We stupidly had the worktops cut in the shop as I don't own a circular saw nor I am confident in using one. I only have a jigsaw.
There are two problems with one of the worktops, we measured them too short as we did not take into account the additional width of the end panel (e.g a 500mm unit becomes 515mm) but worse of all I had taken into account the over hang, but we forgot the measurements in the shop which meant a phone call home, the measurements my mother wrote down did not take account of this over hang and I stupidly didn't double check them. It was totally our fault that the worktops are too short but my idea was to put a joining strip at the end and then place the worktop end support panel under that. It looks ok but it is a 'bodge'.
Me and my sister have agreed to pay half each for a new worktop, here comes the problem the existing worktop which the shop cut has very jagged edges on the laminate which looks a mess, but the bodge above will hide all of that. If we do order a new worktop to the correct measurements how can we ensure the second piece will not also look jagged at the edges?
I assume when they cut it they did something wrong? Or is simply that the big industrial saws the shops use cannot make a clean enough cut?
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It should be a clean sharp cut with no chipping or ragged edge of the surface
That's why most people get them done professionally like you did .
Tell them they have cucked up and demand another
( sneakily give them the right size this time)
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>> It should be a clean sharp cut with no chipping or ragged edge of the
>> surface
>> That's why most people get them done professionally like you did .
>>
>> Tell them they have cucked up and demand another
>>
>> ( sneakily give them the right size this time)
>>
Like he said; if I want a rubbish job I'll do it myself, if I'm paying somebody else to do it I expect it do be done proper like.
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>>>how can we ensure the second piece will not also look jagged at the edges?
Buy a £10 hand saw and do them at home. If there is a tiny bit of ragged edge use medium/fine sandpaper on a block. It is crucial to make a nice job if you are using a glue on laminate finishing strip but if the worktop is between two walls or you use the screw on metal end trims you have a few mm more leeway.
As a matter of interest the pro guy who fitted worktops in our old house used a router thing on a jig frame to do all his edges after sawing just oversize first.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Fri 31 Jan 14 at 12:14
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>> >>>how can we ensure the second piece will not also look jagged at the edges?
>>
>>
>> Buy a £10 hand saw and do them at home.
Have to say that's very poor advice for rattle. There is no way as an amateur he would get a perfect 90 degree straight cut over the width of a work top
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It's not poor advice... it's just another option.
I'm not a pro kitchen fitter but I can make a good enough job for either a laminate end strip or metal end with a hand saw.
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>> >> >>>how can we ensure the second piece will not also look jagged at the
>> edges?
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Buy a £10 hand saw and do them at home.
>>
>> Have to say that's very poor advice for rattle. There is no way as an
>> amateur he would get a perfect 90 degree straight cut over the width of a
>> work top
>>
Agree with Zero. The only way to get perfect edges on a worktop cut at home is to use a router.
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>>has very jagged edges on the laminate which looks a mess
Personally I'd take it back and ask for a refund anyway. It's perfectly possible to use a circular saw to cut it neatly. You probably got the work-experience student.
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Our kitchen fitters not only used a circular saw , but also created perfect butt-joints for the corners of the kitchen worktop, thus avoiding cheapo looking, dirt trap, "joining strips".
We even had a choice as to which way the joints ran.
Last edited by: Roger on Fri 31 Jan 14 at 12:40
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I used a pro fitter who was recommended by the supplier. He used a router and frame and also used it to make a perfect 90 degree butt joint including the rounded front edge. Cut out for the sink and hob as well.
Came back and fitted the plinth and cornice perfectly as well. Did SiL's later...spot on.
I have his phone number waiting for when you F it up again, Rats !
HO
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>>I used a pro fitter who was recommended by the supplier. He used a router and frame and also used it to make a perfect 90 degree butt joint including the rounded front edge. Cut out for the sink and hob as well.
Piece of cake: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4YyrWyOTOE
Last edited by: VxFan on Sat 1 Feb 14 at 16:17
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>> Piece of cake:
That's exactly what my man did Bonzo.. He had an aluminium frame though. For some strange reason he didn't seem to need a hi-viz jacket on my patio !
HO
Last edited by: VxFan on Sat 1 Feb 14 at 16:17
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>>Piece of cake
For a pro :)
I've never fitted a kitchen worktop HO, I'd have a go though, if I had to, but if y'all have the money then it's best to employ someone who does the job on a daily basis, and who takes pride in the quality of their work, hopefully.
Last edited by: VxFan on Sat 1 Feb 14 at 16:17
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The only join where is an L shape is right in the a corner anyway so it doesn't really matter that there will be a joining strip. As we are on a tight budget which is now blown there was no way we could have afford to get a joiner in, although if I was to this again and had the money I would get a joiner in to do the worktops.
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As long as it looks arf decent, and you're happy with it, that's the main thing really, most of us have been a tad boracic at one time or another.
You'd better bring your tools down to Cornwall as I fancy some light oak block worktops to replace the granite (effect) jobbies we have at the mo, never did like them.
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Reminds me of a saying my father passed on to me years ago: "Measure seven times; cut once."
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............as the mohel said !
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I will try most things (often with supervision) but cutting worktops and plastering are on my 'Leave Alone' list. As my Mum says, we need to get a 'proper' man in.
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If this kitchen is for your benefit then I can't see the problem with how you're doing it on a budget. If it's because of a house sale and it's not a top spec kitchen then it probably makes no difference what it looks like - the buyer will factor in a new kitchen anyway. And therefore any offer will reflect this in the price.
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True, but at least the pictures will show a modern kitchen, if we left the rotting kitchen in it might have put people off. It is designed to make the house easier to sell, not really to add value.
At this point it still isn't certain my parents are selling up it really depends what happens with the neighbours.
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>> True, but at least the pictures will show a modern kitchen, if we left the rotting kitchen in it
>> might have put people off
But if a buyer is going to need to replace it anyway, then what is there is largely irrelevant. One property we looked at and put an offer in would have needed a kitchen putting in - not much in the space that could have been called a kitchen. In fact we'd have extended it as well.
... but in the end we discovered it had been underpinned (and the from totally rebuilt) and we withdrew the offer. The sellers (children of the diseased elderly previous owner) claimed to not know... and then produced lots of paperwork. Sneaky. As it happens the adjoining house is now for sale and has been 'sold' two or three times and offers are soon withdrawn. I wonder if this is because they discover the party wall is underpinned?? And one giveaway is the painted brickwork (red bricks) at the front. The one we might have bought looked too good at the front and the gable wall was rendered..... another clue.
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>>It is designed to make the house easier to sell, not really to add value.
An excellent point.
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Did you ask an estate agent what they thought first? Because I would imagine the house would sell quickly anyway because of location and this work may not make much difference. Have you had a valuation yet?
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>>Did you ask an estate agent what they thought first?
In my experience they're kids who were one level up from 'sitting at the back of the class with the raffia' (Thora Hird's line IIRC). They become car salesmen after failing as estate agents, before ending up in the likes of Currys and Halfords.
None on here are there?
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Damned if I'd do it Sheikha.
House buyers usually redo kitchens and/or bathrooms almost as a matter of course. Since you won't be adding value, all you are doing is going to trouble and expense for someone else who probably won't appreciate it.
And why are your poor parents dependent on their relations with the next door people for security in their house? What's going on?
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Our previous house had a dated but completely okay kitchen (solid wood doors, nothing wrong) but if we stayed long term we'd have done it. My guestimate is it would have cost at least £10,000 to do an IKEA or similarly priced kitchen and doing so for us would have been fine. But we'd be lucky to see that added to the value of the house. And our taste might differ.
I seem to remember the estate agent saying not to replace it as a buyer at that price range would often factor in ripping it all out. People's tastes differ.
Had we done it we'd have expected say another £10k on top of what we got and it was marketed at around £380k. With it being about 100 years old the buyer's survey brought up various issues which reduced the offer a bit so we accepted that. Another buyer would have found the same issues and fixing them would have easily been £20k (some didn't really need fixing like windows in garage, cellar door, etc but some did). At the end of the day we all look to reduce costs. Heck we did it a little on this house we're in now :-)
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It needed doing anyway, my parents might be staying. The old 1950s unit was very rotten and would have been an issue if left, the other unit under the sink is sagging badly and is also rotting.
We are not spending a fortune, just making it look fresher.
The issue with next door is mainly noise it is a rent house with different tenants but I am hoping it is now under control. It used to always attract professionals but the house has slipped and no longer attracts the sort of people you would want to live next door to but it seems to have calmed down and the main problem causer should be getting evicted this month.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Sun 2 Feb 14 at 00:01
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>> no longer attracts the sort of people you would want to live next door to but it seems to have calmed down and the main problem causer should be getting evicted this month.
Awful Rats.... not sure if I've ever been a noisy neighbour - it doesn't seem impossible, thinking back - but I've lived near one or two in my time. Forgive me for seeming curious.
Can't help wondering though, if it all calms down and yr parents stay in their house: will you wish you had done the kitchen up differently? Forgive me once again for seeming curious!
Hope it works out well for you all. Except the evicted neighbouring trouble causer of course.
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It got to the stage were even tenants in the house had to ring the police against him but the agent for the house just tells us what we want to hear so we are a bit suspicious that he might not get evicted.
If they were staying I am sure they would have wanted a more expensive kitchen but the money simply isn't there. It is all down now anyway well we have the new kitchen. Just need to find time to get on with it, been very busy with work but I am hoping to make some progress tomorrow.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Sun 2 Feb 14 at 00:36
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If you are selling, and if this tenant stays in a flat next door, doesn't this need disclosing? Especially with the other tenants calling the police.
From your description of the existing/previous kitchen it was long overdue - rotten/rotting wood. But I have concern for you that you've not addressed the reason the kitchen was in such a state. Your images behind the sink unit showed damp/wet to me at least. Is this all sorted? I hope so.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Sun 2 Feb 14 at 00:55
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And if selling I'd pay the circa £400 and get a survey done yourself. So you know the issues and sort out some and be ready to deal with the buyer knowing the rest. I'd do a survey before selling again. Some of the issues on our old house (and it was about 100 years old) were things I'd want to know about anyway.
e.g. the timbers for the floor downstairs went into the walls but had no end protection and so some were wet and needing treating/fixing. Protection for the ends would have been a good idea but not present. I suppose we were unlucky because the timbers for testing were accessible from underneath in the cellars.... no cellar = no access but still might be a problem. I seem to recall problems with floor timbre in your home Rattle but might be wrong?
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"I seem to recall problems with floor timbre in your home Rattle but might be wrong?"
I think so, as it's more the problem of the timbre through the walls ... :-)
PS I wouldn't worry about revealing noise problems when asked at the time of sale - it'll be almost impossible for the buyer to prove.
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Unless of course you have previously complained to the council who will of course have records......
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Think we would need to declare it, I know the neighbour on the other side has informed the council, and we have phoned the police a couple of times about it. There is also written evidence of when we wrote the landlord to complain.
However it would be a case of saying the problems were caused by a tenant who has since been evicted which is hopefully true.
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>> If it's because of a house sale and it's not a top spec kitchen then it probably makes no
>>difference what it looks like - the buyer will factor in a new kitchen anyway. And therefore
>>any offer will reflect this in the price.
I think that's absolutely not true and shows a complete misunderstanding of the psychology of house buyers. And, more importantly, estate agents. It's the estate agent you have to convince what your house is worth; not your buyer. And estate agents aren't always that switched on.
If the kitchen is a wreck, then a huge proportion of buyers cannot imagine a nice kitchen in there. If the kitchen is cheap but clean and tidy and new, then they can imagine their own nice kitchen.
Buyers might factor in a new kitchen, but 'not this year'. With a wreck, they'd have to budget for it with the house purchase. With a new and clean (but cheap) kitchen they could do it later.
And kitchens are so subject to individual taste that even a 'top spec' kitchen is likely to be hated by the purchaser and replaced with a new 'top spec' kitchen.
Finally, there is no point at all in putting a 'top spec' kitchen into a house in Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Property values there just don't make it worthwhile - even if you can find somebody else who shares your taste in houses.
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Mapmaker you will be surprised just how expensive houses are here, not where I live but just 5 minutes walk away in Chorlton Green you can easily buy a house for £700,000 for that you will get a 5-6 bedroom Victorian with a make shift drive.
In Chorlton Ville the 3 bed semis tend to go for around £400-£500k. There are not many big detaches houses here, but there a couple that have been valued at over £1 million.
My parents is a bog standard 3 bed terraced, although has a lawned back garden and a front garden the ceiling price for these type of properties is about £270k in this part of Chorlton but for the house to get that it has to be very very well fitted. My parents would be lucky to get £220k as it not in one of the so called trendy parts of Chorlton.
Still those prices are well above North West and Greater Manchester averages.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=OUTCODE^1576&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying
I agree with you that is not worth spending £25k on a kitchen here, we would never get the money back, in a house in Chorltonville or the Chorlton Green it probably would be.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Mon 3 Feb 14 at 10:42
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>>Mapmaker you will be surprised just how expensive houses are here
No I wouldn't, actually. I know the area a little. But I do know that you're not in one of those houses. ;)
>>I agree with you that is not worth spending £25k on a kitchen here
That is not a 'top spec' kitchen! That is a higher-end High Street kitchen. For a 'top spec' kitchen, stick a zero on that price. But yes, it's not worth spending 10% of the value of a house on a kitchen.
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I used to live in one of the large houses Rattle mentions near Chorlton Green (on Cross Road). As a student I paid £21/week in rent and there were five of us so total rent was £455 per calendar month if you factor in twelve months. We were only there and paying for 9 months. That was cheep at the time for decent student accommodation.
That house last sold in 2005 for £480k. And before that it went for £220k in 1999. Zoopla estimates it is about £575k now. I bet the old landlord wishes he held onto it for longer because he sold it in 1995 for £83k :-)
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It is just madness, the house my parents own was worth around £60k in 1990, my parents wanted to sell it and buy a new build just off Corkland Road on the site of an old school (Ted will know the houses well).
The house was quite a bit more expensive than my parents at the time, but they decided against as the third bedroom was far too small. Those houses now look very scruffy and are worth less than my parents.
I really really wish I had bought a house in Salford if I was five years older I could have done, in 2003 I could have bought a house in Langworthy for £30k which is worth £130k now.
I am still hoping to do that, but will need to buy some where well outside of Manchester.
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Rhyl is the new Manc Rats....direct train link. Pick up a whole street for 250k.
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I will leave Rhyl for the poor scousers to take over, us mancs will take over Conwy instead :).
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>> It is just madness, the house my parents own was worth around £60k in 1990,
>> my parents wanted to sell it and buy a new build just off Corkland Road
>> on the site of an old school (Ted will know the houses well).
I spent from 1957 to 1963 at the grammar school that was there....worst years of my life !
The houses are starter type homes and flats...not much to commend them but within 75 yards of the newish tram station for commuting.
I bought my house, on the other side of the line for £3750. 5 years ago I sold the house next door for £250K....it was very shabby and run-down. A recent survey of property prices in the Greater Manchester area puts our suburb at 2nd from the top behind Wilmslow....and only about £10K for a similar house at that.
A biking pal round the corner has just sold his Victorian detached for about £650K.
HO
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And Wilmslow is still in Cheshire, so does that mean that Chorlton has the highest property prices in Greater Manchester? Pound for size it probably does, as there is a lack of very big houses here which stops them from being the million properties you get round the corner in Didsbury.
I honestly just don't understand how people can afford houses here anymore, I think you certainly need a double income. I could probably just afford to buy a 1960s run down flat if I had a double income.
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This is eye-opening stuff. I had no idea property was so expensive in the norf. Maybe there isn't a norf/saaf divide, just a London/the rest divide.
650k for a house in Manchester? Dear heavens. That's Thames Valley prices.
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>> I really really wish I had bought a house in Salford if I was five years older
>> I could have done, in 2003 I could have bought a house in Langworthy for
>> £30k which is worth £130k now.
I know you like to whine about how the housing market is unfair to younger people - and in some respects you've got a point - but there is nothing, NOTHING, stopping you from getting on the ladder and buying a house in the Manchester area other than your own timidness and inability to control your spending on drink and nights out.
Go to Rightmove, set a target price of 50-60k and there are hundreds of results for houses, flats, bungalows etc. Yes, they're not in particularly nice places but you might be surprised to learn that not everyone that lives in dubious areas is murdered on a regular basis.
I've just had a play on Nationwide's mortgage calculator and assuming an income of £18,000, a deposit of £9,000 and £100/month on hire purchase agreements they'll lend you up to £64,000.
Obviously I've taken a guess at your income but if you'd had a miserable two years sitting at home and not drinking or buying new computers (no offence but you don't "need" a fast computer even for work unless you're 3D modelling or something), you'd be most of the way towards your deposit. Perhaps your parents could help you out a bit?
What I'm trying to say is that there's absolutely nothing stopping you getting on the housing ladder right now.
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+1 Everything Mapmaker said.
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Worktop problem poor cutting etc - Zero
