New Kitchen.

[kadman]

I have been threatening to do something with a north facing small conservertory, thats colder because of its location, and its predominantl'y used as a store room. I was sick of looking at it. I spent some time looking at it for better use.....And decided on a new kitchen area. Missus thought I was mad, what with all the work required on converting the window areas into insulated panels, and the kitchen itself.

AS we say here, "I gave it a good coat of looking at". Then i decided on the preliminary work required, and got stuck in.
End window section required a central window pane left, and the one each side, closed up. This meant removing the 2 big double glazed units removed, and replaced with panels, then sealed and waterproof barrier on the external outside face. Then it was meshed and plastered with a waterproof mix of sand and cement.

Mved to the inside and i studded the inside left and right of the window pane with timberframe studwork, insulated and face with water proof HDF. All the wiring for the kitchen ran through the studwork. And along the back wall face I lined it with waterproof mdf anchord to the wall with 50mm hammer nail plugas at 400 centers horizontally and vertically to fix the units to.

It was after I started that i decided to take a few pics of the progress, and here we are.

[kadman]

Having realised early on that this was a labour intensive work between the fabric of the building work along with the complete construction of the kitchen as well. I decided to reduce the workload by using made up kitchen carcases, and make the doors myself having all the necessary machines to do so.

So i set about sourcing and pricing the carcases from near and far. Its Ireland, so many enquiries by both e mail, phone and text fell on deaf ears, which had my blood boiling, but thats another thread. After zero results, I headed for the nearest suppliers of the carcases for inspection of the items.Armed with a full spec plan and layout, as well as cut lists ect. This package impressed the company so much they offered me a job as a contract fitter for them, which I had to refuse as I was not a registered company. Anyway....

I inspected their cabinet construction in depth up close and personal. They were probably some of the best units I had seen in many years. Good quality carcase, well bored, edged and finished. And the pricing was so good, I thought I was good to go. Went down hill from there. I submitted my plans for a quote.. Price on paper wasn't what I needed, or was being quoted for. I am savvy enough to be able to decipher these quotes bit by bit, which I did.

Turned out it was over priced, over quoted with surplus material to the tune of 2500 euro. Which I complained about, and said I would shop of the shelf and make my own doors.
Floor bases were excellent so I bought them. But wall cabinets full height were not available and had to be ordered, which had a lead in time to order of 8 weeks. Which meant from order to delivery could be 12+ weeks. Fek that. So I bought the base units, and made all the top high level wall units, and made the doors.

[Jack The Stripper]

Have you any mechanical protection on the old pvc pvc cables as that insulation will break it down. It reacts with the pvc.

[kadman]

Where the town and earth cable comes through polystyrene panel, it runs through a short piece of electrical conduit. It runs through a 50 mm cavity behind the front timberframe studwork, and does not touch the back of the polystyrene panel at all anywhere, and it is all new wiring as well.
And on the back wall of the house behind the wall cabinets it runs in conduit behind the panels.

[kadman]

Also put in a new floor of heavy duty vinyl planking material. Extremely tough material and fast and easy to lay. Floating floor style with expansion gaps around the perimeter. Floor base units were easy to assemble, and excellently manufactured. The quality is superior to any MFC panels available in Ireland. As they were purchased from a uk manufacturer, they were made in the UK for flat pack assembly, and the quality is apparent.

New floor is in the first and second picture.

[kadman]

The horizontal clamp in the earlier post was used to support a stainless steel cooker pane that was attached to the wall around the cooker and below the extractor. Handy tool for holding slabs and panels against the wall for fixing.

[kadman]

I originally decided on solid wood doors, but the missus wanted a painted shaker style door with a high gloss finish. Back to the carcase supplier to see if i could buy them off the shelf. I could, but I would have to wait for 4 months to get a delivery for 14 doors and 2 drawer fronts.
I said fek that, I will make them myself. I decided on high density water resistant MDF for its denser finish for spraying. Construction method was an 8mm groove, an 8 mm panel and loose tenons.

Short time later I had the materials ready for assembly for a test mockup. I test glued a sample and left it for 12 hours, and then tried to break it.
I couldn't, and that was good enough for me, so i started with this.2 stiles, a head and a bottum , 1 panel and 4 loose tongues.

[kadman]

The glue i used was gorilla glue. I tested it on the material i intended to use so that I could assure my self it was fit for purpose. I left it overnight and then subjected the test piece to brute force to see if it broke at the glue line or material collapse.

Glue line held firm, and the material broke, which confirmed the glue was stronger than material. Good to go.

All the doors and drawer fronts were assembled and sanded, and I chose to drill the hinges before I sprayed them , so as not to end up with any chips from drilling. I made a drill template from mdf which was clamped in place, and drilled through to form the hole. Some drill bits on sale for hinges require this method as they dont have a central spur to keep the bit in place. Or you could use a drill press. For me, this method was quicker and easier.

[kadman]

I noticed a few things when i got my quote from a well known retail outlet in ireland.

Had i been joe public in for a design and quote into this place. I would have been presented with a grossly inaccurate quote for materials I did not need, and incorrect multiples of needed material. For example I was quoted for 3 lengths of worktop where i only needed 1, and 3 lengths of splash back, where i needed none.
This error in the company's favor totaled about 2500 euros. As I had many years in kitchen construction and design, I spotted these errors immediately. Designers answer was, it was a software glitch that would have been dealt with at checkout.I cried bullshit.

So buyer beware.

[Del.Monte]

It must be great to be a craftsman - I'm a bodger and not even a good one at that.

[kadman]

It must be great to be a craftsman - I'm a bodger and not even a good one at that.

We are all masters of some craft.......you just haven't found yours yet

[kadman]

After the doors were drilled for the hinges, i fitted them and hung the doors in the wall units and base units for test fitting. All went according to plan, amazingly. And we ended up here.

[kadman]

Here is the room pictured from outside.Just have to decide on the color and whether I use waterbased or solvent based spray.
Nearly there now.

[CelticRambler]

I'm very envious of your rate of progress.

I spent about four hours this afternoon trying to make six holes in a wall. Still a long, long way off doing any of the fun stuff like making cabinets.

[Jack The Stripper]

I'm very envious of your rate of progress.

I spent about four hours this afternoon trying to make six holes in a wall. Still a long, long way off doing any of the fun stuff like making cabinets.

What size holes and what is the construction of the wall?

[Jack The Stripper]

Here is the room pictured from outside.Just have to decide on the color and whether I use waterbased or solvent based spray.
Nearly there now.

Nice carpentry skills, it’s looking well.

[CelticRambler]

What size holes and what is the construction of the wall?

10mm x 60mm deep; where the four of the six holes need to go, it's quartz ... or some other igneous rock (that glows magnificently throughout the whole of its mass when you try to cut it with an diamond-bladed angle-grinder, but that's a different story ) I've learnt from previous experience, that it's not worth the effort, so I had to re-plot the whole installation in the hopes of getting nice easy limestone ... but that put half the holes in joints of various sizes, which meant clearing those out, along with the adjacent filler stones and preparing a fine concrete wallplate instead ...

[kadman]

Nice carpentry skills, it’s looking well.

Thanks.

In fairness I have all the tools and workshop machinery, and have been at woodwork since I was 14, so I should have learnt something at this stage nearing 70 First job was hand polishing 2 mahogany chairs for the church in Dromina, Co.Cork , during my school holidays.

[kadman]

I'm very envious of your rate of progress.

I spent about four hours this afternoon trying to make six holes in a wall. Still a long, long way off doing any of the fun stuff like making cabinets.

Progress rate for me is due to the fact I'm retired so I can devote as much , or as little time as i chose to work on whatever project I like. I put the vw restoration on the back burner in October for the wedding, and then kicked into this before going back to the resto. So its all good.

[CelticRambler]

The glue i used was gorilla glue. I tested it on the material i intended to use so that I could assure my self it was fit for purpose. I left it overnight and then subjected the test piece to brute force to see if it broke at the glue line or material collapse.

Glue line held firm, and the material broke, which confirmed the glue was stronger than material. Good to go.

Have you ever used Titebond for this kind of project, or similar; and if so, how would you rate the Gorilla vs Titebond?

Am just thinking ahead, for when I move from the toilet to the kitchen, where (amongst other things) I'm hoping to have a butcher's block. Most of what I've read/seen so far suggests Titebond is the only certified food-safe glue ... but then again, that's certified by the 'Mericans so may not mean a whole lot in the real world.

[kadman]

Have you ever used Titebond for this kind of project, or similar; and if so, how would you rate the Gorilla vs Titebond?

Am just thinking ahead, for when I move from the toilet to the kitchen, where (amongst other things) I'm hoping to have a butcher's block. Most of what I've read/seen so far suggests Titebond is the only certified food-safe glue ... but then again, that's certified by the 'Mericans so may not mean a whole lot in the real world.

I did a bit of research on a lot of adhesives recently. And strangely enough Titebond came out on top. But I couldn't source it in ireland at the time. So thats why i ended up with gorilla glue. So I cant say yay or nay on the titebond with any experience, but my memory seems to recall it ticked all the boxes for a good adhesive. Me braincells are asleep at the moment as I cant recall what the project was, but vaguely thinking it was for stitching drying ash bowls.

[CelticRambler]

On the topic of adhesives, this 30-second snippet featured in the latest video by a French guy I follow on YT:



Superglue and activator, with an interesting stress-test around the 8-minute mark.

[JayZeus]

Enjoying this thread this evening. Nice work Kadman.

[kadman]

Just working on spraying the doors at the moment.I am using a water based primer for the first time on mdf. Mdf is not a material I use often at all.
I tested a piece of mdf with water based primer, and a coat of cellulose based finish to see was it compatible.
Primer was 2 coats left to dry for 24 hours, and then a rattle can of white high gloss celly.

It dried out very well and no apparent conflicts between the 2 materials, but i will keep an eye on it until the celly fully cures, plus a week or two. But at the moment I'm happy enough to keep going.

I thinned out the mdf primer with water to equal parts of both and using a gravity fed spray gun with a 1.5 jet. At the moment after spraying the first door, I suspect the pressure is up too high and will drop it down to 50psi for the next door.

I will post a pic later today.

[JayZeus]

I’ve always used either Rustins MDF sealer or a 1# shellac wash coat before painting MDF. Will be interested to hear your feedback once you’re happy.