Spinny

No, no, no, no, yes, yes, no, no, no. Don't worry hob run is 2.2m long with a socket towards either end, well clear of the hob itself.

Looks like we are going to stick with 910 for the alleyway. We don't have the dishwasher problem as have gone for F&P dishdrawers. Moving the table 700 from the wall on the other side is significantly better than 650. Someone sat eating will need 450mm from the table - at 700mm total this leaves 250mm behind their chair - but if they do the usual temporary pull in of chair to let their neighbour out, then you get about 300mm behind the chair and most people can then slip out. In addition at 700mm you can stand against the edge of the table with the chair behind your legs and it is still clear of the wall. So this allows people to side step to the middle chair, cinema seat style and then sit down. Likewise they can get out this way if the person alongside pops out or swings their legs sideways. So we get, 700mm from wall, 900mm table, 150mm chair fully in, leaving 1150mm passage alongside island with no-one eating. With someone eating we get 300mm less alleyway or 850mm - still plenty of room to fetch and serve behind them. For the odd dinner party we might temporarily move the table out to 750mm or even 800mm for fat uncle albert. It is Mr & Mrs Albert O'Nuts and their drunken son pissed-Archie-O-Nuts 🤣😬🤮 When people come and inevitably mill about chatting while the meal is cooking, we hope the 910mm alley will help keep them on the far side of the island rather than getting under the cooks feet on 'the wrong side'. (PS We could I suppose knock it down and build a bigger extension, but I think I said that before when it was 2.2m wide.😉)

Shelled out a fiver for a pair of aviation snips for the toolbox which went through like a knife through butter - box out. Just have to get in a new one symmetrical with the other side of the hob, but they won't be templating for the glass splashback for a while.

Supplied drawers are 29cm total depth (perhaps 30cm with small projecting thing at rear). So I would be wanting 32cm (or 33cm including rear projecting thing). Do you have a link @dpmiller? Do they only do 300mm or 350mm etc ? If so that would explain why my kitchen has come with 300mm drawers inside a 330mm internally carcase.

Yes have found a small 'Blum' etched on them. Then seem to take a snap in cover piece with the kitchen brand name on. So can I buy identical replacements to any measurement from Blum, they are soft close using some gizmo on the runners ?

Thanks. I think both cables are in plastic conduit. Nervous of using a multitool to cut the box as easy to slip and damage the cable. Can I buy Aviation snips, or some kind of nibbling tool to cut the box ? Also when I put the new one in, is it permissible to cut the front section out of one entry hole so that I can slide one cable in from the front of the box ?

So I need to move an electrical box about 40mm to the right - see photo. The box is loose but how do I get it out without damaging the cables ?

I recall asking about the drawer depth because we want to keep dinner plates in there. A 270mm dinner plate just squeezes into the drawer depth, but remember thinking the drawers would take 300mm plates. It frustrates me when you pay a lot for something where efficient use of space is always critical and then the manufacturer just can't be bothered not to design out completely unnecessary wasted space. I come from the aerospace industry where people work with microns. iwould never expect that, but just chucking inches away seems bizarre, lazy, and rather poor. Yes they have a showroom, but likely not this depth of cabinet within it. I did challenge some holes in the oak look shelving unit that then have to have plastic covers, but got nowhere on that. They can make a cabinet width to a mm but insist on drilling unnecessary fixing holes in display shelves.

Apologies @G and J, I do very much appreciate you providing the comment. I over reacted to the middle person getting out bit and I am frustrated that best laid plans get frustrated by all the trades nicking inches. The kitchen fitter has moved the island alleyway out to 910 saying he thinks that is best, the kitchen designer encouraged us to make the island 990 wide. I have been concerned about space on that side all long but everyone railroaded me. Our old dining room was 3.4m wide with a 450mm sideboard on one side, leaving 2950 and we had a 950 table and high back sloping chairs. We will have to chose the chair design very carefully - maybe fabric back. Any pics appreciated.

Looking at our narrower drawers, it is apparent that when closed the drawers finish 40mm short of the actual back of the cupboard. (This is on a 300 depth drawer.) So 40mm of space we cannot access or use, Not what I was expecting. Any comments ? Should I complain ?

Well for the middle person to get out past others that are seated, then I imagine you would need at least 900mm. In all honesty I have been to dinner at people's houses where you would need other(s) to move in order to get out. Ditto restaurants. The problem is (1) most uk houses are of limited size, so talking ideals is great if you are a multi-millionaire, live in the country, or somewhere where housing is cheap, but I rather think it very difficult to achieve for most people in the UK, and (2) the use case of people for dinner is occasional and rarely more than 6 or so people for us. Most of the time the table is serving no more than 4, so everyone can get out at 650. Is the use case of fat uncle albert sat in the middle needing the toilet that critical ? On the other side of the table is a walkway down the room, so permanently limiting that because fat uncle albert comes to dinner twice a year seems unjustified. The table can be moved to-and-fro of course but the lighting will be fixed. Wall gap 900 + table 900 + seated person on other side 500 is 2300 which then leaves a walkway of only 600, or 900 with no-one seated. Every trade robs space - the brickie stole 25mm, the plasterer 15mm, the kitchen fitter 15mm

Quick thoughts... Why not run the cladding horizontally ? Have seen it done that way on gable ends and looking good. Maybe easier to fit that way. Why timber ? Requires maintenance and changes colour. Have you considered fibre-cement type cladding boards.

Have you looked at the T&C's provided to you by the architect ? Might have thought they would define payment terms and conditions. Upfront payment or deposit ? Why 50% ? Probably equates to 3 or 4 man days of work

Thing really is what is workable for the dining table. i think the table has to be 900 wide, going narrower becomes cramped for xmas etc. Anyone with a dining table adjacent to a wall care to comment on minimum space between the two ?

The fitter tells me it is not normally screwed to the floor at all, so potentially adjustable until the worktops go on, but not useable without worktops. Also difficult to visualise the aesthetic effect of adding the worktops on the surrounding spaces. Outstanding fitter by the way, well practiced in tool feng shui.