Kitchen Essential

To ensure you have a basic understanding of what is involved in creating a new kitchen — whether you are doing it yourself or handing it over to a team of contractors. You should have an idea whether you are going to extend, knock down walls or make structural alterations of any kind.

First, obtain some graph paper, pencil, rubber and a steel rule. Carefully measure your kitchen area and mark the dimensions to scale on the graph paper. Mark in the heights and positions of doors, windows and any items that cannot be moved, such as pipes or a central-heating boiler.

Divide the room into zones — working kitchen, utility and eating. On a separate sheet draw and then cut out scale outlines of your appliances, or even make models, and move them around the plan to see how it would work.

Units

Standard depth of worktop is 600 mm, to fit over base units and appliances of the same or slightly shallower depth. But some equipment, like a dishwasher, may need a deeper worktop to accommodate the plumbing at the back.

Laminate worktops come in any depth up to 900 mm and are priced accordingly. A textured finish laminate worktop will withstand scratches and marks better than a smooth finish.

Post-formed, or curved, edges are easier to clean and less prone to damage than squared edges. But post-formed edges need very careful handling when mitreing corners and joints.

Make sure the core of the worktop is marine quality as this has a higher degree of water resistance. However, joints must be butted very tightly. If the sides of the worktops to be butted have an edging strip, this should be removed before butting up otherwise water and dirt could penetrate.

It is vital to seal the area between the sink and the worktop, also between the worktop and the wall or tiles, with a flexible sealant which will resist shrinkage.

Consult any kitchen unit catalogue and it will list sizes and heights of units, all based on a standard 600 mm module — 600 mm deep and 600 mm wide. Most cookers, fridges, dishwashers and washing machines will fit within this standard. Of course, units may be narrower or wider from side to side than this, but they are rarely a different depth from front to back.

Solid wood doors on kitchen units could prove troublesome if they are not made from properly seasoned wood. These doors, often constructed with a separately inserted centre panel, are prone to warp and split if exposed to damp. Conversely, a centrally heated atmosphere may make them shrink. However, if the wood has been kiln dried to a moisture content of 10 to 12 per cent, and fitted into a frame that allows movement in a normal kitchen atmosphere, it should be suitable for your kitchen. The higher priced units generally meet these standards. On a lower budget, a better choice would be laminate-faced units.

Planning the work

The length of time needed once the decision to transform the kitchen has been taken may be several months. Expect a month of total chaos during the ripping out of the old and installing the new. But remember that the more carefully you have planned the work, the easier and smoother the job will be.

At this point, it should be stressed that although you may wish to tackle all the work yourself, unless you are competent with technical understanding and highly skilled with ample time to spare, at least some jobs may be best left to the experts. By all means consult the professionals at this crucial stage to help you decide which tasks you can and cannot tackle. Obtain several estimates, and remember the words of John Ruskin who wrote:

`There is hardly anything in this world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper and those who consider price alone are this man’s lawful prey!’

Before ordering the kitchen units, or hiring any experts, re-measure the kitchen. Check that your plan will fit the room. Check again and again and again!

When you are completely satisfied that all contingencies have been allowed for, order the units and appliances. Delivery may take eight or ten weeks. Prepare for the seige by cooking meals in advance to freeze and eat later during the upheaval. Empty cupboards of non-essentials. Discard old utensils, cracked dishes and any other ‘heirlooms’ you never use.

When work is due to start, establish a base camp in another room with your cooker and fridge temporarily connected and makeshift shelves or cupboards. Don’t attempt to use the kitchen at this time. It can only result in disaster.

Structural work like knocking down walls, repositioning doors, windows and so on, should be done now.

Electrical work

If your electrical wiring is over 20 years old consult your Electricity Board or a qualified electrical engineer. All modern homes have a ring main circuit which is a single loop of cable to which any number of sockets can be connected. The cable used is 2.5² mm PVC sheathed twin and earth. Total loading is 7.2 kW, usually sufficient for all the appliances used in the home except for the kitchen and utility room. Here a washing machine, tumble dryer and dishwasher working at the same time would be too great a load for the circuit. Therefore there should be two separate ring circuits with as many outlets as possible and sockets for each appliance. It is as cheap to install double sockets as single ones and extra socket outlets are always useful.

Electric cookers must have their own circuit, using a minimum of 6² mm PVC twin and earth cable and 10² mm for the larger cooker, for example a free-standing double-oven model. The cooker control switch is fixed separately from the appliance and must be installed within two metres of it. One switch will operate a split-level electric cooker provided the oven and hob are within two metres of the switch. Many cooker control panels have an additional socket outlet in the panel but care should be taken when using it, as a lead to a nearby small appliance could so easily pass across the hob and cause an accident.

Sockets for percolator, toaster and other small appliances should be fixed flush to the wall about 200 mm above the worktop. Large equipment such as fridges and dishwashers need their own sockets. If the lighting cables are PVC it is wise to check that they have an integral earth wire.

If you have carried out the electrical work yourself be sure to consult a reliable and up-to- date source of information on specific electrical techniques and have the work inspected by your local Electricity Board.

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
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• Kitchen Essentials AND Utensils Part 1
• Food Served Everyday Occasions, serve Food in a Pleasurable and Enjoyable way
• THE ABC OF COOKWARE Part 1
• Kitchen Essentials AND Utensils Part 2
• THE ABC OF COOKWARE Part 2
• Conquering Clutter
• Kitchen zones in practice
• Breakfast with fresh fruit Table Decoration
• The Kitchen Store Cupboard: Herbs, spices, flavourings, colourings and decorations continue...
• Spice up your Kitchen with Colour (Seaside Chic, Contemporary,Provencal Country & Industrial)

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