Anyone getting a new kitchen fitted at the moment?

[Howmanysleepsnow]

I feel like I need a support thread! This is waaaay more stressful than expected. We were told to expect a week: units out Monday, floor down Tuesday, radiator moved Wednesday morning and electrics done that afternoon, units in Thursday and Friday. The radiator took all of Wednesday and Thursday. The joiner quit as the units were being delivered on Thursday. New one couldn’t start until Friday. One week in and all we have is a floor, a radiator and some wires hanging out of walls.
We’ve stupidly packed away everything except cups and kettle, and are living off prepackaged food and takeaway. I’m craving vegetables! There’s stuff stored in all but one room, which is ridiculously cramped, especially because dh is reeeaaaalllly stressed by all of it!
Can anyone see a light at the end of the tunnel?

Hate to break it to you, but it was exactly a month from rip out to useable (not finished) kitchen. Still on going now. If i never see a ready meal or supermarket cafe again in my lifetime it'll be too soon.

Nooooo! Not sure my marriage will survive that long...

Oh dear! If you buy an Ikea portable induction hob ( and a pan if yours are packed ) that can help. I found that keeping positive and upbeat with the installers works better than being negative and 'moaning /nagging' etc . I was amazed how a mug of tea and a hobnob would make them work better ?! But it did! Keep your chin up, it will all be worth it in the end.

Mine is a work in progress.

We took up the floor tiles at the end of July to check the floor underneath, see how they came up off the underfloor heating wires etc. And also to make sure I did actually go ahead with the refit and stopped just talking / thinking about it.

Took the kitchen, remaining floor tiles and wall tiles out 2 weekends ago. Had to leave the utility as couldn't isolate the supply.

Electrician on the Wednesday & Thursday - all good.
Plumber on the Thursday - hmm, and Friday, and briefly on Monday. Kitchen bits done but utility still to be sorted (this coming Monday).
Worktops delivered Thursday.
Oven & dishwasher delivered Friday.
Kitchen on a 2 day delivery slot Thursday or Friday, I was starting to work by Friday midmorning, but then got a call and delivered Friday early afternoon.

Fitter started Monday, had a hospital appointment Tuesday and then did Wednesday to Friday. Kitchen is looking nearly complete, needs fridge & dishwasher fitting and cornice & lighting pelmet plus handles and straightening. And electrician back to sort under cabinet lighting.

Fitter back on Monday for the above.
Plumber back on Monday to strip te utility and sort plumbing in there then fitter back later in the week to do utility.

Flooring booked for wc 11 Nov, might see if I can pull him forward a week.
And I need to choose tiles and find someone to do that once the rest is all fitted.

Luckily have the sink on the utility and the over still connected, but no washing machine or dishwasher.
My parents are nearby and I've done a few loads of washing there and had a few meals with them.
Loving seeing it all come together, I've done all the planning and design and it's great seeing what I wanted and pictured appearing each day. Worktops went on yesterday and made it look so much more finished.

Good luck with yours, why did the joiner quit??

Yes, I’ve been providing tea/ coffee/ takeaway to try and keep everyone happy!

I was lucky. Mine was done in September and took ten days. The disruption was far worse than I expected though. Every single room in the house seemed to be in disarray though God knows why. The amount of cleaning required when it was finished though was horrendous.

Nearly finished, I've had a month tomorrow with no kitchen.

Second the ikea induction hob as an option, Sainsburys do very good ready meals and steam veg packs from the freezer are a lifesaver.

Tomorrow is putting the house back together and a deep clean, I cannot wait. Keep positive, it's worth it.

The joiner left as I asked him to start putting the kitchen up when it arrived at 12. He’d been here an hour, started hanging a door (had to be re hung after he left as it was wonky), spent half an hour arguing and swearing on the phone then said it was too late to start work. He overheard dh ask me why we were paying him and left.

Electrics are in. Fitter (new one) is back tomorrow and reckons he can get 1 wall fitted, including sink and hob, then the next on Monday.... I’m not optimistic!

The actual cabinets go in quite quickly once they get started.
Mine works 9am-3.30pm with a half hour lunch.
He did one wall the first day - including going through what I wanted, getting used to the cabinets (DIY Kitchens - he'd never come across), etc.
Second day he redid that wall (communication issue), and did the sink corner wall units and sink & drawer pack base units.
Third day he did the larder unit, end panels for dishwasher and fridge and some filler bits.
Fourth day he did the worktops inc a corner joint & sink cut out.

Hope today goes smoothly for you.

I was 2 months without a kitchen (New House), we have been using a microwave and George Forman grill.

Finally on Friday everything was connected up and with now have a cooker, hob, and all appliances.

I think you were a little too optimistic!
Unless I knew the cabinets were being delivered at 9 am, I wouldn't have booked a fitter for that day. But it sounds like your fitter was a bit of a loose cannon so you are better off without him.
Good that you got a new one so quickly.
My units are due to be delivered this Thursday, with installation starting the following Monday.
My old kitchen was ripped out sometime early September!

My best friend is married to a builder, he is installing a new kitchen, he started last year just after Christmas. The room was plastered, new lighting and sockets, new floor, and hes making the units (carpenter by trade) the oven and sink went in in August, its still not finished. Friend has come to my house when birthday cakes needed to be cooked or her kids craved chicken nuggets, she has told her husband that she has grown and birthed a baby in less time. The kitchen will look fabulous when its done, my friend is past caring now!

Ours was like a building site for the best part of a month. Things kept cropping up and a few of the tradesmen didn't arrive when they were meant to. The units were also a week late being delivered and bits were missing when they were so that really slowed things down too.
If you're sick of takeaways then would your family or friends cook for you a few times? Maybe going out for a carvery would fulfil your vegetable craving!

I had my new kitchen in the kitchen in boxes as well as the conservatory for about three weeks. We had a sparky come about two weeks after delivery to do the plug sockets and then my husband and a family member fitted the kitchen over the weekend. It’s now usable and lovely even though it needs painting and the tiling isn’t quite finished. The boxes and dust are gone for now.

My back garden is full of shit however and husband keeps saying he’s organising a skip but hasn’t. That’s doing my tits in.

I had about three weeks of chaos but once it started to go in it was all sorted pretty quickly. I hate mess!

We're just coming to the end of ours. 3 week of pain, no cooking facilities just an instant pot and a tap with a bucket underneath it. The floor is hopefully going in this week and then the doors and skirtings. It looks lovely the new kitchen but it has been stressful getting here!

I'm so glad I've found this thread...! By really bad planning we are having kitchen AND bathroom done at the same time. It is every bit as bad as it sounds.
Our builders are here 8-6 6 days a week and there's usually 3-5 of them here (depending on electricians etc) so there's no room to swing a cat in my tiny house. We're currently 9 days in and electrics have been done & units are on the walls, it's beginning to look less like a prison cell & more like a kitchen!

DS & I are going to stay with my mum next week (half term) to escape the chaos & have daily hot meals & showers

Fingers crossed our cabinets go in quickly too! Appliances can be plugged straight in once in place now the electrician is done. Just plumbing, cabinets, lighting, wall tiles and painting to go... actually it seems a lot written down!
@GrandmaSharksDentures we made a similar mistake! We’Re having work done on 2 of the kids bedrooms as well, so have 3 of them in one room atm. It’s absolute chaos, but the kitchen is by far the most disruptive!

We are having a new kitchen, utility and all downstairs floors replaced ... but thankfully we were able to time it with when we go on holiday. Builder starts tomorrow ... we are fortunate he's a friend, we trust him and his work work ethic/quality but it'll still be stressful keeping an eye on my phone in case he needs to ring us 😳 He believes he'll mostly he done in 2 weeks 👍

So, we’ve lined up and levelled cabinets. Sink is going in soon (he’s just reinforcing the cabinet as it’s a Belfast sink). He’s started sawing and I’m seeking refuge in the garden!

Sink still not in. One wall of cabinets bolted to wall, one wall and an island to go.
Just received notice that they’re closing our road on Friday. Hoping/ not hopeful that the kitchen will be in by then...

@Chasingsquirrels. yours is starting to look fab!

Which design & colour did you choose from DIY? I’m still undecided😖. How did you find buying from them?

I went to the showroom again this weekend. My problem is I know what I want but it doesn’t exist ready made and I don’t want to pay for one to be hand made & hand painted so I need to ‘settle’.

Yours look fab!

@Howmanysleepsnow

What a nightmare you’ve had!! I hope you get it sorted soon ...and puts photos!! 😊

@SpookilyBadOooooooh it is DIY Kitchens Norton Sage.

I've wanted a sage kitchen for ages and am really pleased with how it's coming together.

We don't live near the showroom but were up that way on holiday so had a few hours there.

I ordered the worktops and handles separately and the couple of new appliances I've had as well.

Absolutely no problems with ordering (online) and support questions beforehand and delivery was as scheduled and no issues with anything (so far - there are still 3 double cabinets to go into the conservatory).

Cornice & lighting pelmet was fitted yesterday plus the sink. Electrician is here atm doing under cabinet lighting and some other electican bits. Plumber is back tomorrow (that's been the worse part, and from using him before I though I had a good plumber!) to sort some things in the utility. Fitter is back on Thursday & Friday to do the utility and fit the handles (which will hopefully have arrived by then - 2/3 working day delivery, ordered late Thu night and they haven't been dispatched yet).

I got my sink from eBay (old but packaged and unused - I really wanted a black composite one, but was limited to a 500 cabinet and it was really hard to source one, in the end we got it for £75 so really pleased with that).