New kitchen...where does the money go....?

Started work at the weekend, new French door and infill to begin the kitchen refurb. pricing up units, new floor, tiles and now I'm told, new cooker and sink and taps and.......so on!

A few quid here (and new cooker there) mounts up and I just added it all up - gulp.

Been saving for this for a couple of years we put it off 6 months ago to save more but the longer it goes on the more expensive it gets. Tried my hand at plastering this evening and begun to wish I hadn't started it, it all stayed on the wall but level it is not - a definite dark art but I'll get there!

This is going to be a bigger money pit than the Bus !!

 

I think you will find in A kitchen the money goes down the plughole

 

To the fitter I hope.

 

..Fitter...that's me, can I pay myself

 

yes its shocking what they charge for a bit of chipboard or mdf. I had a similar shock when I took our leather settee apart to get it in the house and out the houses that's 15 times now(we like moving). it was just chipboard under the leather


I like fitting kitchens.

 

its like m as a young newly married guy ,we got the windows replaced , i watched the dudes and realised i could do that , next house , 14 windows , i done em all one at a time as cash allowed and saved a fair old wad ,jokes re " i watched a doc. re brain surgery......" i can feel comin along ! and no, i wouldn"t !!

 

Don't forget to notify your local building control when you get to the electrics >

 

I used to work at a place that made kitchens ,staff got 75% off ,but you could only buy three a year ,soon all my family/friends had new kitchens...


I wished I had bought a extra one.... :-[

 

I built mine myself a couple of years ago and it's not so bad. Look online for things like taps and sink units as the mainstream suppliers are charging daft money
I also bought a work top jig for the corners which were a lot easier to cut than I thought they would be and borrowed a compound mitre saw to cut the cornice and plinths
Good luck with it and don't forget the pics when it's done

 

Pay for a plasterer. Trust me its worth it in the end. use a local guy whos cheap and trustworthy and good. There will be one round your way too

 

When we got our new kitchen (a very modest size) we just used the free planning service at B&Q, asked them to price then got Homebase to pricematch -10% I think. I then scanned ebay for many days for a cooker - I found a good branded (forgot what brand) built in oven for £50 that was unused. When we went to collect it he threw in a halogen hob for free (also unused) - we wanted gas but scrimpers can't be choosers. Also got a white extractor fan for £8 delivered. Stainless unused sink from eBay for £25.

It all came to less than £700 I think.

Fitted myself except the worktop that my neighbour did for a few quid.

 

Today's tip

If you purchase a Homebase kitchen and you really like the appliances they have don't buy the from them as they charge a fortune but go down Argos as its hell of a lot cheaper for the same thing form the same company.

 

wait till october and get a trade account at your local howdens!
they do a massive sale and its quality stuff, not the stuff that they sell at b and q etc.
i fitted it myself apart from the worktops as these need to be done properly.
shop around, but dont just compare prices make sure you compare specifications. all howdens stuff comes with pre built carcasses which will save you days of messing about!
howdens do deals on appliances too. they use a company called lamona and bosch. the lamona stuff is actually really good and the price is good too!

 

I thought howdens was trade only?