Browse Forums Kitchen Corner 1 Apr 09, 2009 9:40 pm I've spent the last few months researching new kitchen designs etc and have paid the deposit to the kitchen company... There are a few issues I need to get completed before the kitchen company can complete their "final measure" - one being the removal of an internal wall between existing kitchen and (external) laundry, to make the kitchen space double the size. I've already had a builder inspect the roof supports and there's minimal work to be done there with the removal of the common wall. I'm already aware of the risks associated with asbestos and it's removal, and of the decreasing limits imposed on fibro removal (see viewtopic.php?f=21&t=15053 which I'll be reading the links provided in that thread to get me up to speed). Some of the new kitchen cabinets are going to be fixed to existing fibro walls in the old laundry. I don't see this as a problem but wondered what other's opinions of that were... I probably should mention it to the kitchen company in case they have a policy for working with asbestos, as they will likely be drilling into/through the panels to get to the studs to mount the cupboards in place! The wall that is being removed will be just under the maximum 10sqm fibro/asbestos removal (1950's house with 9ft ceilings, and wall is approx 2.7m long) unless it's fibro on both sides, which I wont know until I remove the panels from the laundry side of the wall!!! Other issues I have to sort out before the kitchen is installed is bringing the floor level in the old laundry up to the existing kitchen floor height (approx 300mm difference). All plumbing can go under the new floor to the new laundry under the covered area which is just outside the existing laundry - another floor/deck to be built up level to the back door step... I wasn't going to worry about trying to match the floorboards (which are currently tiled-over in the kitchen) for the new risen floor in the old laundry. We recently had our floorboards sanded and polished in the main living areas and were told we had cypress pine floorboards. If these are still commonly available, what's the likelihood of buying new ones and them matching the old ones? I figured it would be easier to use standard particle-board flooring sheets for the risen floor and then use vinyl/lino flooring over the top for the whole kitchen, and certainly wouldn't want "floating" timber floor as it would certainly clash with the new high-gloss polished floors! Photos to come during the progress, of course! Re: Kitchen/Laundry reno questions 2Apr 10, 2009 12:57 am IMO you should tell the KK that there is asbestos there. re the floor - talk to a salvage yeard - I recently matched a deck with some old floors and you can;t tell the difference. Measure the board width exactly - then go hunting in the yards. Good luck - it's worth the effort. Re: Kitchen/Laundry reno questions 3Apr 10, 2009 8:11 am I also agree that on moral grounds you must disclose the prescence of asbestos to your kitchen builder. That stuff can kill! I still remember when I was a kid coming home to my then residence to find all these workers dressed "hazchem" style pulling out the asbestos roof...while my neighbours (it was a block of flats) were going about their daily business as if nothing was happening! I had to walk through the chaos to get in my front door. Only a handful of years later did I figure out what was going on that day... Re: Kitchen/Laundry reno questions 4Apr 10, 2009 8:32 pm I've emailed the kitchen company but don't expect a response until after Easter... One query I have which I guess a plumber would easily be able to answer - would the new "outside" laundry floor need to be water-proofed, and would it need a floor-waste drain? As already mentioned, the existing laundry is on a slab lower than the rest of the house floor level, but it has no floor-waste drain. I don't even think the level slopes to the doorway so that if there is a spill, that it would drain to outside the laundry... Seeing as the new laundry would be outside the house, raised above ground level with treated pine joists etc for floor support, I was thinking of using fibrous cement sheets (13mm thick?) for the laundry floor... If I did want a waste, I could just cut a hole in the floor, or on event of a leak/flood, just sweep the water out the door onto the deck where it would then go onto the ground anyway... Re: Kitchen/Laundry reno questions 5Apr 10, 2009 9:41 pm We are undergoing a very similar renovation. 1950s house, kitchen/laundry renovation, relocating kitchen, removing a load bearing wall, and a few previous additions to work around. So we have come across some of the same issues. First, on asbestos cement sheet. If the kitchen company doesn’t have a policy for working with asbestos, I would be questioning the integrity of the kitchen company. Health and safety in the workplace is taken pretty seriously these days: your kitchen is their workplace, but more importantly you have to live there too! In my opinion, you should replace the AC sheet with plasterboard. Aside from just dealing with the problem and not having to worry about it anymore, you may need to do this anyway if the linings in the kitchen and the laundry don’t match (typically plasterboard is ~10mm thick, AC sheet is less at ~6mm). If the wall area is less than 10sqm, you can take the necessary precautions and DIY. Or, you could get your builder to do this. Alternatively, you could get professionals to do this for you. When we did our bathroom (~10sqm wall area), this cost something like $1000-1200 including demolition, removal and inspection by a qualified inspector. (The cost compared to the bathroom renovation: B.A. Peace of mind? Priceless.) Regarding the floorboards, we also have cypress pine / baltic pine. The previous owners took up the floor linings and had them polished, and also had some boards replaced; you can still find this timber in specialty timber/demolition yards. They’re slightly different but with colour matching they don’t stand out. I really wanted to retain the floorboards in our renovated kitchen, but I have since learned a few things about floorboards in old houses… First, cypress pine / baltic pine looks lovely polished, but unfortunately it was never intended for this purpose. It is a soft wood so it dents easily. Of course this adds to the rustic appeal It also shrinks, so there are now gaps between the planks that would have originally been installed butted up against each other 50 years ago. This makes it not ideal as a floor surface in a wet area such as a kitchen. (Nevermind. We are going to tile over instead; the floor boards were just not in good enough condition to repair.) We had to replace the floor in our laundry too, partly because it was a ******* old extension and the supporting structure was not up to scratch, and partly to match floor heights. The flooring is now structural particleboard and will be tiled over. I don’t think you are legally required to have a floor waste unless you’re in a multiple storey apartment building. Good luck with your renos, I’d like to see the pictures. We’re currently into week four, two to go… Re: Kitchen/Laundry reno questions 6Apr 11, 2009 2:00 pm Thanks for your reply, Kanin. It's good to know someone else has experienced the same situation and I really appreciate your advice. If I have to replace the fibro with gyprock as you state, to allow the walls to line up after I've knocked the wall down, then I assume I'd only need to re-sheet the side walls and not the end one, which could remain as fibro sheet as that whole wall wont be affected. Replacing the ends of the side walls where the old laundry is will mean I will exceed the 10sqm fibro sheet quota... Also, I am 99% sure the existing gyprock walls are the "horsehair" type (as I know the ceiling and some other walls are) - I don't know if they are a different thickness to current gyprock sheeting... I also have access to the plumbing in the wall behind the sink from outside the house (see 3rd photo below) and I took the vent/access cover off and noticed masonite used as the internal surface in the kitchen. I don't know if it's masonite all the way through, and again, will only find out when I start removing the kitchen cabinets... After researching prices for months, we purchased new s/s microwave, oven, dishwasher & black cooktop today and am happy to have kept about 10% under-budget of $2500, with the best saving being the Franke cooktop costing less than half RRP! (RRP was approx $1200!). I've added some "before" photos... DSC09358_640.jpg DSC09359_640.jpg DSC09360_640.jpg Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Kitchen/Laundry reno questions 7Apr 20, 2009 9:11 pm Update: all fibro/possible asbestos panels removed, old laundry window removed, some cladding removed (which will end up being inside walls for the new laundry), old laundry door removed, started on the raised flooring in the old laundry, and outside frame for deck and new laundry, and long window outside (opposite back door) removed as it's frame was majorly rotten and needs replacement. It just so happens that the window will fit into the new kitchen where I proposed to put window between benchtop and wall cupboards! I like the pattern on the glass, but I have to make up a new frame, and then will need to find another window to replace where it was originally. Might just be easier to source a new (smaller) window for the kitchen and my thoughts at this stage are two rows of 6 glass bricks... Surprisingly, the existing wall cupboards are fixed directly to the wall studs, with no sheeting (masonite or gyprock) used!!! I was advised to sheet the wall before the new kitchen gets installed. Plumber comes tomorrow, builder comes Wednesday to move the roof supports to somewhere else other than the load-bearing wall that has to come out... Still negotiating location of dishwasher with designer after relocating the wall-oven cabinet. Might be ready for the final site-measure early next week, and new kitchen in less than a month?... Progress photos to be posted tomorrow... Re: Kitchen/Laundry reno questions 8Apr 21, 2009 11:05 pm Photos attached. They were taken this morning before the plumber arrived. He capped-off all the old pipes I no longer need, and he will extend the hot and cold pipes into the new laundry next week. Yesterday I also removed the aluminium window from the old laundry. I did abit more of the flooring today, but couldn't do too much as the pedestal basin, laundry tub drain-pipe, and toilet bowl were in the way. I also re-framed the new kitchen window (was the old laundry window) to make it fit between the benchtop and wall cabinets (I hope the measurements off the designer's plan are correct!!!) I had a brillaint idea for the glass bricks while trying to get to sleep last night - I'll keep it as a surprise which I'll show in due course, if I decide to go ahead with the glass bricks, that is... Tomorrow I expect to finish the bearers and joists while the builder is in the roof, and once he's done I'll be able to remove the wall cupboards and the wall, then lay the flooring down so I can put the wall cupboards on it temporarily and start dismantling half of the kitchen ready for the final site-measure hopefully next week. I've had three weeks off work (but only really spent the last week doing renovations), and go back Thursday. Hopefully the progress isn't hampered too much by this! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Kitchen/Laundry reno questions 9May 12, 2009 7:36 pm Just a quick progress update with photos... The photos are displayed in reverse order to uploading! Anyway, you get the idea... Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Kitchen/Laundry reno questions 10May 12, 2009 7:47 pm Looking good! By the way…..you would not have had to tell me there was asbestos on your wall. The age of your house is the give away. The kitchen guy would have known. The renos are coming on nicely! Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: Kitchen/Laundry reno questions 11Jun 19, 2009 11:46 pm Ok so now a big jump from "construction site" mess to almost-completed... Still abit of work to be done, but most of it is "cosmetic" and will take many months to complete due to going waaaaaaaaay over budget by thousands of dollars (I never expected "incidental" costs to be so much, and the bill from the plumber was abit of a shock - over $2k, which included extending pipes a couple of meters along the existing wall to the new laundry (I had pre-drilled the studs), and relocate the drainage for the toilet (probably the bulk of the bill; he had to dig up abit of the sideway), so the splashback tiles will have to wait until we've paid off a loan. The rest will be done as there's no cost involved - it'll just take more time: painting, finishing off the cladding outside for the glass-brick window... The main thing is we have a functioning kitchen (and the wife is happy). Unable to upload photos at this time - I am getting a message: "Sorry, the board attachment quota has been reached." Re: Kitchen/Laundry reno questions 12Jun 20, 2009 7:15 am Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: Kitchen/Laundry reno questions 13Jul 10, 2009 7:27 pm Ok some photos using a file server instead of the forum's hosting (which isn't working for me anymore)... Viewed in order around the kitchen from the sink, to the servery, and finally the "feature wall" where the fridge and existing built-in pantry is (with it's new doors). Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ (The paint was still wet on the feature wall!) I still haven't taken any photos with all the appliances installed (dishwasher, microwave), and I've actually done first coats of paint for the walls, and it's looking alot nicer than the photos above... Hello It is good to have a planned bathroom reno to suit your budget and design, living for 10 years I think you need a bathtub 4 10380 Bought in Nov 21 at the height of the market (classic). Good area, atrocious floor plan. BUT has land out to the left-hand side that we can extend out on (see second… 0 8783 The only thing to add to these comments is that where possible it's always good to try and work with people than just say "no" because you can. Having someone… 4 17153 |