So...DH wants to rip out and re-build the kitchen. Ourselves.

[TrappedByATurtle]

He's insane isn't he [sigh]

I managed to do it. Got the gas people in to hook up the hob, but I did all the rest by myself. That said it took me a year to put the handles on.

Well, are you both good enough diy-era?

Do you have children to cook for, do you fancy all that extra work after being out at work all day?

I’d want professionals in to do it quickly, I’d hate the stress.

*DIY-ers

From scratch? Did you have any experience in building wooden units etc? Did you have an area you could use as an interim kitchen? Could you block off the working area from the rest of the living room? How long did it take you for the majority?

I am he's not

If you are just talking about putting in new cupboards, then it is easy. You need to get someone qualified to do and electrics/gas work though. And re-tiling might be beyond some people to do neatly (like me). But the basic putting together cupboards and attaching them to walls? Easy.

When you say "from scratch" I assume you will buy flat pack units? How long really depends on how big your kitchen is - but your other problems would exist whether you did it yourself or got someone in to do it...

Putting together cupboards? That's not what he means. He means making them. From scratch.

My dh will be doing ours shortly , he’s very good at DIY , slow but the results are always near perfect and after the trouble we’ve had with the builders currently doing our extension we have decided that’s we are never using tradesmen again for anything that he can do ( which is just about everything except gas work)

OK. If he is talking about buying planks of wood and crafting cupboards himself then yes, he is insane.

Unless he is a professional fitter then what he's saying is a Very Bad Idea. Having a kitchen fitted is messy, noisy and disruptive even with a professional.

Are you both particularly talented at DIY? If not then a kitchen is an ambitious project, and I think that there are a few regulations about where certain appliances such as hobs can go.

Or is he like my DH used to be, with a tendency to be over ambitious and over optimistic about what is achievable, then never getting the job finished and having to admit defeat?

We ripped out our kitchen, my sister and myself built the cabinets & DH attached them to the wall & did the tiling. Ripped out one day, built and started fitting the next, finished fitted for the most part the following day.

We batch cook so had meals in the freezer we could just heat in the microwave & have with a jacket potato, chippy one night. We just moved everything into the dining room so we could heat and eat in there.

The kitchen units were in and being used within a couple of days, tiled at a more leisurely pace.

yep. unless he's a kitchen fitter /comparably experienced. it is NOT as easy as it looks.

It's possible if you keep it simple. I helped my dad fit a kitchen when I was a teenager and then did my own in my first house due to skintness.
You will need to plan for some trades, electric, plumbing, gas so that there are no dangerous bodges.
Simple tiling is possible but depends if you have to cut round sockets and so on. I also got a carpenter to cut my worktop to fit.
Even just ripping out your old stuff and taking it to the tip yourself will save money.

Totally Or is he like my DH used to be, with a tendency to be over ambitious and over optimistic about what is achievable, then never getting the job finished and having to admit defeat?

We haven't even finished the last project yet. I would maybe consider building from a flat pack but to measure, cut, sand, finish everything ourselves...

Yes he is insane😂

What was the last unfinished project?

Cupboards under the sloping ceiling.

You have my sympathy.

I'd say it is a bad idea. Probably one of those interminable projects that will never be finished and will drive you round the bend.