HELP !!!, I want to please my wife.

[middi]

My wife , Susan, has decided that it is about time the temporary kitchen which I fitted in the new addition to our very old jettied house has got to go and a " PROPER" kitchen complete with " PROPER" cooker has to be fitted in the (reasonably large, 22" x 13") little used room in the old part of the house.
She made three valid points. 1), the heavily timbered room (complete with nice oak flooring and red brick chimney) tends to be used as " overspill" instead of a " dining room". 2) she always wanted a " proper" kitchen. 3), I promised her ( 6/7 years ago !!!! ) that I would fit the " proper kitchen" . The services were put in position when I restored the property and apart from 2 sets of nice curtains that is as far as I got , untill I got back from fishing one day and found the " dining room" full of kitchen units dumped in the middle of it complete with high level oven, microwave and gas hob. ( I promised her that I would build one from seasoned oak, obviously she is fed up waiting !!).
Obviously I had failed to understand that she gains as much exitement from a kitchen as I gain from fishing. I laughed and asked her what about the " cooker range" she wanted, she promptly replied that she wants a rayburn 300 wood stove/double oven " for winter cooking" to go into the chimney void.
Apart from the work she has created for me ( the fireplace opening is too small ) I am concerned about having a nice wood floor in a kitchen area.
I do not intend to remove the floor but tips and suggestions required from you good people as to the best way to keep the floor in the immediate surrounds of the kitchen protected . Also, has anybody on the forum use a rayburn 200 sfw or 300w wood range and what do they think.

Middi

 

[Moo]

Just one observation to start the ball rolling:

I probably don't have the same high standards as your missus, Middi, but our wooden floor lasted about ten years in the kitchen* before it became so unslghtly that even I couldn't bear it any longer. The problem was that the sealant/varnish had worn through and the exposed wood had got really manky.
So we nitromorsed and sanded it back to a relatively uniform surface and then gave it a couple of coats of R*ns**l's toughest. So far it's fine, and scrubs up a treat.


* a relatively modern add-on so, as our money had been used up on the rest (ie the old part) of the house, the kitchen floor was bog-standard tongued&grooved.

 

[skier-hughes]

Might just be easier if I forward on one or two of the emails I get, if pleasing her is your priority!! :wink:

 

[middi]

Might just be easier if I forward on one or two of the emails I get, if pleasing her is your priority!! :wink:

:lol: :lol:

 

[middi]

Just one observation to start the ball rolling:

I probably don't have the same high standards as your missus, Middi, but our wooden floor lasted about ten years in the kitchen* before it became so unslghtly that even I couldn't bear it any longer. The problem was that the sealant/varnish had worn through and the exposed wood had got really manky.
So we nitromorsed and sanded it back to a relatively uniform surface and then gave it a couple of coats of R*ns**l's toughest. So far it's fine, and scrubs up a treat.


* a relatively modern add-on so, as our money had been used up on the rest (ie the old part) of the house, the kitchen floor was bog-standard tongued&grooved.

The truth is Moo, I was hoping that Susan may just make our existing kitchen ( with my bulding help) nice and cosy and forget about a massive kitchen/diner. ( this is why, half hearted I installed nice oak wood floors), there is only the two of us after all !!.

I do not cook ( neither does she much !!!) but when Susan does cook she is very good at it.
I will probably end up applying that very tuff commercial varnish ( which I hate) onto the oak floor.
I will keep the peace and learned a good lesson " never interfere with a woman and her kitchen"

Middi

 

[Flyfisher]

I was hoping that Susan may just make our existing kitchen ( with my bulding help) nice and cosy and forget about a massive kitchen/diner. ( this is why, half hearted I installed nice oak wood floors), there is only the two of us after all !!.

Well, I'm firmly in favour of sitting on the fence when it comes to offering advice about such sensitive marital issues! :wink:

My only observation is that the room in question is so lovely and has been so painstakingly restored that it deserves far more than being relegated to a "little used room in the old part of the house"

 

[middi]

Good point FF. It would definetely be better to use that nice room for something useful as opposed to c**p laying around, including that long pine table in the middle that is only used at christmas time. ( Oh dear, I hadn't cosidered buying a new table. More expense !!)

Middi

 

[FamilyWiggs]

I do not cook ( neither does she much !!!) but when Susan does cook she is very good at it.

Sorry Middi - no suggestions for the kitchen. However, I've just spent a couple of very pleasant weeks in the Veneto and can attest that many of your countryfolk certainly can cook very well indeed. We had a nice trip upto Lago D'Idro one day and had some divine strangolpretti in a little place. Even the kids liked them!

 

[middi]

Lucky you FW, that is a very nice place in Italy.

As to my cooking, that is as good as my singing . ( I am sure that if I wanted to go back for good they would frog march me back to England :wink: )

Middi

 

[Penners]

cooker has to be fitted in the (reasonably large, 22" x 13") little used room in the old part of the house.

That's not what I'd call a large room*, Middi, but after extensive research I've found a cooker that might just fit:-

* I'm teasing you. " = inches. ' =feet.

On a slightly more serious note, range cookers are normally positioned on a concrete base. This copes with the weight more readily than a suspended timber floor, and of course avoids the problems that might arise from the heat of a range standing on wood.

How much work are you prepared to undertake to keep Signora Middi happy? Would you be prepared to cut out part of the floor and construct an earth-founded concrete platform for the Rayburn?

I dare you to answer 'no'!!! :wink:

 

[middi]

I have already pencil marked the the oak boards ready to be cut ( much to my disgust !!!) for the mandatory brick plinth and the 400mm regulation distance from front of fire to combustable floor.

( aplogies fot the inches and feet symbols Penners, i wasn't in a boasting mood otherwise I would have use 'm' :wink: )

Middi