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

[Sewfrickinamazeballs]

Hi! New thread!

@Martinisarebetterdirty that sounds a great product, I haven’t heard of them before. Im paranoid about safety in the kitchen and feel better having the hob centred on a run of worktops at the wall, as opposed to the middle of island with more potential for footfall on three sides. It does look a great product to solve that island issue though!
any recommendations for a 1.5 bowl stainless steel undermount sink? The Howdens one looked quite small in the branch.

How wide is your sink unit? This one will fit into a 800mm cabinet:

Undermount 1.5 Bowl Handmade Stainless Steel Kitchen Sink

Does anyone have a rooflight supplier that they'd recommend?

I was just about to order when I started to get a funny feeling about the one I'd chosen - the reviews on their site all sounded very similar, and a quick check on Companies House says they haven't been running for as long as they claim. Don't want to ignore my gut feel this time as I have form!

Bond villain kitchen.

Any ideas about a splash back?

We are having Dekton Kreta worktops with a 100mm upstand. Units end shy of the doorway.

Run is about 3.2m long. Thought about smoked grey mirror to brighten it up and provide a contrast in textures but then worried about having to face myself in the mornings in the bit above the sink

@Sewfrickinamazeballs that kitchen is gorgeous!!! What is it?
I was literally about to suggest a smoked mirror splashback before reading further down.

It's from a local company. Think the kitchen brand is Quantum and the units are called anthracite metal rock or something like that. It's very different to all that kitchens on here, and I had a wobble the day before delivery, but I absolutely love it! The quality is amazing and has so much storage in it!

I think a mirror would look good. Having 3 smoked glass pendant lights so will tie in nicely with these.

We have ordered Titan Aluminium flat skylights. They haven’t arrived yet but my builder has fit lots and always recommends them.
They sell through 3rd parties so do get some quotes. We managed to get almost two for the original price of one as the first guy just assumed we’d take his quote based on the property and perceived wallet size! Also check if your opening is a standard size as that makes a big difference.

@Sewfrickinamazeballs I LOVE the Bond villain kitchen! I’m 80% sure I’ve come across the brand in a local kitchen shop here and it looks fab..

@AwkwardPaws27 The carcasses should be MDF or chipboard for stability under all moisture conditions. The frame and doors can be solid wood of course.. I almost bought a solid wood kitchen (including carcasses) as it sounded better.

i have gone for a fairly high end shaker kitchen which is solid wood frame and doors only. Whether it’s worth it or not I’ve no idea!!

@NewHouseNewMe the wooden doors were far too dark unfortunately any way.

Going to try Howdens but now panicking that they don't seem to have reduced depth base units or tall units on their website & we need both. So may have to go back to the drawing board again.

I'm totally bloody clueless, we don't have a big budget and I'm shitting it that I'm going to pick the wrong thing and regret it.

Oh I know. We’re all paying through the nose for these renovations/extensions but would actually afford more/better if we did a room at a time at our leisure! But it will be lovely when all done :)

I'm having a total panic this evening. I can't do this, I can't even choose a kitchen, nothing is going to plan and I'm supposed to have a baby in the middle of it all.
I got logged out of the DIY Kitchens planner & can't seem to get back in. I can't find a fitter for them anyway but Howdens don't have an online planner.
I can't find reduced depth units on the Howdens website so maybe they don't even do them? But they were on the rough plan I gave the fitter and he didn't say anything so I don't know? I really need to sit down with someone and do a proper kitchen plan but I have no idea how it works.
I don't know what the plan is, when the rest of the kitchen will be ripped out, when I should empty the cupboards etc.
There's dust absolutely everywhere and I've just given up even trying to keep on top of it.

@AwkwardPaws27 you can do this.
Here are some ideas

• can you ring Howden to ask?
• can you or your partner drop in to your local store to ask? They used to do a design service in store
• can you use the ikea planner or pen and paper to draw the kitchen plan?

Either way it's only your kitchen for 5 years. Whatever happens there will always be something you wish you thought of in hindsight. Whether the biggest budget or smallest budget. You'll have a lovely kitchen and gorgeous baby regardless.

Re the dust. Don't worry about it. Cleaning only puffs it up more 😂
Can your partner or family maybe come help over the long weekend to clear particular areas that are causing you stress?

DH is going to call the fitter today and see if ge needs us to use a particular branch or if we can go anywhere.

We've been to our local branch about 4x but never been offered any kind of planning help.

Kitchen fitter kept saying we need to wait til the extension shell is built before we can do a proper plan but the walls are up so surely that's enough to get measurements? Otherwise I'm going to end up sitting there with a bloody kitchen planner a few days postpartum and that is not going to work.

The problem with using other planners is I don't know if Howdens do the same size units. Their website says they have three depths but when I look at base units for example there is only one depth online.

It might be only 5 years but it might be a lot longer. I don't know. If you ask DH he'll say we're moving to Canada. Or Edinburgh. Or Bath. Depends on the day of the week 🙈
So I don't want to regret this as the kitchen alone is going to be around £20k, the extension is £40k+, we've also got flooring, decorating, replacing the downstairs bathroom...

I was going to suggest going to a different branch if your local one isn't helpful.
I only did a utility room so was much simpler than a kitchen but even then they offered me a plan (this was 4yrs ago though)

There are a lot of decisions but you can only make the best decision at the time with the budget and information you have. Ok so maybe it might not be just right but most house decisions are rectifiable (even if you do have to pay). Maybe what bothers you immediately won't do after 6months or it will end up being for the best anyway. I think we always 'see' flaws much more than anyone else as we've been so involved in the process.

We ordered from the plan rather than waiting for walls or even plastering due to delivery times. It's pretty much worked out except for a difference with the fridge freezer depth which means out island is out of alignment. For sure I'll notice it because I know but I doubt anyone else will.
You could always give yourself a 5cm margin?

@AwkwardPaws27 I feel for you, I’m overwhelmed with it too and don’t have the added stress of a new baby arriving!
Howdens definitely do half depth units as I’ve got them in our current kitchen, think they’re 300mm deep. The problem with Howdens is the website isn’t great and the branches really aren’t proper showrooms. Once you find out what branch your fitter uses call them and book a design appointment, if you have an idea of what you want/ where then this is helpful. I believe they also come out to do house visits but I’ve never done that.
I’ve got a full plan ready to go and our extension is still being built. I’ve been told by our branch to give 2 weeks notice to get it in stock. Howdens are unlike consumer brands (Wren, Magnet etc) that they can amend orders relatively easy as they tend to carry stock and you can return unused items so any minor changes to the plan should be accommodated with ease.
I would double check that your fitter has a good working relationship with the branch as helps hugely returning items, last minute amendments.
There are companies who provide a design service, one plan gets rave reviews but it’s another cost to add into mix. I believe they’re impartial and not tied to a particular supplier.

Howdens definitely do half depth units as I’ve got them in our current kitchen, think they’re 300mm deep

@JoanDarc that is incredibly reassuring, thank you! Yes the website is crap & the local "showroom" barely has anything!

I'm just desperate to have some of these decisions made before I'm in the midst of clusterfeeding & sleep deprivation.

Builder has asked us to order the radiators now and I'm dithering on that... I had planned two very narrow 200mm column rads on the exposed brick wall for symmetry but I'm now thinking one wider 300mm-400mm one instead? Would leave more wall space in case we want to put any furniture against it in future & two is massive overkill on the required BTU, not to mention costing a bit more...

Need to order the bathroom too. Argh!

Have just had some storage crates delivered so can start packing up the kitchen later, at least.

@AwkwardPaws27 I used Karen at one plan as I had similar overwhelming decisions before ours started. We didn't even know where the kitchen was going to go. She cost about £1000 but it was so so worth it. She literally gives you a list of the units you need to achieve the design. Positions lights, light switches, radiators and puts in loads of visuals so you can see what floors and colours look like. It really did take a lot of the decision making stress away.

I've managed to speak to the fitter. Howdens are coming out to measure & talk plans on Friday.
My DH is lovely but frankly not much help. He's super busy trying to wrap up a project at work before taking paternity leave & annual leave, I get it, but he also has ADHD and trying to get a bloody decision out of him is like trying to get blood out of a stone.

@Sewfrickinamazeballs I'd love to just pay someone but I don't think we have time now & even if we did, I'd have to work out how to shave down other costs or drop something else from the budget to cover it. Hopefully the Howdens planner will be decent!!

Oh, & the builder is doing an additional quote for floor levelling as the existing floor is in far worse condition than he anticipated and we probably need to rip it all up and start from scratch 😢

Glad to hear about Howdens @AwkwardPaws27
It's not easy trying to juggle all these balls by yourself.

We have a Howdens kitchen and also have some half depth cupboards. Howdens is a bit like ikea in that there are lots of standard units but you can use them differently if your fitter has some imagination.

we added some half depth units that are actually upright cupboards but we had them put in horizontally above the top standard units. If that makes sense? So our units go almost to the ceiling which is what I wanted but they don’t do tall enough ones. So now we have extra storage way up high that I can’t reach but DH can on a chair. It’s more that I wanted the look of tall units without the dust collecting like it did on my old kitchen.

the worktop guy came today and fitted the downstairs loo worktop, upstand, and bit around the basin. Hoping the plumber can now install the basin and get on with the loo.

he wants something different underneath in the pantry so has sorted out that with one of the other guys. So hopefully that’ll happen soon too.

We are moving ahead with plumbing and electrics first fix. Working on the upstairs now whilst the screed dries downstairs.
Boss builder confirmed we are ok for kitchen delivery in July so I'm very excited for that!
I was looking through some of my moodboards from a year ago and I've managed to pick a lot of the same things still!

@AwkwardPaws27
I feel for you! We are the same, very stressful and overwhelming, our kids are not at nursery stage, we dont have any baby and I am usually very resistant to stress. Definitely living on site doesnt help, you are moving out soon so it will be better. If you couldnt pack, get help. Pay a cleaner or someone who could help you with.

And renovation ruins relationship too, I have been on constant snap with my husband and I feel awful. I gave him a task of choosing doors’ handles, hinges and he “forgot” for 2 weeks. I then just ordered them last night.

We are so behind the schedule. First fix hasnt been completed, just small things are pending. The plasterer started in the loft. It will take 3 weeks for the plasterer to finish.