D I Y Projects.

I used to be into those when I was working and "had more time." Since I retired, I've tried to avoid them. But sometimes you just fancy tackling one.

We used to have a Worcester combi boiler. We had a new kitchen fitted round it in 2007.
It was my last big project. To cut down the cost I put in a false ceiling and the spotlights my wife wanted, put in the extra power points, did the tiling and laid the laminate floor and boxed in the tops of the cabinets with plaster board, but I had the kitchen itself fitted by a specialist. They fitted it around the boiler
I made and tiled an MDF "slide out" fillet which hid all the pipework of the boiler.




For a few years now a golf pal who's a boiler engineer had kept it going. But last year I had to bite the bullet and accept we needed a new one, which he fitted, so I was left with this.




My wife's reaction was "Ooo! We'll need a new kitchen!"

"Inspired by this," I set about trying to sort it out. The kitchen company had gone bust and every firm I contacted about getting a new door made and some cornice "gave a shake of the head, a deep intake of breath and a response of No chance mate."

I finally found a firm that made kitchen units for kitchen suppliers, in Walkden. If you've never been to Walkden, it's like going back to the fifties or sixties, but the natives are very friendly.

Anyway, I managed to get almost a perfect match. I had to put a bit of Contiplas on the side of the cupboard on the left to hang the purpose made door from, so at the same time I made a narrow cupboard for some of my wife's junk.




However I had to make the middle section of the lower cornice detachable to be able to get to the timer clock and to facilitate the boiler's swing down panel for servicing.
I managed to soak off the old tiles of the fillet, make a new one and tile that.

Total cost less than £100. Much cheaper than a new kitchen. "My wife was really pleased."




I was "fortunate," that the Bosch fridge/freezer which can be seen in the first photo popped it's clogs at around the same time. It was ten years old and was 185cms tall. They make 'em 186cms, now so it was a choice of having a smaller one. or losing the cupboard above it and having a taller one, which we did.



This gave me a handle for the door hiding the boiler. I've since boxed in over the units.