User:Doug/Kitchen renovation

This page is to plan for the future kitchen.

Aim

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

Location

• Current: K20-1-2
• Proposed: K20-1-1 (currently Snack kitchen) + K20-1-1B (currently Snack kitchen "Kabuff")
  • 👍 has water and waste water connections
  • 👍 not a pass-through room
  • 👍 quite central
  • 👍 would be next to the proposed future snack kitchen
  • 👎 on the smaller side
    • but no passage space!

(The plan to swap Kitchen and Snack kitchen locations is already kind of underway: the recent (late 2025) window exchange put a window-door in the K20-1-2, with the aim to eventually put a balcony there.)

Plan

Preparation

Currently some plumbing runs through the room which is in active use in the Main bathroom and lower staircase toilet.

• ☐ move toilet in main bathroom K20-2-1 to "Kabuff" K20-2-1B (See Appendix) ❓
  • ☐ 🧩 acquire "good" toilet (i.e. one that doesn't block, preferably with urine separation) or all-bodies-urinal
  • ☐ free up the left side of Kabuff
  • ☐ drill necessary holes to upper-staircase toilet (~50 cm)
  • ☐ water off!
  • ☐ install toilet, cistern, bidet hose & connect everything up (!)
  • ☐ reinstall the old door or a curtain
  • ☐ remove old toilet, cap off the tube
• ☐ supply water to lower staircase toilet from upper staircase toilet (or wash kitchen)
  • ☐ drill hole
  • ☐ water off!
  • ☐ switch connections

Temporary Snack kitchen ❓

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:

• if weather allows, set up a a temporary outdoor "main" kitchen and 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 mobile items (microwave, glasses, oats, etc)
• ☐ water off!
• ☐ remove mounted items (cupboards, shelf, radiator, sink, tap, etc)
• ☐ power off!
• ☐ remove fake-wall (left side, behind sink)
  • ℹ️ unknown tasks may hide behind wall!
• ☐ remove unnecessary plumbing
  • ☐ remove sewage pipe in back-right corner
  • ☐ remove water pipes leading to right side
• ☐ strip walls & ceiling
  • ☐ remove all tiles
  • ☐ remove all wallpaper (including ceiling)
    • ℹ️ needs to be done thoroughly, no pieces of paper left (likely requires spiky roller/water spray)
  • ☐ remove all hooks, plugs, clips, etc.
  • ☐ break out any loose plaster
  • ☐ sand walls, if necessary
• celebrate 🎉

Building up

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

• ☐ prepare walls & ceiling (i.e. smooth, flat, stable)
  • ☐ plaster any holes
  • ☐ if necessary plastering or complete dry-walling (hopefully not! 🙏)
• ☐ electrics
  • aim: no exposed wires, good number of sockets where useful
  • ☐ main light switch
  • ☐ ovens/stoves ❓
  • ☐ lights ❓
  • ☐ parapet trunking (power strip) along both sides ❓
• ☐ plumbing
  • ☐ radiator or wall heating ❓
  • ☐ reroute that pipe that sticks out on the "left" side
  • ☐ prepare sink inlets & outlet ❓
    • preference: wall-mounted hose-tap
    • ℹ️ outlet location has a degree of flexibility, wall-mounted tap not
• ☐ windowsill
  • A nice bit or marble?
• ☐ ventilation❓
• ☐ Kabuff wall ❓
  • if removing (See Appendix), shelves to go all the way
  • ℹ️ "London" style shelf brackets have a low profile.
• ☐ dry-walling left side
  • aim: to be able to have one, long stainless steel work surface without any corners, gaps or cut-outs
  • from floor to head-height?
• ☐ ceiling and upper walls
  • white paint that can deal with humidity ❓
• ☐ lower walls
  • random saved tiles, 20 cm * 20 cm ❓
• ☐ flooring
  • coin stud rubber matting ❓
• portal through the wall to the snack-kitchen ❓
• ... unknown unknowns 👻💀👹 ...
• Celebrate! 🎉🎉

Installation

Note that the specifics of most of these items need to be decided on before commencing the work at all

• ☐ sink
• ☐ tap
• ☐ tables
  • consider differing height requirements
• ☐ overhead storage
• ☐ fridge ❓
• CelEbRat3!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉

Appendix

Advice

Who do we know who did a comparable kitchen renovation? How much did it cost, time did it take? Advice?

• ✅ Lebenstraum Gemeinschaft Janishausen - Doug contacted
  • 2026-04-21 still no response

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 Kabuff
  • significant work
• 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, traps dirt
  • (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)

Kabuff separation wall

Remove part/all of it?

• options:
  • removing the "small" side towards the entrance would allow a/the shelf to extend all the way to the door, making better use of the space
  • as above, but extending all the way up: would allow a/the shelf to extend vertically to roof
  • all: unclear... my imagination overflows
• any removal would brings significant costs and would only make sense to do during main action
  • would require architectural considerations, possibly building in supports
  • dusty breakage
  • significant plastering required
  • permanent damage to original and pretty door-frame
  • makes it necessary to make all shelving new
• To-do: drill into wall above door frame post: if it extends to the ceiling, it's probably supporting

Heating (or not)

Options and their drawbacks

• Keep radiator (status quo)
  • takes space from room
  • makes windowsill less accessible
  • traps dirt
  • increases wall complexity for tiling, etc
• Remove radiator, no replacement
  • possibly too cold in winter
    • but likely fine given physical activity + heating from cooking
• Remove radiator, install wall-heating panel
  • work: finding parts, mounting, plumbing and plastering