new kitchen....confused

Alan_M_2

arnie&caseysma! wrote:

Don't know what size your company is but I was referring to the larger companies (eg MFI etc) who simply won't take your word for it that sockets etc are not going to get in the way. If they did you can call your own sparkie to move them to allow the fitters to get on with their jobs. Health and Safety complied with at all times but the £4k they quoted my colleague just because they didn't trust him was pure extortion. They refused to lower the priceby reducing the tradesmen that weren't required so he went elsewhere and gave folk that charge a reasonable price the work - all above board, through the accounts and at a saving of over £3k (kitchen, appliances and local folk fitting).

As I said, it's a free market economy, you are free to go wherever you want and have whoever you want install your kitchen.

You got a quote - it was more than you want to pay, you went elsewhere...where's the extortion?

Alan_M_2

lorryw wrote:

Thank you for all the replies.
I have decided to ditch the belfast/butler sink because it means we have to have granite worktops. That will knock a few thousand off the kitchen costs.

If you really want granite worktops, shop around. B&Q and the bigger stores will simply subcontract to smaller granite suppliers, you are free to make your own enquiries.

If you're in the south east try these people:-

http://www.premiergranite.co.uk

They happen to be in the building next to mine and I'm happy to recommend their work.

tawnyowls

Try local kitchen companies - they can often work out cheaper than the big chains, because they charge a reasonable amount for fitting. It helps if you're open to different options too.

Ikea's stuff is good quality, and as with most kitchens, a budget one fitted well will always look better than an expensive one fitted badly, so spend your money on the fitter rather than the cabinets.

Alan_M_2

Couldn't agree more, we once supplied stone to a house where a MArk Wilkinson Kitchen had been fitted, This was a £75,000 Kitchen, but the fitting was badly undertaken, although you could tell the product was quality, the fitting let it down terribly.

The_Governor

Alan,

We're going through the process fo speccing up our kitchen at the moment, probably going with John Lewis.

Once that is done we'll be getting the floor done, the wife is keen on tiles, I can see you're in that trade, do you have any recommendations?

Thanks for the premier granite tip too :beer:

robby-01

I used to do electrical work on a subcontract basis for an mfi fitter.The whole system they use is a rip off.All the fitters are self employed ,most of them use sub contractors for plumbing and electrics eveyone sticks their bit on and the customer pays through the nose.In my case the customer always paid me direct and usually cash .The prices were based on a list sent from mfi and they were expensive.I spoke to some customers who had been encouraged to add all fitting costs including those to subbies onto some sort of loan sold to them by mfi.

In the event of a problem with an aspect of fitting the customer would usually be told by mfi to take up their complaint direct with the fitter,he would then usually blame either mfi or a subbie and the poor customer would be caught in the middle.
If you use independant reputable tradespeople you will save hassle and money.
We are in danger of over regulation in this country.
People are more interested in a bit of paper at the end of a job now than anything else.
The only thing mfi were interested in from myself was that I was part p registered they never once asked for any proof of how good I was at my job or recommendations from past customers all they asked for was a fax copy of my part p certificate .
You pays your money at the end of the day...

Whits

robby-01 wrote:

All the fitters are self employed ,most of them use sub contractors for plumbing and electrics

That's just your experience, the fitters used by my OH's store are all multi skilled.

robby-01 wrote:

The prices were based on a list sent from mfi and they were expensive.I spoke to some customers who had been encouraged to add all fitting costs including those to subbies onto some sort of loan sold to them by mfi

Fitting costs are quoted for at the time of sale, any other works are carried out by the fitter. Not all fitters charge the full price suggested by MFI.

robby-01 wrote:

The only thing mfi were interested in from myself was that I was part p registered they never once asked for any proof of how good I was at my job

So if you're a bastion of shoddy work, would you actually them that:rolleyes: