Kitchens - What would you do differently

[Bob Mannix]

Oh yes - in a similar vein - make sure the work surface is high enough for the washing machine (for example) AND any future flooring you may lay (don't ask :o( ).

[Tim]

For the base units (not really practical for wall units) get those with drawers in - not cupboards. They cost a bit more, but are approximately one million times more useful. Everything is easy to get at, not like cupboards which will have twenty year old cans of beansprouts and water chestnuts at the back when you come to move later.

If you're thinking of 'wide' drawers, (900mm-1m wide) - check the loadings though - a drawer full of cast iron pots and stonebake cookware is *heavy*.

As per another post - check the worktop height carefully. As a general guide, if you stand with your upper arm at your side, and your elbow at 90 degrees - with your hand and forearm horizontal in front of you, the worktop should be 3" or 75mm below your elbow. For a hob unit drop this to 150mm lower. (the pan rests will bring the height up to what is comfortable in use. (will obviously vary according to type of hob, but you want to be able to work 'inside' the pans in comfort.)

If you're (or SWMBO) are even marginally 'tall' - say 5' 10" or above, this would, at one time, have almost certainly precluded the use of standard units though, but this may have changed in the last 5 years. Check how high the feet can go, and that plinth is available to suit.

Hope your installation goes smoothly

Tim

[Owain]

The alternative solution is to remove the women and learn to do your own ironing.

Owain

[The Natural Philosopher]

I had many happy years in that state..sigh.

[Doctor Drivel]

I wouldn't. Mixer taps from mains water doesn't carry nasties from tanks and cylinders. That is why it is best to heat water isntantly via a heat bank/thermal store, multi-point or combi.

The dead-leg pipe can be eliminated by various methods.

[Tim S]

Hope for your sake, that she doesn't read USENET!

;->

[The Natural Philosopher]

Not this group, no ;-)

[Mary Fisher]

That's essential for every height.

It also applies to sinks, but it's a difficulat problem.

Mary

[Tony Williams]

Our units turn three corners and in each there is a vertical stack of pivoting wire baskets. The Boss has come to really dislike, (hate even), these baskets.

What are the group's thoughts on better ways to access the storage space in the corners?

[manatbandq]

We had no problems at all with B&Q, delivered on time and no omissions or breakages. If buying from B&Q, pay extra for the premium drawer kits.

Buy the pneumatic door stops to stop doors banging.

A total non-issue in reality. How many cases of illness due to mixer taps are there?

Do you use anti-bacterial wipes to clean all the surfaces? Any problems are probably more to do with being *too* hygenic and not giving the bodies natural defense mechanism a chance to develop.

A kitchen should be clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy.

MBQ

[Tim S]

Then Mr Nads and Mr Angle Grinder won't be having an unfortunate meeting at

3 in the morning ;->

[.]

Magnet used to do ready built units made to order. they were advertised as nylon welded (industrial hot glue gun) and were backed by a 30 year guarantee, reinsured at Lloyds.

on our first house, I wanted to have a 'ready built nylon welded kitchen with a 30 year guarantee' - in maple with blue panels. SWMBO wanted a green kitchen and she chose one from wickes :-(

that's the last time SWMBO was obeyed.

[Chris Hodges]

It's not that heavy, and the thinner stuff looks cheap and isn't all that strong if it bridges a big gap (e.g. 2 appliances next to each other underneath.

[Chris Hodges]

ikea's aoftware certainly used to be a free download from their website. Even if you don't like them and have alreday ruled them out as a supplier it would help with the layout.

[Chris Hodges]

Certainly is. "Standard" height is most suitable for below the current average (based on the average female a few decades ago IIRC). If the worktops are a bit high then a least the sink won't be too far off, if the worktops are too low, the sink gives you backache in minutes.

But of course if there are 2 of you with a significant height difference there's not a lot you can do about it.

Chris

[Andy Burns]

yes, it's ok to a point, I couldn't see how to tell it about out-of-true walls though, you can with sketchup.

[Chris Hodges]

I like the (practical) design compared to the B+Q and Moores (don't know who atually made them) ones I've seen, and they seemed robust. As hinted in my other post I think they make decent use of space and would consider them again if DIYing the shopping/delivery experience was tedious and at times irritating though - but they delivered everything we ordered in good condition and in one go (plus a few extra legs and hinges). As for ease of building, the bits I found time and effort consuming were the bits you#d have to do pretty much the same whoever you bought from.

[.]

you droped this: "piece of piss"

[Adrian Simpson]

In article , Piers James writes

Not really my thinking, my father used it in 1977. Back then, as memory serves, the idea of flat pack kitchens was just starting to take off and design software was a thing of the future (*), so you pretty well had to do your own design and take it to the sales droid.

(*) thread drift, talking of things in the future. Earlier that year we went to a Faraday lecture where they were talking about people sitting in front of their TV screens with a keyboard accessing their bank accounts. We came away thinking that was stretching the bounds of imagination just a bit far.

Adrian

[Chris Hodges]

Well I wouldn't go quite that far, so what I really dropped was :)

Chris