Reply: 3
From: Adam Randall
Hello
I will answer the questions the best I can.
1. It appears that you put laminate on top of the existing benchtops? Is this the same stuff that is used on floors (referred to as floating flooring) or a special one specially made for benchtops?
answer: That is real timber (Tasmainian Beech) laid over the top of the original laminate. They are meant for use on floors (parquetry), I laid each block of wood individually, took me an evening to do. The sanding was a differrent story, that took about a week to get nice and smooth (about 20 hours). I started with a belt sander and finished with a random orbital (bosch pxe400 very nice). I used special PVA glue, and on top I used a 2 pack gloss (wattyl 7008) for a hard wearing high gloss finish. Don't kid yourself, most people could achieve this, I find the hardest thing is getting everything flat, and the angles right, I also tend to rush so I can see the final result, problem is when I rush, I alsways stuff something up and it takes me twice as long anyway.
2. What did you use for the edges of the benchtops?
answer: Mouldings from bunnings, I then stained them with mahogany stain (craftsman), I haven't glossed them yet.
3. When you put the new handles in did you have to putty the old holes up first?
Answer: luckily not on the cupboards, I just used the original hole as the top hole for the new handles. This saved time because I new they were all exact, I just created a template that I aligned to the original hole and top corner to drill the second hole.
The hole in the drawers had to be filled up, as they were located in the centre
4. Lastly, did you install the benchtops yourself? This would be one of the jobs that someone such as myself couldn't do, so it would add to my cost. Would love to know how you did it!
answer: yes I did the benchtops myself, never done them before either. Additionally My Mum nearly had a nervous breakdown when she saw that I had pulled the original kitchen apart, I think she has more faith in me now.
The house is a rental property in Adelaide (Skye), before I started (FEB) I was getting about $400 a week, probably won't get to much more now, but It will not sit vacant as often being it appeals to more people now.
The biggest killer for me is I have lost out on that $400 a week for 6 months (2 french doors a week).
Made the mistake of getting a valuer in after 98.5 % of the renovation has been completed, this was also while the kitchen was in bits, he took 1 look at the rubbish on the floor and took 50K of the value. Told me he could only value it on its present state, and because it wasn't finished only investors would be interested in it if the bank had to sell it tommorow.
Value currently is 300K. I find it hard to believe even in Adelaide that a 280sqm house on 2 1/2 acres 15 mins to town is only worth 300K even if it is very messy at the moment.