It was a steady progress day. The plan was to screw in the worktops, get the doors on all of the base unit cupboards, build and install the drawer unit and the carousel in the corner cupboard.
Screwing in the worktops was bloody hard work, even with the electric screwdriver – that wood is so tough! Then the sink unit door went on no problem, and that’s when I started having to think.
The adjacent door at right angles to the sink is not as wide as the aperture so I needed a filler piece so I put on the door, (after twatting my head on one of the shelves in that cupboard when putting the awkward sods in!), to see how big the gap would be. It was only about 35mm but the filler couldn’t go to the left of the door because that would stop the sink door from opening. I built out the edges for the hinges on the opposite side to get the door adjacent to the sink unit. This took me ages and I still can’t say why.
I got it nicely straight and about 1mm away from the corner and then realised that the sink door still wouldn’t open. Then the penny dropped! I should have installed the sink unit a few millimetres away from the back units to allow for the cupboard doors and it is far too late to move it now! Looking back on the paper plan I have from Ikea the filler piece looks like it is shown on the back unit but it is a bit ambiguous with the perspective and could look like either. D’OH! D’OH! D’OH!
The sink unit door will open but only if the other door is opened first. It is such a shame but it will only be a little niggle in the kitchen when I am using it properly. Let’s face it, the cleaning products go under the sink and I’m not that obsessive with the housework that I’ll use that cupboard every hour. If there is a plumbing emergency and I need to work in that cupboard in the future, which I sincerely hope not to be doing, the doors are on ingenious clips so it is a matter of a couple of seconds to remove it completely.
Unbelievably, that little bit of work had taken until past lunchtime. I was putting the drawer unit together when my mum arrived to have a look at what has been done. I’m glad she was there when putting the bottom drawer on the rails. It was a sod because it has the whole cupboard door on the front so balancing it from the top while guiding the bottom on the moving rails. The front looks like a cupboard door but there are three drawers inside. It really is very clever design and all of the drawers have dampers to softly close them the last couple of centimetres – very posh!
After that it was the corner unit on the other side of the cooker with its double doors and carousel. The carousel was designed for corner units with the diagonal front like the one on the wall above but after a bit of trick measuring I got it into a suitable place and it does still leave loads of cupboard space.
After a quick dinner, (cooked in the new oven!), I felt absolutely knackered and went to bed at nine.
I am writing this first thing in the morning on Day Sixteen. I have decided to not do any more of the little jobs in the kitchen and put everything away in the cupboards so the kitchen is ready for proper use next week when I will be back at work. I can do the plinths, the other filler pieces and make a start on the plug sockets and under cupboard lights next weekend. In the meantime everything has to be cleaned before it is put back in the kitchen thanks to the tremendous amount of dust I have created over the past fortnight so it is on with the Marigolds!
Thanks for reading the blog. I hope you have enjoyed reading it over the past two weeks. It has certainly been an experience involving the proverbial blood, sweat and tears but at the end of the fortnight I am looking back and feeling pretty chuffed with everything I have achieved. And, yes, I would do it again because I have learned so much.
I will post photos of the kitchen as I progress part-time over the next few weeks but this will be the last of the daily updates.
Screwing in the worktops was bloody hard work, even with the electric screwdriver – that wood is so tough! Then the sink unit door went on no problem, and that’s when I started having to think.
The adjacent door at right angles to the sink is not as wide as the aperture so I needed a filler piece so I put on the door, (after twatting my head on one of the shelves in that cupboard when putting the awkward sods in!), to see how big the gap would be. It was only about 35mm but the filler couldn’t go to the left of the door because that would stop the sink door from opening. I built out the edges for the hinges on the opposite side to get the door adjacent to the sink unit. This took me ages and I still can’t say why.
I got it nicely straight and about 1mm away from the corner and then realised that the sink door still wouldn’t open. Then the penny dropped! I should have installed the sink unit a few millimetres away from the back units to allow for the cupboard doors and it is far too late to move it now! Looking back on the paper plan I have from Ikea the filler piece looks like it is shown on the back unit but it is a bit ambiguous with the perspective and could look like either. D’OH! D’OH! D’OH!
The sink unit door will open but only if the other door is opened first. It is such a shame but it will only be a little niggle in the kitchen when I am using it properly. Let’s face it, the cleaning products go under the sink and I’m not that obsessive with the housework that I’ll use that cupboard every hour. If there is a plumbing emergency and I need to work in that cupboard in the future, which I sincerely hope not to be doing, the doors are on ingenious clips so it is a matter of a couple of seconds to remove it completely.
Unbelievably, that little bit of work had taken until past lunchtime. I was putting the drawer unit together when my mum arrived to have a look at what has been done. I’m glad she was there when putting the bottom drawer on the rails. It was a sod because it has the whole cupboard door on the front so balancing it from the top while guiding the bottom on the moving rails. The front looks like a cupboard door but there are three drawers inside. It really is very clever design and all of the drawers have dampers to softly close them the last couple of centimetres – very posh!
After that it was the corner unit on the other side of the cooker with its double doors and carousel. The carousel was designed for corner units with the diagonal front like the one on the wall above but after a bit of trick measuring I got it into a suitable place and it does still leave loads of cupboard space.
After a quick dinner, (cooked in the new oven!), I felt absolutely knackered and went to bed at nine.
I am writing this first thing in the morning on Day Sixteen. I have decided to not do any more of the little jobs in the kitchen and put everything away in the cupboards so the kitchen is ready for proper use next week when I will be back at work. I can do the plinths, the other filler pieces and make a start on the plug sockets and under cupboard lights next weekend. In the meantime everything has to be cleaned before it is put back in the kitchen thanks to the tremendous amount of dust I have created over the past fortnight so it is on with the Marigolds!
Thanks for reading the blog. I hope you have enjoyed reading it over the past two weeks. It has certainly been an experience involving the proverbial blood, sweat and tears but at the end of the fortnight I am looking back and feeling pretty chuffed with everything I have achieved. And, yes, I would do it again because I have learned so much.
I will post photos of the kitchen as I progress part-time over the next few weeks but this will be the last of the daily updates.
