Pressing On ...

Great news - Azevedo, the builder, has given a great price considering the massive scope of the build. Of course, his build is not now 'inclusive' of everything, and separate trades are going to be brought in, as mentioned in the previous post. But it does mean that a complete weatherproof build will be possible, although somewhat beyond my 10% contingency.

To say I'm relieved is an understatement. It is just good to know that I can at least afford to progress to the point of a semi-habitable house, ready to finish.

Progress on site this week has been making the 'formers' for the pouring of the slabs, as well as preparing steel-work for the first floor, mezzanine and roofing. Because of this, there are no photos of progress - nothing to see really.

Next week should hopefully see the slabs being poured and that will be amazing... and photo-worthy.

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Meanwhile, of course, it is worth bearing in mind that all the finishing will still need funding, but at least I can be in control of it, and can call a pause or halt whilst funds are found. LOL. .. yea, sell it all... I really didn't want to have to dib into the pension pot for the build. But what needs to be done, needs to be done.

So, now, knowing that all the finishing will be personally specified, I've started on the kitchen pricing and specifics.

Wether these material will be sourced locally or here in the UK is all down to cost versus shipping. Most likely my spec. will be transferred to locally available units - they don't have a B&Q.

Previous drawings and renders have been pretty generic - just to give a feel of how the kitchen area will look. Now I'm getting very specific: I've actually looked closely at what units are needed and will fit, in the real world. It turns out that a mix of 150mm, 300mm, 500mm, 600mm and 1000mm units are needed to make it all fit tidily. I've also placed a 1000mm over counter larder / store with a top hinged door that is supported on soft air rams. Nice. That's the only wall unit, as I didn't want to clutter the space. There's a Lazy Susan in the corner unit, so it is a useful storage space.

The plan looks a bit cluttered - but that's because all the lights, sockets and furnishings are shown. But you can see now that there is plenty of room around the dining table, a generous breakfast bar and plenty of prep surfaces in the kitchen. 9 Base units (including the 1000mm wall mounted larder). The big R's are under cabinet lighting...

If you have never specified a kitchen from scratch then you don't now how much is involved. It is mental, and I doff my cap to professional kitchen fitters.

I've specced everything, but there are probably bits and bobs I have neglected, so I've made an allowance for that, of around 7% of the materials cost. This is to include plumbing fittings, screws, fasteners, glue, sealers etc.

I've also specified the exact white goods to fit, and tried to keep within a nice balance of quality and cost.

So, a Samsung ceramic hob is complimented by a Bosch single under-counter oven. One of my mates said an eye-level oven would be better. I agree - but unfortunately, that would take 600mm out of my preparation surface. So, I've specified a self cleaning oven, which means I won't be on my hands and knees getting filthy in my old age.

Over the 600mm Samsung Hob is a 900mm black extractor hood. Oversize, so it's more efficient, and to be frank it looks good.

A nice under counter wine cooler has been sourced (it's on offer, so I'll buy it soon) - it's just a Logik, but will do the job. Cool wines and beers are a must!

Finally in the white goods, is a fridge / freezer combo. Again this is just a Logik unit, but frost free, so as long as it works it should be good and avoid hassle. Making this a Bosch or Samsung item would have added about £300-400 to the kitchen budget. No way.

Hot water is to be provided by an under-counter electric heater, so doing away with hot water plumbing and hot water storage. So an Ariston unit and fittings has been specced.

Sink is a quality anthracite composite unit. You spend long enough looking at it, so it doesn't want to be fug-ugly. Comes with a lovely mixer tap too.

The breakfast bar has been extended slightly, since the counter tops come in 3m lengths - so its 3 meters. This means that underneath there is room for two bar stools, a butchers block that I own, and a waste bin, tucked tidily away.

Much more room around the dining table. Handless drawers give clean lines. The big red splash-back has gone I'm afraid as it came in far to expensively, with cutting out for power sockets and such. So now, just a simple 900mm wide glass splash-back below the extractor. Still looks good for £82. I also invested £25 on Chief Architect upgrade, which has improved the render quality somewhat; important as we move on to the finishing phase of interior design.

All of this work has meant that the kitchen units take up slightly less space than originally envisaged - this is good, as it makes access to the dining table seating a lot easier, and gives a more airy look, allowing for some art work and perhaps even a slim unit in the dining room for glassware and cutlery etc.

I've also specified the lighting as per the drawings. So there are plenty of tidy recessed down-lighters (9) for dining, and track-rail spots for illuminating the kitchen for prep. Over the breakfast bar are a row of pendants. The spotlights also give illumination to the living area and the bottom of the stairs.

A more generous breakfast-bar gives ample room underneath for stools and a butchers block as well as a waste bin. The brick built breakfast bar has yet to be costed - perhaps this will be tiled or in MDF. I like the look of a brick face - I have learned that brick facing is called 'brick slips' and they just glue onto a wooden or plasterboard panel.

To complete the budget, I've also guessed that this lot will take around a week to fit by an experienced tradesperson. So I have made an allowance for labour costs, relying on a Google search to find trades rates in Portugal.

In conclusion, the fitted kitchen including sink, water heater, units, counters and fronts, lights and white goods, labour and ad-hoc parts comes in at about £4500 . Which is about the same as the builder quoted without any white goods.or lights. So that's a win.

Oh, and if you think I have forgotten the flooring - I'm dealing with this on a separate job budget...

This final render shows the finished specified kitchen from the living area. I'm very happy with it, and knowing it is inclusive of all the 'white goods' at the same previously quoted price is good. It's taken a few days to get to this detailed specification, but worth the time. It's going to be a lovely and very workable kitchen-dining area.

Next Up: ... It's Pouring.