MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: cruisindub on November 15, 2012, 12:07:55 PM
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Hi Swaggers,
looking at a new kitchen for our old house renovation, finally at the big stage of the bigger expensive project of the new kitchen. Everything complete,starting from completely gutting the space we have.
there's been another thread on the miscellaneous section just in Buns-vs-Masters, and a brief one before, but just specifically looking at kitchens.
Any swaggers done the same project? Comparisons between the three? Or another alternative.?
We only havve Bunnings locally and last time I did the bathroom was quite disappointed with the level of service, the quality of it and also the price.
Are we comparing apples with apples or are they all just as bad as each other or is that as good as it gets?
Happy to hear of experiences and comments/opinions and take advice.
Its a big project and an equally large cost for us, so want to make sure I get best value, but also best opportunity to do it right,first time
Looking forward to hearing from you all.
Cheers in advance.
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IKEA. 25-year guarantee, can't go wrong.
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When we had ours done 4 odd years ago, we looked at the bunnings gig at Frankston, but the quality just isnt there, but its not $billions either. And your sorta stuck for what you get.
The other advantage of non bunnings is any problems are theirs to fix, not yours at extra cost.. specially modifying stuff
if your sellin the joint, I'd go the Bunnings, but I have no plans to move, so we went with a kitchen place...
Cost heaps, but they had ideas of what we could do, and what could fit where we wanted things...
GOod luck, its an investement.
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Hi Crusing dub, I have investigated (but not yet done) this with a home unit but I kept in mind that 'level of service' is something you should expect from an architect or specialist kitchen tradesperson, not a cheap import warehouse staffed by uni kids...
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We did our kitchen using bunnings kitchen system. Happy with everything but the counter tops.
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google flat pack kitchens. there are heaps of mobs out there that do them, and some are pretty good.
http://www.diyaustralia.com/ (http://www.diyaustralia.com/)
that mob do all the premium brands like blum and ceaserstone, and custom make to your size, but send it flatpacked for you to install yourself...
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google flat pack kitchens. there are heaps of mobs out there that do them, and some are pretty good.
http://www.diyaustralia.com/ (http://www.diyaustralia.com/)
that mob do all the premium brands like blum and ceaserstone, and custom make to your size, but send it flatpacked for you to install yourself...
x2
I used this mob.......http://www.melboards.com.au/ (http://www.melboards.com.au/) ........for the flat-packed carcasses, doors, drawers and fittings, and got specialists in for the stone tops and glass splash backs. Have a look for similar in your area.
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How about Drifta? ;D ;D ;D
The fitouts at the bottom of this page look pretty sweet! http://www.drifta.com.au/VanFitOut.php (http://www.drifta.com.au/VanFitOut.php)
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2 people I know have fitted Ikea kitchens themselves and have been very happy with them.
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I have fitted out my garage and PC/Electronics workroom with Ikea kitchen stuff. Cheap enough but the only issue I was worried about is the wall cabinets only have 2 fixings at the top and with lots of stuff in them I was worried about them pulling out of the gyprock. This I presume would not be so much of an issue with a kitchen.
My fix was to use angle brackets and screw into the carcase and into a stud (through the gyprock). Haven't moved a bit and some of them are loaded pretty heavily with power tools, old HDD's etc. Bought some cheap plastic boxes to store stuff in and put them in the cupboards. Close the door and all gone. Neat as a pin.
Very happy with the build of them and being flatpack they were no trouble to put together. I can say this as my 16 yo did them :cup:
Will be a selling point also for when we sell the house.
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Go with a custom made flat pack most good kitchen manufacturers will do this for you they are happy to get some of your money than none at all, and they can be built to suit the space you have available.
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It is the chipboard that is used that makes it last, some places import cheap Chinese stuff, not good..
My wife is a scrapbooker, so we converted our formal dining room to her scrap room.
Used Ikea. Used their software to design it and work out the shopping list.
The only bad thing was, you cannot order online, but they do deliver.
Good quality, so great features, VERY easy to put together and install.
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It is the chipboard that is used that makes it last........
HMR board.........Highly Moisture Resistant........very important if there's any water about.......
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I make and fit glass splashbacks I fitted one the other day I said to the bloke who made your kitchen thinking it would be one of the cabinet makers who I do work for he said it was from ikea I was impressed with the kitchen
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As a cabinetmaker I think there all sh$t....
But if your going down that road go Ikea as they have better hardware.
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As a cabinetmaker I think there all sh$t....
But if your going down that road go Ikea as they have better hardware.
Could not agree more with this statement.!!!!!
Also. With the bun,mas,ikea stuff you have to buy set size cabinets. Depending on you kitchen layout you can end up with a lot of wasted/not utilized space, as opposed to a cabinet maker who will use every possible m2
And if you do go down that track make sure cutting or planning you use dust protection. Who knows what is in that board.
Sent from an overpriced, overengineered, outdated gadget that can make phone calls, sometimes.
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we put some ikea cupboards in our laundry, got the gloss white ones with soft close optional hinges.
Very impressed with the quality, I put them together with some glue also and they are rock solid, bloody heavy too.
Highly recommend them. plus the staff were really helpful when I went to buy them, they picked up on a couple of bits that I also needed but didn't include in my fit out (under bits and spacers) can post some pics if you want?
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Cruisin,
The kitchen and bathroom in your house are the barometers of your renovation. i.e. anyone who looks at your place with a real estate eye will use these areas as their main judge of quality.
Ikea is the best by far, B and M look ok to start with but are woeful after a few years.
If the budget permits get the cabinetry done by a professional cabinet maker, even if you install it yourself, they understand that everyone is trying to save coin these days.
There are some really nice laminates around these days that will far out perform cheap 2pack look a like and cheap Shitty stone. You can always do 2pack cupboards with laminated tops and then upgrade them down the track when the budget permits.
White 2pack is timeless and I have seen 20 year old kitchens done in this that still look good today.
Best of luck with it all.
Cheers Nomad.
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As a cabinetmaker I think there all sh$t....
But if your going down that road go Ikea as they have better hardware.
x eleventy
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I've bought an assembled a few things from ikea over the years and haven't had any hassles. All built to a price though :cheers:
BD
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We did our kitchen using bunnings kitchen system. Happy with everything but the counter tops.
i've fitted a heap of Chinese imported kitchens into units at work and the cabinets looked good (only time will tell how long they last though), but i could never get the stone bench tops looking like the pro's do >:( >:( i'd stump up the extra ponies for a pro to do the bench top as it stands out heaps, do the cabinets yourself and let a pro do the tops.
when it came to our own kitchen here at home, i got a cabinet maker friend to do it, better quality materials and a better job then i'd ever do also.
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Some experiences I've had with various kitchens. noel_w picked the major problem with Ikea with their lack of 16mm solid backs for anywhere fixing and hence those special Ikea brackets fixed to the carcase sides seldom aligning with studwork. Not a problem with base cabinets on the floor and wallmates in plasterboard but ceratinly problematic with overhead cupboards. Bunnings win on that score and nailing on those rebated masonite backs is a pain. Also be aware that if you just nail the thin rebated backs on they can push off to some degree in situ with rough use and there's no way of fixing that withoutb total removal?? Gluing them as well will stop that but then it's hard to control unsightly glue inside the cabinets. Stick with solid 16mm carcases all round is my advice and on that score locally made carcases with reputable brand material is a safe bet re some of that very variable import stuff which both Bunnings and Ikea seem to avoid.
Quality hardware (Blum, Hettich) is important too and expect to pay for quality soft close drawer hardware and the like. Just one point to note with those double action corner doors, I have come to appreciate the piano hinges between leaves on my 20yr kitchen as I've yet to see any of the other types hold the corner doors in alignment for long. When that occurs with kids using then they're going to knock the door finishes around just like they do with knives etc with the cutlery drawers predominantly. Also be aware that no moisture resistant melamine board is waterproof so be circumspect about water drenching. On that score I always silicon the bare backs of laminated bench tops before tiling just like you do the benchtop joins and if you're really keen glue the bare edged carcases together with clear silicon too for a top job. Just don't try and wipe off the excess after screwing together but wait until it's dry and trim off carefully with a dull knife. It's the bare edges that will swell with accidental soaking remember.
As for door choice of finish the newer vinyl coated doors are the toughest in the business but are not repairable like touching up 2 pack paint like mine. However our choice of fancy routed edges and similar inset routing at the time to suit an older Tudor home meant some sharper, vulnerable edges as well as harder cleaning and flush panel doors with rounded edges or subtle taper plus round edges are clearly a winner on that score. The 2 pack has generally stood up well to offspring abuse but to have them painted again would be more than the cost of new doors unless I do it and well you know how it is.
Lastly I'd say you can't beat laminate benchtops for longevity so long as you train kids to use chopping boards only. Don't get bullnose because spills run back into the cupboards and half round is best. Lastly those granite and ceasar stone tops with sink bowls underneath look great in the showroom but drop one heavy frypan or pot on their edge and welcome to the real world. You can't beat stainless steel drainboard and sink in one on that score so don't try and reinvent the wheel. Just make sure the SS sink is of suitable gauge as they all used to be before variable imports. Oh and don't bother with extravagant flick mixers just a basic 5 yr warranty one (around $70-$80 mark) and replace the whole unit when it starts to drip. Replacing cartridges is uneconomic and those flexible hose connections won't last forever and you get new ones with a new mixer so blowoff valves are unnecessary.
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If you are planning on staying where you are stay away from the vinyl door products they are great short term but will delaminate over time, melamine rolled edge is the go for durability and tart it up with handles rolled edge bench tops come in different edge radiuses now from about 8mm and look great, remember you can change the doors and tops down the track for a quick reno down the track if you use decent carcasses now.
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Some experiences I've had with various kitchens. noel_w picked the major problem with Ikea with their lack of 16mm solid backs for anywhere fixing and hence those special Ikea brackets fixed to the carcase sides seldom aligning with studwork. Not a problem with base cabinets on the floor and wallmates in plasterboard but ceratinly problematic with overhead cupboards. Bunnings win on that score and nailing on those rebated masonite backs is a pain. Also be aware that if you just nail the thin rebated backs on they can push off to some degree in situ with rough use and there's no way of fixing that withoutb total removal?? Gluing them as well will stop that but then it's hard to control unsightly glue inside the cabinets. Stick with solid 16mm carcases all round is my advice and on that score locally made carcases with reputable brand material is a safe bet re some of that very variable import stuff which both Bunnings and Ikea seem to avoid.
Quality hardware (Blum, Hettich) is important too and expect to pay for quality soft close drawer hardware and the like. Just one point to note with those double action corner doors, I have come to appreciate the piano hinges between leaves on my 20yr kitchen as I've yet to see any of the other types hold the corner doors in alignment for long. When that occurs with kids using then they're going to knock the door finishes around just like they do with knives etc with the cutlery drawers predominantly. Also be aware that no moisture resistant melamine board is waterproof so be circumspect about water drenching. On that score I always silicon the bare backs of laminated bench tops before tiling just like you do the benchtop joins and if you're really keen glue the bare edged carcases together with clear silicon too for a top job. Just don't try and wipe off the excess after screwing together but wait until it's dry and trim off carefully with a dull knife. It's the bare edges that will swell with accidental soaking remember.
As for door choice of finish the newer vinyl coated doors are the toughest in the business but are not repairable like touching up 2 pack paint like mine. However our choice of fancy routed edges and similar inset routing at the time to suit an older Tudor home meant some sharper, vulnerable edges as well as harder cleaning and flush panel doors with rounded edges or subtle taper plus round edges are clearly a winner on that score. The 2 pack has generally stood up well to offspring abuse but to have them painted again would be more than the cost of new doors unless I do it and well you know how it is.
Lastly I'd say you can't beat laminate benchtops for longevity so long as you train kids to use chopping boards only. Don't get bullnose because spills run back into the cupboards and half round is best. Lastly those granite and ceasar stone tops with sink bowls underneath look great in the showroom but drop one heavy frypan or pot on their edge and welcome to the real world. You can't beat stainless steel drainboard and sink in one on that score so don't try and reinvent the wheel. Just make sure the SS sink is of suitable gauge as they all used to be before variable imports. Oh and don't bother with extravagant flick mixers just a basic 5 yr warranty one (around $70-$80 mark) and replace the whole unit when it starts to drip. Replacing cartridges is uneconomic and those flexible hose connections won't last forever and you get new ones with a new mixer so blowoff valves are unnecessary.
This pretty well sums up how we did it............
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We have vinyl wrap doors, caesarstone top with an under slung sink set in the island bench. I wouldn't have anything else. Soft closing draw srunner and doors etc The kitchen is big investment. Don't ask about the price of the tap.....
I worked in the kitchen industry for approx 17 years and I have seen may changes over that time. No longer in that industry.
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We have vinyl wrap doors, caesarstone top with an under slung sink set in the island bench. I wouldn't have anything else. Soft closing draw srunner and doors etc The kitchen is big investment. Don't ask about the price of the tap.....
I worked in the kitchen industry for approx 17 years and I have seen may changes over that time. No longer in that industry.
How much was the tap??....... ;D ;D
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How much was the tap??....... ;D ;D
More than the dishwasher ;D
It's a Perrin and Rowe Bridges style tap.......over $800. The box is even to good throw out :laugh:
Cheers
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You can order kitchens from Laminex and/or have a play with Designer3D yourself here-
http://www.laminex.com.au/products.php (http://www.laminex.com.au/products.php)
Oh and don't use gloss laminates on your benchtops unless you're the 50s Aussie housewife Mr Sheen type. Noone actually prepares food or cooks in those showroom kitchens remember.
We did up the lad's unit recently with Bunnings white gloss cabinets because the module fit was there even with a U shaped kitchen.(that's the acid test with fixed modules) Also did the laundry the same. I had already measured up for the benchtops and ordered them through a specialist benchtop fabricator. Don't piss around with standard lengths from Ikea or Bunnings as there's no savings and you need specialist machinery for jointing those edge formed benchtops.
Remember one thing about careful attention to sealing those carcases and using top quality hardware, whatever doors and laminate benchtops you use. Look after the carcases (even with non slip matting and cutlery inserts in them) and you can always change the benchtops and doors fairly economically in future without the need for a complete makeover. Having a kitchen down for a week or so is not exactly ideal. Ditto for wet areas.
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It doesn't have to be fancy or expensive just modern, tidy and functional-
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We used http://www.flatpackkitchenssydney.com/ (http://www.flatpackkitchenssydney.com/) and they were fantastic, they helped us design the kitchen and then ordered everything. We have a huge kitchen, we were quoted around 40k by Harvey Norman and ended up at around 12K plus appliances by doing it ourselves. It looks fabulous and the quality is fantastic, much better than ikea and Bunnings. It was not too hard to put together either and took a couple of weekends.
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Here's an important tip for you with that built in oven and range hood setup if you look carefully at the pic. All the exposed plain laminate ends of your carcases need panels added the same as the doors and hence the panel covers added to the sides of the glass and aluminium door jobs either side of the range hood, lest you see the plain cabinet ends jutting below the hood.
Now you have to do that to both sides of the oven cabinets too or else the overheads and base cabinets will not align vertically when butted up to the fridge unit here. ie the bottom will be 2 panels in thickness shorter than the top although the oven can hide the ends of the adjoining cabinets by itself. Dont buy 2 base panels for the oven sides but simply one and cut it in 2 and fix them leaving the finished edges showing either side. After all you never picked that's what I did now did you :angel:
Edit: Tell a fib. I recall now I actually cut one panel into 4 strips approx 150 wide and had to also dock the heights (a base panel goes to the floor remember). That way the 2 finished edges face the front while the 2 bare edged strips space the back of the oven cabinet to the adjoining ones. Don't forget because I've seen plenty of installs that have whereby the range hood cabinet ends are bare to solve the stuffup where the cupoards need to butt up to a pantry or fridge unit.
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Swaggers, thankyou all so much for all your valuable advice, hints/tips and and information. I understand the kitchen is going to be a big investment, though unfortunately DIY it is, we so.ply can't afford any other option. We are doing our research and at times I have to calm the wife down who gets over excited circling everything in all the catalogues, but we are also being practical and sensible.
I have the help of my Dad which is invaluable and 'free' so thats saving us alot of money, this is the first time of large Reno/DIY on our first house.
Its a big learning curve.
My main fear is fitting g the counter tops,or joining them. My next biggest fear is screwing it up and costing us loads. I know the next advice would be to get someone in to do it,but we are really trying to save where we can.
Th
We've been on a single wage for far too long now.
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My main fear is fitting g the counter tops,or joining them. My next biggest fear is screwing it up and costing us loads. I know the next advice would be to get someone in to do it,but we are really trying to save where we can.
Th
We've been on a single wage for far too long now.
With that Bunnings kitchen in the pic it takes more time to unpack it all and read the instructions and get rid of the packaging than actually screwing up the particular carcase. Monkey see monkey do and follow the instructions. The base cabinets on their adjustable legs are set up dead level at a height that allows the kickboard to easily clip underneath ALSO allowing for the floor covering to finish underneath (who wants to cut floor tiles or edge floating floor around kickboards?)
In the case of the kitchen shown the wall cabinets were set at a height to allow those large 450mm (x 300W) high white tiles to fit between without cutting because I'm basically a lazy B and the less grout joints to clean the better (glass splashbacks anyone?)
One thing about large tiles is they're thicker and that means they'll better cover runout in walls when benchtops are all square to those square cabinets. An L shaped kitchen can be hard enough to control that sort of wall runout but with U shaped you've got 3 sides to control and allow for runout/out of square. Worst comes to worst you'll have to put a trim between benchtop and wall tiling but the art is in trying to avoid that and you can plane back laminate benchtops where flushing and plastering always leaves wall corners at greater than 90 degrees. Try that with granite, etc
You don't have to worry about fitting those benchtops together because they're all jointed ready to silicon and clamp together. The fabricator just wants those 3 wall length measurements, what edge detail where and end finishes(ie laminate finish to that laundry side end but unfinished to butt to the fridge cabinet) The art is in YOU working out what those measurements are, allowing for out of square and runout and thats all about checking diagonals for runout and allowing for planing some corners. That's where you can see U shapes present most headaches and youre doing some averaging to keep it all hidden under the tile tolerance.
Sinks come in boxes with templates for cutting out and if you stuff it up well you you just stuff it up, assuming you havent bought a double bowl sink and you've noticed a wee problem with the dishwasher fit now ;D
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Having done this project a couple of times, I'd agree with the above.
1 point I'd make is check your walls and floor. Nothing will be square, so this makes fitting a bit difficult, and you need to keep this in mind.
Another option that's not mentioned is to see a cabinet maker, and give them dimensions to build to, but fit yourself. I have found this to be the best way to go. It's not as cheap as ikea, but at least you can use every mm of space.
Also a tip for running silicone. Run your bead, then give a light mist spray of metho along and around the bead. Then run your scraper to remove excess and get the shape of bead you are after. The metho stops the silicone from sticking where you don't want it!
Best of luck with the job.
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Hello all Swaggers, again, Thank-you all so much for your invaluable advice and encouragement. Slowly learning all the things I need to look out for and pitfalls.
Being in country WA, we don't quite have the range or availability of the city. Heard Trojan guy yesterday that bought an IKEA kitchen it cost as much to get it freighted from the only IKEA store in WA to the freight company depot. As it did to yet it freighted down here. $600 I was told.
Still lots to work out,it again, thanks for the encouragement.
As I found out when doing laundry and toilet, bathroom, the house is not square and nothing fits properly.
Thanks all so much again, and if anyone wants to keep contributing I would welcome all the advice I can get.
A bit nervous as I see the mistakes I made in bath/laundry and there I can close the door. The kitchen is in the lounge/dining/kitchen room.
Though I am learning not to look at the mistakes too closely ........
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My bathroom and laundry attempt.
....both are unfinished projects still on the go....
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In our first house we had a kitchen from Mitre 10 Mega warehouse put in. We picked the style of kitchen fittings etc and then they installed. Their installers were from Spinners. They were excellent. They took out the old kitchen, boarded up a door and replastered it, installed new kitchen, wired, plumbed, tiled and put new appliances in.
Best thing was how clean they kept the place while doing the work. It was spotless every night we got home from work, except for one night because he had to use a different tiler who did a good tiling job but was very messy. The foreman knocked $200 off the bill
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We used http://www.flatpackkitchenssydney.com/ (http://www.flatpackkitchenssydney.com/) and they were fantastic, they helped us design the kitchen and then ordered everything. We have a huge kitchen, we were quoted around 40k by Harvey Norman and ended up at around 12K plus appliances by doing it ourselves. It looks fabulous and the quality is fantastic, much better than ikea and Bunnings. It was not too hard to put together either and took a couple of weekends.
Just had a look at the website, I'm impressed. I know Mitre10 Flatpack Kitchens come from Hafele. These kitchens, I would think are identical but these have a far greater range of doors. I've done one Ikea, one Bunnings and a half dozen Mitre10 and I like them. I'll e/mail them for some paperwork, looks interesting :)
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Yes the flatpack ones look good with the that 1mm PVC edging as protection for clumsy kiddies and you occasionally. Also check out their benchtop ordering site for how to spec straight, L and U shape benchtops and the only measurements YOU supply them.
Also there are plenty of videos on the net re certain tasks like this one for info-
10 - Installing Benchtop (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5ba9kbQvM8#)
so don't be coy about building it a few times on your screen before the real thing.
That particular video shows how to mark out without a template and always be cautious and check templates provided. Always use a new jigsaw blade for cutouts and don't force the saw lest it strays off vertical and your hold down clips struggle to meet and grip the underside of the benchtop. A trap for newbies watching the top line only and lacking tool experience.
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whilst not completely necessary, i like to run some masking tape under what i'm cutting out first and then mark the pencil ines on top of that. IMHO it helps to stop chipping the bench top out some, and if it's a stone bench top you then see the lines properly.
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Here's another tip for you with laminate floating floors. Although the laminate is hard wearing the weak link is water egress in the joins, causing them to swell just like those exposed cabinet edges in your kitchen. Now that Bunnings kitchen is in a renter with 'Jarrah' floating floor from this mob- http://www.inovarfloor.com.au/laminate/original/ (http://www.inovarfloor.com.au/laminate/original/)
If the tenant damages a door it's a new one from Bunnings but note Inovar have that 25yr domestic warranty because their product is waterproof and won't swell at the joints which will then be vulnerable to chipping at the edges with wear and tear. They even reckon it can go in wet areas but I wouldn't press my luck in that regard.
With general mopping and particularly vulnerable around kitchens, some water egress is inevitable so Inovar laminate on premium close cell foam underlay it is. Around $25/sm instead of some cheapies $10/sm cheaper, but the peace of mind plus a spare pack for any localised drama is cheap insurance in the long run. Check out some laminate floors that have been down for a few years to spot their Achilles Heel which Inovar have addressed superbly.
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I used a flatpack kitchen from Bunnings for our reno. Here is link to some of it that shows the flatpack;
http://www.renovateforum.com/f176/kitchen-family-study-reno-77590/ (http://www.renovateforum.com/f176/kitchen-family-study-reno-77590/)
What I found useful with the kit style is that I could design it all myself off the website/info sheets and there are so many different sizes to make them fit the space. Plus, I could buy them as I had time to fit them.
With any kitchen instal the best advice I could give is to NOT use the leg adjusters but build yourself a pine plinth that is DEAD LEVEL all the way around the kitchen to sit the cabinets on.
This will save you hours of frustation later trying to level them all to an unlevel floor.
The HIGHEST point should be the thickness of the kick panels so you can scribe the kicks in when finished. The plinth width needs to be set at the cabinet + door width less door thickness less kick thickness less overhang.
I replaced the door handles supplied with some upmarket ones.
Have fun. I may have some more photos if needed.
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Some of the ikea look great. What are they cost wise as i havnt read the whole thread. We just got our kitchen professionally done and cost us 10k. Wish i had of seen this earlier.
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I used a flatpack kitchen from Bunnings for our reno. Here is link to some of it that shows the flatpack;
http://www.renovateforum.com/f176/kitchen-family-study-reno-77590/ (http://www.renovateforum.com/f176/kitchen-family-study-reno-77590/)
That's some nice reno work there Dazzler. I wouldn't be game to cut a hole in a wall to fit a new window.
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That's some nice reno work there Dazzler. I wouldn't be game to cut a hole in a wall to fit a new window.
Thanks mate
Check out the link to the other end of the room where the old backers chimney is. Now that was work :'(
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I used a flatpack kitchen from Bunnings for our reno...
What I found useful with the kit style is that I could design it all myself off the website/info sheets and there are so many different sizes to make them fit the space. Plus, I could buy them as I had time to fit them.
With any kitchen instal the best advice I could give is to NOT use the leg adjusters but build yourself a pine plinth that is DEAD LEVEL all the way around the kitchen to sit the cabinets on.
This will save you hours of frustation later trying to level them all to an unlevel floor.
While I know where you're coming from dazzler that plinth method will be too hard for newbies but the point is just how level and even is your floor? In my pic there is a bit of a hump left of the stove and the kickboard has been planed at the bottom to accommodate that. What you can't see is a larger gap between top of the kickboard and the bottom of the carcase but who cares if it's 2mm or 5 or 6 mm because you can't see it anyway. It's the floor joint you see and if it's too uneven or running out of level then use quad trim.
Using the leg adjusters make up all the base boxes with the adjusters set the same (set your combi square for height) and assume the floor will be level (hold that thought). Then set them all in position (you did plane a chamfer on the corner units to fit snug into the corners now didn't you?) and fix them all together in line and you'll soon see what feet on the floor and which aren't. So far so good but I've already marked a laser level work line around the wall above the cabinets and I'll work to that. Either hire one or use a very good 1200mm spirit level for the purpose. Then decide where the highest floor point is vis a vis kickboard fitting under allowing for flooring and that's where you'll level all the cabinets to with even tension on each adjuster and yes you will have to lay on the floor to reach the backs. As I said you might set the high point low enough to allow for some planing of the kickboard to the floor for fit but that's it.
Quad trim fixed only to the KB if it's all too hard to get the floor fit and pine plinths dont allow easy access for services like clip on KBs, particularly if you overlooked something.
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Friends just had an Ikea kitchen fitted but went with a Ceasarstone bench top and it looks fantastic
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That's some nice reno work there Dazzler. I wouldn't be game to cut a hole in a wall to fit a new window.
cutting in new windows is easy when you know how, i guess everyone says that about stuff involving the trade they are in though....lol. i did this with our kitchen....
WENT FROM THIS...
(http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk237/qld-bundy-drinker/tn_IMG_0930.jpg)
WITH THIS INBETWEEN...
(http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk237/qld-bundy-drinker/tn_IMG_0953.jpg)
TO THIS...
(http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk237/qld-bundy-drinker/tn_001.jpg)
OTHER HALF OF KITCHEN LOOKED LIKE THIS....
(http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk237/qld-bundy-drinker/tn_IMG_0931.jpg)
NOW LOOKS LIKE THIS... (photo makes kitchen look squishy, but it's not in real life)
(http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk237/qld-bundy-drinker/tn_003.jpg)
doors are solid timber frames with inlays and draws solid timber fronts to try and keep the older look of the house. power points and light switches are heritage style now also.
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i did our kitchen and used a custom flat pack mob here in hobart and have to say it is the way to go. I got custom size draws and doors as well as being deeper than standard and it worked out alot cheaper and much better qulity than the hardware/ikea stuff. for the bench tops i went to a metal fabricator who was very helpful in saving me money letting me know if i cut the wood to the size and shape of the tops he would fold the stainless for what i thought was very cheap considering one top is around 4m long and he even welded in the sink i had for nothing. all up i think i came in around $5-6k which included smeg appliances so it will pay to shop around
have fun and good luck with the renos
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Looks like there are a few handy people on myswag :)
We have a solid tassie blackwood kitchen, wife liked it when we bought the house. She now wants a provincial style, white with wood benchtops. I am loathe to paint solid tassie oak but happy wife happy life. Any options other than getting a new wife who likes the current kitchen?
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Using the leg adjusters make up all the base boxes with the adjusters set the same (set your combi square for height) and assume the floor will be level (hold that thought).
My place was built in 1937.
The stumps are blue rocks that were too hard to get out of the ground and built before levels were even thought of :laugh:
I used to have some footage of a bottle of coke rolling across the room :cheers:
I just found I was chasing my tail with the leg adjusters. May have been the technique 8) of course.
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TO THIS...
(http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk237/qld-bundy-drinker/tn_001.jpg)
Wow!
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Looks like there are a few handy people on myswag :)
Any options other than getting a new wife who likes the current kitchen?
Are you on your first or second wife?
My second is a far improved model than the first :cheers:
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Are you on your first or second wife?
My second is a far improved model than the first :cheers:
Second and I can't afford a third :)
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Wow!
yeah the wife seemed to like the improvement also for some reason, she'd been going on for years about how the old kitchen was rubbish...lol
Are you on your first or second wife?
My second is a far improved model than the first :cheers:
PMSL ;D ;D ;D
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Sorry I overlooked your link to your reno pics dazzler but it should be clear now from that and rumpigs kitchen that when you think 'new kitchen' you can really be asking how long is a piece of string sometimes? It's why the kitchen mobs talk telephone nos and they know they have to get in get out stop mucking about, or else the client gets stroppy pretty quick. They need plenty of fat for 'contingencies'. For example an old house with coke bottle rolling down hill may require jacking the timber floor or screeding a poor concrete one and then there's the plumb of the walls to consider. Those cabinets must simply be plumb and level whatever the lie of the floor or walls.
When I said stick to adjusters that assumed like me you'd already checked the floor level and walls for plumb and were reasonably comfortable with them. That was the case with that U shaped job, albeit I had to shave back the plaster (solid brick walls) at the corners to get a nice fit. You almost always need to do that with solid plaster or gyprock flushing at wall corners because they're almost always floated greater than 90 degrees. The concrete floor was reasonably level too apart from a 5mm hump near that stove so planing to fit it was. Bear in mind if there was serious unaddressed fall across the job you may need to fit custom KBs to suit after adding packers under the leg adjusters because they're reaching their limit of adjustment.
As we're discussing the various jobs and problems it jogs other issues and steps I have taken for granted you know, but that's clearly not the case when you're new to it all. All I can say is 95% of what we do, we do in our sleep but it's the last 5% that creates 95% of the headaches if you don't plan ahead for it. Thunkin time is the most important part of any new job for a tradey ie what's this job all about and where are the pitfalls and headaches before I touch a tool to begin? Obviously it gets easier with experience but just when you think you know it all some job throws you a real curve ball to remind you you don't.
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Mine started life like this
(http://i587.photobucket.com/albums/ss315/lux77_photos/91AFA3E1-3CF7-434A-875E-A98470CFF5E5-4584-000006230F838EB2.jpg)
(http://i587.photobucket.com/albums/ss315/lux77_photos/236EFE02-C2A6-477A-B4B3-5C5968EB1F0E-4584-000006230BFF88A2.jpg)
Now looks like this, only finished lol
(Only pic easily available)
(http://i587.photobucket.com/albums/ss315/lux77_photos/32555669-338C-48FC-A864-37ECF8CD8C5B-4584-0000062309299658.jpg)
Better off spending a bit more if you can stretch the budget and get a local cabinet maker to do it or make the cabinets for you. If you want to have a crack yourself, maybe a local cut to size place could help you out with a cutting list.
Maybe someone like this? http://www.hppgroup.com.au/new/
Sent from an overpriced, overengineered, outdated gadget that can make phone calls, sometimes.
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For example an old house with coke bottle rolling down hill may require jacking the timber floor or screeding a poor concrete one and then there's the plumb of the walls to consider.
For a giggle
Tassie houses circa 1930
(http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq249/dazzler1966/sethcameraunderhouse032.jpg)
:cheers:
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Yes, one of the 'joys' of an old house is that probably not a single wall is plumb, no two walls are square to each other and nothing is level! ;D
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It aint always just the old houses baz but what the layman doesn't appreciate with a new kitchen is you are really fitting and adjusting the house around those near perfect computer cut cubes set up dead plumb and level as they must be. That seems counterintuitive to most but the art is in intuiting how the counter will look in the end.
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Was trying to find a link to an article but with just quick search I couldn't find it. Basically the article was about formaldehyde levels and basically said that any board manufactured in Australia has to emit less than a certain amount of formaldehyde, most cabinetmakers use Australian made board. Bunnings kitchens that were tested had formaldehyde levels way in excess of what is allowed but theirs I believe were made overseas so didn't need to meet the same regulations. I reckon it was maybe a couple of years ago that I read this article and things may have changed in the meantime but if I was thinking of buying any cabinet type product from there I would check it out.
:cheers:
Dave