A 50-year-old DIY enthusiast has saved himself thousands of pounds by foregoing traders and renovating his dated kitchen all by himself. Jonathan Barnes, from Rochdale, wanted to modernise his kitchen on a budget, and managed to transform the lot for less than £3,000.
The average price for a professional kitchen installation is £10,550, meaning that the savvy Mancunian saved himself over £7,500.
Jonathan, who works as a spray shop manager, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk that he used bargains from B&Q and eBay to update his kitchen, taking advantage of reduced prices and discounts.
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He said: “Having recently finished renovating my lounge to an industrial theme and my master bedroom taking on a minimalist style, I decided once again to buck the trend and go for something less traditional with my new kitchen; opting for an ultra-modern design.
“I knew was that I didn’t have the funds available to hire a professional, and I am aware that using any fitting service provided by the retailer would add £1000s on top of the initial kitchen price. So instead of getting it professionally installed, I decided to dot myself.”
The 50-year-old decided to buy his units and splash walls from B&Q, who were offering a 20 per cent discount on all kitchens and accessories with a minimum spend of £2,500.
He added: “I took a sketch of my proposed design together with the measurements into my local B&Q store in order for them to draw it up professionally.
“All of the units, including the fixtures and fittings, cost £1260. I got three copper splash walls for £355, and a Franke Orion sink for £217. My brass and black tap was £116, and my pull out corner rack system was £167. Finally I got a pull out bin set for £75, then I went to other stores for the rest of my supplies.
“At Worktop Express I got three grey woodstone worktops for £450, and on eBay I found a liquid glass splashback reduced from £80 to £40. On Amazon I found 12 brushed copper edge pull handles for £31.60, and on Argos I got brushed copper blinds for £12. In total, the supplies cost £2732.60.”
With all of the equipment purchased, Jonathan was able to get started on the project, removing the old PVC cladding that had been attached to the walls by the previous owner, and unscrewing the kitchen worktops. It also took him three hours to remove FOUR layers of old lino flooring.
He went on to assemble all of the new base units ensuring they all lined up against the walls in their respective order, were all level and an equal distance from the wall.
“Getting this right is crucial because if the units are not positioned correctly, then the worktops will not fit properly,” he said. “Once I was satisfied with their positioning, I attached the units to each other and the wall. This was the most time-consuming part of the installation and took around twelve hours from start to finish.”
Jonathan moved on to the two larder units that would house his white goods and oven, as well as fitting the pull out bin set, before moving on to worktops.
This was the only part of the build where Jonathan decided to rope in a pro, explaining: “As a special guide template is required for this task and combined with the fact that I did not possess the confidence to undertake this myself as the prospect of making an error could work out rather costly, I decided to hire a professional joiner to fit them, this also included cutting out the holes for the sink and hob, the cost of this service was £150.”
The DIYer took on the plinths and wall units, as well as the handles and blinds purchased from Amazon and Argos respectively, finally tackling the copper splash walls.
Upon completion of the project, he said: “Out of all of my DIY projects over the years this was by far the largest and most complex challenge I have ever undertaken, and I don’t mind admitting that I felt out of my comfort zone prior to starting this renovation. However, surprisingly enough, once I managed to get my head around the floor plan drawn up by B&Q, the installation of the kitchen was more straightforward than I was anticipating.”
Tom Church, Co-Founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, added: “Jonathan has done an impressive job turning his kitchen into an ultra-modern space. It’s always wise to know your limits with DIY and bring in a professional when needed, as he did for part of the installation. Overall, he has no doubt saved £1000s by doing most of the work himself.”
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