Which type of kitchen worktops?

majjie

Sorry Pandora - rather hi-jacking your thread!

I don't know the worktop colour you mention - but it sounds like a good choice. The wood effects vary a lot - some are really convincing and others look a bit naff ... you need to look at an actual sample to choose (which is exactly what you did!)

Majjie

mrsheenpearl60

i am more than aware of howdens current range thank you. i concur that their doors are fit for purpose these days - i do know the manufacturer of these too but u ask in what way are omega better?? i say they are better because they have solid backs, they do have a better range of carcase colours, and a bigger choice of units.While i am not overly happy with the finish of most of omegas range of doors, in this particular case where the consumer wants a gloss shaker the door finish is quite acceptable and the biggest draw when competing in this budget conscious bracket is the price - omega will beat Howdens for price on this door!! The only plus side to Howdens is they usually have stuff in stock but if u have planned a kitchen longer than a day before the fit starts thats irrelevant. I dont really compete in the low end market but it is possible to get a good deal if you know which manufacturers specialise in which type of range. Hope this answers your question majje. and btw you may be happy designing using ikea in ur plans but i am not. there isnt a single thing they do that cant be bettered at the same price without having to use their weird sizes, except marketing which they are good at.

mrsheenpearl60

just a quick postscript having re read that last post - majjie, i wasn't having a go at u...from what i have seen on ur website i know u know ur onions...its just that i get so many people coming to me to buy granite after they have already bought their kitchens from howdens and have said the reason they did that was cos they didnt think they would be able to afford any of my kitchens just because they come into my showroom and think they will be too expensive cos they look (and are better) - i dont have an axe to grind with howdens either they do have their niche as do ikea but i just get infuriated by the perception that because they offer 75% discounts and builders go there that they will be the best place to go.

majjie

Don't worry about having a go at me Mr Sheen ... I can stand up for myself.

Omega have 15mm MFC backs; Howdens have 6mm MDF ... I wouldn't like to say which is stronger. Omega are flat packs, Howdens are rigid, factory assembled. It will cost more to fit a flat pack and you will need a better fitter. Many builders are not good kitchen fitters.

I agree that builders are fixated on Howdens ... and there are much better choices out there ... largely because of the choice of unit sizes. But I don't think there's anything wrong with Howden's quality, when it comes to their standard range of kitchens and in that same price range. (Although, personally I wouldn't buy their appliances or their worktops). Their list prices are a joke ... but then I think most people know that.

There's nothing wrong with IKEA's quality either ... and you'd be really hard pushed to find anything better for the same price. I hate the white carcasses, when the doors aren't white - but not everybody does. I design kitchens for my customers - not for myself. (And I suspect your opinion might be clouded by the fact that you don't sell IKEA kitchens )

You say that you don't compete in the low end market ... but you also complain about people coming in and thinking your kitchens are more expensive than Howdens. Well, surely they are ... unless you do indeed compete in that market?

Don't get me wrong - I'm a big supporter of small independent showrooms - but I don't think slagging off the big boys is the way to go.

Majjie

mrsheenpearl60

I can compete but dont like doing it. the same amount of work (from a planning perspective) goes into planning a 30k kitchen as a 5k kitchen, but.... i dont like seeing anything walk away. i do have standards however and there are certain lines i just wont cross. i would hate someone seeing a kitchen and asking 'who did that?' re fitting i agree most builders say they can fit a kitchen but the amount of hand holding i have to do when someone wants to use their own fitters. supply only is something im seriously thinking of stopping. a bad fitter can ruin a goodkitchen and a good one can save a bad one. However given ur love affair of ikea u will agree that fitting a flat pack isnt beyond the capabilities of even the most clueless of builders - assuming the dril holes are in the right position.and i think id take my chances with a cam and dowel assembly over a poorly constructed and glued rigid formed. Simple rule of thumb is if the builder cant work out how to assemble a flat pack carcase he wont have any idea how to fit a kitchen. but anyway i think we should stop this cos we have both been in this industry for a while and were just hijacking someones thread here...i dont know about u but this site has been useful to me ona personal level recently and i would like to be able to help someone in return while i have a bit of downtime, and thats all i am on here for. if i can help someone out i will. and by the way i do like ur contributions on here - as i said before i can see u do know ur onions.

Stone_Gazer

BIG BOYZ!!!

IM SURE YO|U ARE!

Majjie you spam this place more than anyone else!! (NO YOU DONT USE OR POST YOUR COMPANY NAME) but lets be honest its not hard to find is it.

Im not saying jack about your knowledge and i'll also agree builders dont know how to level kitchen if it jumped up and smacked them in the face!!!!!!!! chippies and joiners only folks!!!!!

But please SHUT UP all you do is attack other tradesman on here even if they are here browsing offering good advice!!!

Mr sheen dont worry about majjie he/she or maybe heshe likes to pick on people that offer advice and even prices which heshe cant believe!!!

Me im an :A

EASY!!

Stone_Gazer

Oh sorry Pandora.................GRANITE without a doubt....how many worktops can you buy that will last longer than your house....erm.....wood.....NO!

Stone_Gazer

Stone_Gazer wrote: »

Oh sorry Pandora.................GRANITE without a doubt....how many worktops can you buy that will last longer than your house....erm.....wood.....NO!

LAMINATE............................definitely not

majjie

Stone_Gazer wrote: »

Majjie you spam this place more than anyone else!! (NO YOU DONT USE OR POST YOUR COMPANY NAME) but lets be honest its not hard to find is it.

Im not saying jack about your knowledge and i'll also agree builders dont know how to level kitchen if it jumped up and smacked them in the face!!!!!!!! chippies and joiners only folks!!!!!

But please SHUT UP all you do is attack other tradesman on here even if they are here browsing offering good advice!!!

Mr sheen dont worry about majjie he/she or maybe heshe likes to pick on people that offer advice and even prices which heshe cant believe!!!

Stone Gazer I have more posts here than you, because I've been here a lot longer than you have. My business would be easy to find, whether or not I linked to it in my profile ... you'd only have to Google me. Other posters have asked for my website address, though, so I think it's convenient to have it on my profile (and if it's allowed, why on earth wouldn't I?).

If you think my contributions are spam - then I think you possibly don't understand what spam is. I think it's quite useful for professionals to comment on here ... why are you here, after all? I'm not going to shut up just because you suggest it. If nobody ever thanked me for my contributions, I might not bother (time is money after all), but that isn't the case.

Unlike you - I don't slag people/businesses off, or pick on people who offer good advice. I just state a different opinion. I happen to think it was unhelpful of Mr Sheen to come on here and say that Howdens kitchens were not good quality, to someone who was planning to buy one, and that IKEA kitchens are an "old pile of tat".

He is a professional - but I think he may be biased by the fact that he doesn't sell Howdens or IKEA kitchens. They're not a bad choice if your budget is low. If you knew anything about me, you'd know that I don't sell kitchens - or worktops - or appliances - so your comment about prices is a bit irrelevant.

A quick scan through your own contributions here, reveals you slagging off ... quartz worktops, Granite Transformations, internet granite suppliers, Diapol and companies that don't import their own stone (I haven't heard many complaints about granite companies using Pisani). You're obviously a dyed in the wool stonemason, who doesn't like change (ok, I waived my rule about personal slagging off there ) ... and your slagging offs (slaggings off?) are mainly about people offering low cost alternatives to the way you, or the companies you work with, supply granite.

On a more relevant note, in what way did it help ... telling someone who had already said that she couldn't afford granite ... definitely not to have laminate? And why would anyone want a worktop that lasts much longer than the kitchen units will? (I'm not against granite - it's just not a good reason to have it)

Threads very often go off track ... it's a feature of an open, public forum ... if Pandora is upset by it, or wants to get it back on track; she'll come back and say so. In the meantime other viewers may be interested in the alternative opinions expressed here ... I don't think one professional trying to silence another is in any way helpful.

Apologies to everyone else for the long post

Meepster

Hmmm....me thinks this post has been slightly hi-jacked...

Anyhows, I'm a kitchen designer as well and blah blah blah...

To the OP - you mention you like Corian, but its a bit pricy, well why not try Hanex? It's a similar material to Corian but is 20-25% less and I feel it has better colours...

majjie and mr sheen - get a room...