WIP Kitchen worktops and cabinets - lots of doors

[carlb40]

When I got home the epoxy was dry, finally. I cut and scraped off the worst of the epoxy. It actually looks ok once that's done. So despite the stink and the faff, I'm actually happy with the end result. Of the three cracks, one didn't work, so I'm doing that again.





I then got mr rippy out and cut window sill piece to width.



Carl - i like the look of those bolts. I can adjust them laterally as well, so it doesn't all have to be perfect. There will be just about enough space to get behind there. Doubt it'll be pleasant to do, but it's all (just) accessible. Surely it's as simple as marking it out and then drilling a few holes?

You can get different bolts, some now just use an allen key for tightening them up which is a lot easier. Normally you would use a worktop jig and a router.

Such as this
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j& ... 7517976873

Which gives you this result

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j& ... 7517976873

But a suitable drill bit and a saw / chisels should get the same result. A practice run might be worth it though.

Found the bolts.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/zipbolt-worktop-connectors

 

[morfa]

After what seems like ages of shaping and chopping, the windowsill piece finally (nearly) fits. It's not quite perfect. But it was a long day at work and then I've spent the past hour in the kitchen planing a tidge, lifting it up and testing etc etc. Quite tiring.

I suspect I should have scribed it, but I'm not sure how you do that. Oh well. Here is a pic:

 

[carlb40]

That looks good to me, it is coming along nicely.

 

[morfa]

Made a fair bit of progress. List of stuff done and stuff still to go.

1 - trim to length - DONE
2 - cut notch for pipes - DONE
3 - fit windowsill piece - DONE
4 - fit supports for worktop - DONE
5 - ensure windowsill piece fits to main worktop
6 - cut holes for connector bolts
7 - sand and oil worktop
8 - cut hole for sink
9 - make final radius cut to end
10 - connect it all together & fit it to wall

The work top overall now:

The supports before attaching to wall:

Attached to the wall.

 

[carlb40]

Coming along nicely

 

[Berncarpenter]

Hi Morfa
I think i would make a template of the opening using some thin stuff like door stop . Easy to work around the existing sink unit and if you take your time and get it bang on you should be able to cut the top right first time . This will save you alot of work lifting the top in and out of the opening trimming a smidge of hear and there and if you are getting a plumber in you dont want to pay him to hang about while you do this.Have a look over on The Wood Haven for my Template Tip.Great job so far looking good.

Cheers Bern

 

[morfa]

Hi Morfa
I think i would make a template of the opening using some thin stuff like door stop . Easy to work around the existing sink unit and if you take your time and get it bang on you should be able to cut the top right first time . This will save you alot of work lifting the top in and out of the opening trimming a smidge of hear and there and if you are getting a plumber in you dont want to pay him to hang about while you do this.Have a look over on The Wood Haven for my Template Tip.Great job so far looking good.

Cheers Bern

Bern - I was planning on making a template for the sink. As I don't need all the mdf I used for the worktop template, I was just planning on using that. I'll have a look at your tip, thanks for that. Also I'm going to have to cut a hole in the back and side of your cabinet for the wastes. So I need to make the measurements for them.

Thankfully the plumber is a good mate. He's also got some other work to do. So I'm going to get him to disconnect the old sink, so I can start fitting the worktop. He's then got to service the boiler, remove the sink in the utility room and add an external tap. So hopefully when it comes to connect it all up, i should be ready to roll.

 

[Berncarpenter]

Glad to hear you got a good plan of attack . One little luxury for me was a outside HOT tap highly recommend .

Cheers Bern

 

[morfa]

One little luxury for me was a outside HOT tap highly recommend .

I could do it. The pipes run close enough for it to be possible. But why? Handwashing? That's the only thing I can think of.

 

[kostello]

I think if you had a long haired dog it would be useful

 

[Berncarpenter]

I suffer from white finger and am a bit of a wus ,cant handle cold hands .Also i can't get a decent size bucket under the kitchen tap.Got lots of windows and a couple of vehicles to wash But no long haired dogs . Only a long haired dragon and she uses the shower .

Cheers Bern

 

[morfa]

So that's the windowsill butting up against the main worktop done. Point no 5. I then did a bit more smoothing with the no 4 to tidy things up. Then the first pass of sanding before realising that I needed to do the connector holes.

So then the connector holes. It wasn't hard to do. Bit of careful measuring. I drilled out the hole for the connectors, I used a 25mm bit. I enlarged the sides with a chisel and then drilled out a hole for the bolt part. I then chiseled out the top of the hole. All fits ok. All line up ok. I just checked them. They need a bit more chiseling out, but it's too late to be bashing things around. Hopefully there's enough lateral movement in the whole system that it can accommodate things being a few mm out.

 

[carlb40]

Very nice. Make sure on the one set of holes you leave yourself enough space to get a spanner in and be able to turn it.
Also when fitting the bolts i tape the one in to stop it dropping as you tighten the bolts.

 

[morfa]

Very nice. Make sure on the one set of holes you leave yourself enough space to get a spanner in and be able to turn it.
Also when fitting the bolts i tape the one in to stop it dropping as you tighten the bolts.

I have these swanky ones with plastic holders to keep the bolts in. Hadn't thought about the space for the spanner. Ought to have got one of those hex key ones like you suggested.

 

[Berncarpenter]

Looking good , those ratchet spanners are great for this job and in Halfords you can buy just the 10mm one on its own. The last time i went in there just for one socket i came away with a gazebo and a screw box , best take the wife with you then you wont spend too much .

Cheers Bern

 

[morfa]

Ratchet spanner bought. Will have to enlarge the holes slightly to make sure it'll fit.

I looked at Bern's template idea and I'm well annoyed, that's exactly what I needed for the windowsill. Oh well. Not sure how you could adapt it for the sink however. Unless you made the template around the outside of the sink bowl. I think that would work.

As for the fitting. Should I cut the hole for the worktop and the hole for the waste in the cabinet first? Or should I fit the worktop in place and then cut the sink hole once it's all in place?

So basically:

Fit worktop
Cut hole for sink
Fit sink

Or

Cut hole for sink
Fit worktop
Fit sink

Also can anyone recommend a kitchen cabinet foot supplier? Not many places seem to sell them. Screwfix do a pack of 40, but that seems like overkill...

 

[Berncarpenter]

Ratchet spanner bought. Will have to enlarge the holes slightly to make sure it'll fit.

I looked at Bern's template idea and I'm well annoyed, that's exactly what I needed for the windowsill. Oh well. Not sure how you could adapt it for the sink however. Unless you made the template around the outside of the sink bowl. I think that would work.

As for the fitting. Should I cut the hole for the worktop and the hole for the waste in the cabinet first? Or should I fit the worktop in place and then cut the sink hole once it's all in place?

So basically:

Fit worktop
Cut hole for sink
Fit sink

Or

Cut hole for sink
Fit worktop
Fit sink

Also can anyone recommend a kitchen cabinet foot supplier? Not many places seem to sell them. Screwfix do a pack of 40, but that seems like overkill...

The way i would do it is get the cabinet in the right position with the pipework coming through , then trim the worktop to size and rest in place. Place your sink upside down on the top where it needs to be and stand back take a look . Make sure the sink bowl will drop into the cab and not hit any of the sides. Draw around the sink come in about 10mm for the cut line . Before cutting out check that the tap pipes are going to come into the cab and not drop down behind the back panel . Cut the hole for the sink you may need to cut one or both of the cab rails for the bowl . Once this is done i usually get the worktop on trestles and fit the sink this is easier than trying to do it in place. Now for the tricky bit jointing the tops together ? you may be able to do this on your tressles and then lift it into place. Hope this makes sense.

Cheers Bern

 

[owen]

Ironmongery direct sell cabinet legs.

 

[morfa]

The tap pipes will come in through the cab, I'm pretty sure. The tap is part of the sink unit. So the pipes will, I think, come into the cab. I could be wrong about that however. I hope they do.

Ok Bern, so this sounds like a plan of action:

1 - Put the cab in place (inc cutting holes for waste and tap pipes)
2 - Put the worktop in place (inc put the windowsill piece in)
3 - Trim the end
4 - Mark and cut the hole for the sink bowl (inc cuts in cab if needed)
5 - Fit the sink & taps
6 - Joint the top (I could do this earlier tho?) - as it'll be a pain to remove everything if it's not right.

I just need to cut a hole for the sink bowl and the taps right?

I don't think I'll need to bother much with trestles. The supports that I've made, allow for me to raise and lower the height of the worktop. So I might not need them. Dunno. I do have one trestle and a workmate, so I can use them if needed. I'll probably ask you about this when I pick up the router anyways.

I'll be honest, I can't really see that fitting the sink without the cab is going to be possible, as I don't see how I could get the cab back in.

 

[carlb40]

If you can wait i might have a set of 4 legs knocking about i can post out to you? I can have a look tomorrow after work.