully. Its often best to site sockets and plumbing not where appliance is going but in an adjacent cupboard.

- integrated appliances can be a PITA and esp on face frame kitchens

-fridge freezer doors may need to be set away from a wall or the door may not open enough to prevent drawers opening (salad drawer or freezer).

-dont assume you will get the whole order on delivery day!

-if you like a challange buy a double bowl drainer sink and have a few beers before putting the waste together .....and then assemble a corner carousel

 

[custard]

Listening to everyone say how easy it is to fit kitchens is making me feel like a dummy!

I'm an experienced, professional furniture maker with a fully equipped workshop, but I still found making and fitting a first kitchen to be challenging. Four areas in particular meant the job took a lot longer than expected

1. I made all the carcasses and in truth I probably over built them. If I was doing the job again I'd think seriously about either buying them in or dramatically simplifying the construction.

2. My workshop, although perfectly large enough for professional custom furniture, was quickly swamped with the cabinetry needed for a kitchen. Just managing the logistics of the build was more complicated than I expected.

3. I probably carried the tolerances required for high end furniture over into what is basically a larger scale joinery task, and that was a mistake. In particular I went overboard in squaring up the site before installation, modern fittings give some latitude and I should have taken more advantage of that.

4. Despite having decades of furniture making experience there were dozens of small tasks that were still new to me, from dog bone jointing counter tops to fitting clip on hinges to scribing in cornices. They're not particularly difficult, but neither are they entirely foolproof. So to avoid mistakes and expensive remedial work I found I was doing lots of small test pieces, and double and treble checking installation instructions, this really loaded on the hours required.

So, it's perfectly do-able, but if you're aiming for a really first class installation then it will take way, way longer than you ever imagined!

 

[No skills]

Main advice I'd give you is make sure all your carcases are dead level or you'll never get the doors looking right.

The last one I fitted (I've only done five) was for a 'friend', I spent nearly two days installing the cabinets/levelling/tweeking doors etc etc. On the last day of the fit I had come to do the plinths and cornice and finish up whatever, I walked in to find the owner winding up all the cabinet legs and forcing the plinths into place so I didn't have to cut them to fit the wonky floor - he was 'helping'.... If I had a gun on me I would of shot him dead in his kitchen in front of his wife and kids, knob.
Last ever job for a 'mate' I did.

 

[chippy1970]

Main advice I'd give you is make sure all your carcases are dead level or you'll never get the doors looking right.

The last one I fitted (I've only done five) was for a 'friend', I spent nearly two days installing the cabinets/levelling/tweeking doors etc etc. On the last day of the fit I had come to do the plinths and cornice and finish up whatever, I walked in to find the owner winding up all the cabinet legs and forcing the plinths into place so I didn't have to cut them to fit the wonky floor - he was 'helping'.... If I had a gun on me I would of shot him dead in his kitchen in front of his wife and kids, knob.
Last ever job for a 'mate' I did.

Lol

I hate people fiddling , I'm easy going but I really lose it with customers if they mess with stuff in the middle of a job. They can do what they want after I'm gone.

 

[Wuffles]

I'll give you my opinion as a pro. Yes you can fit your own kitchen and depending on your skill level you might do a decent job.

Obviously a pro like myself will fit it much quicker and to a higher standard.

It's the same as anything really, like you could service your own car, do your own decorating or fix your own computer. Yes if you've got loads of spare time and you're happy to do it and learn by your own mistakes then go for it .

You'll get a lot of info on the net not all of it right lol.

Main advice I'd give you is make sure all your carcases are dead level or you'll never get the doors looking right.

Sent from my ALE-L21 using Tapatalk

We've all been to jobs where you're tidying up after another pro has done a "bodge it and scarper" or "quick, last one in the pub is buying the round" type of fit too mind

 

[chippy1970]

I'll give you my opinion as a pro. Yes you can fit your own kitchen and depending on your skill level you might do a decent job.

Obviously a pro like myself will fit it much quicker and to a higher standard.

It's the same as anything really, like you could service your own car, do your own decorating or fix your own computer. Yes if you've got loads of spare time and you're happy to do it and learn by your own mistakes then go for it .

You'll get a lot of info on the net not all of it right lol.

Main advice I'd give you is make sure all your carcases are dead level or you'll never get the doors looking right.

Sent from my ALE-L21 using Tapatalk

We've all been to jobs where you're tidying up after another pro has done a "bodge it and scarper" or "quick, last one in the pub is buying the round" type of fit too mind

Yeah but they're not pros, not decent ones anyway

Sent from my ALE-L21 using Tapatalk

 

[Homerjh]

i have fitted a B&Q kitchen, does that count

some things i learnt :

1 - no 2 walls are parallel or straight. this is a 1930 semi so didnt help, but the length of the 2nd kitchen area (about 3 meters) meant that the unit on one side when at the specified height (cant remember what it was) was about 1" higher when measured from the floor than the other. so ignore what you think is level, just fit one carcass to the right height, endure that is level and use that as reference.

2 - make sure your jigsaw has no sharp edges. its a biut late when we are moving in at the weekend and loads of small marks around the sink (this was a real downer)

3 - how are you joining the worktops? i just use the cheap trick of the joning strips. didnt have time to do proper jointing of them with a router, and as none of the walls were straight this helped a lot for any small gap in the worktop.

4 - for utilities get someone in.

5 - its not that difficult really if you are buying flatpack...

 

[woodenstx]

I fitted our Wickes kitchen (in the period where they had stopped doing the fitting).

Aseembling the carcasses was easy, the mrs did that :lol:
the sevices was easy as we were simply modding what was there (or in the case of the plumbing, fixing the cock ups the builders made when it was new)
I got a chippy in to fit the worktop as it was pre "proper" woodworking days :lol:
we had taken some of the wall units out over teh week before delivery day, but the kitchen was still functional till then, and it was functional within 24 hours of starting on delivery day, so all in not bad.
Its not finished nearly 9 years on as I've still not put the strip between the worktop and tiles in :lol:

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

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??