I haven't disappeared off the face of the earth, I've just been in DIY Hell :)
Hard to find time to post when every spare moment is taken up with learning a new trade.
My kitchen was a bit of a s***hole, due to years of smoking, cooking and general lack of any maintenance, so I decided it was time I pulled my finger out.
Inspired by buying 2 new appliances, a fridge that needs to be plumbed in and a washing machine that is a foot deeper than the previous one.
The old washing machine had been leaking for months which brought up the floor tiles around it and rotted the bottom of the kitchen cupboards.
So the first job was to repair the floor, but after moving everything in the area I found that I had 3 layers of damaged tiles, which after removing left me with a totally uneven floor meaning I would have to take the entire lot up.
Once all the tiles were removed it was even worse as it revealed areas where walls had been removed and meant I would have to totally replace the floor using a fllor cement.
The outer wall had been plasterboarded and was showing signs of wear, so I removed that and found all manner of horrors behind it, electrical conduits not buried in walls but just hidden behind, plus a totally uneven wall.
Decided it was time I replaced the entire electrics as it was a good opportunity, and later found out the kitchen was run on an old radial circuit or basically a series of spurs.
Have added a shedload of sockets and after ripping down the ceiling managed to connect everything through a safer ring main.
The next major project was using this chance to re-route the plumbing as also on the aggenda was a replacement bathroom with a proper shower, which meant locating the upstairs taps at the opposite ends of the bath.
Currently I've finished the electrics (including replacing the fuse box with MCB's) and the plumbing is in place for the final changeover, but have spent a week plastering the uneven wall (nearly an inch thick in places).
I have experience of re-wiring and limited plumbing knowledge so that wasn't a problem, but must admit to being a complete novice with plastering so this has been a good learning curve.
