B&Q kitchen or Howdens or another? What fitters? Problems! Pric

Martin_Knott-Lewis

B&Q kitchen or Howdens or another? What fitters? Problems! Prices?

We had a kitchen design done at B&Q. We ourselves improved the design because we wanted more drawer units and a symmetrical look each side of the cooker. We ordered our kitchen from them last November with a delivery date in December. The kitchen without appliances (keeping existing) and worktops (sourcing elsewhere) cost £1,300. We funded this with their store card on 3 months interest free credit. The 3 months are nearly up and we haven’t had the kitchen!

We had our own fitter lined up to install before Christmas. This is someone we had used before who works on a day rate. We are happy with that.

Unfortunately we have had to endure the inconvenience of multiple delivery dates in January and much some-consuming chasing by telephone and we still don’t have everything! :mad:

What’s more is that our lovely fitter has now retired!

We have to find ourselves a new fitter. With that comes the opportunity to reconsider our options, including cancelling the B&Q contract as the after sales service doesn’t merit our custom. They allow 3 months for cancellation and refund so we need to decide no later than this weekend.

Our general builder, who happened to be at our home on another job, offered to do it. To assemble 15 units is £150 and to fit them is £750. In our experience he always adds extra for materials, blades, screws, etc. ….say £50, so that’s £950 fitting cost. He strongly encouraged us to let him get us granite worktops to improve the value of our home (as we plan to move in a couple of years), fitted for £1,700. We had thought we’d get laminate. We want all the light pelmets and cornices fitted with good, clean angles and there is no scope for error and patch filling as the kitchen is white gloss and we’re wondering whether a kitchen fitter wouldn’t do a better job. Total cost £3,950. Affordable.

At the time of ordering from B&Q we were given a fitting quote, although we didn’t want one. We wouldn’t use them as we had read on these forums that their prices are huge. But it is useful to know now. It was an astounding £5,500 to assemble and fit 15 flat-pack units, pelmets, cornice, etc and including several hundred pounds to connect our existing washing machine hose to existing plumbing! Including granite the total cost would be £8,500. This is unaffordable for us. Anyhow, not good value for money as it is only a flat-pack.

We have a price from a proper independent kitchen fitter. Based on the same design, he can supply a quality rigid kitchen (better than Howdens) for £2,200, fit it for £1,500 and get us granite for £1,700 or Corian for £1,300. Total cost £5,400. Not immediately affordable. We’d need to get funding.

We could ask the carpenter joiner who fitted our internal doors whether he fits kitchens. He may do a better job than a general builder. Not sure of the fitting cost. We can source rigid units from Howdens with a trade account. I’ve also found a granite factory and got a price of £1700. This route is affordable and we can get credit terms.

We were looking forward to our new kitchen but have become quite disheartened. We can’t order another kitchen until we have cancelled the current one. But what to do?

Martin

latecomer

I'd phone up B&Q and tell them you want a huge discount on the kitchen due to the non-delivery or it gets cancelled.

the independent kitchen fitter sounds like the best quality kitchen but if you are only going to stay for a couple of years does it really matter. You could go with the general builder as long as you trust him and get a guarantee that the fitting will be spot on.

bellrooster

Hiya

My OH is a carpenter/Joiner and he specialises in Kitchens! I'll get him to read through your post when he gets home and see if he can offer you any advice.

I do know that some aspects of kitchen fitting is quite precise so I wouldn't tend to go with a general builder, as usual they're not qualified/might not have the correct equipment etc.

bride_on_a_budget

we had this problem last year with b & Q,

we ordered cupboards and worktops that they did not have in store, was given a date for delivery, they even rang a week before to check that we still wanted that date. and it never turned up, i rang up and explained that we now have no kitchen as the old one was ripped out that morning and they told us all the items we ordered were out of stock and should be delivered in 6-8 weeks, well to put it bluntly i was not happy and went to my local store and got a full refund, they tried to haggle on the delivery charge but as the items were not delivered they didnt have a leg to stand on.

we ended up going to another local b&q and all of our items were in stock, when i queried this they said that the ordered items all come from one warehouse and this is for the whole country.

i now have my kitchen but i would never order anything from them again
bride

Martin_Knott-Lewis

Thank you for your comments.

Bride, Me too!

Bellrooster,
I should add that because it is a new extension, there is no kitchen to be removed and the plumbing and electrics have been put in and the walls are smooth.

The general builder is the only one who has seen it and based his quote on that. The kitchen fitter is due to visit and his fitting price was only an estimate.

Latecomer,
I don't think I can face haggling with B&Q although someone at head office said I should tell the branch manager I will be seeking compensation for taking time off work for delivery no.3 (which turned up on the wrong day).

Martin_Knott-Lewis

We got a price from Howdens yesterday....£3,200 which is 65% off the wildly inflated list (retail) prices. Not so cheap really. The kitchen fitter could also obtain the Howdens kitchen for us for the same price but he has a better kitchen for less money at £2,200.

Martin_Knott-Lewis

I should add that not only are we disappointed with B&Q's delivery service and after sales service, we also have concerns about the quality.

Whereas the kitchen doors look very attractive, what is important is the strength of the cabinets. The independent kitchen fitter does not recommend them on quality grounds as the chipboard is low density. We bought our kitchen from the IT range and the cabinets are only 16mm thick, not 18mm as is the industry standard. We are wondering whether it is strong enough to hold granite worktops. We did ask the in-store designer because he priced up with granite as an example and he assured us it was fine.

When I telephoned B&Q customer services about the many deliveries and complained, I was told I should complain to the store. They don't return calls. I'm not happy with the service.

bellrooster

,Hi I am the OH of bellrooster
IMHO there is nothing wrong with the b&q kitchens, they are more than strong enough to support granite tops I have fitted the combination myself. However the after sales for you is shocking and I would be inclined to cancel. The offer of the general builder is not to be sniffed at, I too am an apprentice trained Carpenter/joiner but now trade as general builder too. See if you can get any references of customers who he has fitted kitchens for. Failing that the Kitchen fitters offer sounds good too, but in my opinion and experience the Joiner should be able to fit a kitchen to just as high a standard. Most kitchen fitters are just Joiners with a fancy title that seems to make them think they can charge a little more. Howdens kitchens are a very high standard of kitchen on all levels. To finish and hopefully help, ask the Joiner first (the door fitting one). If he is not confident to do it go with the fitter, but ask him if he would mind fitting the howdens kitchen if you can supply it and him to provide granite or corian. It would also be worth asking the kitchen fitter which company and manufacturer supplies this "better than Howdens" kitchen. I have had customers that have bought bankrupt stock kitchens at greatly reduced prices, They are not always of a better quality. Some fitters I know also buy these kitchens, and they are that cheap they can afford to add on a bigger chunk for themselves and still do them cheaper than Howdens. Cancel b&q do a bit of fishing and make your decision, just be aware and careful.
A bit long winded and possibly confusing in places but hope you can get some help from this response.
Johnny

cashdogg666

i work for B&Q

joshinya

Martin_Knott-Lewis wrote: »

B&Q kitchen or Howdens or another? What fitters? Problems! Prices?

We had a kitchen design done at B&Q. We ourselves improved the design because we wanted more drawer units and a symmetrical look each side of the cooker. We ordered our kitchen from them last November with a delivery date in December. The kitchen without appliances (keeping existing) and worktops (sourcing elsewhere) cost £1,300. We funded this with their store card on 3 months interest free credit. The 3 months are nearly up and we haven’t had the kitchen!

We had our own fitter lined up to install before Christmas. This is someone we had used before who works on a day rate. We are happy with that.

Unfortunately we have had to endure the inconvenience of multiple delivery dates in January and much some-consuming chasing by telephone and we still don’t have everything! :mad:

What’s more is that our lovely fitter has now retired!

We have to find ourselves a new fitter. With that comes the opportunity to reconsider our options, including cancelling the B&Q contract as the after sales service doesn’t merit our custom. They allow 3 months for cancellation and refund so we need to decide no later than this weekend.

Our general builder, who happened to be at our home on another job, offered to do it. To assemble 15 units is £150 and to fit them is £750. In our experience he always adds extra for materials, blades, screws, etc. ….say £50, so that’s £950 fitting cost. He strongly encouraged us to let him get us granite worktops to improve the value of our home (as we plan to move in a couple of years), fitted for £1,700. We had thought we’d get laminate. We want all the light pelmets and cornices fitted with good, clean angles and there is no scope for error and patch filling as the kitchen is white gloss and we’re wondering whether a kitchen fitter wouldn’t do a better job. Total cost £3,950. Affordable.

At the time of ordering from B&Q we were given a fitting quote, although we didn’t want one. We wouldn’t use them as we had read on these forums that their prices are huge. But it is useful to know now. It was an astounding £5,500 to assemble and fit 15 flat-pack units, pelmets, cornice, etc and including several hundred pounds to connect our existing washing machine hose to existing plumbing! Including granite the total cost would be £8,500. This is unaffordable for us. Anyhow, not good value for money as it is only a flat-pack.

We have a price from a proper independent kitchen fitter. Based on the same design, he can supply a quality rigid kitchen (better than Howdens) for £2,200, fit it for £1,500 and get us granite for £1,700 or Corian for £1,300. Total cost £5,400. Not immediately affordable. We’d need to get funding.

We could ask the carpenter joiner who fitted our internal doors whether he fits kitchens. He may do a better job than a general builder. Not sure of the fitting cost. We can source rigid units from Howdens with a trade account. I’ve also found a granite factory and got a price of £1700. This route is affordable and we can get credit terms.

We were looking forward to our new kitchen but have become quite disheartened. We can’t order another kitchen until we have cancelled the current one. But what to do?

Martin

Hi
I'm a carpenter and have used howdens kitchens many times. They are not the best,but are good value for money and a good carpenter can make a not so good kitchen look very good. If your selling in a couple of years,just get a good quality laminate worktop with mitre joins/not joining strips to save money. A general builder probably won't have the right tools for kitchen fitting and if he does,they probably won't be very good ones. Kitchen fitters are ok,but a good carpenter is a much better choice as we have a better all round aspect of the building game. Most site agents/foremans are ex carpenters. Hope this helps

phill99

Why are you responding to a post that is over a year old? I'm sure its been sorted now.