Extension thread 2022 part II...demolition, delays and decisions, decisions, decisions

[Sewfrickinamazeballs]

Hi! New thread!

@Sewfrickinamazeballs thanks! In hindsight it was a single thread with a really negative experience and think a few others weighed in with similar. If it’s a large company negative reviews are to be expected. Only downside is I like to see the showroom but will see how I get on with samples.

MS are excellent at sending samples - I now have enough trivets and coasters for a lifetime!

The only negative is that marble is hard to keep clean and beautiful - it stains easily and you can’t use bleach, vinegar etc. I really wanted marble in our ensuite, but the sales rep at Mandarin Stone gave me some pretty stern warnings about how hard it is to maintain. They suggested marble effect porcelain tiles that were much cheaper. It’s not as beautiful, but I’m a very lazy housekeeper!

@Yellownotblue @JoanDarc same here re marble tiles. Ours are for the family bathroom so will have heavy usage so we went with marble effect tiles too.

@Sewfrickinamazeballs ours you can walk on but not sure how long it takes to fully dry out. It's balancing tiles that are in stock now but where to store versus waiting. It's 65sqm so will be a chunky sized delivery.

Please don’t get marble in the bathroom! We got beautiful black marble skirting tiles from Fired Earth in our en-suite, tiler sealed them (I saw him do it!) and where they are in the shower all the lovely shine is going. I’ve spent a fortune on different cleaners and polishers trying to restore them and they look ok but I know 😁. I’m not even a year on with them yet. What I think we will have to do is when we have the main build in August and my tiler comes back to do the family bathroom I’m going to have to buy new marble skirting for the shower and (to quote him) “we’ll seal the fuck out of it with 5 layers” and hope that works.

I have half panelled and half wallpapered in my downstairs loo - love it.

I would have said go for the solid wood kitchen every time, but if you’re moving in 5 years there is no point for you in doing so.

I also have had excellent experiences from mandarin stone (and agree I have enough coasters from tile samples to set up shop)!

Officially hit the 150k marker 😱
Have been looking at rightmove to reassure myself that for our budget (house price plus build cost) I can't see anything I either like better or is more suitable. Have found that oddly helpful and calming if anyone else is having money nerves.
Not sure what's happening on site today.

@JoanDarc I hear you on being distracted by pretty pictures, I keep changing my mind on kitchen design and just need to stop thinking about it now!

The design I had done was amazing in terms of layout, but had a white shaker kitchen with marble quartz worktops - I'm thinking white shaker isn't very 'me', also I don't want to have to clean out the grooves all the time - that's a low-level irritation with our current inherited kitchen.

I went handleless in our last kitchen (DIY's Luca) but found that the J grooves also collect crumbs etc. Then I thought I'd be best off with just flat panel doors with some beautiful handles, but I'm struggling to find any that look suitably luxurious!

I'd just like someone to just decide for me at this point. I've reduced the size of our rooflights which saved £££ so I have a bit more room to play with.

@Martinisarebetterdirty
I would have preferred a solid wood kitchen, but the thing is, it's not actually solid. Only the doors are (and in some "solid wood" shaker ranges it's only part of the doors thats made of oak - the centre panels are sometimes a veneer!), the units themselves and the kickboards, end panels etc are still MDF (unless you go up considerably in price).

£5k extra for just wooden doors just feels too much. I've decided I'd rather use that to upgrade to better quality appliances, a water softener & possibly a kettle tap.

What about a true handless kitchen. That's what we are having. You have a metal profile between the doors. No J pulls.

I'm not a shaker kitchen person either, think my kitchen looks more bond villain than anything.

I'd just like someone to just decide for me at this point

I'm finally understanding why people use interior designers! Someone else to make the decisions, source it all, deal with orders and deliveries etc sounds amazing.

@AwkwardPaws27 Then that makes absolute sense 😊 happy kitchen ordering!

Does anyone know how you can get a file or print out of the diykitchens plan?

Hiya I think you just press the camera icon to take a photo and it automatically downloads as a file.

Brilliant! Thank you @GardensandGrandDesigns . I've been taking a photo of the laptop screen and you can't see the measurements at all! Thank goodness I remeasured the range and it didn't affect the days work they had already done.

Tip for anyone who might need it : watch out for the depth they put the american fridge freezer on your plan. Ours is 2cm deeper and it's caused us issues with our island alignment.

@Martinisarebetterdirty @Yellownotblue @BlueMooMoo thank you for the marble tip, that’s noted, I’m definitely not a great housekeeper so I’m ruling marble. Have found some porcelain marble style tiles on porcelain superstore so will see what the samples are like.
@HouseyHouse21 we sound quite similar! I currently have a Howdens clerkenwell, so a j pull gloss slab door. It’s been a great kitchen and still looks new 7 years later. I feel like we should be getting something quite different so going with a modern shaker style, dove grey with a navy island and white quartz. I like the simplicity of handleless but couldn’t see anything else I liked more than our current kitchen in this style. There are lots of super matt ranges in Howdens which are apparently a nightmare for cleaning and I’m very much a low maintenance person!
I’ve attached an image of our plan which I think is nearly there but could use some critical input as going round in circles!

1. Sink placement on island, I’ve put to the side to give more room on island for food prep. Not sure if this is the best.


2. I’ve 2 X 1000mm larder units either side of the hob. One is a breakfast larder - coffee machine, toaster, cups/mugs etc. The other one is the primary food store. Am worried these aren’t as easy to use as a pull out larder (which we currently have) but I do find the pull outs wasteful for space although they are easy to use. Am totally overthinking this plan now but any thoughts welcome!

For reference the arrow indicates the rest of the open plan space of family room (so ignore that white wall on the plan, it doesn’t exist and our dining table will be in front of the island.

I think the sink placement is practical. Especially as the fridge is the other end so gives you a good work space immediately next to the fridge.
How far is the island from the 'tall' wall? As because you have the larders and fridge behind it might be good to factor in 1300mm rather than the usual 1000mm. Just to allow a bit more circulation?
Have you thought about one breakfast larder and then maybe 2x500 pull out larders? So it would still be the same width but the pull out you are used to?

Thanks for the tip @BlueMooMoo now you mention it our planner didn’t even check the depth of our FF. We’ve ordered a shallow one as don’t want to impact on island too much.

@BlueMooMoo thanks! I think it’s currently 1200mm on the plan. I don’t want to put more space here as will lose more at other side (where dining table will be).
I just can’t decide whether a pull out would be better, they’re easier to use and less likely to impact on kitchen space vs a full height 500mm door opening but definitely don’t feel like they store as much.

@JoanDarc we went to a home exhibition and listened to an interior designer speak. She said everyone puts a sink on an island and she can’t understand why as a sink is hard to keep clean and clutter free and the point of an island is the clean visual. Because of this we are going with our hob on the island (a recirculating one). It just gave us something to ponder as we are slatterns in the house keeping department!
I think your design looks beautiful - you have a lovely space.

@sewfrickinamazeballs
Haha yes - "Bond Villain" is my new design reference! Unfortunately it takes way more £££ to pull off than a cheery country kitchen.

@joandarc - it looks like your kitchen is a very generous size. I have the sink on the island as well - it works well for us. I was advised against any more than 1100mm space between worktops (unless you're unusually tall) because it means you introduce an extra step when moving hot / heavy things from side to side, so can be less safe. Not sure how much of a difference it really makes though...

Thanks @Martinisarebetterdirty I was dead set against either a sink or a hob on the island but because our space is a L shape the sink would have been too far away from the cooking space (in the dining area) so we had to compromise. I’m not a fan (no pun intended 😜) of extractors on islands so went with the sink in the end.
It is a niggling concern though but I hope it will encourage me to wash any non dishwasher items ASAP to keep the island clear.

Just remembered- Karen at OnePlan said that at least 1200mm space is an absolute must so that must be true. *bangs gavel.

Yes absolutely. However in this case the hob is on the other side so having an extra step shouldn't be too unsafe although if anyone has accessibility issues with their hands it might be a consideration. With the fridge doors in active use it's nice not to feel too tight to the island behind you. I find in our family the fridge is probably the most used unit in our kitchen!!

Bond villain sounds like a brilliant concept for a kitchen! 😂My cousin had one installed in her rather swanky Georgian townhouse and it looked very swish.

Our sink is currently on our island, we are messy so it is messy. Agree I don’t like extractor hoods on islands and so for the new kitchen we’ve gone for a ruinously expensive bora hob (which also has a ridiculous lead time so probably a good thing we don’t need it quickly!)