Built in kitchen appliances

pagan705

Am just buying a new kitchen & don't want the fridge, washing machine etc on show so we're going to get built in appliances but looking at dixons etc they seem really really expensive compared to 'freestanding' ones:eek:

Whats the big difference between the too ????

Isn't it possible to buy freestanding ones & just stick them behind the cupboard doors ???

bethom

From what I can see from ours they are flatter and have pre drilled holes in so the doors can be attached to the appliances. I don't think a freestanding will just "fit" behind doors.

I would shop around a bit more for your appliances as the big chains can be more on the pricier side.

Try qed-uk as they are very reasonable. Or check prices through a price comparison site such as kelkoo.

Also if you use buy online, you can go through quidco and get money back on your purchases as long as the site you are buying from is on their list.

pavlovs_dog

the biggest problem i am aware of with built in appliances is that they are harder to service/ fix/replace.

how much truth there is in this i dont know as ours are free standing, but could be something to investigate.

also, if you were to move, you would have to pay out for appliances all over again.

Mikeyorks

pagan705 wrote:

Am just buying a new kitchen & don't want the fridge, washing machine etc on show so we're going to get built in appliances but looking at dixons etc they seem really really expensive compared to 'freestanding' ones:eek:

Whats the big difference between the too ????

Agree with you that integrated units give a much cleaner / uncluttered look. But, as an earlier post, you're better looking at prices on one of the shopbots such as Pricerunner. And I don't think you'll find much distinction between freestanding and integrated. The only real design difference between the two is the door - where the integrated has fittings to allow it to attach to the kitchen unit door. But no handle and is a more basic finish overall. Not seen - so no need to look 'finished' - so should strictly be cheaper?

Isn't it possible to buy freestanding ones & just stick them behind the cupboard doors ???

Not really. You'd need to buy oversize kitchen units, jack the freestanding units up so they cleared the unit plinths - and make sure the two sets of doors didn't foul each other. Go into a kitchen shop and look how the integrated units .... er ...'integrate';) And I think you'll see that trying to achieve that with freestanding will look a bit of a bodge.

Debt_Free_Chick

pagan705 wrote:

Am just buying a new kitchen & don't want the fridge, washing machine etc on show so we're going to get built in appliances but looking at dixons etc they seem really really expensive compared to 'freestanding' ones:eek:

I've come to the conclusion that's it's simple supply & demand. There are far fewer integrated appliances sold .... since the demand is lower than that for freestanding appliances, the price reflects this

tawnyowls

Mikeyorks wrote:

Not really. You'd need to buy oversize kitchen units, jack the freestanding units up so they cleared the unit plinths - and make sure the two sets of doors didn't foul each other. Go into a kitchen shop and look how the integrated units .... er ...'integrate';) And I think you'll see that trying to achieve that with freestanding will look a bit of a bodge.

Disagree. In my last kitchen, I had an integrated dishwasher, and it was a pain to get at to do any sort of servicing. Also had a new WM that I'd only recently bought -builder suggested building that in. He just used a breakfast bar worktop (so deeper than average) and put the WM into a 700mm carcass, with two doors in front, so it was completely closed in. He didn't need to 'jack' the worktop up at all - most appliances are made to fit underneath anyway. The only thing he did have to do was to put the plinth on a sort of push-fit fitting (sorry, not sure what it was), so that if the WM needed to be pulled out, the plinth could just be lifted out of the way without having to undo screws. IMO, that looked far neater than the integrated DW, and the extra couple of inches of worktop was very useful. Since then, several friends and relations who saw that chose to do it as well. My brother went one step further - he housed his WM and TD in a single unit of 1400mm wide, then attached a 300mm and a 400mm door together using flat brackets at the back, to form each door of the large unit (so he has 4 doors - 2 x 300mm and 2 x 400mm, but opening as 2 doors rather than 4). You do get a little bit of wasted space beside the appliance obviously, but it's very useful for storing trays, baking tins etc on a pull-out rack, and it's a heck of a lot cheaper.

OddjobKIA

Try ikea or as another line of thought get your white goods to be features of the kitchen like a SMEG fridge etc

Mikeyorks

tawnyowls wrote:

Disagree.

I did say that it was not possible to integrate freestanding appliances without it looking a bit of a bodge? Nice of you to post the evidence;)

It was the freestanding units I was saying would need 'jacking up' - not the worktops. Otherwise the doors would foul the plinths as freestanding units are designed without that necessity. Never considered removeable plinths .... are you seriously suggesting the OP does that each and every time she wants the milk out of the fridge??

You can't .. to quote an old tennis player .. be serious.

rev229

I have just bought my new integrated appliances at MfI with my tesco deals 1800.00 worth of appliances for 450.00 clubcard deals this includes delivery so not costing me a penny and they are all neff appliances! very pleased with myself.

tawnyowls

Mikeyorks wrote:

I did say that it was not possible to integrate freestanding appliances without it looking a bit of a bodge? Nice of you to post the evidence;)

Are you implying that my kitchen looked a bodge? Cheek!:p I'll have you know it looked really nice, and when we came to sell it I got loads of compliments on it, and as I said, several people who saw it chose to do their kitchens that way. Once the doors were closed, it just looked like a really neat run of units.

Mikeyorks wrote:

It was the freestanding units I was saying would need 'jacking up' - not the worktops. Otherwise the doors would foul the plinths as freestanding units are designed without that necessity. Never considered removeable plinths .... are you seriously suggesting the OP does that each and every time she wants the milk out of the fridge??
You can't .. to quote an old tennis player .. be serious.

No, of course not. Crikey, what a palaver that would be!:D It's usually dead easy with fridges, because you just buy a kit that allows a tall cupboard door to be mounted onto the actual fridge door (or two cupboard doors if it's a fridge-freezer), and then when you pull the cupboard door it opens the fridge. Normally a fridge door doesn't go right to the bottom of the fridge anyway, so it probably would be possible to put it in a cupboard with a removable plinth, but the other way is more usual. Any decent kitchen fitter should be able to do it.

Mikeyorks

tawnyowls wrote:

. Any decent kitchen fitter should be able to do it.

We'll need to disagree. Any 'decent kitchen fitter' would tell you to make up your mind whether you wanted freestanding units on show .... or integrated units neatly tucked away! And with all the plinths permanently fixed in place;)