Hello again. I'm back!
I thought I'd blog my kitchen refurb as a way of getting all the photos in one place so I can look back on the project and my friends can also see what I'm up to. The photos in this post were taken a couple of nights ago as I prepared to move everything out of the kitchen and into boxes - I don't usually keep a washing up bowl on the side!
I have taken a fortnight off work to get this done and in two weeks' time I sincerely hope to have a new, fully functional, kitchen.
As background, my old kitchen came with the house I bought six years ago and it was pretty tired back then. I have painted the cupboard doors a couple of times and tarted up the counters with a laminate covering, (which I promptly burned with a hot pan!), but at some point I knew it had to be replaced.
Unlike the holiday blog I am allowing comments to be left on this part of the blog so if anyone has any ideas or handy hints I'd love the help!
Day 1 was spent, rather aptly, spending. I had given myself a budget of £2,000 for the project and the first £1,450 went to Ikea when I ordered the kitchen units, cooker, hob and extractor. This was all delivered the week before last and because they list every hinge, handle and sprocket I have no idea of they have delivered everything on the order. They have a better reputation than MFI........just about.
Now I hate shopping at the best of times and having to go to the DIY stores on a Saturday filled me with dread. Surprisingly though it wasn't too bad. I fitted the roof rails to the car and headed for the Plumb Center (sic) who kindly relieved me of £130 in exchange for a bunch of copper pipes and the joints to stick it all together. I still have in mind that this takes care of the feeds to the sink, washing machine and dishwasher, but not the wastes yet so I expect another hefty fee for a bunch of plastic bits in a few days' time.
Then it was on to Topps Tiles for floor and wall tiles. I have calculated the floor space and the wall area but decided to go on the mean side with the order for some oblong, cream floor tiles and cream wall tiles. The ones I chose were definitely on the budget side but I still left the store with a friendly wave from the salesman who helped me load the car after cheerfully extracting £200. Admittedly this did include a bucket of spacers, tile adhesive and limestone coloured grout. What a bargain!
Screwfix screwed me (pardon the pun) for a further £155 for electrical sockets and switch boxes. This was better than the estimated £250 that the same items would have cost from B&Q or Homebase.
Finally I got to B&Q and shelled out a further £40 for a laser spirit level, a box of Polyfilla, a paint brush to replace the one I knackered when I painted the fence and some fresh blades for the Stanley knife.
So this shopping spree has left me with just £25 left to stay within budget. Thankfully I have a few litres of Dulux white paint to slap on the walls but I fear that I am going to have to adjust the budget.
Dear Barclays Bank
It is no secret that you have been having a bit of a time of it recently but I have good news for you.
I am refurbishing my kitchen and fear that the budget of £2,000 that I set for the project will not suffice.
I could surrender my Unit Trust ISA which contains Barclays shares but this could be counter-productive and I don’t want to be even partly responsible for a run on short-selling Barclay's shares.
Therefore I propose that you bail me out of my current situation by underwriting my kitchen project. I am a UK taxpayer so ultimately we will be bailing each other out.
At current estimates, I would say that another £1,000 should cover the project to completion and most importantly this will keep the UK economy going by pure spending power. Please do not forget that you do own a large percentage of the property so this can only be a win-win situation.
I do not see how you will be able to deny this offer so I will commence spending in the morning.
Yours ever so sincerely
Nik Potter
PS. You have been charged £22 for this letter.
I thought I'd blog my kitchen refurb as a way of getting all the photos in one place so I can look back on the project and my friends can also see what I'm up to. The photos in this post were taken a couple of nights ago as I prepared to move everything out of the kitchen and into boxes - I don't usually keep a washing up bowl on the side!
I have taken a fortnight off work to get this done and in two weeks' time I sincerely hope to have a new, fully functional, kitchen.
As background, my old kitchen came with the house I bought six years ago and it was pretty tired back then. I have painted the cupboard doors a couple of times and tarted up the counters with a laminate covering, (which I promptly burned with a hot pan!), but at some point I knew it had to be replaced.
Unlike the holiday blog I am allowing comments to be left on this part of the blog so if anyone has any ideas or handy hints I'd love the help!
Day 1 was spent, rather aptly, spending. I had given myself a budget of £2,000 for the project and the first £1,450 went to Ikea when I ordered the kitchen units, cooker, hob and extractor. This was all delivered the week before last and because they list every hinge, handle and sprocket I have no idea of they have delivered everything on the order. They have a better reputation than MFI........just about.
Now I hate shopping at the best of times and having to go to the DIY stores on a Saturday filled me with dread. Surprisingly though it wasn't too bad. I fitted the roof rails to the car and headed for the Plumb Center (sic) who kindly relieved me of £130 in exchange for a bunch of copper pipes and the joints to stick it all together. I still have in mind that this takes care of the feeds to the sink, washing machine and dishwasher, but not the wastes yet so I expect another hefty fee for a bunch of plastic bits in a few days' time.
Then it was on to Topps Tiles for floor and wall tiles. I have calculated the floor space and the wall area but decided to go on the mean side with the order for some oblong, cream floor tiles and cream wall tiles. The ones I chose were definitely on the budget side but I still left the store with a friendly wave from the salesman who helped me load the car after cheerfully extracting £200. Admittedly this did include a bucket of spacers, tile adhesive and limestone coloured grout. What a bargain!
Screwfix screwed me (pardon the pun) for a further £155 for electrical sockets and switch boxes. This was better than the estimated £250 that the same items would have cost from B&Q or Homebase.
Finally I got to B&Q and shelled out a further £40 for a laser spirit level, a box of Polyfilla, a paint brush to replace the one I knackered when I painted the fence and some fresh blades for the Stanley knife.
So this shopping spree has left me with just £25 left to stay within budget. Thankfully I have a few litres of Dulux white paint to slap on the walls but I fear that I am going to have to adjust the budget.
Dear Barclays Bank
It is no secret that you have been having a bit of a time of it recently but I have good news for you.
I am refurbishing my kitchen and fear that the budget of £2,000 that I set for the project will not suffice.
I could surrender my Unit Trust ISA which contains Barclays shares but this could be counter-productive and I don’t want to be even partly responsible for a run on short-selling Barclay's shares.
Therefore I propose that you bail me out of my current situation by underwriting my kitchen project. I am a UK taxpayer so ultimately we will be bailing each other out.
At current estimates, I would say that another £1,000 should cover the project to completion and most importantly this will keep the UK economy going by pure spending power. Please do not forget that you do own a large percentage of the property so this can only be a win-win situation.
I do not see how you will be able to deny this offer so I will commence spending in the morning.
Yours ever so sincerely
Nik Potter
PS. You have been charged £22 for this letter.
