ryder72

We sell about 20 units a year and have been for about 7 years. Can probably recall 3 instances of problems resolved under warranty. Taps will retail from around £675 depending on design and model.

Induction every day of the week. Much faster, better control, more efficient. The only downside (if one can call it that), is the need for magnetic pans.

Bora is a good product and a number of others are copying the design. Whether anyone has been able to replicate the claimed science behind Bora hobs is unknown. Burbidge is a door supplier (and an expensive one at that, for no obvious reason that I can see). They dont do kitchens, so you would be relying on your kitchen supplier to source a good quality carcase and fittings and then make a good job of bringing it all together into a package that is going to last 20 years. I personally remain unconvinced that component sourcing and assembly is the way to buy a kitchen. Ultimately a kitchen is only as good as its carcase and even the best chipboard is no good if it isnt cut square, edged with 2mm ABS edging, drilled correctly for hinges and runners etc. PP edging that is common on these types of kitchens are not a patch on quality ABS edging. Hinges and runners drilled on proper jigs and CNC's are far superior to those drilled with a tape and pillar drill. One can buy the best runners and drawer boxes but if they are not fitted perfectly aligned, they will prematurely wear out.

Full payment upfront is barmy. Most good retailers would want 25-30% upfront and balance before delivery for supply only kitchens For supply and fit kitchens, it would typically entail a 5-10% balance on completion. I dont think any company would entertain a retention of 6 months.

Is it feasible for use to sound proof internal walls instead of rockwool? Or to wedge between joists to reduce noise transmission? I would still probably use rockwool between studs where I have services running down (cables etc) but I was considering using left overs elsewhere.

I dont know of any steam ovens with pyrolitic cleaning. The argument is that the regular release of steam in the cavity prevents burnt on residue in the cavity.

If you are looking for power on a kitchen island, if at all possible my recommendation would be to install sockets recessed into the side panels of the island rather than these contraptions. None of they are really that sound.

Absolute no brainer these things are.

Nick - when you refer to heat deflection, you mean heat from the splashback or heat deflected downwards from the hob onto the worktop? Corian also specified a 100mm gap from splashbacks behind gas hobs but this is to prevent scorching which is a known problem with Corian and I expect with similar polyester based worktops. However Corian doesnt have this problem with downward heat deflection from pans. I can only imagine this is because Corian is only 12mm thick whereas polyester based worktops are usually 30mm thick so the greater volume of the material (I am sure someone will correct me as to the correct terminilogy) will make it prone to overheating. However, this logic should also apply to quartz.

If different brands, individual cutouts are the only solution. I have checked the tech spec on Apollo Slabtech and it does mention 120mm bridge. Somewhat surprised by this as a number of polyester alternatives do not stipulate this.

Multiple brands approach this differently but I will stick with the most popular options If they are different makes, a 50mm bridge and then appropriate cutouts for individual hobs. If they are Miele domino hobs, connecting strips are available and a single large cutout to encompass all domino hobs is made and hobs dropped in with connecting strip between hobs. Miele however does not allow a domino to go in with a normal hob. Siemens/Neff/Bosch - Individual cutouts or combined single cutout with connecting strips. Domino hobs can be combined with normal hobs provided the normal hobs are of the right specification suitable for combining with dominos. Domino hobs arent a cheap option but they do offer a degree of flexibility.

This doesnt make sense. AFAIK Slabtech is fine fabricated with 50mm bridges between cutouts. We have fabricated worktops 12mm thick with 50mm bridges. It is normal for these types of hobs to be butted together with a joining bracket. Is that approach not an option for you?

I wouldnt rate their hoods really. Quality is quite mediocre on their mainstream product but very good on their top end bought in products. I am pretty sure this is a bought in product from EGO. Most good manufacturers use EGO induction loops and their products are well made. Its the occasion when it goes wrong that you need to be prepared for. We have rarely had problems with EGO made products, but the failure rate hasnt been zero or insignificant. I would buy their product as I know the core product is sound. With induction hobs, the bit that are most likely to cause problems are the control circuits, not the loops themselves.

There isnt that much difference in induction hobs. The problem is more likely to be an unusual size cutout in a stone worktop due to a premature failure on a hob and then finding a replacement hob requiring the same cutout. Yes thats a huge price difference. I suspect that hob is actually made by EGO and badged Elica. Its a well made product but I didnt know Elica supplied hobs in the UK. Just falls into a container that is easy to wipe out.

Your biggest problem is going to be service issues as Elica UK are within their rights to not offer any sort of warranty or after sales support. The risk lies with you.

Long story but our flat roof deck (build up is joists, air-tight membrane, 22mm OSB3 deck, 150mm PIR insulation, 150-50mm tapered PIR insulation) was wet from a downpour before it was covered up with the single ply membrane. Water got through the gaps in the insulation etc and was trapped between the OSB and membrane. We had to slash open the membrane to let the water drain out and the deck has been left to air for around 4 weeks now. The OSB feels pretty dry to touch and no new water has fallen on the deck or no new moisture is coming through the OSB. windows have been left open to ventilate the house and fans set up to accelerate the drying. There is no way to be 100% sure that there is no residual moisture trapped between the boards apart from lifting up the insulation and this will almost certainly damage the boards. Does anyone have any opinion on the best way forward to determine when the roof has reached an acceptable level of dryness before being covered up. My concern is that once the roof membrane is on and air/moisture membrane taped up on the underside, any moisture trapped in the board is permanently trapped. What implications could this have? Any inputs gratefully received.

Point well made.

Actually a baking tin or roasting tray left on the worktop for a few seconds isnt likely to damage it. In reality the metal is too thin to have any quantity of localised heat in it that it will transfer to the worktop. Its the thick bottomed pans that you have to worry about.

OP - is there a reason why you wish to permanently stick something to your worktops? Trivets are more versatile - you can have as many as you like, place them where you want, wash them etc.

You should really use hob bars with all worktops. Quartz itself withstands heat better than granite but the resin scorches. Granite doesnt have resin to scorch but its crystalline structure is unpredictable so granite failures are be more sudden and catastrophic but rare. Use a trivet and quartz is overall a better product with much more choice of colour and texture compared to granite.

Seem similar ones on ebay for £29.99. Probably not the same product. They are 18 inches diameter.

To cut a long story short, we need to dry out a roof deck and I need to get myself a few high capacity blower fans. Found some 18inch fans on ebay quite cheaply but they are on 1 weeks lead time. Anyone have any suggestions as rental doesnt make sense given than I might need them for atleast 3 weeks and they may come in handy to speed up drying out of the plastered walls.

I would tend to agree with NSS. An early agreement on the kitchen layout allows utilities (water, waste, electrics) to go in the right place and this is particularly relevant for builds where there is an element of offsite manufacture.

Our Internorm windows go in next week. We are going to keep all windows locked. Front door, also from Internorm has been put back till the end of the build at extra cost but we couldnt risk someone damaging an expensive front door. We will be using correx on both sides to protect the glazing.

@DavidFrancis- I definitely want black timber. I am not a fan of unevenly weathered timber unfortunately. @Crofter- Its also got to be vertical timber. We had planned board on board with 20mm overlap but this is proving to be impossible to achieve with the composites. The best I can get is a tongue and groove effect material and I can live with that. @Mikey_1980- The Marley stuff is all horizontal board stuff so not suitable for what we are trying to do. I had a sample of a product called Teckwood come through today. 10 year warranty 30-50 year life expectancy. Frankly, if it goes 20 years I am happy beyond that its not my problem.