To think I can fit a kitchen with no DIY skills

Hi I fitted my own units ,just make sure u get the height between base units and cupboards right, I was 4 cm under legal requirement so had to re hang cupboards higher 😫 also cupboards above hob have to be a certain height, If you can get plumber to cut hole in worktop for sink/hob saves so much effort , iare you ok with putting up flatpack furniture if so you're halfway there, I'd give it a go great sense of achievement when finished

I think you can do most things yourself, but certain finishing touches are better left to an expert. Eg most prep of walls, rubbing down, the donkey work. Fitting the kitchen, making sure it's all straight, units level. But the cutting of the worktop, if it's complicated, unless very simple, looks so much more polished when done by a skilled fitter.

certain finishing bits I would pay for someone to go, because a poor finish looks so bad.

Glad I'm not the only one who puts off projects for 3 years

Please post pics as you go if you feel up to it. I'm very interested in renos! ☺️

Hey, @CloudyYellow what did you decide? 🤔

Are you generally practical in other areas of life? If so you should be ok.

You might need a mate to help (hold this bit etc) or a handy man to do a couple of the trickier bits .

Thank you!

You buy a jig like a template to cut worktop. If wood or laminate jig to make diagonal angled corners. If granite or quartz do square corners. DH bought a jig and wooden worktops in a couple of our btl's.

I'd fit the units,and do some tiling/flooring but I'd be nervous cutting the worktop, particularly if it was expensive. Just remember Measure twice, cut once

@BMrs
That looks lovely!

The trick with tiling a floor is not to start in the corner. Get a Lazer and beam a straight line down centre of floor. Draw the line with chalk. Then tile down the middle of kitchen on straight line. Then go to right up to wall, go back to middle then go left to wall. You can buy as tile cutting machine for about £40. Use spacers between each tile to give even gaps.

The Lazer is good to get straight lines. Adjust legs on units to get units to match up to lazer line. Once you have a run of units lined up join them together then attach to the wall with screws. Use wall plugs to attach to wall.

There are loads of YouTube clips to show you how to do things.

Anything is easy if you have reliable straight lines. If you don't, it's more tricky! I am by no means confident or expert with DIY and have been on a steep learning curve in the last couple of years, but invariably, the simplest job becomes almost impossible when the wall isn't straight. (Tiling is an example here. A PP says it's boring and low-skill: yes, absolutely, if you are tiling onto a straight wall. Tile onto something that bends in three dimensions, and it's amazing what a difference professional know-how makes).

In your situation I'd do my best to find a skilled/confident buddy - possibly even by offering a skills/time trade? It'll just feel so much more achievable with someone else.

I'm paying electrician to move cooker point and plumber to do plumbing for washing machine and dishwasher. Van cost £80, fuel cost £30, electrician and plumber probably will cost £300 - £350 as I am having a couple of extra sockets. Kitchen including all appliances cost £500. So will do tiling between base units and wall units myself. Tiles, adhesive and grout £200. Floor tiles, adhesive and grout cost £220. Whole kitchen approximately £1200.

Tiling is not difficult. It's exacting, time sensitive and very very tedious though; wiping the grout down is hard on the arms. And you really do need to have the right cutting tools.

If OP's going to go ahead with the build, get premade carcases rather than flatpack. They'll be much, much more solid. We used DIYkitchens for ours, got a fitter in for the worksurface and a plumber for the obvious bits; we already had electrics in the right positions thankfully so could hook those up again to fresh sockets etc ourselves. It wasn't terrible. I'd prefer not to do it again though.

Ooooh I wouldn't recommend it like. We took a week off work to do it and it was just manageable and dh has all the DIY skills. It was pretty tricky

OP if you are on a tight budget consider buying a decent second hand one from eBay. I have btl houses and we always do this yet new tenants often comment what a nice kitchen. I have got many bargains including appliances. I recently bought a double oven Neff, Bosch dishwasher, Samsung American fridge freezer, sink, extractor fan and lovely kitchen units all for £500 with granite worktops. Only catch had to go and dismantle with large van and transport back ourselves.

I think I have shown first image of kitchen. Then second image is how it is going into btl. There are still a run of units down another wall and run with sink to go in yet.

I didn't build a kitchen from scratch per se but we inherited an old kitchen in a house we bought. I couldn't stand one side of it where the hob was so I ripped it all out, bought standard cupboards and similar doors and fitted it myself while the hubby was at work. I had a professional do the worktops and we had the whole kitchen sprayed professionally so it all matches. Was well chuffed and was like ikea flat pack level of skill needed

I fitted mine by self. It did take a while as I was working full time. I got the electrics done by a qualified electrician but everything else I did myself. You will need power tools. A decent drill for drilling into walls a Router for cutting work tops and the hole for the sink/hob and some sort of electric saw handy for everything else. I have a mitre saw but I think a bench saw would have been better. A spirit level is also needed. Plumbing wise you can get push fit fittings and flexi tails for sinks. Use you tube for everything. It will save you loads and so much satisfaction. After doing mine I also fitted one for my son that was bought off eBay.

It’s boring and repetitive and honestly takes no skill (cause I have none 😂) so that might be why he hates it?

As in, I can imagine it just being a big time drag if you’re actually capable of doing more complicated stuff, where I was just like... Ooh you just stick them on straight and look, tiles 🤣🤣

LoL species that is half way through it looked all right till we took the cupboards out and half the plaster came with them but the kitchen had been put in 1987 as we found an advert for a local nightclub dated behind one cupboard, but before we started we knew we needed plastering over a chimney been removed, new PCP board and new plugs before the new kitchen could go in and lucky that my son in law is a joiner this is the after pics

Is that before or after Isseywith3witchycats 😀

Fitting a kitchen is not too difficult if everything is square. The units have a bit of fitting leeway but ensure they are level. As others have said, get a chippie to measure and fit the counter top unless it's one straight run.

That's really interesting - my dad who is really good at DIY HATES tiling with a vengeance, so I have always believed it's really difficult!

I more or less did this a few years back when I was on a budget. I removed the old kitchen myself, built the flatpack and did the tiling and decorating. Electrics done by a skilled tradesman as was the worktop cutting etc. Apart from the really cheapest kitchens much of the final finish is due to fitting and not the quality of the units so probably worth paying for a specialist to do the clever bits otherwise you risk have one or two snaggy bits that will bug you forever more.