4m long worktops?

[Crofter]

Started kitchen shopping today, hurrah. We're not exactly blessed with an abundance of choice here- there used to be a place doing IKEA kitchens in Inverness but they appear to have disappeared, so we ended up going between Wickes and B&Q, the latter being quite unimpressive. Wickes have their sale on at the moment and whilst a smudge over budget we did very much like the one we saw and got a quote for.

 

Anyway- the kitchen has a simple 4m run of units. Wickes only sell worktops in 3m lengths, so not only do we have to buy a big length of worktop to then throw away (OK, it would find a use somewhere as an expensive shelf) but more importantly we would end up with a join.

 

I can find 4m laminate worktops at online retailers, but then delivery becomes an issue. Do any of the physical retailers sell worktops in this length? I've tried Howdens, anywhere else?

 

Oh and any general kitchen tips, deals, etc much appreciated too...

[ProDave]

I was sure Howdens do 4M worktops. Do Magnet still have a place in Inverness?
 

[Crofter]

Not on their website, but I'll give them a call- we've got a Howdens on Skye.

Hadn't thought of Magnet, think there is one in Inverness. Thanks

[ProDave]

Just checked my Howdens catalogue and you are right just 3 metres. Definitley worth asking as the house I have just wired had a Howdens kitchen  and I am sure that had 4M long worktops, so see if they can get them to order?
 

[JanetE]

Not sure about worktop lengths but we are just fitting our Wickes kitchen and are impressed by the quality so can recommend them !

Edited December 23, 2016 by JanetE

[Crofter]

10 minutes ago, JanetE said:

Not sure about worktop lengths but we are just fitting our Wickes kitchen and are impressed by the quality so can recommend them !

Thanks, that's good to hear! From what I've seen in the showroom it is a big step up from the B&Q kitchen I fitted to our last house.

I wish we had more choice though, and one of my conclusions from today is that I don't really want to buy the kitchen off the internet unseen, or commit to vey lengthy multi day journeys to view, so that rules out Wren or IKEA...

[PeterW]

Wren are pretty useless in my view, ikea have always been good and they are solid kitchens with a very long guarantee that they stand by without question. 

[Onoff]

If you're desperate you can join worktops pretty much invisibly. The pattern helps greatly and this "granular" one was hugely forgiving. The key is to use the router to cleanly and sharply edge the abutting ends / faces. The cat in the photo is sitting on a 400mm wide piece grafted to the stock 600mm worktop over a 3m length.

 

 

[Oz07]

3.6 max at Howdens from memory. Standard lengths 3m certain ranges 3.6. Depending on joint gives you 4.2

[Crofter]

I will need a 1.2m length for the hallway... so two 3m lengths would reduce wastage. But I'm a bit daunted at the idea of making a flawless joint and would frankly rather avoid it completely... plus I probably don't want the same style of worktop in the hallway anyway.

[Onoff]

What finish are you looking at?

[Crofter]

Well strictly speaking that's a question for SWMBO... but something fairly dark, e.g. 

[Onoff]

The more "speckly" the finish the easier it is to hide the join. You need to factor in the cost of a bit too. Depends how handy you are with the router? On that score the bigger, better the router, the better balanced it is. The big, heavy 110V DeWalt I have on semi-permanent loan is so much more superior anything else I've used. When I cut an "edge" I:

 

- Support on trestles

- Masking tape the cut line

- Mark a line 3mm off the cut line and jig saw to that

- Clamp a straight edge and cut to the cut line in 3 or 4 passes, increasing the depth each time

 

I use the router for pretty much everything, cutting / edging Contiboard, holes for hobs etc

 

 

 

 

@Construction Channel I'm sure could do a video!

[Crofter]

Confession time: I bought a £30 router from Lidl a year or two ago, and, erm, it's been used a grand total of once- for a job that really needed a pillar drill, but it was all I had at the time. So my router skills are decidedly untested...

[Nickfromwales]

Sorry to be the party pooper, but @Crofter, do a nice job, don't restrict your choice and bite the bullet. Get a 4m worktop couriered to you and do it properly. By the time you've sorted a router, got to grips with using it, bought bolts, colourfill and solvent etc you'll soon see the value in just buying the right top in and getting on with something of value whilst you await its arrival. Oh, and God forbid you sneeze when routering, as that'll be game over. 

[pudding]

I've bought a couple from here before and delivery isnt a lot - http://www.worktop-express.co.uk/gbu0-display/delivery_details.html

 

[Onoff]

I did say if desperate!

 

My local Wickes has had in the past an area where they sell off cheap, broken and chipped 3m tops.

 

If delivery is what £39 then get a long one. As forgiving as my pattern is the join is noticable to the touch with a finger tip. The bit that came out barely OK and needed filling and speckling with a black Sharpie were the mitres on the breakfast bar I made.

 

Of course there is the fact I'm not known for taking the easy route...

[Stones]

11 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

Sorry to be the party pooper, but @Crofter, do a nice job, don't restrict your choice and bite the bullet. Get a 4m worktop couriered to you and do it properly. By the time you've sorted a router, got to grips with using it, bought bolts, colourfill and solvent etc you'll soon see the value in just buying the right top in and getting on with something of value whilst you await its arrival. Oh, and God forbid you sneeze when routering, as that'll be game over. 

 

+1, bite the bullet and grudgingly accept the extra delivery charge (you know I feel your pain on this subject) and make life 100 times easier for yourself.

 

One comment about the worktop itself, IIRC, you will be letting the finished build?  A dark worktop will show up every scratch, and given the care or lack thereof that some people take when they are in rented / holiday accommodation, it could begin to look tired pretty quickly.  I would therefore as a minimum avoid the cheapest of the cheap laminated worktops, go for something with a bit of texture rather than smooth and avoid gloss like the plague.  Solid wood may actually be a sensible option, as at least you could sand and refinish that every year to keep the place looking tip top.  

 

We've just had a 4m length of 40mm Oak supplied by our local Buildbase which was around £340.  I did a lot of hunting around online but couldn't beat that price because of delivery costs (either arranged by the supplying company or me organising my own) which amounted to around £150.

[Crofter]

I'm treating the worktop as something that will inevitably need replaced within, say, five years (almost tempting to buy teo of them and put one in storage!).

I'm not in the least bit relishing the idea of buying two shorter bits and joining them. It would cost more anyway.

 

The house will be a holiday let, so I'm not sure how much abuse the kitchen will get. Some weeks it will probably hardly be touched, other times it might get some use. But I don't think it will see the sort of day in, day out usage that a long term let would see.

 

I've heard conflicting things about textured worktops- harder to clean, but maybe more resistant to damage, or at least showing up the damage.

 

I would happily have a wooden worktop in my own house, but it seems a risk too far in a let. Only takes one careless person with a glass of red wine, or a hot pan, and that's it permanently marked.

[Onoff]

Didn't realise it was a holiday let.....

 

The missus chose ours so I didn't get a say in it. If I'd have been on my tod I'd have considered doing it on the cheap:

 

- scaffold boards butted together and biscuit jointed

- cast concrete maybe with some nuts and bolts slung in as pinpoints of shiny interest 

- strip wood again butted and biscuit jointed

[Crofter]

I was hoping to do it in concrete but have chickened out, the to-do list is long enough as it is as things are starting to fall behind schedule. Plus a 4m length would probably be a bit ambitious- although maybe joining it would be easier if I just made up some mortar and did it green.

[PeterW]

Wood is incredibly forgiving - I use a mix of coconut oil and beeswax as a "polish" in oak and it looks great. You really do struggle to mark it and if you do damage it you can sand it out. 

 

Found a 4m oak on eBay for £165 (sorry @Stones...) have a look here 

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/390145736517

[Onoff]

Is it only me that's looked at at a stack of tile battens butted together and thought...hmmmm!

[Stones]

2 hours ago, Crofter said:

I'm treating the worktop as something that will inevitably need replaced within, say, five years (almost tempting to buy teo of them and put one in storage!).

I'm not in the least bit relishing the idea of buying two shorter bits and joining them. It would cost more anyway.

 

The house will be a holiday let, so I'm not sure how much abuse the kitchen will get. Some weeks it will probably hardly be touched, other times it might get some use. But I don't think it will see the sort of day in, day out usage that a long term let would see.

 

I've heard conflicting things about textured worktops- harder to clean, but maybe more resistant to damage, or at least showing up the damage.

 

I would happily have a wooden worktop in my own house, but it seems a risk too far in a let. Only takes one careless person with a glass of red wine, or a hot pan, and that's it permanently marked.

 

Holiday or long term let, it only takes one person to use the worktop as a chopping board...I would have thought the risk is greater with a holiday let.

 

1 hour ago, PeterW said:

Wood is incredibly forgiving - I use a mix of coconut oil and beeswax as a "polish" in oak and it looks great. You really do struggle to mark it and if you do damage it you can sand it out. 

 

Found a 4m oak on eBay for £165 (sorry @Stones...) have a look here 

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/390145736517

 

I did have a look at them amongst others, and be they eBay sellers or direct websites, all, and I mean all, required significant extra over for carriage. Nature of the beast unfortunately.

[ProDave]

1 hour ago, Stones said:

 

Holiday or long term let, it only takes one person to use the worktop as a chopping board...I would have thought the risk is greater with a holiday let.

 

 

I remember, way back when I was a mere apprentice, one of the older guys I was working for had a new kitchen fitted. Within a few days he was complaining to the kitchen company because when he sliced a loaf of bread with a bread knife, it scratched the worktop.  Even I knew then to use a chopping board to slice bread on.

 

Having seen what tenants can do to a house, I imagine holiday lets could be the same, only they have less time in which to trash the place.  At least doing B&B about the worst they can do is bring home a take away curry and spill it on the carpet.

 

Perhaps stainless steel industrial worktops is what you should be aiming for?

 

This os one of the reasons why keeping and letting our present house is really something I do not want to do. the thought of having to refurbish it top to bottom does not appeal.