Laying hard floor tiles
Hard tiles must be laid on as flat a surface as possible, so we make sure that the surfaces are perfectly flat. If the surface is concrete floor, a self-leveling compound will be applied, if the surface is a wooden floor, covered with floorboards, this will be covered with a 19-mm ply sub-floor. On wooden floors, our tilers uses flexible adhesives and flexible grout but for certain types of tiles, flexible adhesive and flexible grout is necessary on all floor types.
We take in consideration whether the position of any existing pipework needs re-routing or adjusting. When purchasing new gas appliances, you can check where the connections are. In some situations the supply pipes may need converting. You are not allowed to carry out such this work, for which you should contact us. Our CORGI-registered engineers are allowed to carry out any work on gas pipes or appliances.
Hobs are recessed into worktops using a similar technique used to fit the sink, where all gas connections will be made by our CORGI-registerd fitter. However, if you want to fit an electric hob, a spur will be wired and fused connection unit installed by our qualified electrician.
In many cases, washing machines and dishwashers are freestanding. However, in some kitchen designs they are housed in integral units. With a washing machine this generally means that a unit door simply covers the front of a freestanding machine. A dishwasher is actually supplied with brackets that are used for both securing the machine in position and also for securing a unit door on the front of the dishwasher.
When we fit a new washing machine or dishwasher into a new kitchen, we already have prepared all the services in place for an easy connection. In an existing kitchen, however, the electricity, water supply and drainage may need to be extended from the existing services.
Installing a sink / Plumbing the sink
The trend for coloured sink has given way to practical stainless steel. Another alternatives is ceramic or Corian acrylic polymer, which incorporates the sink into a seamless worktop. This is favoured where hygiene is a critical issue since it does away with the crevices that can harbour bacteria.
We fit the taps and the overflow/waste outlet to the new sink before we place the sink on position. We then turn off the water supply to the taps and remove the old sink by dismantling the plumbing. We remove the old pipework only if the plan require to adapt the new one.
We install the new sink on its base unit or worktop, using the fittings provided; then, if needed, we seal the rim of the sink. We run a 15mm (1/2 inch) cold-water supply pipe from the rising main, and a branch pipe of the same size from the nearest hot-water pipe. Then fit miniature isolating valves in both of the supply pipes and connect them to the taps with flexible copper-tap connectors. Then, we fit the trap and run a 40mm (1and1/2 inch) waste pipe through the wall behind the base unit to the yard gully. According to the current Water Regulations, the pipe has to pass through the grid covering the gully but must stop short of the water in the gully trap. We can adapt an existing grid quite easily by cutting out one corner with a sharp hacksaw.
Choose the sink to make the best use of available space and to suit the style of your kitchen. If you don’t have an automatic dishwasher, the kitchen sink must be large enough to cope with a considerable volume of washing-up (don’t forget to allow for larger items, such as baking ttys and oven racks). In addition, check that the bowl is deep enough to allow you to fill a bucket from the kitchen tap.
If space allows, select a unit with two bowls. If you plan to install a waste disposal unit, one of the bowls will need to have a waste outlet of the appropriate size. Some sink units have a small bowl designed for waste disposal.
A double drainer is another useful feature; if there’s no space, allow at least some room to the side of the bowl, to avoid mixing soiled and clean crockery.
One-piece sink tops are generally made to modular sizes to fit standard kitchen base units. However, many sinks are designed to be set into a continuous worktop – which offers greater flexibility in size, shape and, above all, positioning.
Except for being somewhat taller, kitchen are comparable in style to those used for washbasins. They also incorporate similar mechanism and are fitted using the same methods.
A kitchen mixer, however, has an additional feature: drinking water is supplied to it from the rising main., whereas the hot water usually comes from the same storage cylinder that supplies all the other hot taps in the house. A sink mixer should have separate waterways to isolate the one supply from the other until the water emerges from the spout; otherwise, you must have special check valves to prevent possible contamination of your drinking water.
If you want a double bowl sink, choose a mixer with a swivelling spout. Some sink mixers have a hot-rinse spray attached for removing food scraps from crockery and saucepans.
Many mixers taps are supplied with small-bore copper or flexible tail pipes, which are joined to the supply pipes by a compression-joint or push-fit reducer.