Chichester Kitchen Instructions & Fitting Guide

By Neptune

Welcome
Welcome to your Chichester Kitchen Instructions & Fitting Guide.
Please read through the whole fitting guide thoroughly prior to fitting.
This guide is designed to help you plan and fit your Chichester Kitchen easily and accurately.
Chichester Kitchen Cabinets are often very heavy. For your own Safety please do not attempt to lift them by yourself.

Tools needed
l

Long Spirit levels

Tape measure

Mitre saw

General hand tools

Wood adhesive

Pin gun

Contents
Section

Page

Section

Page

Kitchen Concept

Lighting

Cabinet Installation

Drawer Removal and Adjustment

Offsetting

10

Handles

10

Levelling

11

Re-painting

11

Attachment

12

Care & Maintenance

11

Skirting

13

Contact Information

11

Appliance Cabinets

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1. Chichester Kitchen Concept

The Chichester Kitchen is designed to combine the benefits of a modular kitchen with the look and feel of an individually
sized and crafted bespoke kitchen. The concept allows individual cabinets to be precisely levelled and joined giving a
straightforward installation. The skirting and cornice detailing allows a seamless built-in look to be achieved.

2. Cabinet Installation
Base Cabinets
1. Before you begin the floor surface should be fully finished. This is the most reliable way of achieving a good fit.
2. Level cabinets & set height to 890mm from the floor at the lowest point in the room. (see Levelling, page 6)
3. The front face of the cabinet should be 600mm from the wall in most installations. (There is a void behind cabinets to
allow for services and 560-600mm fitting.) This distance may change depending on pipework or the worktop depth
that will be fitted. A good method of doing this is to mark a line where the front face of the cabinets should be, and
then working to that Datum.
Diagram 1.

600mm

600

4. Decide on whether any cabinets will be offset. (see Offsetting, page 5)

5. Join neighbouring cabinets together using the supplied fittings. (see Attachment, page 7)
6. Attach cabinets to wall using the supplied brackets and suitable wall fixings. (see Diagram 2)
7. Fit Base End Panels at the end of run where the carcase can be seen. (see End Panels, page 4)

Diagram 2.

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8. Cut Skirting Board to length and attach to the cabinets at regular intervals. For un-even floors it may be necessary to scribe
the skirting board.
Diagram 3.

9. Mitre join skirting boards on corners.

Wall Cabinets
1. Wall cabinets are designed to be screwed directly to the wall using a suitable fixing for your type of wall. To position
the cabinets on the wall a batten should first be fitted to the wall, 2070mm from the floor for the cabinets to hang on.
The final height of the wall cabinets without cornice should be 2170mm if you would like the cornice height to match
full height cabinets. Cabinets are supplied with corresponding battens attached.

1430

2070

2170

Diagram 4.

2. A second batten 1430mm from the floor may be used with or instead of the top batten. This is to allow greater fitting
flexibility.
3. Individually hang each cabinet on the batten.
4. Attach the cabinet to the wall by screwing through the back panel / cabinet battens.
5. Attach neighbouring cabinets to each other using suitable wood screws through the side panel at the top and bottom

recess.

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Full Height Cabinets

1. Position, level and attach in the same way as base cabinets.
2. The front face of the cabinet can be placed 600-700mm from the wall depending on your worktop and kitchen design.

2165

Diagram 5.

70

3. The cornice should be attached to the cabinets in the same way as for wall cabinets.

End Panel
The End Panel should be attached to cabinets at the end of a run where the carcass can be seen. The panel should be cut to
length (and width if necessary), positioned behind the frame of the cabinet and pinned, glued or screwed in place.

Diagram 6.

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Cornice
1. Cornice should be fitted to all wall cabinets and full height cabinets.
2. Sections should be joined using an equal mitre joint.
3. The cornice can be glued or screwed to the cabinet. The cabinet must be pre-drilled before screwing the cornice, to
prevent the carcass wood splitting.
4. The cornice mitre joints should be fixed with wood glue. Care should be taken to remove any excess adhesive.

Diagram 7.

3. Offsetting
To make a feature of a particular kitchen cabinet it can be stepped out within a run. This is one of the unique features of a
Neptune Kitchen and allows for an individual kitchen design. This is often done with Sink cabinets but can be done using any
base cabinet.
To off-set a cabinet simply bring it forward and bring the adjoining cabinets to the walls of the off-set cabinet. This will mean
that the off-set cabinet is 25mm further from the wall, and the gap between cabinets is 12mm less.

Diagram 8.

12

25mm

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4. Levelling
It is very important to ensure that all cabinets are level and true. Time spent levelling is critical to a successful kitchen fit.
All base cabinets are supplied with height adjustable feet that can be used in two ways;
1. Using the supplied Allen key the adjustable feet can be turned from within the cabinet. (Drawers & hardware may need

to be removed for some cabinets, see section 10 for drawer removal) Turning the Allen Key socket clockwise will

extend the foot. (see Diagram 9)

2. The feet can also be adjusted directly by hand from the exterior of the cabinet. This is easiest if the cabinet is on its side

or back. (see Diagram 10)

Diagram 9.

Diagram 10.

The Process;
1. Place the cabinet as near to its final location as possible.
2. Raise the entire cabinet & set height to 890mm from the floor at the lowest point in the room.
3. Continue to raise and lower each foot until the cabinet is completely level. This will need to be checked with a spirit
level as shown in diagram 11.
4. You may find that you have to go back and forth between legs several times.
5. Levelling each cabinet fully is key to ensuring doors and drawers open and close freely throughout the life of the

kitchen.
Diagram 11.

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5. Attachment
Hardware is supplied to attach cabinets to each other. This enables the cabinet to be accurately and securely positioned
allowing the join to be expanded or contracted. The front bolt is usually used to tighten the gap between cabinets. The rear
bolt and the Spacing Block is usually used to ensure that the cabinets are parallel and that the front faces are straight.
Spacing Block

Diagram 12.

6. Skirting Board
Optional Skirting board can be used, depending on the desired look of the kitchen.
Where skirting board joins together at a 90 corner, they should be cut at 45 each, as shown below. Its far too easy to cut the
corners the wrong way around, so sketch out how you plan to fit the skirting board, and measure the lengths that are needed
first.

Diagram 13.

90

45
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7. Larders

The Chichester Larder Cabinets should be set-up in the same way as other full height cabinets (see diagram 5, page 4)

8. Appliances
The Chichester kitchen is fully framed and so the cavities have been carefully designed to fit appliances precisely, without any
adjustment in most cases. For this reason Neptune recommends Neff, Bosch, & Siemens appliances.

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1050 Full Height Appliance Cabinet

This cabinet is designed to hold appliances in 3 different configurations:
1. 600 Single Oven & Microwave.

1.

2.

3.

2. 600 Single Oven & 450 Compact appliance (including coffee machine)

above.

3. Single warming drawer & Double oven above.

In order to use the same cabinet for different configurations the shelves are
interchangeable.
An extra batten is attached to one of the shelves. This is to allow for a slightly
different sized appliance. The extra batten can be planed to the correct size if
required giving an adjustment of + 10 or - 20mm from the standard aperture
Diagram 14.

height.

600 Full Height Appliance Cabinet

1.

2.

This cabinet is designed to hold appliances in 2 different configurations:

1. 600 Single Oven.
2. Single warming drawer & 450 Compact appliance.
An extra batten is attached to the top shelf. This is to allow for a slightly
different sized appliance. The extra batten can be planed to the correct size if
required giving an adjustment of + 10 or - 20mm from the standard aperture
height.

Diagram 15.

Under-counter appliances
We recommend that under-counter appliances (washing machine, dishwasher, fridges, freezers) are fitted mid-run in
accordance with manufacturers instructions. Fitting at the end of a run is possible, but will require some extra support which
will need to be constructed by the kitchen fitter. Speak to your Neptune kitchen designer for advice on possible options.

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10

9. Drawer Removal & Adjustment

Chichester Kitchen drawers are supplied with double extension soft close Kingslide drawer runners that support up to 30Kgs.
These runners enable the removal of the drawer box via quick release red toggles found on the underside of each drawer at

the front corner. The drawer box can also be adjusted in height to ensure perfect running and correct gap between carcass and
drawer front.

Roll

Height Adjustment

Roll the gear to lift up the

drawer front.

Drawer removal

Open the drawer.

Press the red handles of the

locking devices underneath.

Drawer Installation

Step. 1

Place the drawer on the slides and close the drawer.

Then the locking devices will click and engage with
the slides automatically. Open the drawer completely,
check if the locking devices have engaged.

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Step. 2

11

10. Handles

Chichester cabinets are fitted with Neptune Chrome door hinges. A matching Chichester handle has also been designed in the
same finish to complement the Chichester range colour.

Handle Positioning
Fitting the handles is a key step in finishing the look of a Neptune cabinet. It is very important that they are fitted correctly as it
is very hard to correct poor positioning. Below are recommendations for positioning handles for the classic look.
Single handle drawers
Neptune recommends handles to be placed in the vertical and horizontal centre of solid fronted drawers.

Diagram 17.
Diagram 16.

Double handle drawers

Doors

Two handles should be vertically positioned in

Neptune recommends that the handle is placed in the

the centre of the drawer panel and following the

vertical centre of doors, and in the centre of the frame.

quarter, half, quarter horizontal rule.

Diagram 17.
Diagram 18.

Handle Fitting
Handles should be fitted after the kitchen cabinets have been installed. The first drawer handle position should be measured
and fitted as above. Subsequent drawer handles should be fitted relative to the first drawer. The vertical position of the
handles should be made using a spirit level or measured depending on the particular layout of handles.
When drilling the drawer front for the handle screw, care should be taken to use a suitable drill bit and speed so the wood is
not damaged at the back of the hole. For a perfect result hold a piece of sacrificial wood onto the back of the drawer front
while drilling to avoid breakout.

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11. Re-Painting

12

Please note that it is necessary to remove the cabinet doors and all hardware before you begin painting.
In order to get a perfect finish to your kitchen, we recommend a final topcoat to the outside of your kitchen. This is easily
achieved and should take 1 to 2 days depending on the size of your kitchen or your choice of paint colour.
Even if you choose to retain our wonderful Limestone finish it is likely that you will need a final topcoat. This may be because
during final fitting some bespoke panels are included or during the fitting process detailed scribing is required. It is also
possible that the production of your cabinets has come from separate batches and therefore the final finish may be from
different colour batches. These minor variations are unnoticeable on freestanding items, but may not be perfect on your fitted
kitchen. All that is needed is a light rubdown on the outsides of the cabinets only followed by a light topcoat.

12. Care and Maintenance

Painted Cabinets
Your Chichester painted furniture is manufactured from a combination of solid Tulip wood and Birch veneered ply. This gives
the cabinets great strength and stability. Over time the cabinets moisture content will adjust to suit the ambient humidity of
the room they are placed in. This means that the cabinet may move with some minor hairline cracking as it stabilises in this
environment. This will not affect the structure of your furniture in any way.
The cabinets are hand painted with 3 coats of water based eggshell paint. The hand painting process is used to give the natural
feel of the brush strokes in the surface of the paint. This water based paint is manufactured using organic pigments, which give
a very natural deep colour. These natural paint batches can vary slightly in tone from one batch to the next. For over-painting
any WATER BASED eggshell paint may be used.
All Chichester furniture is designed to last the test of time, and give years of enjoyable use. However in extreme household
environments where hairline cracks have appeared on some joints due to very low humidity, it can occasionally be necessary to
over-paint after 6 months to ensure a long term perfect finish.

13. Contact Information

If you have any questions regarding the fitting of your kitchen please feel free to contact us.

Neptune Blagrove, Swindon, Wiltshire SN5 8YG

t : 01793 427 300
f : 01793 427 399
e : info@neptune.com
w : www.neptune.com

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