Kitchens!

valley88lee

To me it sounds a good price, the company I'm working for offer a complete service including your electrics, tiling, plumbing, plastering, tiling, fitting the kitchen and decorating, for us a small kitchens normally come to around £7000+Vat, although we do strip out the old kitchen also. So to get it under that including the VAT seems fair to me. Would defiantly go to Howdens for the kitchen, they are very well built for the price they cost.

blackheathaddick

valley88lee said:

To me it sounds a good price, the company I'm working for offer a complete service including your electrics, tiling, plumbing, plastering, tiling, fitting the kitchen and decorating, for us a small kitchens normally come to around £7000+Vat, although we do strip out the old kitchen also. So to get it under that including the VAT seems fair to me. Would defiantly go to Howdens for the kitchen, they are very well built for the price they cost.

I bet that isnt the cheapest price your company will do though to get the business in

valley88lee

Probably not!

MrLargo

Boom said:

MrLargo said:

I'd also recommend Howdens, and most kitchen fitters I've met recommend them too, both for price and quality. Carcasses pre-assembled, you just have to put the doors on.

I bought my last kitchen from Wren Kitchens - comparable with Howden's on price, and also comes pre-assembled.

The £3k sounds steep to me, but difficult to say without seeing what you've gone for. Get a quote for the units and other bits and pieces from at least one other place - you'll either find out you can save a load of money by buying from somewhere else, or you'll get reassurance that you're paying the right price.

Sounds like you've done your research on the fitter, which is good. I've found from bitter experience that there's more crap tradespeople than good ones out there. Never use any that are recommended to you by the kitchen shop, always arrange the fitter separately.

Are you happy with your wren kitchen? Is it decent quality? We're thinking of using them. Last quote we had from them a couple of years ago was 14k which seems steep to me but it's a pretty big kitchen.

I picked Wren partly due to cost - cheaper than Wickes and B & Q, comparable to Howdens - and partly because I wanted to install it myself so was very keen on getting pre-assembled units. It's the first time I've chosen and fitted a kitchen myself, so not much to compare it to, but I've got no complaints at all about the quality.

They frequently have some sort of sale on, so might be worth going in for another quote when they've got a decent offer on. If your quote includes cooker, extractor hood, microwave, etc, might be worth seeing if you can get these cheaper elsewhere - didn't think Wren were competitive for that side of things, and websites like Appliances Direct are often significantly cheaper than the high street anyway.

Slartibartfast

Can anyone recommend a built under electric double oven?

cafcfan

Slartibartfast said:

Can anyone recommend a built under electric double oven?

When we had our kitchen done we went mainly for Siemens IQ700 appliances. They are very good. For example self-cleaning involves slapping on the oven at mega temperature for an hour or so and all the crap turns to ash to be wiped away. But they are very expensive.

Slartibartfast

Thanks cafcfan, bit too pricey!

grumpyaddick

Sorry thought this was a thread about our interest in Dutch Standard Liege reserve defender Kurt van Kitchens

ken from bexley

blackheathaddick said:

Not sure if you're making a joke or not. Tesco are just the name. The company is Mark 2 kitchens. They had a normal range, then they had a seperate off brochure delivery only range which was what we purchased from. Of course, that was probably just a salesman spiel anyway, and we werent getting anything anyone else wouldnt get, but we were happy with the price regardless.

Yep
They were on watchdog a few weeks ago with complaints and passing themselves off as Tesco, which they are not but as you state Mark 2....... sound like there name second rate!
Fitted out the kitchen a couple of months ago, and planned out the kitchen/Conservatory with a couple of ideas. Tried Wren's, Homebase, who offer a free planning service. Howden's was by far the best in quality, and build , but you will get a better deal with going through a fitter /carpenter as they like to deal with 'trade ', decided to sub the work out in the end, with contacts, electrics, (friend) sons did the plumbing and plastering, including a new ceiling. I did the tlle-ing, and painting, removed all the old kitchen, etc. Used a small kitchen company in Dartford, and a trade contact who lived in the next street, who knew I was very 'exact. Stayed at home and project managed and made the tea!. Ran around getting the bit's and bob's. I sourced, the blinds and flooring (quick step) from a small company in Barnehurst. Mayplace carpets not cheap, but top class: The fitter is a really top guy, and makes constructive suggestions, not a throw it down and rush out the door merchant!. mayplacecarpets@btconnect.com
I have fitted my own carpets in the past, and even fitted kitchen's in the bad old days of MFI. I am not an easy customer.

Boom

MrLargo said:

Boom said:

MrLargo said:

I'd also recommend Howdens, and most kitchen fitters I've met recommend them too, both for price and quality. Carcasses pre-assembled, you just have to put the doors on.

I bought my last kitchen from Wren Kitchens - comparable with Howden's on price, and also comes pre-assembled.

The £3k sounds steep to me, but difficult to say without seeing what you've gone for. Get a quote for the units and other bits and pieces from at least one other place - you'll either find out you can save a load of money by buying from somewhere else, or you'll get reassurance that you're paying the right price.

Sounds like you've done your research on the fitter, which is good. I've found from bitter experience that there's more crap tradespeople than good ones out there. Never use any that are recommended to you by the kitchen shop, always arrange the fitter separately.

Are you happy with your wren kitchen? Is it decent quality? We're thinking of using them. Last quote we had from them a couple of years ago was 14k which seems steep to me but it's a pretty big kitchen.

I picked Wren partly due to cost - cheaper than Wickes and B & Q, comparable to Howdens - and partly because I wanted to install it myself so was very keen on getting pre-assembled units. It's the first time I've chosen and fitted a kitchen myself, so not much to compare it to, but I've got no complaints at all about the quality.

They frequently have some sort of sale on, so might be worth going in for another quote when they've got a decent offer on. If your quote includes cooker, extractor hood, microwave, etc, might be worth seeing if you can get these cheaper elsewhere - didn't think Wren were competitive for that side of things, and websites like Appliances Direct are often significantly cheaper than the high street anyway.

Cheers for that Mr L -theres a sale on at the mo. Will mention about the appliances

Darty Valiant

I also have Siemens kit in my kitchen. Used to have Hotpoint built in double oven for over 16 years and had no problems at all.

Darty Valiant

This is who put in my kitchen
http://www.stoneham-kitchens.co.uk

Sillybilly

We used Family Kitchens in Longfield. We did a top of the range job about six years ago as part if an extension project when life was a bit kinder than it is now. Couldn't afford it now but glad we did it as it's the nuts. Great end to end service. I'm Sure they cater for different budgets.

rikofold

I had a kitchen put in a few years ago as part of a whole load of work. I had some issues with quality from kitchen fitters and the advice of the other tradesmen was to use a chippy rather than the kitchen firms. They can normally obtain your choice of kitchen at trade rates and will work any issues out themselves as they go, giving a much better final product than the kitchen fitters who will tend to churn their business over, get in get out.

McBobbin

Dragging this old thread up... We are going to get a new kitchen! So far had a quote from Benchmarx, who are a trade only Travis Perkins brand. Going to had an independent fitter I know come round soon to give a labour cost. We are looking to get a second quote as well to see what different design ideas/units etc they suggest. Any particular recommendations? Wren, Magnet, Howdens all spring go mind, probably want to avoid B&Q and Homebase as Which? Slammed them. No way I'll be doing any fitting myself and we have a decent budget so after quality rather than lowest possible cost. Happy to hear any recommendations

ForeverAddickted

Used a small independant company in Rochester called "the Kitchen Centre"

https://www.kitchen-centre.co.uk

Dave (the owner) is a great bloke who'll come round, take measurements and then book you in for an appointment at his showroom where he'll go over the designs and the style that you'll potentially want for your kitchen.

He then uses self-employed Electricians | Plasterers | Fitters that come in and do the work.

We're very impressed with the work he did, came to around £6500 to do everything when the likes of Wickes wanted double

MrLargo

Someone at work recommended this firm to me - https://www.diy-kitchens.com/

I've used them, my brother then used them for his place and I also recommended them to another mate who ended up a happy customer. Good price and good quality.

Regarding Wren, I recommended them on here back in 2014. Used them again in 2017 and thought the quality had diminished significantly, and it turned out that they'd sold me a load of decor end panels that I didn't really need, I'd steer clear of them.

(By the way, I move house frequently, hence 3 kitchens in 6 years, just in case you were wondering!)

Aside from DIY Kitchens, never heard anyone say anything negative about Howdens.

Mendonca In Asdas

MrLargo said:

Someone at work recommended this firm to me - https://www.diy-kitchens.com/

I've used them, my brother then used them for his place and I also recommended them to another mate who ended up a happy customer. Good price and good quality.

Regarding Wren, I recommended them on here back in 2014. Used them again in 2017 and thought the quality had diminished significantly, and it turned out that they'd sold me a load of decor end panels that I didn't really need, I'd steer clear of them.

(By the way, I move house frequently, hence 3 kitchens in 6 years, just in case you were wondering!)

Aside from DIY Kitchens, never heard anyone say anything negative about Howdens.

Just out of interest Mr Largo (and others) whats the turnaround time from time to placing order to completion, and how long did it take to do the work?

DaveMehmet

McBobbin said:

Dragging this old thread up... We are going to get a new kitchen! So far had a quote from Benchmarx, who are a trade only Travis Perkins brand. Going to had an independent fitter I know come round soon to give a labour cost. We are looking to get a second quote as well to see what different design ideas/units etc they suggest. Any particular recommendations? Wren, Magnet, Howdens all spring go mind, probably want to avoid B&Q and Homebase as Which? Slammed them. No way I'll be doing any fitting myself and we have a decent budget so after quality rather than lowest possible cost. Happy to hear any recommendations

We used Benchmarx for ours, wouldn't recommend them tbh. The kitchen itself is great but had so many problems with them. Realised a few days before delivery that they'd ordered the wrong work surface and had to go back in and confirm the one we wanted, then the sink wasn't in stock so had to order elsewhere. We made it clear that we didn't want an instant boiling water tap but they supplied one anyway. We weren't living at home while the builders finished the extension so didn't realise until we moved back in and there it was. They weren't interested when we contacted them about it and just said it was listed on the invoice.

In short, decent products, awful company to deal with.

Edit: They didn't do the installation, our builders did.

jamiebcool

Don't go flat pack. Adds on days to the project and inevitable cock-ups in the delivery.

I used Wren. Good product overall, but they were let down in the logistics department. 

MrLargo

Mendonca In Asdas said:

MrLargo said:

Someone at work recommended this firm to me - https://www.diy-kitchens.com/

I've used them, my brother then used them for his place and I also recommended them to another mate who ended up a happy customer. Good price and good quality.

Regarding Wren, I recommended them on here back in 2014. Used them again in 2017 and thought the quality had diminished significantly, and it turned out that they'd sold me a load of decor end panels that I didn't really need, I'd steer clear of them.

(By the way, I move house frequently, hence 3 kitchens in 6 years, just in case you were wondering!)

Aside from DIY Kitchens, never heard anyone say anything negative about Howdens.

Just out of interest Mr Largo (and others) whats the turnaround time from time to placing order to completion, and how long did it take to do the work?

The kitchen units took around a month from order to delivery. I ordered my kitchen units in one of their standard colours, it takes a bit longer if you want a bespoke colour. 

I bought my worktop (https://www.worktop-express.co.uk/) and appliances (https://ao.com/) separately. You can buy that stuff from DIY Kitchens, but I think the price was better elsewhere.

I installed the units myself, which took about a day, and got a proper carpenter in to cut and fix the worktop and do a few other bits and pieces which were beyond my skillset.

Obviously it'll take longer than that if you're getting new flooring, or having other additional work done, but I would consider anything over a week to be excessive if you're getting a professional installer to do it.

guinnessaddick

I recently put a Howdens kitchen in to my mums. It came already built so saved a bit of time. Good quality, you can spend thousands of a kitchens.

McBobbin

DaveMehmet said:

McBobbin said:

Dragging this old thread up... We are going to get a new kitchen! So far had a quote from Benchmarx, who are a trade only Travis Perkins brand. Going to had an independent fitter I know come round soon to give a labour cost. We are looking to get a second quote as well to see what different design ideas/units etc they suggest. Any particular recommendations? Wren, Magnet, Howdens all spring go mind, probably want to avoid B&Q and Homebase as Which? Slammed them. No way I'll be doing any fitting myself and we have a decent budget so after quality rather than lowest possible cost. Happy to hear any recommendations

We used Benchmarx for ours, wouldn't recommend them tbh. The kitchen itself is great but had so many problems with them. Realised a few days before delivery that they'd ordered the wrong work surface and had to go back in and confirm the one we wanted, then the sink wasn't in stock so had to order elsewhere. We made it clear that we didn't want an instant boiling water tap but they supplied one anyway. We weren't living at home while the builders finished the extension so didn't realise until we moved back in and there it was. They weren't interested when we contacted them about it and just said it was listed on the invoice.

In short, decent products, awful company to deal with.

Edit: They didn't do the installation, our builders did.

Interesting... Wondering if it depends on who you deal with? Mate of mine is a sparky who works with the fitter and said they were good, but his work probably comes earlier than the finished product.

What was the boiling water tap like btw? Thinking of getting one. Was it about £800?

DaveMehmet

McBobbin said:

DaveMehmet said:

McBobbin said:

Dragging this old thread up... We are going to get a new kitchen! So far had a quote from Benchmarx, who are a trade only Travis Perkins brand. Going to had an independent fitter I know come round soon to give a labour cost. We are looking to get a second quote as well to see what different design ideas/units etc they suggest. Any particular recommendations? Wren, Magnet, Howdens all spring go mind, probably want to avoid B&Q and Homebase as Which? Slammed them. No way I'll be doing any fitting myself and we have a decent budget so after quality rather than lowest possible cost. Happy to hear any recommendations

We used Benchmarx for ours, wouldn't recommend them tbh. The kitchen itself is great but had so many problems with them. Realised a few days before delivery that they'd ordered the wrong work surface and had to go back in and confirm the one we wanted, then the sink wasn't in stock so had to order elsewhere. We made it clear that we didn't want an instant boiling water tap but they supplied one anyway. We weren't living at home while the builders finished the extension so didn't realise until we moved back in and there it was. They weren't interested when we contacted them about it and just said it was listed on the invoice.

In short, decent products, awful company to deal with.

Edit: They didn't do the installation, our builders did.

Interesting... Wondering if it depends on who you deal with? Mate of mine is a sparky who works with the fitter and said they were good, but his work probably comes earlier than the finished product.

What was the boiling water tap like btw? Thinking of getting one. Was it about £800?

We ordered ours from the Sidcup branch, may have just been unlucky with the guy we dealt with but he wasn't great.

Don't think the tap was as much as £800, probably around £600. I think it's a bit of  gimmick, handy when making tea but that's about it. If you're using it to fill a pan for veg etc, it takes ages.

As I said, the kitchen itself is great but expected better after sales considering we spent close to £25k

LargeAddick

we always use local independent companies recommended by people we trust, just had our bathroom completely renovated and couldn't be happier (except with the cost !!). Find local companies rely so much on recommendations they go the extra mile, would never use B&Q, Wickes etc.

iainment

We got a Wren kitchen recently. Fitted by our builder. Units good but the Wren measure of the kitchen was poor and didn’t take into account that we don’t have one right angled corner in our house. This meant the builder had to change the layout on site. So we have the dish washer and washing machine transposed and the washing machine unit door opens the wrong way which makes access awkward.
So whoever you get go over the plans with a fine tooth comb.

McBobbin

LargeAddick said:

we always use local independent companies recommended by people we trust, just had our bathroom completely renovated and couldn't be happier (except with the cost !!). Find local companies rely so much on recommendations they go the extra mile, would never use B&Q, Wickes etc.

Yes, we were thinking of using the independent guy as the fitter/project manager. Getting a second opinion might have some extra ideas