Kitchen installation upset- advice appreciated

[CBF]

those aren't standard worktops they look like the capping type

 

[calorific]

those aren't standard worktops they look like the capping type

Solid plastic things?

 

[Rose76]

Thanks calorific for your advice
So is the gap on the left side not room to play with in moving everything a little to the left or is that gap normal?

If the unit end panel is trimmed down then it would lower the whole set - maybe that would not be noticeable as the gap is only just over a centimetre.

We haven't given him a snag list. Firstly because I wanted opinions on whether these are acceptable things or not or if I just have impossibly high standards!! (Also in reply to your very first post we have paid him for the first two days - we paid before he finished as both out at work so only saw these things when we came home). Also we a thinking of going to someone else to see if they could make the corrections and finish the job - I'm not sure if another fitter would want to take on someone else's work though.

The worktop we know is going to cause us lots of problems as the overhang varies from just over a cm to 5cms and at that point there is 4cm between the wall and back of the worktop-the upstand is only 8mm deep so I guess the difference will have to be filled with silicon which. I am afraid that will look odd.


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[Rose76]

those aren't standard worktops they look like the capping type

I am not sure what standard worktops are but these are just chipboard laminate but thinner than normal.

 

[calorific]

So is the gap on the left side not room to play with in moving everything a little to the left or is that gap normal?

Ideally all gaps should be of equal size. Looking at the pictures again, it is possible to shuffle it all along a bit to try and achieve this standard

If the unit end panel is trimmed down then it would lower the whole set - maybe that would not be noticeable as the gap is only just over a centimetre.

Yes. Of course the trouble is that this will quite probably mean that the top of these tall units will not be the same height as the top of the cupboards on the wall on the other side of the door. You might not have noticed this had I not pointed this out to you, but it seemed only fair to deal with the whole thing in one fowl swoop.

We haven't given him a snag list. Firstly because I wanted opinions on whether these are acceptable things or not or if I just have impossibly high standards!!

I think it looks worse than it is and most of these issues can be relatively easily rectified. I'd be inclined to get him round again and point out these things that irk you. He has, after all, got a working knowledge of your kitchen and may well be able to advise you of what can be feasibly done within another day or so.

Also we a thinking of going to someone else to see if they could make the corrections and finish the job - I'm not sure if another fitter would want to take on someone else's work though.

Difficult call here. As said above, you might be advised to speak to him first and give him a chance. If he is reluctant or unable to complete then you can legitimately go to another fitter and explain that the first fitter was out of his depth, or however you may want to put it.

The worktop we know is going to cause us lots of problems as the overhang varies from just over a cm to 5cms and at that point there is 4cm between the wall and back of the worktop-the upstand is only 8mm deep so I guess the difference will have to be filled with silicon which. I am afraid that will look odd.

Now that it has been cut to size it is probably impossible to do anything with it. Other than buying a new worktop then it is difficult to know what else can be done to scribe it to the wall. The difference in depth of overhang could be for a host of reasons (trying to squeeze the base cupboards in to maximise the length available for the drawer/oven/cupboard run, which pushed one end in whereas the other end has no choice if it is to match the tall cupboard). You might have to work out why he did this - he may have had legitimate reasons which forced his hand

 

[speed]

the drwa fronts should fit within the unit, say the unit is 600mm the draws will be 595mm giving 2.5mm gap each side there should be no reason to off set the draw fronts (unless ive missed something?)

the end panel does need scribing, it should have been scribed in the firstplace, it can be scribed but all the towers will need lowering to allow for the reduced length.

the bank of larder units could do with an infill piece on the right hand side (a) it will allow easyer opening of the door (b) it will look miles better if the door is not licking the wall, even 1" will give it a (shadow line)

the hinge, he messed up its easy done, could have pluged the holes with little plastic plugs and consulted you, offered a replacement if you aint happy, but that is a minor point

the worktop joint is not acceptable IMO, 90% of worktops i do are not square even in newbuilds and the scribe needs cutting alittle out of square to compansate and allow the joint to be tight

the end run of worktop could be tighter, it should have been scribed to fit before the scribe on the joint

not everyone can do worktops they are hard to do even harder when you have an enclosed end.

 

[calorific]

the drwa fronts should fit within the unit, say the unit is 600mm the draws will be 595mm giving 2.5mm gap each side there should be no reason to off set the draw fronts (unless ive missed something?).

He's positioned the the moulded cornice piece so it overlaps the carcass by a few mm - this is why he offset the drawer fronts. If he hadn't done this then the whole of the run would have been in the right place.

 

[Rose76]

Thanks for all the advice. I really appreciate it. One of our neighbours who does lot of renovations has looked at our kitchen and strongly recommended someone to us and we have decided to use him and to cut our losses with the other fitter. In the grand scheme of things we realise even if we do replace some of the things this will amount to a couple of hundred quid which we are seeing as small in comparison to the nightmares some others go through. All in all we don't think our fitter was a cowboy just did not have the attention to detail we would want. Hopefully we wil get this project finished soon! Thanks again.

 

[calorific]

Thanks for all the advice. I really appreciate it. One of our neighbours who does lot of renovations has looked at our kitchen and strongly recommended someone to us and we have decided to use him and to cut our losses with the other fitter. In the grand scheme of things we realise even if we do replace some of the things this will amount to a couple of hundred quid which we are seeing as small in comparison to the nightmares some others go through. All in all we don't think our fitter was a cowboy just did not have the attention to detail we would want. Hopefully we wil get this project finished soon! Thanks again.

Look forward to hearing about and seeing a happy conclusion to this.

 

[iaith]

Hi Rose76. I know your neighbour has advised a new fitter, but personally I would let the original fitter finish the job first. his work is far from perfect but it will look a whole lot better when finished. and as far as the new fitter is concerned, rectifying other peoples work can be difficult and sometimes costly.

 

[gasbanni]

That worktop mitre is rubbish............by that alone I'd charge him for the panels he's butchered including replacement worktops.

Having worked with kitchen fitters and national kitchen companies for eight years............I'm sorry to say it but its crap.

If you need a name and number of a decent bloke to come in and put it right
send me private message. I know two lads up your way.

 

[gasbanni]

View media item 51884 View media item 51883
with the worktop he has had to compensate for the walls not being straight - even though we thought that's what we were paying the plasterer for it seems he didn't square the walls. As a result the fitter hasn't had the easiest start with the walls not being straight. However what are your opinions on this join - is this what you would expect. I guess it is difficult to really tell from these photos if the join could have been done any better.

A decent fitter can easily accommodate the walls not been flat or square,
This joint is absolutely crap.......its not going to get any better with time.
sorry to upset you but its the truth.

Write him a list of everything your not happy with....EVERYTHING.........and ask him how he proposes to put it right.

Including new panels at his cost if he's butchered them.

 

[essexboy1]

with the gap between worktop and wall cant dot and dab a piece of plasterboard?