# Forum Home Renovation Bathrooms  Flatpak Kitchens - experiences?

## dazzler

HI 
Okay, I searched, and I found but not what I want  :Wink: . (lots of discussion about GOING to do it but zilcho on actually DOING it) 
Any experiences, good or bad, with installing a flat pak kitchen like the ones from bunnings and ikea etc 
cheers 
dazzler

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## Bloss

Done a few - and they were fine. Quality varies, but the main issue as with any kitchen, flatpak or not - measure carefully,especially noting whether walls are plumb or not and which way the slope if they aren't (and most aren't!). You can always do something to fill a gap - damn hard to shorten a unit that's 5mm too big for the space you have - or even 1mm! levelling too is important - and depending how the floor is has to be done progressively once all the floor units are in place. I know many don't like the idea, but I do the wall cupboards first as I find it easier to work straight at them rather than leaning over the floor units. 
Think hard about all doors and drawers opening dishwashers opening, fridge & oven etc. If you are not the main cook then get them to look at it too - and remember the cook's triangle - if you can have no more than 1.5m to 2m between each the three main utilities - fridge, stove top and sink. bench height is important - go higher than you think unless you have small stature people,likely to use it - IMO minimum 900mm - I have done 950 and even 1m that work well - real backsavers. Another thing that is not done now is a wide overhang. Benchtops tend to be flush or have lip of maybe 20mm or so - I use 50mm and the reason is that spills go onto the floor and not not cupboard fronts and it gives a better and bigger work area for little cost. 
Summary - measure carefully and really spend time on layout and what goes where!  :2thumbsup:

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## arms

> HI 
> Okay, I searched, and I found but not what I want . (lots of discussion about GOING to do it but zilcho on actually DOING it) 
> Any experiences, good or bad, with installing a flat pak kitchen like the ones from bunnings and ikea etc 
> cheers 
> dazzler

  If you are looking to install already assembled kitchen this may help  http://www.armstrongcabinets.com.au/installation.htm

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## bricks

http://www.flatpax.com.au/ http://www.kitezi.com.au/ 
Just finished a kitchen install, all worked well. Just measure your minimum distances and check your walls are level. 
If i had my time again I would probably get the kitchen made by some one like kit-ezy and install it myself. (they will make it to your kitchen size) 
Also I'd probably get the benchtop made somewhere to fit exact, instead of going for the bunnies top and installing myself. The joins are good but I would prefer a top without joins. 
PS change out the door hinge screws for stronger ones, the supplied handles will hold them there just until someone hangs off it.

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## Sybarite

> Any experiences, good or bad, with installing a flat pak kitchen like the ones from bunnings and ikea etc - dazzler

  More than I care to think about. 
My advice, as objective as is possible, echo that of Bloss and Bricks; try and find someone local-ish who will make one to order that meets your exact requirements. 
Might not be quite as cheap as the Bunnings jobs - but on the other hand they won't be quite as cheap as the Bunnings jobs. 
The other major advantage to dealing with someone local is that they will be there to refer back to if you have any problems or need to make some alterations and/or additions. 
With a made to measure kitchen, once you've got the cabinets assembled the installation is the easy bit.
Custom made also often means a greater choice of finishes and quality hardware - these are the things that will be more noticeable in a couple of years time. 
Cheers, 
Earl

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## Bloss

I agree with 'bricks', 'arms' and 'sybarite'  too - shop around for ready built before just assuming flat-paks are the go. There is good competition, you probably would still save time and money - worth some more research anyway. The flatpaks are mostly sourced out of Chain now - ready-builts will mostly be from an Aussie workshop - worth a though given the current GFC.  :2thumbsup:

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## dazzler

Thanks all 
Got a couple of kitchen people coming around during the week for qoutes.  I am inclined to do as much myself being into woodwork and all plus tradies are incredibly slow down this way. 
Will see how the qoutes go!

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## journeyman Mick

> .......... plus tradies are incredibly slow down this way................

  I thought that applied to pretty much the entire population down there. :Eek:  
Mick :Biggrin:

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## dazzler

> I thought that applied to pretty much the entire population down there. 
> Mick

  Oh god thats good  :Biggrin:

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## Bloss

> Just finished a kitchen install, all worked well. Just measure your minimum distances and check your walls are level.

  Great looking job 'bricks'  :2thumbsup:   :brava:  Love that stove - 'now that's a stove!'  :2thumbsup:

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## bricks

> Great looking job 'bricks'   Love that stove - 'now that's a stove!'

  Fit's 3 good size roasts in it, 1m wide!! 
3 shelves and a spinning thing like a spit.

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## Bloss

> Fit's 3 good size roasts in it, 1m wide!! 
> 3 shelves and a spinning thing like a spit.

  What brand and model? Gotta do my kitchen soon.

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## kmthor

hi bricks
 is the kitchen in the pictures from bunnies?

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## bricks

Yes the kitchen is from flatpax, supplied from a bunnies store. 
The stove is a LINEA, don't know the model. 
They are a boutique brand, made in aus. Sold through trade plumbing and commercial catering stores. 
IMHO the LINEA products were overpriced, but I had a very good deal from the suppliers so cost me alot less.

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## autogenous

Hi Bricks 
How much were the cabinets and benchtop only, excluding white goods etc? 
Just the cabinets?

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## Terrian

14 or so years ago we installed a DIY kitchen, very easy job once we relised the room was not square, ie: the 90 degree corners of the room are far from 90 degrees, so the benchtop would not fit correctly  :Smilie:  (ok, was the first thing we tackled, had no idea that a square room would not actually be square!)

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## bricks

> Hi Bricks 
> How much were the cabinets and benchtop only, excluding white goods etc? 
> Just the cabinets?

  $2800, was the price for all of the cabnetry, however I bought all of them in november 2007. Price may be a bit more if you go now? 
If you go on the Flatpax website you can select and re-select your kitchen and it will give you the current quote no-matter where you buy them.  
I also saved money on joinery buy having a freestanding stove and dishwasher, built-in appliances usually cost a bit less (bout $100) but the joinery you need costs heaps.

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## autogenous

> $2800, was the price for all of the cabnetry, however I bought all of them in november 2007. Price may be a bit more if you go now? 
> If you go on the Flatpax website you can select and re-select your kitchen and it will give you the current quote no-matter where you buy them.  
> I also saved money on joinery buy having a freestanding stove and dishwasher, built-in appliances usually cost a bit less (bout $100) but the joinery you need costs heaps.

  Cheers Bricks.
No probably not. The falling AUD is pushing prices up which assists the trade deficit rather than putting interest rates up to slow down imports. 
Mind you it could be worth looking at a local cabinet maker now that the economy has levelled off a bit. Even if you just get him to set it up for the install.

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## autogenous

> 14 or so years ago we installed a DIY kitchen, very easy job once we relised the room was not square, ie: the 90 degree corners of the room are far from 90 degrees, so the benchtop would not fit correctly  (ok, was the first thing we tackled, had no idea that a square room would not actually be square!)

  This is a quite common scenario. In the past and in the present. Back in my bricklaying days the cabinet maker would come to do an onsite check or (C.O.S) prior to making the kitchen notable for one builder. 
A square house effects a lot of following trades. Roof carpenter, Cabinet maker, Tiler, etc 
In the real world building houses is not precision machinery. While its nice to get the square right which can take an hour or more if materials are in the road which is common some make little to no effort. 
Some of the higher spec builders in the upper market actually have a surveyor place many of the points for walls to ensure the house is in the right spot and square especially on projects where the building is close to boundarys, parapets etc. 
Some projects now its stick the digital drawing in the total station and it provide all the points of the building. 
It all makes for a nice fitting benchtop  :Smilie:

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## bricks

I believe that you mised my point Auto... 
The saving on an appliance $100, is offeset by the fact that you need to buy a joinery cabinet for it to be installed into (at least $300)

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## autogenous

> The saving on an appliance $100, is offeset by the fact that you need to buy a joinery cabinet for it to be installed into (at least $300)

  Gees Im crap at writing sometimes  :Smilie:  I scan but dont read the whole thread. I did however get your point. A standalone is cheaper or enables to buy higher quality as it doesn't require the particular cabinet components for that m2. It also allows for discrepancies in the room size that may not suit modular sizing. 
Apparently some builders designed their whole houses in 600mm to 300mm increments.
It saves on materials. Most materials come in those dimensions so less waste.
Timber, carpet, tiles suit 600mm increments.
It also allows for modular rooms so you can copy and paste a whole different say, bathroom, or kitchen in the existing house to suit the client. 
610 is 2 feet? It is also 2.5 bricks with joints.

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## Bloss

> Gees Im crap at writing sometimes

  Glad at least one other is!  :Biggrin:    

> Apparently some builders designed their whole houses in 600mm to 300mm increments.
> It saves on materials. Most materials come in those dimensions so less waste.
> Timber, carpet, tiles suit 600mm increments.
> It also allows for modular rooms so you can copy and paste a whole different say, bathroom, or kitchen in the existing house to suit the client.
> 610 is 2 feet? It is also 2.5 bricks with joints.

  Been having plans drawn up to modular since about 10 years after metric. My Dad did too - Master Builders did some courses and provided some doco way back when. No real different to building to bricks or sheets in imperial - ceilings were 8ft (having been 9ft for many years - cost savings brought them down) cupboards 2ft (yep - 609.6mm ~610). Until the older builders retired and there were enough all metric houses wasn't much point - and renos will have mixed measures. I still recall my Dah calling out to me a measurement so I could cut a wall plate "it's 4metres and a 1/4"! Made me get him an all-metric tape sooner than later!  :Biggrin:

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## autogenous

When computer aided drafting started to gain support builders had what are know as blocks which can be whole kitchens, bathrooms drawn in common formats in the numbers of hundreds.
Owners pick their kitchen they like and it is rotated and dropped into place as the owner likes. 
I see marine ply is still imperial Bloss?  
Bricks were converted from imperial to metric hence in Australia the 86mm gauge with an 85 drop to make the 600mm to 7 courses in height. 
So while we are in the metric system we still have imperial in the background to some extent. Even metric modular bricks are 300 nominal. 
Inches, yuk!  :Biggrin:

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## Bloss

> I see marine ply is still imperial Bloss?  
> Inches, yuk!

  Seems some is and some isn't! I presume that we see some marine ply from Asia that has been made for the US market although the metric system is slowly taking hold there too - in the building and manufacturing sectors anyway. Of course maritimers and parts of the aviation industry use nautical miles and knots, but because they are derived from direct links to the meridians of latitude on the Earth's surface that makes sense for navigation. Working with 10s makes so much more sense and I can use my portable calculators that I always have with me - finger & toes!  :Biggrin:

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## GraemeCook

> Seems some is and some isn't! I presume that we see some marine ply from Asia that has been made for the US market although the metric system is slowly taking hold there too - in the building and manufacturing sectors anyway. Of course maritimers and parts of the aviation industry use nautical miles and knots, but because they are derived from direct links to the meridians of latitude on the Earth's surface that makes sense for navigation. Working with 10s makes so much more sense and I can use my portable calculators that I always have with me - finger & toes!

  Even the french mariners and aviators use noeds and mille (knots and nautical miles) and the latter is defined as one minute of latitude or 6,080 feet or a very awkward number of metres and decimals. 
Back some three hundred years ago a nautical mile was actually 6,000 feet long, or 1,000 fathoms, and way back then we actually had a metric distance measurement system.   Someone then found that  the size of the earth had been underestimated and changed the length of the nautical mile, but not the fathom or the foot.  It "grew" from 6,000 to 6,080 feet. 
If only Napoleon had been an admiral rather than a general we might be measuring in fathoms instead of metres, which with millifathoms and kilofathoms, would have given us all the advantages of a decimal system but also integration with the navigation system. 
Cheers 
Graeme

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## nang3

we're about halfway through renovating our kitchen using flatpack packs from the Laminex Group, doing it all myself apart from benchtop/splashbacks.. looked at bunnings and ikea but they just didnt have as many options etc.. had to get one corner unit custom made that had 2 x 135 degree walls in it but the rest are all standard flatpacks. You can also specify certain width depth or height changes as well from the Laminex group, i think it adds about $20 to the cost.. 
went for 2 pack painted doors, all hettich innotech drawers and hinges, blum inner pantry drawers and a 30mm stone benchtop in the end.. still has a way to go til its finished - overheads/splashbacks/kicks - but you can get the idea ;

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## Bleedin Thumb

Hi Dazz, hows things/
I did mine using a combination of mostly flat packs by Lamikits - good quality and standard sizes - (forget Ikea they'e Euro dimensions)  and some non standard corner units, fridge unit and wine rack made by my local cabinet maker. 
I got the benchtop slabs and draw fronts and some cupboard doors manufactured in Tassie and sent up. All was good - very happy, the flat packs were easy. Sorry the photos aren't much chop.

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## dazzler

Wow that looks good.  Would you mind pm me the name of the company. 
cheers

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## Bleedin Thumb

On its way. BTW the bench tops cost me about 30% less(including freight to Sydney) than the best quote I'd got for laminex! 
I had to cut and poly them myself though, which was OK.

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## Ozcake

Nang3 I think your kitchen looks great :2thumbsup:  I had a look at the Laminex Group website but I couldn't find any mention of flatpacks, would you mind sharing a link or pointing me in the right direction of how I could find them?  
Thanks so much :Smilie:

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## nang3

> Nang3 I think your kitchen looks great I had a look at the Laminex Group website but I couldn't find any mention of flatpacks, would you mind sharing a link or pointing me in the right direction of how I could find them?  
> Thanks so much

  no worries mate !! 
heres the laminex PDF on all the sizes etc ;  http://www.thelaminexgroup.com.au/do...e_ReadiKit.pdf 
They give you the door sizes required and you can order the doors at the same time from the same place as the readikits but they have a separate order form and will make doors and end panels etc to the mm you specify. Looks kinda confusing at first but it is all reasonably logical and well priced and IMO MUCH better quality than the bunnings flatpacks. 
They also have an option now where you can specify changes to a carcasses dimensions for about a $20 surcharge or something - you just need to remember if you adjust the height or width to adjust the door sizes appropriately. 
this is a company that sells them to get a rough idea of costings etc ;  http://www.lifetime.net.au/readikits.htm  
to give you an idea of cost we have the following  
2 x 700mm wide 3 drawer banks with steel sides, Hettich Innotech and Quadra soft shut runners - 6 drawer fronts
1 x 900mm x 1200mm corner unit - 3 doors
1 x 900mm sink unit - 2 doors
1 x 900mm wide 3 pot drawer with hettich/quadra etc 3 drawer fronts
1 x 600mm wide pantry - 1 big door
1 x 900mm wide fridge cabinet with depth extended to match the pantry. - 2 doors 
plus all doors and drawer fronts required and a pantry end panel larger than the pantry door, all in 2 pack painted gloss finish and the total came to around $4400.. 
Our cheapest cabinet maker quote for carcasses + vinyl wrap doors was around $11,000 + $2000 more if we wanted 2 pack !! Only difference is that that quote included 2 x 900mm wide overhead units as well.

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## Ozcake

Thanks nang3, that info is great

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## Chris Niarros

looking good nang, make sure you post the completed pics.
El Narros

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## N0mad

I'm mounting an IKEA one at the moment, will post pix soon in another thread. Experience has been good so far, with a couple of exceptions. By now I have a few tips for anyone else who plans to do this themselves (maybe we can get a sticky for a thread called something like: Tips for mounting flatpack kitchens?):  
1. IKEA's design software is good but look out for walls that aren't straight, floors that aren't flat, angles that aren't square, etc, when measuring, so the room measurements you put into the software are correct. 
2. Make sure the benchtops chosen by the software are long enough for the runs you want to cover, including overhangs! Otherwise you have to choose longer ones yourself. 
3. Check that you have chosen the correct cabinets for where you will mount the sink, cooktops etc. Remember there has to be space for utilities (sewer, water, gas, electricity) 
4. Double-check that the person in store that enters your order has entered all the correct interior stuff for your cupboards (drawers, rails, handles, feet, etc). This will save you a lot of time and trips later.  
5. Take the correct items from the shelves and make sure your cashier zaps ALL the barcodes individually so you get charged the correct amount. 
6. You may want to bring an additional empty trolley to the cashier so you can transfer your items from one to the other as you get them "zapped" by the barcode reader as you will have a huge number of items to handle. 
7. Bring an extra trolley driver/helper as an entire kitchen includes a massive number of boxes. We could have used an extra helper for our kit and we only had 13-14 cabinets. 
8. Before you cut the benchtop for cooktops, sink, etc, measure 10 times, cut once. Remember that the bowls have to clear the cabinet walls underneath.  
9. When doing the cutout for the sink; get good quality, long blades for your jigsaw. also mark where your cabinet walls are so you don't cut into them by mistake (if you do the cutting in-place). Then remove the benchtop and do the additional 5mm cutout from the front and back supports (so the sink brackets have something to hook onto). Check that the sink fits into the hole and adjust it as needed, remember that the brackets stick out a couple of millimetres outside the rail where they attach. Put the sink upside down on the floor, apply the water-proofing sticky stuff that came with the sink around the edges of it, mount the brackets on the sink, lower your benchtop (upside down) onto the sink and tighten all the brackets. Lift it into place on top of your cabinets and fasten the benchtop with the screws that came with the cabinets. 
Enjoy!

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## Chris Niarros

Another tip with Ikea, buy their appliances.
I didnt and the oven and exhaust fan didnt fit in properly without modifications.
I only had to go back once.... to buy a extra hinge (must have thrown 1 out by accident).

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## nang3

> 8. Before you cut the benchtop for cooktops, sink, etc, measure 10 times, cut once. Remember that the bowls have to clear the cabinet walls underneath.

  
+ 1 !!!! ive got a nice oval hole in the back of my sink unit where the taps come out the wall cause i didnt measure quite properly.. meh oh well, for DYI thats pretty good as its the only balls-up really haha

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## N0mad

I didn't buy any of their appliances but everything has fitted perfectly so far. The only things I had to exchange was a hinge that had gotten mashed in transport (before I got it) and a benchtop that was 30mm too short (see item #2 on my previous list). 
All my drawers and doors now have dampers on them and only two cabinets plus one benchtop remain to be installed. Then it's on to skirting, kickboards, trim, cover panels, door handles, benchtop lighting, tiling splashbacks, etc. Phew.

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## aussieorchid

I put in a bunnies flatpax kitchen in a granny flat and it is great. I did get the benchtop custom made as the cutting of the bunnings ones would cost too much I had two corners. We took a lot of time working out exactly what would fit and purchased cupboards based on this. If you had a non standard size might be a bit difficult. All up I am happy with the cupboards I was quoted 10K for the kitchen and with the flatpax  $2500  including the $600 custom benchtop.

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## Tan

Hi Everyone, 
Please bare with me as I am new to Renovating :Smilie:  
I got a quote of $4000 from a local cabinet making place for my kitchen. Is this reasonable? Reading other threads and peoples posts, people seem to have got a flatpak for around $2000-$3000. I will be opting for more cubboards and will be needing the experience of an installation person. Installation would cost an extra $600.
I am heading to Ikea on the weekend to get another quote.
What should I be looking for in terms of materials for a flatpak kitchen? The local cabinet place said there cabinets were made out of melamine  and said it was better to get a glass splashback (a little bit extra). 
The property is an investment property so I am looking at a budget.  
Thanks
Tan

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## flang51

Try this company, can't fault them. Very happy with their service.  http://www.kitset.com.au/

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## N0mad

Ours cost around 3500 from IKEA and we did the installation ourselves. That includes 13 cabinets (two full-height ones), doors, BLUM hinges/dampeners (everything is soft-closing), drawers, corner cabinet carousel, sink, mixer, benchtops, lighting, etc. 
Glass splashbacks are nice but expensive as long as you don't need to repair/replace/add anything where they are fitted. For example: If the area is tiled you can knock out one tile (with a bit of skill with a hole saw or angle grinder you can even do it in place), fit a new tile with a hole cut for a new electrical outlet and install the outlet. If you were to do the same to a glass splashback it probably means removing one pane (difficult to do and keep it intact), getting the hole made, re-painting the glass (if backing was damaged during removal which is likely. The accurate colour may also be hard to replicate), then re-installing it.  
All up, if you think it's worth the price and can live with the consequences when doing repairs/replacements/additions, go for it!

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## pawnhead

> If you were to do the same to a glass splashback it probably means removing one pane (difficult to do and keep it intact), getting the hole made, re-painting the glass (if backing was damaged during removal which is likely. The accurate colour may also be hard to replicate), then re-installing it.

  Glass splashbacks are usually 6mm tempered and they cannot be cut after they have been tempered. They will implode into a million honeycomb pieces (like a car windscreen) if you try.

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## N0mad

Wow, that's even harder than I thought it would be then. :Blush7: 
Though that wouldn't exactly be like a car windscreen (as they are laminated), more like a side window I would think?

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## Vernonv

John's right - once tempered they can't be cut.  
Always a good idea to get it right first time ... or even better, pay someone else to take the risk.

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## barney118

I have installed a Bunnings one in a mates flat a few years back $1500 flat pack bunnings job. back then the lesson I learnt was the cupboards just screwed together and you had an issue with the kickboard area (joins not flush fitting) I think it has changed now they come in adjustable height and kickboards clip on is this right? 
Is it worth buying blank sheets and cut and screw vs the flatpack option? Can you buy a special toothed sawbade for the triton set up to prevent chipping? 
I have bought some of the soft closing drawers from Howards Storage (Blum I think).

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## pawnhead

> I think it has changed now they come in adjustable height and kickboards clip on is this right?

  Yeah.  

> Is it worth buying blank sheets and cut and screw vs the flatpack option?

  If you've got the time, then definitely. You can save a lot of material if it's built in place as well.
With my kitchen I plastered all the walls and painted them. Then after installing kickboards nice and level, I attached white painted 2 X 1 to the walls for the shelf and benchtop. Then I installed the bottom shelf at full width, and the middle shelf 50mm narrower as is often the case with mid shelves. Then I installed 100mm wide melamine uprights, notched 50mm for the middle shelf, with a 40 X 19 notch at the top to support a 2 X 1 on edge under the bench. I put these in wherever I needed to hinge a door. Then I installed a benchtop in place using merbau floorboards, and made doors out of HMR MDF, and gave them pencil round edges. I edged the shelving with iron on edging. I got all my hinges and runners from old cupboards at council disposal collections, but you can get them quite cheap if you know where to shop. I got nice big stainless bow handles off Ebay @ $1.50 each. A stainless, fan forced digital oven from Ebay cost me $340, but I splurged out a bit more on a black glass cooktop to match the splashbacks (you can get stainless cooktops for about $250).  I got my local glazer to supply 6mm tempered glass splashbacks, and I painted them myself with a couple of $1.99 spray cans. I had a nice double bowl sink from a demo I did a long time ago, but you can get them with a flickmixer for a couple of hundred. I bought a new flickmixer for about $40 from Ebay because the old one was stuffed, and I'd have to spend a C note for a new cartridge. Crazy that you can buy a whole tap for less than half that.
I'm working on a new bathroom at the moment, and as soon as the floor is down I'll use it as a spray booth to spray my kitchen doors (I have a compressor and spray gun), then I'll post some pictures of the finished product. It looks great so far, and it's cost me bugger all.

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## barney118

Im hearing you John, my current kitchen isnt much chop and it is one built in situ, I am not sure if its the way I want to go yet as I am keen for more drawers. I have a heap of hinges and probably most tools. I will look into a kerf blade.  
What screws did you use/ joining method, I recall the flat packs were dows and screws hex head and "5c piece steel nuts" recessed into the melamine. you can lso pre drill and screw but there is more risk to splitting the stuff.

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## pawnhead

The kickboards, and bottom shelf supports are glued and skew nailed from inside where it's not seen. I used a bit of PVA, and nailed the shelves down with small fixing nails, underneath where the uprights would be installed, and across the back against the wall. The heads are very small, and the only ones that are seen are at the back of the cupboard, but I still put a small dob of white gappo over them as well. For end panels, I used 30mm chipboard screws, and white plastic phillips insert screw caps to cover them up. The uprights, are glued and skew nailed before the edge strip goes on covering up the nails.  
For my floorboard benchtop, after fixing battens down, I glued and secret nailed them, as well as screwing up into them, through the batten from underneath, as well as painting some polly on the tongue before installing the next, so they're well and truly stuck together, and stuck down. There's a double thickness at the edge so it looks 38mm thick.  
As I said, if you paint your walls first and build it in place you save a lot of material. From an 8' X 4' sheet of melamine, you cut a 600mm bottom shelf, and a 550mm mid shelf, then you have a 50mm strip left over to batten the wall for the shelf. From a sheet of MDF, you can get all the doors, and the kickboard. I sprayed my kickboards gloss black with some cheap spray cans. So for $100 or so, you have nearly all the material for a cupboard carcass 2400mm long with four, five, or six doors, depending on how wide you want them. You don't need backing or end panels, except around your drawer unit. Of course where a cupboard ends, and it's not against a wall, I just install two uprights, one at the front and one at the back, and screw my feature end panel on, through the uprights from inside. 
Edit; Actually, my bottom shelf is only 550mm wide, and my mid shelf is 500mm. 
550mm + 20mm (18mm door thickness + clearance) + 30mm benchtop overhang = 600mm wide benchtops. The shelf off-cut would be 150mm wide, perhaps less the thickness of a sawcut. There's even more material left over for wall battens, or uprights, or kickboards. Just be careful if installing a dishwasher. Some of them are a full 600mm deep. so I'd make the cupboards + doors 600mm and the benchtops 630mm so the dishwasher doesn't stick out from the doors.  :Wink:

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