How long would you live with a kitchen like this?

Call in help OP. Life is too short. We have had other trades in to do ours and my DH is a builder but is just too busy to do much in his spare time.

At the absolute minimum you need some workspace. We managed to pick up a free kitchen on FB marketplace, chucked the old knackered worktops and made a cheap ply worktop which actually looks great. An unwanted sideboard might also work in the short term. Do you have a van?

I managed two weeks a few years ago before air fryers where a thing and my little one was about 8. Any longer or adding a baby would have torture.

Took my DH a few weeks while working full time to completely do over the kitchen. Call in the help. He can feel emascif he wants, but 10 months is a MAJOR pisstake.

I'd say that you need a kitchen when weaning starts. Is he hiding behind the DIY to get out of parenting? Why would you rather not call in help?

We did June - December so about 7 months, but our biofeedback turned one half of our double lounge into a temporary kitchen with a plumbed in sink. We had an undercounter fridge, undercounter freezer, a console table that served as a prep space, electric two ring hob, microwave, kettle and toaster oven. Set up an ikea billy bookcase as the main storage space, with an additional trolley. It ended up being ok (no kids though) but we had a lot of takeaways, salads, sandwiches and simple one pot meals like pasta. Worth it in the end though because I love our new kitchen. We did have heating and proper flooring though because we were in our living room.

Was involved in a major building project whilst pregnant and with a little one. Not having a proper bathroom with a baby was one thing but no way would we have had that sort of kitchen setup.
Think it's time to bring in support - you can afford it and it will massively improve everyone's lives. All credit to your husband for giving it a go but there is a time to take stock and consider alternatives.

We did for a few of months but only because DH, who was fitting the kitchen, had an accident and nearly sliced off his fingers with a circular saw. He'd only removed the oven a couple of days before.

I lived like that for about four months when getting significant building work don. House was pretty much open to the elements and freezing - no working kitchen.

no baby though or children in the house.

I live alone and did have a lot of sleepless nights given the poor security,

I would never do to again.

That was a better version of our kitchen when we moved in here. We extended and made a new kitchen about 18 months in.
I had 3 small children at the time.

Erm, probably forever with an airfryer, microwave, and hob. I managed 6 months in a tent with only a bunsen burner for cooking, and dd was 6 months old! Although I do have low standards tbf.

That would drive me mad especially with a baby. When I left ex DC were 4 and 7. I had a very basic kitchen small worktop. Did take the fridge freezer with us. Only had a single electric ring and microwave to cook on for a few weeks. The landlord did put a gas cooker in after a few weeks. I celebrated the next day cooked a tasty lasagne.😂😂😂

Lack of oven would really grind me down since we 'toast/roast' lots: pizzas, sausages, Sunday roasts, salmon parcels.

Recently, my oven was out of action for several weeks and that was a big downer.

Coming up to 3 years!

But we have upgraded from first makeshift kitchen to now a better makeshift kitchen in the ‘will be utility’.

But it’s going to be worth it! Kitchen just needs shelves, worktops and final fix plumbing. 🥳 (and the rest of the room doing ie. Skirting/ decorating etc.)

Babe is now a fully fledged toddler 🤣 hence the toys everywhere.

Only you know if it is worth the wait and why it’s taking so long.

What's the delay? I couldn't manage for that long and would need it done asap. We did a renovation where at one point we just had what you describe in the one bedroom we were also all sleeping in, but it was just a few weeks and I couldn't have managed any longer.

A week? Depends whether we could get fun takeaways and snacks instead of doing any cooking.

I did it for 11 months with a one year old.

Absolutely not. We've had three new kitchens, one we fitted ourselves and the longest it took was two and a half weeks (that was an insurance job following a fire and we had been provided with a temporary kitchen for that). The other times were no more than a week- Dh took a week off work and we pretty much spent the whole week in there.
Any longer and I would have gone crazy.

Where is DH 7 days a week?

The main issue is the no surface space.

Could you get a fold out for now?

Even a wallpaper would be handy because they are cheap to buy and fold up.

You could get a slow cooker which would mean spending less time in the kitchen.

My aunt is renovating her farmhouse they bought three years ago. They only had kitchen finished last summer. For two years they had a microwave and a hot plate in their living room. They also collected all their dirty dishes and drove them into town to wash up at family member's home couple of times a week. I guess it can be done and I can see myself being able to cope reasonably well with it as long as work was progressing

v baffling as well - I had a new kitchen put in definitely in under 2 months that included removing an entire wall and putting in glass doors and entire new kitchen.

This is just bullshit from your DH - he is completely abandoning you to the baby care - please for the love of God OP - tell him enough is enough.

I just don't know why people put up with this shit.

Three or four weeks, but longer in a nice summer (this one hasn’t been!). Sounds grim.

I managed without a kitchen for 2 months but my children were much older. I agree that you should get someone in to complete the work. It will be money well spent!

Absolutely yanbu. A week would be my limit. One of dhs friends is a kitchen fitter. 1 day to rip out, tidy up, let other trades in. 1 day to refit carcass, then appliances, sink/plumbing etc. Then another day for doors and drawers and plinths etc. Then maybe a couple of days for decorating/tiles etc.

Cousin just had one done. Her and a joiner mate. 2 weeks start to finish and included tiling and flooring and a downstairs loo and pantry.

Is your DH not capable because honestly I'd have paid for help 9 months ago.

Our kitchen took about two weeks to do and I was at the end of my tether then. I would move into a rental next time and let the contractors get on with it.