Whos Fault, Mine or Kitchen Designer ???

Steve_the_fitter

Dont think B&Q sell 450 doors in any of their ranges. I've always had to fit a 500 door if the kitchen is from B&Q. A 300 door and a 150 door sounds like a good idea but im not to sure how practical it will be due to the handles. Is there a filler on that run which your fitter could take out and make the d/w gap any bigger?

TDA10

Hi Dave,

I'm a B&Q employee - have you actually been in to see the original designer about the problem? They may be able to think of a solution if you explain what's up.

Does your D/W sit next to another unit? If so, can you not fit a larger size door on that unit at all? It would mean that when you open it the unit is smaller than the door, but only you would know that. (IYSWIM?)

I have a 400 unit with a 500 door on (stupid sized kitchen - the 500 unit bizarrely wouldn't fit in the gap for some reason, but the 500 door does! )

Just a thought, but please do go back to B&Q - we are usually a helpful lot if you approach us right!

Oh, and as a matter of info - my designer got a couple of things wrong on my kitchen too - I can only speak for this one (lovely) girl, but before she became a designer she was a checkout girl, and after all of 2 weeks CAD training...Well, need I say more... :eek: No studying hard, no degrees or major exams... :eek:

Not dissing any B&Q designers BTW, and not sure if it's just an isolated thing, but just thought I'd let you know!

jfinnie

Another idea you may like to consider is to fit a contrasting door to make a feature of the dishwasher. A solid stainless steel door on just your dishwasher can look nice in your kitchen.

See our kitchen (also B&Q) here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/m33CnZN981GVI3UIcFXDlw?feat=directlink

In my case it was actually a Siemens stainless steel fronted standalone dishwasher that we removed the top and front plinth from to make it like an integrated unit, but there are companies who sell stainless steel doors to you to fit to an integrated dishwasher:
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/90085759
http://www.diy-kitchens.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=964&cat=STAINLESS+STEEL+KITCHEN+DOORS
(you need to check the dimensions - IKEA & DIY kitchens are different sizes so you need to find which one is the same height as your kitchen doors are).

This might or might not work in your kitchen depending on the style and layout, but it maybe worth a shot.

jfinnie

big_ging wrote: »

when i went in to check and they said they dont do it, i asked why and they sad "because its only a budget kitchen and they only make 450mm doors for the more expensive ones". personally i think thats a bit stupid.

They don't do 450mm doors for most of their kitchens at B&Q. Mine was a "Select" kitchen and there were no 450mm doors for any of the select kitchens if I remember correctly.

NorthernMonkey85

Howdy, As another kitchens advisor at b&q i can safely tell you that we do 450 doors....but only on 'Cooke & Lewis' kitchens im afraid!

The 300 and 150 idea might look a little bit strange though?

The Cottage Style kitchen is closest in match and colour to the Ivory Classic although once again it might looka bit odd. Might be worth a go though? Just get down to the showroom and have a look at one.

jfinnie

I stand corrected... but the Cooke&Lewis range is only what 2 months old now... previous to that I'm pretty sure there weren't any...! (I have the previous catalog in front of me). The OP mentioned early October - I don't think Cooke&Lewis was available then was it?

I think any door which is a close match (but not quite) will look very strange indeed when seen in a different light, etc - it will really stand out. If you use a contrasting door no such problem of "close but no biscuit" matches, or with a 150 + 300 door, at least the finish will be identical (but I agree the 150 + 300 route will cause problems with handles etc)

If the planner really did make the mistake you have two options you could try to pursue:
1) Find an acceptable way to live with it - such as a contrasting door, 150+300, etc
2) Ask B&Q to replace all the doors with doors from a range that does have a 450mm door - might be difficult but a few sorry looking pictures of your kitchen with integrated dishwasher with no door, and some calm nice words with the local staff might work...

If the plans drawn by the designer included an integrated dishwasher you should have a pretty strong case.