When it comes to extensions and refurbishments, one company is helping avoid the domestic dramas associated with ripping out a customer’s kitchen. Professional Builder’s Lee Jones meets Richard Goodsir, developer of the Temporary Kitchen Pod.
The old saying that necessity is the mother of invention is never truer than amongst the trades, where many a builder has come up with his own solution to a particular predicament, but there are times when an idea can lead you in some unexpected directions. When Richard Goodsir wanted to create his own welfare unit for the bespoke new build projects his company, Open Space Builders undertakes, he realised that he could instead confront one of the perennial problems a client faces when considering an extension or major refurbishment.
“For the homeowner who’s having work done, washing up in the bath or cooking on a camping stove when they’re without a kitchen isn’t a whole lot of fun – they’re essentially losing the heart of the home and having their daily routine turned upside down,” explains the Warkwickshire-based builder.
“Often homeowners don’t realise how much disruption to their normal life this can cause, and it could well put people off embarking on a refurb project in the first place. It was when I was reflecting on that I realised I could develop my original welfare cabin idea into a temporary kitchen for hire, and solve a lot of those issues.” That was three years ago, and today the fleet of Temporary Kitchen Pods are successfully supplying units direct to site from Scotland to the south of England, equipped, with all the mod cons on which we have all come to rely.
“The principle is for a plug and play system,” continues Richard. “Minimum requirements are an outside tap for the water supply, two 13 amp wall sockets, a drain, gully or manhole approximately 10m away from the unit – and a space that can accommodate a 5.4m x 2.2m trailer – and you’re in business. Most of our installs are onto driveways but we’ve also delivered onto patios, and back gardens, but in every instance they’ve only been a couple of strides from the property.”
The Temporary Kitchen Pod features a cooker and hob, fuelled by Calor gas, together with a extractor, sink, hot water, washing machine, fridge and sockets for their own table top appliances, as well as worktop and cupboards. A family can make use of all those facilities in a heated space and from the comfort of a kitchen table with seating for four. Since the initial launch, Richard has introduced a larger model that accommodates seven, with the addition of a dishwasher.
Maintaining good client/builder relations is fundamental to the smooth running of any project, and helping your customer avoid the inconvenience associated with an extension or kitchen refurb is a very good place to start, but there are also gains to be accrued in terms of efficiency, as Richard reveals. “It allows the builder to get on with the job, without having to factor in the need to get appliances and utilities back in service. They’re not moving sinks and washing machines, power and plumbing around – with the associated risk of damage – nor are they required to leave a kitchen in some kind of clean and functional condition at the end of the working day.”
“We get a lot of builders and kitchen installation customers, who have suggested a Temporary Kitchen Pod when quoting for the job. For them it can be a commercial advantage over the competition to recommend a solution that will allow the property owner to maintain their existing domestic routines. If it is the homeowner that’s specified a unit, then the builder has invariably been very impressed and told us it’s something they’ll use on every job that they can.”
“The phrase we always hear that it’s been a “Godsend,” concludes Richard. “For families it’s not just a functional space but can become a sanctuary from the unavoidable disruption that comes with any significant build programme.”
For further information on Temporary Kitchen Pod visit http://www.temporarykitchenpod.co.uk/
