Help with kitchen renovation/ 1st house.

[zoothorn]

Hi chaps- If you can help: I have generally a bad 80's-diy-disater kitchen, some of I'll be keeping (due to ultra-tight budget).. to revamp myself.

 

To replace 1st: 2 worktops, tricky one is L-shaped, with this (foreground) 45*-off end section being the headache- how. And the join to make 'L'.

 

Is a rounded edge possible instead here? I'm talking 44mm basic worktop, not granite or any fancier stuff.

 

Thanks, zoot

 

 

 

 

[cherryfountain]

This job would be straightforward for a kitchen installer. The corner mitre is no problem if you have the right worktop jig and router. If you are fitting it yourself, without this equipment, the only other option would be a metal corner jointing strip, which would give an inferior finish. All bare chipboard needs to be sealed before joining, as ingress of water would soon cause blown joints. 

If you, or a fitter, intend to use 40mm rounded edge worktops, both ends would need to be routed square and finished with a glued-on laminate strip. The ends therefore would be square edged.

Also, I assume a new sink would be fitted, which would involve a sink cutout by jigsaw and, most likely would involve replumbing with alterations to the hot, cold and waste. 

The other thing to check is the worktop depth. They come in 600 and 616, and 665 and 900 double post-formed. Length 3.6m and 4.1m. Plus you will need the laminate strip for the ends.

 

[zoothorn]

Hi cherryF.. I have a router/ use frequently, but not a 'worktop jig'.. what is this exactly? anything I can make? I can fit/ jigsaw a new sink into a top/ placcy plumbing bits & a few compression joints I can do ok. Im pretty sure of this bit.

 

Due to the L shape/ I assume a tricky 45* joining of 2 sections at the top (I could do underside if just router work) & this odd cut off edge bit in foreground.. would you suggest its a kitchen fitter job do the lot?

 

 

[zoothorn]

All the cupboard doors & drawer fronts, bar the handles which could be replaced, are all solid wood & fairly good shape. I bet any affordable replacements wouldn't be near as solid. Can all the other stuff like the faux wood shelvy bits, strips below doors, & the white chipboard drawers etc.. can these all be replaced for doors to go back onto to £save a chunk? or is that not worth it/ its a rip the lot out job bin the doors & start again.

[newhome]

About 25 years ago we refitted the kitchen and ordered standard worktops from one of the sheds. We then took it to a local joiner who cut the joint for us. It was much easier than trying to buy the right kit and doing it ourselves. Alternatively you could buy the worktop from a company that offers such a service like the one below:

 

http://www.worktop-express.co.uk/information_guides/masons-mitre-joints-kitchen-worktops-worktop-express-nutshell-guide/

 

As far as how far to go with your kitchen refit you need to ask yourself whether you are happy to live with the doors and drawers that you have and the configuration of units that you have. If the answer to that question is yes, then you can work on a makeover with new plinths, worktop, tiles, and sink (for example). You can rub down and paint the doors if you fancy a colour change. There are lots of videos and links on how to do that if you google. You should easily be able to buy replacement kitchen drawer boxes as needed, and shelving, plinths etc too. 

 

If you can’t live with your doors etc then consider ripping it out and starting from scratch. In this case it’s worth keeping your eye on Gumtree, eBay and the local Facebook selling sites as you can often pick up kitchen units for next to nothing when people decide to refit their kitchen that could be pretty decent still. 

 

So no definite answer. You have some choices to make 

 

 

 

[cherryfountain]

I agree with newhome ,if you have a limited budget and are happy with layout,  painting  and refurbishing existing doors and units is a good option with little disturbance.Tired hinges , handles,drawers and runners can all be replaced, If you intend to replace drawer sets be aware of carcass thickness as this effects internal measurement of the unit.

[Onoff]

I made a jig to make a breakfast bar. Luckily the pattern is very forgiving. First I grafted rounded edges onto the short end and right hand side of this standard 600mm worktop. The router is your friend to get precise edges to butt together:

 

 

The jig is o/of 2 pieces of 10mm ali. It does the male and female. It's made specifically for use with the cheap router in the picture:

 

 

 

I had to turn down some double ended spacers from ali and fit O rings like on the standard worktop jig:

 

 

The fit is OK. The inserts were biscuit jointed and glued:

 

 

I never quite worked out why there was a little "kick" one side. Everything on the CAD model was mirrored and the jig laser cut. One side was perfect:

 

 

The other had this kick. As a say, lucky I have a forgiving pattern! Meant to revisit and figure why but never did!

 

 

Tbh it's where we tend to congregate in the kitchen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 20, 2018 by Onoff

[Jeremy Harris]

In our old house we had a right angled worktop very like this, and the problem was the proximity of the joint to the sink.  I made a new worktop using two layers of 18mm high density MDF, cut and glued to form the L shape with no joint on the upper surface in the corner.  I had the MDF cut to size in the local DIY shed, and the corner is just overlapping glued together sheets.

 

I then tiled the top with large format floor tiles (got them cheap as they were a couple of boxes that were the end of a line) and then finished it off with a thin varnished wood trim along the front, to cover the edge of the tiles and the MDF.  It lasted very well and turned out to be both durable and reasonably good looking. It also needed no real skills to put together, just lots of glue and screws plus a bit of tile laying.  The hardest part was cutting the mitres on the wood trim around the edge.

[SteamyTea]

16 hours ago, zoothorn said:

a bad 80's-diy-disater kitchen

Looks a lot better than my 1987 'professionally' fitted kitchen.

When I had the house valued a few years back, the estate agent raved about it, saying how modern it was.  But then, this is Cornwall.

[zoothorn]

Thanks for replies, that looks a great pro job done there.. but a bitch of a job to do that angled edge looks like.

 

The nasty thing about these units in the main, is the tiled tops. Urgh.. the grout's shot & the green tiles jesusHchrist already. But the periphery wood edge, is actually ok. The cheapest thing in principle is take out tiles > redo this 'inner' area. But what~ 10mm max depth?

 

Is this a feasable idea?

[Onoff]

Cast concrete counter tops?

 

Plenty of vids on YouTube.

[Onoff]

Penny bar top? 

 

 

Doesn't have to be coins, could be brass nuts or st/st washers even in a pattern. 

 

[Hecateh]

I love the idea of a penny floor - wonder if I could do it in the entrance hall?

 

[zoothorn]

Onoff.. great suggestion, I think a bit industrial looking for a rustic cottage though, Im not sure about the finish surface if done this way up/ alot of finishing work I think to get it really smooth.

 

Are there any worktops, say a good quality maybe vg solid heavy type, that come in as little as 10mm deep?

[Jeremy Harris]

1 minute ago, zoothorn said:

Are there any worktops, say a good quality maybe vg solid heavy type, that come in as little as 10mm deep?

 

Take a look at laminate wall board, mainly used for shower and bath surrounds.  The laminate seems identical to that on worktops and the boards are around 10mm thick.

[zoothorn]

Penny bar? weird.. too leftfield methinks. Take me a week to glue all the coins tho! But I understand the basic idea of filling this recess with something once tiles out.

[Onoff]

Scaffold boards biscuit jointed together. You can get new, rejects cheap. You could cut a decent curve and route the edge. Plenty of examples on Pinterest.

 

https://www.simplythenest.com/simplythenestjournal/2018/2/3/how-to-make-kitchen-worktops-from-scaffold-boards

 

 

Edited June 20, 2018 by Onoff

[Onoff]

Just now, zoothorn said:

Penny bar? weird.. too leftfield methinks. Take me a week to glue all the coins tho! But I understand the basic idea of filling this recess with something once tiles out.

 

I've seen them just lay the coins and pour on the epoxy. 

[zoothorn]

4 minutes ago, JSHarris said:

 

Take a look at laminate wall board, mainly used for shower and bath surrounds.  The laminate seems identical to that on worktops and the boards are around 10mm thick.

 

Now that idea has legs I think.. is there a really good quality types, maybe solid? ie that won't warp or bobble over 5 yrs say, being only thin any mfd clad stuff Id have thought 10mm not thick enough to be structurally robust.

 

Anyone seen my type of worktops before? any idea what the recess depth, once tiles out, likely to be with this worktop config I have with these wood edges?

[PeterW]

Homebase do a solid acacia wood worktops at 28mm for £30 a 2.2m length. Good quality for the price.

 

If you need a jig and are handy with a router then Rutlands do a Worktop Jig for £16.95

[zoothorn]

2 minutes ago, PeterW said:

Homebase do a solid acacia wood worktops at 28mm for £30 a 2.2m length. Good quality for the price.

 

If you need a jig and are handy with a router then Rutlands do a Worktop Jig for £16.95

 

Run me through the idea of the shape of these jigs would you. I do have in fact a jig I made from mdf I use for routers.. shaped in the form of a guitar tweed amp cutout top specifically. I can make a straight cut just using a straight edge guide clamped: what is the benefit of a wortop jig in comparison? This one seem to have angled edges either end off the straight recess..?

[PeterW]

If you look at the pics it shows you the cuts - you need to do an inset 45 degree cut on bullnose worktop otherwise you end up with an open join on a 90 degree corner.

[Onoff]

1 minute ago, zoothorn said:

 

Run me through the idea of the shape of these jigs would you. I do have in fact a jig I made from mdf I use for routers.. shaped in the form of a guitar tweed amp cutout top specifically. I can make a straight cut just using a straight edge guide clamped: what is the benefit of a wortop jig in comparison? This one seem to have angled edges either end off the straight recess..?

 

Buy the £17 one if you go that route. Even I wouldn't try and make a standard one.

[Jeremy Harris]

9 minutes ago, zoothorn said:

 

Now that idea has legs I think.. is there a really good quality types, maybe solid? ie that won't warp or bobble over 5 yrs say, being only thin any mfd clad stuff Id have thought 10mm not thick enough to be structurally robust.

 

Anyone seen my type of worktops before? any idea what the recess depth, once tiles out, likely to be with this worktop config I have with these wood edges?

 

 

The wall board is very tough and rigid.  I reckon it could be just glued to the surface left after you've removed the tiles and cleaned it up and last a decade or two.  We've had around the shower in the bathroom in our old house for several years (around 10 at a guess) and it loos as goo now as it did when I fitted it.  It's just glued to the wall with adhesive.

[Onoff]

38 minutes ago, zoothorn said:

 

Run me through the idea of the shape of these jigs would you. I do have in fact a jig I made from mdf I use for routers.. shaped in the form of a guitar tweed amp cutout top specifically. I can make a straight cut just using a straight edge guide clamped: what is the benefit of a wortop jig in comparison? This one seem to have angled edges either end off the straight recess..?

 

Loads of how to join vids like this:

 

 

Edited June 20, 2018 by Onoff