For the kitchen worktop, again, Lou knew exactly what she wanted; it was just a case of finding it. After a long search, she tracked down a gloss, mint green laminate board, but as usual, it had to be specially ordered and imported from France. Why can't these things be available in this country? This particular item is made by Polyrey and is intended for use as cubicle dividers in washrooms and changing rooms. Even the smallest sheet available was twice as large as we needed but it was just the right colour as it matches the mint paint on the outside. One sheet was ordered and stored in our hallway for a year or so until we were ready to fit it.
That time came in November 2019. I had been giving a lot of thought to cutting the board as I was only going to get one shot at it. Mistakes were not an option. The original worktop was used as a template and I cut the board with a router, using my trusty aluminium ex-step-ladder side as a straight edge to guide it. The rounded corner had to be cut freehand - carefully!
There was definitely more thinking time than cutting time with this, but after a stressful hour, I had cut the three components. They would require a little further trimming to allow for the thickness of the edging, which could not be calculated until the hinges were mounted, but we were pleased with the way it looked when mocked up.
Just before Christmas, our cooker in the house broke. With no chance of getting a replacement cooker in time for Christmas, we cooked our Christmas dinner in the caravan oven. It's as good a way as any of testing it (we were both very ill at the time, with no appetite, hence the small dinner).
Very little was achieved over the next three months until I was furloughed for three weeks in March 2020 at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. I used this time to make progress with the Viking. White plastic was used to cover the window sill as it will be easier than wood to dry and keep clean.
I fashioned a heat deflector from an off-cut of sheet aluminium. The purpose of this is to direct the heat from the back of the fridge and oven out through the vent in the back of the caravan. Once this was in place, the worktop could then be attached.
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| Heat deflector |
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| Heat deflector fitted |
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| Worktop surround installed |
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| Worktop surround installed |
The original piano hinges for the worktop were rusty so I cut down the hinge from our spare wardrobe door. Lou polished the resultant two parts and these were screwed on. After trial fitting the two lifting parts of the worktop, I could then work out how much required trimming off them, and glue on the edge strips. The flap over the hob had a sheet of aluminium glued to its underside, to protect it from any residual heat remaining from the burners after use. Finally, I attached the two original wood strips that support the worktop at the front, and both flaps were screwed onto their hinges.
We didn't want to splash the wallpaper on the wall to the left of the sink, so I cut a sheet of perspex to fit as a splashback. Being clear, we obviously couldn't glue it on, so Lou bought an old art deco style brooch on e-bay. I removed the pin and cut a slot in its back, so now it hides a fixing screwed into the wall, and supports the splashback rather neatly.
Having raised the kitchen unit to clear the new fridge, the opening worktops no longer lifted into the original positions; in fact, the one over the hob now collided with the corner window. From an offcut of hardwood, I fashioned two small semicircles which Lou then varnished. A clear rubber dot was glued to each, and they were screwed in place for the opening worktops to rest against. The original retaining catch was polished by Lou and installed.
Raising the kitchen also meant the aluminium upstand at the back was no longer tall enough to fill the gap between the window sill and worktop. Another sheet of new aluminium was cut, bent round the curve of the worktop, and fitted, with a kitchen plinth vent recessed into it, allowing more hot air to escape from the back of the fridge.
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| Before |
