PERSONALISE YOUR SPACE WITH A DIY KITCHEN
Stamp personal style on your kitchen and make it look as good as new with our six top tips
As the heart and hub of the home, the kitchen is the room that gets the most use. It’s where we cook and eat, gather as a family and socialise with guests, and it also doubles up as a place to do homework, admin and, increasingly, as an office. So it’s hardly surprising that it suffers more wear and tear than other parts of the house. Fortunately, breathing new life into a tired kitchen doesn’t mean calling in the pros, as with a little time, effort and know-how, you can carry out the work yourself and save a small fortune.
SWITCH UP CUPBOARD DOORS
Nothing ruins the look of a kitchen more than dated cupboard doors. Repainting wood, laminate or melamine with a specialist product and changing the hardware is the cheapest way of upgrading them. Preparation is key so remove the doors, unscrew the handles, wash them with sugar soap and lightly sand them once dry before applying the paint as instructed. Alternatively, provided the supporting frame – or carcass – is in good condition, you can fit new doors and drawer fronts without replacing the entire units. B&Q, Wickes and IKEA all have huge ranges in standard sizes that are pre-drilled for hinges and handles, or you can order custom-made doors and drawer fronts from an online store.
FIT A NEW WORKTOP
Wood and laminate worktops can be bought and fitted by a competent DIYer (you may need help with lifting). Use your work surface as a template, allowing for an overhang, and cut to size with a circular saw. You’ll need to remove the sink and hob (a Gas Safe-registered engineer must do this if gas is involved) and, using a jigsaw, cut a hole for the sink on the reverse side. Bolt the surface in place, join two lengths with a metal T-joint and finish off the raw edges with sealing tape or end caps. When fitting a hob, apply heat insulation tape around the aperture and ensure any joints between worktops are at least 100mm away from sinks or appliance cut-outs.
TRANSFORM TATTY TILES
There are various ways of smartening up tiles that have seen better days. Refreshing the grout by spraying them with a cleaning solution and scrubbing them with a toothbrush may be all that’s needed, but painting makes a big difference. Rachael Meadowcroft of Ronseal advises sanding bare tiles lightly, wiping them with a damp cloth after removing the dust to improve adhesion, then applying thin coats of paint. Other options are retiling (turn to page 132 to find a guide to laying floor tiles yourself) or fitting prefabricated splashbacks, which are available in a variety of patterns, materials and colourways, don’t require grouting and can be fitted directly onto tiles.
REPLACE THE KITCHEN SINK
Fitting an inset sink is relatively simple for someone with basic plumbing know-how, and provides the perfect opportunity to upgrade taps too. Unless you’re replacing the worktop as well, choose a sink with the same dimensions as your current model to avoid having to adjust the waste pipes. Pre-assemble the new sink as far as possible, prepare the tap(s) according to instructions and attach the clips that hold it in place. Turn off the water, disconnect the waste, hot and cold pipes, loosen the clips and lift the old sink out. Slot the new one in, tighten the clips and connect the taps and waste. Keep a bucket and rag to hand to clear up any leaks.
FOCUS ON FLOORING
Laminate and vinyl flooring are suitable for
DIY installation. For a professional finish, remove the old floor covering and ensure the surface underneath is level. Put down underlay before fitting the laminate and save time by choosing one that has tongue and groove joints, which fit together without glue. Beginning at one end, work your way across the room, leaving a minimum 10mm expansion gap round the edges that will be hidden by skirting. Sheet vinyl can be laid in a single piece in a small kitchen and bonded to the floor using tape or glue, or choose self-adhesive vinyl tiles, laid from the centre of the room outwards.
PLAN OF ACTION
When undertaking a major makeover, it’s important to do things in the right order to maximise your time and reduce the need to do a job twice. Decorate the walls first, rehang painted or new cupboard doors, fit the worktops, sink and taps, then tile or add splashbacks and touch up any paintwork. Leave the flooring until last, as that way you’ll avoid scratching it while doing the heavy work and won’t be paying to cover areas you can’t see. Always prioritise safety, so ask for help when lifting heavy items, wear goggles when working, unplug electric tools when they’re not in use and keep children and pets well out of the way.