Kitchen fitter has gone AWOL with two weeks to go, kitchen arriving every day, what on earth can we do? Can we do anything ourselves, non DIY era?

[KitchenKrisis]

Major panic and pretty crushed.
After so long, getting so many quotes with three weeks to go our fitter has stopped responding to messages!
We can barely move in the house as it is (small terrace) we have no garage to store stuff and there is lots more to arrive.
What can dh and I do ourselves and what do we need professional for.

We need new ceiling there is a fake one in there.
Some spot lights..

The whole room plastered and painted a few sockets.
Then the new kitchen fitted it's coming rigid assembled.
Tiling etc.

I'm feeling utter despair, I've contacted some fitter and one said Sept 2022...
How can I do this!
I've already got cooking sorted for temporary kitchen so that's OK.

fitters are few and far between right now ....wheres the kitchen from?

I don't think I'll get someone to do the whole thing right now.
So what can we do.

It's from DIY kitchens and arriving assembled.

Bump

How long has your fitter been unresponsive for? Could they just be ill/away?

Otherwise maybe break down into smaller jobs. You need an electrician, a plasterer. Then you could probably fit the units yourself using YouTube videos. I would start by calling as many electricians and plasterers as I could find on checkatrade and go from there.

Over a week, probably ten days now

The problem is I can't wait I've got stuff arriving daily and we live in a small house.

When you say he's stopped responding, how have you been contacting him?

Put the entire kitchen in storage and look for trade for Jan/Feb

Hire storage for the stuff that's arriving. You will need everything out of the room for the ceiling, plastering and flooring anyway.
If I was you I'd wait until I could get another tradesperson in before doing it myself. We've done two kitchens ourselves. It takes ages and it's a PIA. If you can afford to wait and pay someone else then do that.

You’ll survive: we had similar and just didn’t have a sitting room, it was filled floor to ceiling with kitchen, fittings, sundries, tools. Move TV and anything else to bedroom and make your peace: you don’t have a sitting room now.

I would project manage the rest: instead of calling all-round fitters to do it, you do the demo (pulling down ceiling, removing old kitchen, drive it all to the tip). Book electrician and plumber to do first fix. Book separate plasterer. You fit the cupboards - go slowly, lots of measuring and spirit levelling. Easier as they’re assembled. Book electrician and plumber again to final fix. Book chippy to fit worktop. In the meantime, practice tiling and you do that last. Then paint.

Try calling them from a different number in case he is avoiding yours

Have you got a friend who has a garage you can use for storage?

Storage is a good idea.

Loosing living room is OK but obviously not for months!

@burritofan

We've never done anything like this before.

I am thinking also book separate people.

First get ceiling done, put dust sheets down, and get that sorted with the new lights (adding about three).
Next dh and I take out kitchen, the tip is near by and have hatch back car.
Then have electrician in to do a new socket, and do oven wire? Having a new electric oven had gas before.

Do we need someone to do something with the old gas!

Then a plasterer to do whole room.
Dh and I paint the room.

The most urgent part to get up and running woud be the sink so would a plumber fit the sink cut the whole in the work top? Put the sink wall cabinets in?

Dh fits rest of cabinets?

Splosh back needs doing and small tiling job.

??

I wouldn't try unless one of you is fairly handy and both of you are very easy going and don't mind mistakes.

Go walk about we are not but we have no fitter.

I wouldn’t do it myself, I’d delay. Annoying but not impossible

First get ceiling done, put dust sheets down, and get that sorted with the new lights (adding about three).

Then have electrician in to do a new socket, and do oven wire? Having a new electric oven had gas before.

Then a plasterer to do whole room.

The most urgent part to get up and running woud be the sink so would a plumber fit the sink cut the whole in the work top? Put the sink wall cabinets in?

I''m really sorry but I'd be really surprised if you can find anyone to complete this work before Christmas. As above i'd put the new kitchen into storage until you can get the trades in to complete the work.

I would be very surprised if a genuine fitter does all the trades you mentioned, my dad is pretty good any many trades but electricals require a person with the correct qualifications something most kitchen fitters won't have ditto gas. Someone who claims to be able to do it all raises red flags

Yes, you’ll need a gas qualified person to disconnect the old oven and make the connection safe (cut it back to underfloor and cap it off).

Plumber will first fix: do the necessary under sink plumbing, then you can cut holes in sink cabs if necessary and fit them, and fit worktop and sink, including cutting holes for tap and sink, then plumber can connect (final fix). You can probably find a plumber who’ll do the lot instead of you having to fiddle and do the cuts. Ask bathroom fitters too. Because it’s a small job you might either have no luck (not worth their time) or lots of luck (can be slotted on to the end of a day’s work and charged an arm and a leg).

Paying for storage is a good idea while you rip out the old and sort the individual trades. Are you on local neighbourhood forums? Often good for recommendations. I’ve chased vans down the street before or stopped outside houses having work done and chatted to the trades to see if they have availability.

We had something similar done but no gas oven to remove. We had a builder in to remove ceiling and put in a new boiler. DH did the plastering he had never done it before but is a professional DIY bod. Worktops arrived pre cut, he cut out for the sink. He fitted the cabinets as well as any fitter, our friend is a fitter but was too busy at the time. We had a gas fitter in to fit the new hob.

Doing it took ages though because he was learning as he went along and we were both working full time. It was summertime though so we ate in the garden away from the organised chaos.

Trades folk always have a lull after Christmas as people have less money Jan/Feb.

Put it into storage and wait until you can get a proper fitter.

Our kitchen fitter was the only professional we dealt with but he subcontracted the electrical and dealt with the electrician.

Don't try to do it yourself if you don't have the skills.

Are you sure the guy has stopped responding, or is he just on holiday? It seems a bit premature to start panicking that he's not answering when he's not due to start for another three weeks.

Same thing happened to my sister. They just had to wait until they could find a new fitter. Fortunately they had room to store it.

Don't even try to do it yourself!

I agree with PP, it doesn't sound certain your fitter isn't going to do the work. It's still 3 weeks until they are due to start. Annoying they aren't answering but I wouldn't start ripping ceilings down just yet.

We recently did our own (unassembled) kitchen. It was hard work but we managed in the end. Took a week solid off work to get the lions share done then hubby has been pottering around with smaller jobs such as tiling and cupboard ends etc. We got a plumber in to cap off gas pipe and radiator but that's all the help we had. It is hard going tho and lots went wrong as were not professionals but it is possible and saved us probably £1k lol