 | Jim Price
is President and Owner of McLaughlin Construction, Inc. The McLaughlin Family's construction ties in Wichita goes back to the late 1800's, when his Great-Great Grandfather Joseph built the original Douglas Street Bridge. His son, 'Grandpa Mac', built many of the buildings at Wichita's aircraft plants during World War II. Now, several generations later, McLaughlin Construction still handles all types of residential and commercial construction. You may contact Jim at (316) 640-9775. |
Home Improvement
2004-08-01 11:51:00
Tips on remodeling the kitchen
Question: We are thinking of remodeling our kitchen. What are some things to look for we may not think about?
ANSWER: (second part of series... see July ‘04 issue for part one)Floor ConsiderationsCommon problems are wood rot at floor level or the intrusion of wet and dirt along the line where the cabinet fronts and sides join the floor. This can be prevented by laying on the floor a concrete base just sufficient in height to hold back the depth of water that may be expected to lie on the floor during cleaning - say half an inch, with other dimensions to suit the structure which is to stand upon it. This will avoid both wood rot and the need for any floor cleaning within the area covered by the cabinets. Ideally a similar base will be provided for all stationary items standing on the kitchen floor, e.g. refrigerator, washing machine. If conditions permit (which is not often the case), the continuation of this low base across doorways will isolate the kitchen floor from the rest of the house and will ease wet cleaning of the kitchen floor. An alternative to a plinth would be to fit waterproof coving to the floor so that equipment could be stood within it; but this might turn out in use to be rather fragile.A better solution is to start off by laying the kitchen floor with a fall to a drain so that all water poured on the floor makes its way to the drain and the whole character of floor cleaning is changed. The amount of water used in cleaning will be greater and a higher base is required to ensure no overflow and doorways need special consideration (easy if all are on the high sides of the floor). This base should be about 1 ¾" above the floor at its closest point to the floor in order to leave space for a brush to get under edges and into the corners during washing down.The floor covering can be either square edged tiles laid tight together as in swimming pools with coving tiles along the edges, or good quality synthetic floor-sheeting, coved at the edges, and welded at all joints.The Worktop CornerIf the worktop extends on both sides of a corner the space is usually best utilized by fitting a "Carousel" which has two circular shelves and which can be revolved under the worktop to bring the required portion of the shelf out into the corner opening.Wall and Worktop ConsiderationsIt is essential that wall surfaces adjacent to working areas are 'easy-clean'. Ceramic tiling is probably the easiest and most common solution. Stainless steel sheet is a sound solution if its appearance is acceptable.The joint between worktops and adjacent walls must be watertight. Steel sink tops usually have integral upstands along their back edge but not along the sides. If the sink edge butts onto a wall the best solution is an integral upstand along that edge of the sink: this may be difficult to find although, cost permitting, it should be possible to arrange for one to be added (Try your friendly local Steel Fabricator if the supplier is unable to help - the friendly one might even build a sink for you to suit, exactly, your design need in every respect. The source of these friends is Yellow Pages or pub gossip and the like).Tiled tops can be coved at the edges and the tiling can be continued up the wall. Coving pieces are usually available to match worktops made out of wood products. Metal joining strips are available for use when joining pieces of worktop and their use will ensure that joints are sound.Relationship of Vertical FacesTo take full advantage of the easy clean floor the worktop should overhang the front of the cabinet, and then the cabinet should overhang the front of the plinth, so that anything falling off the worktop falls directly to the floor without making a mess on the front of the cabinets. The Kitchen SinkThe component which perhaps has the greatest influence over the final design is the sink unit. However, once the self-build decision has been taken many of the constraints disappear as the builder is free to choose its precise position in the run. Draining boards do not affect the nature of the cabinets below them, but space must be provided under the worktop for the sink bowl(s).Decisions have to be made: one or two bowls; the size of the bowl(s); one or two draining boards; the overall size of the sink unit; and whether or not to fit a destructor unit under an outlet (drain hole).Some degree of choice is available regarding the depth of the sink bowl: the advantage of having a deeper than normal sink should be considered provided that it will not conflict with the installation of a waste disposal unit if this is intended. There should not be any problem but the dimensions of disposal units may vary and attention needs to be paid to the vertical dimensions of the disposal unit and the relative positions of the sink outlet and the connection to the drain. An additional item that may be appreciated is a small pump action soap dispenser which can be fitted into the sink unit close to the tap base. Taps come as separate items.It is best to find a sink specialist by asking friendly plumbers, builders, etc. It is their business to know in detail just what is available on the market. They have manufacturers catalogues to refer to, and know all the little wrinkles about disposal units (which need enlarged drain holes in the sink base), soap pumps and the like. .Think five times before selecting one of those pretty little multi-bowl sinks that currently seem so popular, and then think again about large Sunday lunches and defective washing machines. Once the sink has been selected the remainder of the design can be completed allowing for drawers, cupboards, ovens, hobs or whatever.
