🖼️
The project:
Children's mud kitchen built from beautiful Spotted Gum decking featuring dual stainless steel sinks, complete with working mixers using plug & play garden hose connection. So incredibly proud the way this mud kitchen turned out. It's durable, functional, look's great and will get year's of sensory play for years to come.
(Sorry I didn't take many photos before and early in the build)
- Materials:
135 x 19mm Pre-Oiled Spotted Gum KD Decking - Linear Metre - Bunnings Australia
86 x 19mm Pre-Oiled Spotted Gum KD Decking - Linear Metre - Bunnings Australia
90 x 90mm 2.4m Post GL17 Pre-Oiled Merbau DAR - Bunnings Australia
70 x 35mm Outdoor Framing H3 Treated Pine - 2.4m - Bunnings Australia
Cabot's 4L Natural Decking Oil - Bunnings Australia
Bremick Ultrafast 10g x 50mm Stainless Steel 316 T20 Truss Head -100 Pack - Bunnings Australia
Cabot's 1L Deck Clean - 1L - Bunnings Australia
Titan 14G x 75mm CL3 Gal Bugle Batten Screw - 100 Pack - Bunnings Australia
Dorf Chrome Lead Free Viridian Sink Mixer - Bunnings Australia
(I found the 2 x Dorf Taps on the clearance table in my local Bunnings for $9 each what a BARGAIN! - I am assuming they are before the transition to lead free tapware)
Taskmaster 85 x 4.8 x 24mm 316 Stainless Steel Ceiling Hook - 2 Pack - Bunnings Australia
Moroday 4 x 10mm x 5m Round Bottom Rubber - Bunnings Australia
(I used edge protection all the way around the sink edges to prevent any unnecessary finger cuts - a small touch which goes with the black tapware but a big piece of mind when it comes to the kid's safety)
Sinks by Fienza
- Tools:
AEG 1800W 254mm Dual Bevel Slide Compound Mitre Saw - Bunnings Australia
Ryobi 500W 75mm Corded Jigsaw RJS750-G - Tool Only - Bunnings Australia
Makita 125mm (5") 300W Random Orbital Sander BO5041KX - Bunnings Australia
Makita 18V Impact Driver DTD152Z - Skin Only - Bunnings Australia
Starborn No.10 Smart-Bit Flat Head Countersink Drill Bit - Bunnings Australia
(The Smart-Bit is a necessity for this project!!!)
Oates Long Handle Deck Scrub Brush - Bunnings Australia
Full Boar 32mm Bi-Metal Holesaw FBMH-32 - Bunnings Australia
Stanley FatMax 8m Tape Measure - Bunnings Australia
Bunnings Carpenters Pencil - Bunnings Australia
Safety Gloves
Safety Glasses
Dust Mask
Ear Protection
- Step 1:
PLAN, DESIGN & LIST THE MATERIALS REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT.
I listed all the materials required to complete the project. I also researched the products & took into account all the little things that mattered like sealing cut edges, gap sizes required for each materials, cutting angles to make timber fit around posts, what the timber does when it expands and shrinks. Once I worked all this out tools and materials I already had I then went to my local Bunnings to source the remaining stuff.
- Step 2:
CUT TIMBER TO SIZE
Using a premium timber like Spotted Gum I measured twice (sometimes more!!!) and cut once.
- Step 3:
SAND & CLEAN TIMBER
Once I had all my timber cut I sanded them to remove splinters then I used the Cabots Deck Cleaner and the deck scrub to clean the timber surface prior to oiling.
- Step 4:
PRE-OIL DECKING TIMBER & PAINT PINE BEARER'S
With all my timber cleaned up I found putting the first couple of coats of decking oil on really beneficial. Really helped with coating edges and undersides which would have been far more difficult to do later in the project.
For my 70 x 35 pine bearer's that will be used for screwing the decking onto I used some Exterior Paint to seal my cut sends and as it was dark grey in colour (Monument) it kind of made them disappear.
- Step 5:
SCREW BEARER'S TO LEGS & MIDDLE POSTS
This is where the fun for me really started, screwing all the timber together.
I screwed top & bottom 70x35 pine bearers to my 90x90 Kwila Legs & Middle Posts using the 75mm Batten Screws.
Once this was done I basically had 2 x end pieces & 1 x Middle piece.
- Step 6:
SCREW FASCIA BOARDS TO LEGS & POSTS
With my pre-cut 90mm Spotted Gum I screwed them to my 2 x end pieces & middle post.
I used a straight piece of timber as a straight edge to help me keep the ends and middle in-line.
This formed a frame.
- Step 7:
SCREW DECKING BOARDS DOWN
With the fascia boards screwed on first this help me make minor adjustments so all by decking boards for top & bottom looked nice & had even gaps all the way along.
For cutting the back & front boards to fit the middle posts I marked where I needed to cut with pencil. Prior to cutting them I used some offcuts to practice on before making the cut that mattered most. I also used those same offcuts to practice pre-drilling the screw hole's with my smart-bit to detirmine the required depth to countersink the screw heads below the deck surface. This was really handy as I've never used spotted gum before and didn't want to make any mistakes.
Once all boards were in position I used a pencil, tape-measure and straight edge to mark my screw holes in the middle of each bearer. Pre-drilled each screw hole with the smart-bit and screwed the boards down.
- Step 8:
INSTALL SINKS & TAPS
Once my kitchen was assembled I then used the cutout template supplied with my 2 sinks to mark where I had to cut out for each sink. I used my jigsaw to cut the sink holes out & used my 32mm holesaw to cut out the tapholes.
Once these cuts & holes were cleaned up I applied my final coat of decking oil.
While waiting for this coat to dry I then siliconed the edge protection strip to the sink edges.
Once all surfaces were dry I installed using supplied fixings.
- Step 9:
INSTALL HOOKS
On each side of the centre post I screwed 2 pairs of stainless steel cup hooks into the top. These will be used for hanging pots and cooking utensils. I also cut some 70x35 and used behind so the screw ends of the hooks weren't able to cut any fingers or wrists that maybe put up underneath.
- Step 10:
CONNECT PLUMBING
I connected the 2 taps together using some 15mm PVC pressure pipe and fittings then screwed a garden hose adaptor on just under the back for easy plug and play connectivity. For the drains I just used 2 elbows and some pipe that will drain onto my lawn nearby.
