mojojogo
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Tim,
Is there a comprehensive book/manual on kitchen fitting available that you would recommend.
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timfoley
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I would say this wouldn’t I but in all the books I have come across none have gone in depth about kitchen installation and that was the reason for my writing the
articles.
Many are written from a diy persective and only skirt the skills required.
I do however, have plans to expand upon the articles to include kitchen plumbing and electrics in a book.
What most books fail to realise now is that a large number of people are extremely competent when it comes to manual skills and if explained properly even a perceived multi skilled
job like kitchen fitting is not beyond the diy’er.
Substantial saving can be made by installing your own kitchen and the feedback I receive from the articles which appear on a number of sites as well as our own, is of satisfaction in
how they were conveyed.
What I’d really like is some stories of kitchens completed using the articles and what, if anything, is missing. This would help in my plans to write the book.
So there we have it, no books are comprehensive enough to take a person through the complete installation – yet!
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mojojogo
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I cant believe it  you can’t purchase a
comprehansive fitting book/manual. I really am shocked. Its great news there might be a book of yours on the horizon, (reading between the lines, ha ha). Can I please order mine now,
(sighned copy of course). It will make a great bed tim read for sad, but very keen fitters like myself. The reason I asked about books is, I have hundreds of questions. Like. Q1. Is
it best to offset my jig if the walls are out of square, or is it best to reshape the length of worktop using my compass/jigsaw etc?. Q2. Transferring angles of walls to cut worktops,
e.g across corners to encorporate a hob, when the 22.5 degree jig angle cant be used?. I do usually work these sort of things out, but spend far to much time thinking about it, and
getting it to a standard I am completly happy with. Somtimes a simple tip can save loads of time, which is what I was hoping a book would have done.
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miles
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Hello mojojogo
If you have installed your base units square, then you need scribe the back of the work tops to the walls and place your jig squarely to the front of the work top for the masons
mitres. This way you will have a consistent worktop overhang along the fronts of your units.
If you haven’t fitted the base units squarely, and they just follow the wall, (tutt tutt), you will have to cut your masons mitres at an angle.
I am sorry, but I could not make head nor tail of question 2. I just can’t picture what you mean.
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miles
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Hello Tim
Interesting that you mentioned electrics, and about including instructions on wiring.
My understanding of the new part P regs, that are now due to come into force in Jan 2005, is that electical installations are going to have to be certificated. As per gas
installations. Which means no more DIY installations. Unless they are checked and certified by a registered (£900/year fee) electrician.
Mind you as with gas, any one can install registered or not but the end job has to be certified. So a DIY’er will have to be top notch.
The new EEC cables have started to appear now. Also.
Thanks
Miles
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timfoley
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Miles,
Thanks for the information. A good move in my opinion and one that will ensure safety. It will be interesting to see how it will be implemented.
Tim
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miles
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Hi Ya
Blimey that was quick. Has your missus deserted you for the night as well?
Part P was supposed to be in force now. They can’t agree on rules, how to implement it. But they know they want to charge £900/yr. I guess it will be the same as Corgi and the firm
and not all employees have to register.
Don’t know who is going to run it yet, but they are going to collect alot of money.
FENSA, who look after double glazing companies have applied to run it. Also electrical bodies want to run it.
British Standards want to run there own scheme.
I don’t suppose it will be long before tradesmen have to shell out 2 or £3,000 a year to different organisations before we earn a penny.
I won’t even start moaning about SCCS registration for work on building sites.
Bye for now. Dog walking time. ( or I’ll be in trouble when she gets home!).
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timfoley
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Miles,
I was aware you were logged in and as you always give me a hard time I thought I’d respond quick and relieve myself of more sleepless nights wodering how to reply to you. 
It’s a pity that we have to go down this avenue of having to shell out to distinguish the services of quality tradesmen from those incapable of completing the work but it is, I’m
afraid, a necessary evil that will prove cost effective and profitable in the long term.
Unfortunately, the logistics of setting up a scheme and implementing it in an effective way renders a charge to those wishing to prosper from the training offered.
However, I do think that those already capable should be relieved of any unnecessary training and merely assessed on their capabilities.
This would serve to lower the cost for established tradespeople yet still deal with the current problem of letting any Tom, Dick or Harry loose on your plumbing and electrics.
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timfoley
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In a follow up to this post I can announce today that I have been commisioned to write a book on How to
Install a Kitchen.
I envisage it will be available in 12 – 16 months time and will encompass every aspect of installation with a number photographic examples.
Between 55,000 and 60,000 words it will be a comprehensive manual that will offer advice on how to choose your kitchen, design, planning, products and of course, installation. My
belief is that it will offer the nitty gritty and realsitic information that other books fail to deliver.
Better get my writing pad out then.
I’ll update here as news is available.
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