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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think I can fit a kitchen with no DIY skills

38 replies

CloudyYellow · 21/01/2023 19:39

Posted for traffic.

I am on a very tight budget but have a lot of time on my hands. Single and live alone. No DIY skills but would like to fit a new kitchen from scratch. I cannot afford to pay current kitchen fitters rates but will get electrician and plumber in but want to do the rest myself.
Anyone done this?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
TakeABite · 21/01/2023 19:50

Yes!
We bought a kitchen from a store. Due tomDH ending up in hospital, my sister and I built the cupboards & fitted them. Plumber put the sink in. He actually cut the sink hole in the work top too but I was all prepared to have a go.
This was all before videos on YouTube too. You will be able to find loads of tips these days. It was a brilliant kitchen-even if I say so myself.
We had used a free planning service to work out the best layout and what units we needed though.
Go for it!

CloudyYellow · 21/01/2023 19:55

Thanks so much. Your message has made my day.

OP posts:
mongoosebaby · 21/01/2023 19:55

We are reasonable DIYers and did our kitchen. It's not especially difficult but I do recommend paying a carpenter or similar to fit the work surface if there is any sort of bend/join or corner. Was only a few hours work so cost us less than £100 and gave it a lovely finish! You will also need a decent powerdrill

MuchTooTired · 21/01/2023 19:58

We’ve fitted two, and they’re still going strong! Have a look on eBay/Facebook marketplace, can sometimes get lovely kitchens that people are getting rid of that are in great condition. Good luck!

Mumtobabyhavoc · 21/01/2023 20:01

No, but have been thinking same! How difficult could it be??? So many videos on YouTube!!!!

Murdoch1949 · 21/01/2023 20:18

Do lots of YouTube watching. Make sure you have back up facilities while you are ripping out/installing kitchen - set up a camping type facility in living room.

Isseywith3witchycats · 21/01/2023 20:21

just hope when you take the old kitchen out the kitchen dosent end up looking like this ours didnt look too bad till we took the units out

To think I can fit a kitchen with no DIY skills
Oblomov22 · 21/01/2023 20:22

Dh's closest friend is a kitchen fitter. His skills, especially re worktops is superb. You can build the carcass, but please like a pp says pay someone skilled to do the worktop because any poor finishing will show up so badly and make it look cheap and nasty.

tabulahrasa · 21/01/2023 20:24

i helped DP fit one... not going to lie, there’s no way I could have done it myself tbh - I’m struggles with flat pack furniture level of DIY though.

SweetSenorita · 21/01/2023 20:31

I couldn't. I struggle to change a light bulb 💡

Good luck, though 😘

Augend23 · 21/01/2023 20:31

Me and my dad (who is good at DIY) fitted my kitchen. I bought all the cupboards flatpack from B and Q and built them. If you are buying cheap cupboards make sure the doors are a single sealed piece rather than made if multiple parts - it should prevent ingress of water/steam which can occur in the joints and then cause the laminate on the cupboards to bubble.

When you are fitting cupboard handles measure twice and drill once (or buy handleless cupboard doors?). TBF measure twice applies to everything.

The worst bit was cutting the hole for the sink - I don't have a worktable and clamps, so we ended up balancing it out the back door and I sat on one end while dad cut through the other end. My worktop was solid birch which was as cheap as laminate at the time, but it was really hard to cut through. I think if I was doing it one my own, a) a work bench would be essential and b) I'd probably have ended up going with laminate just for ease of cutting. Do you have people you can borrow tools from? If not I think buying the right tools for cutting the worktop may be a significant cost. I think if it had involved a corner I would have wanted someone to fit the worktop.

Plumbing wise, if you can use flexible tap tails and push fit plumbing you probably don't actually even need a plumber. My main recommendation is don't think you can reuse pipes. Sometimes you can but sometimes you just end up with tiny leaks from imperfections where you have taken them apart etc.

I think in theory you can get cookers that plug in with a plug so worth checking what you have already as if you do have that and can replace like with like you again might not need an electrician.

Can you get away with keeping and reusing the tiling? I had plain white tiles so just kept those - I think that would have been one of my biggest concerns if I had had to do it. What about the floor - again, are you planning to keep it? I guess you can probably get clickfit laminate or fit lino yourself tbf but I don't know how.

tabulahrasa · 21/01/2023 20:33

“Can you get away with keeping and reusing the tiling? I had plain white tiles so just kept those - I think that would have been one of my biggest concerns if I had had to do it.”

Tiling was the easiest bit 😂 I did most of that, while DP did harder stuff.

RomeoMcFlourish · 21/01/2023 20:37

We recently did ours! We used the IKEA Metod range - SO easy! There’s a metal rail that fixes to the wall and you sort of hang/fox the cupboard off that. Like lots of PP mentioned, we did get a carpenter in for the worktops, and FIL is a plumber so we got him to fix in the sink, but the cupboards and tiling we did ourselves. It’s better than the shitty kitchen that was in there previously (installed by the builders who built the house).

PurpleWitch · 21/01/2023 20:38

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.

Augend23 · 21/01/2023 20:38

tabulahrasa · 21/01/2023 20:33

“Can you get away with keeping and reusing the tiling? I had plain white tiles so just kept those - I think that would have been one of my biggest concerns if I had had to do it.”

Tiling was the easiest bit 😂 I did most of that, while DP did harder stuff.

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!

species5618 · 21/01/2023 20:42

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.

Isseywith3witchycats · 21/01/2023 20:49

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

To think I can fit a kitchen with no DIY skills
To think I can fit a kitchen with no DIY skills
tabulahrasa · 21/01/2023 20:58

Augend23 · 21/01/2023 20:38

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!

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 🤣🤣

Notsureaboutusername · 21/01/2023 20:59

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.

BMrs · 21/01/2023 21:02

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

To think I can fit a kitchen with no DIY skills
caringcarer · 21/01/2023 21:03

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.

To think I can fit a kitchen with no DIY skills
To think I can fit a kitchen with no DIY skills
Looneytune253 · 21/01/2023 21:09

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

HerNameIsIncontinentiaButtocks · 21/01/2023 21:09

Augend23 · 21/01/2023 20:38

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!

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.

caringcarer · 21/01/2023 21:10

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.

SarahAndQuack · 21/01/2023 21:11

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.