User:Doug/Kitchen renovation

The plan to swap the main Kitchen and Snack kitchen is already underway: the recent (late 2025) window exchange put a window-door in the current kitchen, with the aim to eventually put a balcony there. This is an excellent opportunity to improve the kitchen.

Aims

To create a kitchen that will:

• enable preparing food for bigger numbers of people
• be more enjoyable to use
• be easier to clean and maintain
• allow for a higher level of hygiene

Scope

• k20-1-1 (currently Snack kitchen)
  • not the Snack kitchen cupboard

Questions

• who do we know that got a comparable kitchen renovation? How much did it cost, time did it take? Advice?
  • Lebenstraum Janishausen?
• temporary Snack kitchen reorganization? (see below)
• sewage pipe - remove it or keep it? Removing it permanently gains a little space for the kitchen, simplifies the room shape and infrastructural complexity. Removing also requires work... Options in my order of preference
  • remove pipe, relocate bathroom toilet to cupboard
    • significant work
    • move storage into the main room
    • connect sewage though the wall to the staircase toilets sewage pipe (~50 cm)
    • connect rain & tap water also from upper staircase toilet
    • since replacing toilet anyway, get one that doesn't block
  • keep pipe, box it off (drywall)
    • moderate work
    • long-term missed opportunity
  • remove pipe, remove bathroom toilet with no replacement
    • the toilet seems useful and used!
  • keep pipe, no boxing
    • least work
    • looks ugly, dirt-trap...
    • (I would not be motivated to help with renovation if this option were chosen)
  • remove pipe, reroute sewage through wall to staircase toilets
    • most work
    • this would require over 2 meters of horizontal sewage routing and a major reorganizing of pipes in upper staircase toilet
    • (I would not be motivated to help with renovation if this option were chosen)

Plan

Temporary Snack kitchen reorganization

The Snack kitchen (i.e. k20-1-1) will be unusable for the duration of works. It is possible the work will be done in a month, but maybe longer, so the "temporary" rearrangement should be good for at least 2 months. Options:

• wait til weather pleasant enough, set up a a temporary outdoor "main" kitchen, set up new Snack kitchen "permanently" in current Kitchen (i.e. k20-1-2)
  • more work to begin, less at end, food preparation more distributed
• set up temporary Snack kitchen in Elephant room
  • less work to begin, more at end, food preparation more concentrated

Stripping down

This phase of the work is about getting rid of unwanted things and getting the room to a stage where positive construction can begin.

• remove all unmounted items
• remove all mounted furniture (cupboards and shelves)
• shut off water (both sides of the room?)
• turn off power (at fusebox)
• remove sink and tap
• remove fake-wall at sink
  • unknown tasks may hide behind wall!
• remove tiles to left of sink and to right of sink
• if removing sewage pipe (see "questions"), now
• if removing radiator, now
• remove any other unnecessary plumbing
• remove all hooks, plugs, clips, etc from the wall
• remove all wallpaper (including ceiling)
  • needs to be done thoroughly, no pieces of paper left (likely requires spiky roller/water spray)
• remove skirting board (Fußleister)
  • but leave the lino
• prepare surfaces for painting/tiling (i.e. smooth, flat, stable)
  • will require filling holes
  • may require replacing loose plaster, wall sanding and worst case a whole new layer of plaster
• celebrate! 🎉

Building up

This phase of the work is about positively constructing towards the desired end state. A lot of open questions still!

• if keeping sewage pipe (see "questions"), box off
• electrics
  • aim to have no exposed wires
  • where to embed?
  • parapet trunking (power strip) along both sides?
• plumbing
  • strong-preference for wall-mounted hose-tap, otherwise under-sink connection
  • inlet/outlet locations partly depend on choice of final sink unit (extra (flexible) pipe can be added)
  • do we keep the radiator?
• decide how to box off "left side"
  • half-wall or whole?
  • water outlets and sewage inlets need to be cut and included already at this point
• paint ceiling and walls
• panel/tile walls at working areas
• remove old lino, install new
• ...
• celebrate X 10 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉