Wickes Take Away Kitchen

rachelandgromit

Hi

Hope someone can help me with a kitchen question.

Just bought/buying house and it needs a new kitchen putting in as there was an applicance leak and everything is rotton. Anyway, only looking for something cheap, that looks good as I'm hoping to 'knock walls out' and do a mega conversion within next 5-10 years!! So, set myself a budget of £1500 for new kitchen, bathroom, flooring and to decorate (excluding applicances) :eek: !!!

Luckily, my dads a multitasker and can do nearly everything for me. Been looking around and prices for kitchens :eek: and saw Wickes take away kitchens.

Opened box and quality of doors (michigan high gloss shaker) looks really good in comparison with quality, and price of MFI and cheap B&Q. Anyway, I was thinking of mising the cheap units (can probably get all of units for under £200) with a more expensive worksurface (quarry finish, solid wood - perhaps from somewhere else, screwfix, ikea). Then get a more expensive taps/sink, nice softclose fittings. Wickes also seem to offer good appliance deals at mo, e,g, Moffat 5 burner gas hob, stainless steel fan oven and stainless steel chimney hood for £398.

So on the whole, it looks quite cheap. Seen similar Ikea units too but our nearest ikea is over 60 miles away and I don't fancy trecking over to there if anythings wrong! Besides, there are 3 wickes within 15 miles of address so I thought it was playing safe.

Has anyone any experience of fitting the take away kitchens and quality of them. I'd be really grateful for feedback.

I'm not looking for something that will last a lifetime, just sort me out until I can do my grand designs!!!!

Thanks

Rachel

kat21

yes, they can look very good but you need experience in fitting them, or at least someone with reasonable knowledge, I could go into depth and think I did in another post somewhere else on kitchen installs.
make sure of your appliance sizes, if your just replacing an existing kitchen make sure the new units are the same size as the old ones, in other words single units where single units were fitted and double units where double units were fitted, check your existing worktop depths there usually around 600mm deep. becarefull of ikea, they tend to have very different sizes.
make sure things like sinks, washing machines cookers will all fit in their new places if replacing old items. In other words to keep costs down, make sure your new washing machine space is the same as the old washing machine space, make sure your sink unit is fitted in the same space as your old sink unit space. make sure each unit is the same size as the one you are replacing that way you keep costs down. (for your later grand install)
kat21

rachelandgromit

Hi Kat21

Thanks for that. Yes, I think I'm literally going to go for replacing the kitchen exactly as it is so I don't have to worry about moving pipes, etc. I've got enough on removing the woodchip wallpaper in every room first!! :eek:

I've taken lots of photos of the kitchen how it is already and mapped it out on paper with all the measurements so I can take it into wherever and say 'thats what I want, in that design, what do I need!'

My dad's fitted kitchens before, so he should be ok with it. Have you any experience of Wickes Kitchens?

kat21

Hi, Rachel no
your talking here about quality of build, and you said earlier on that its just a cheap replacement for the time being. wicks are as good as any. Build quality are things like hinges, draw runners, handles, how the units are put together, in other words the types of jointing used.worktops things to remember is will it scorch if you put a hot pan on it? how easy does it scratch if you accidentally run a knife across it. Cheap kitchens can look good by buying good doors and good worktops as they tend to get alot of punishment in a kitchen.
kat21

MJay

Hi Rachael!
I did a 'quick and dirty' when I moved into my (then derelect) bungalow six years ago. Lasted fine but when I recently extended, I shopped around extensively and ultimately bought from Wickes. I had £400 in Tesco vouchers and even with the discount, MFI was dearer and of less quality. I am delighted with the Wickes kitchen and it is a real sturdy option (MFI units only have a thin board back whereas Wickes has a full back). Their delivery system is great and the back up excellent. One panel was damaged and was replaced without quibble and arrived within two days.....

I bought all of my electrical goods on the intenet. I sourced them first then ordered through quidco to get money back. As they were from Sainsbury's Kitchen's, I also got Nectar points, paid with my Tesco card and earned Tesco points and finally got a free (much more expensive) alternative 'cos the oven I wanted wasn't in stock!! Found Sainsbury's service was excellent too.

Screwfix are excellent for all the 'jobby' bits, taps, ceiling spots etc. All of my bits came from there and again, well pleased. If you are having under cupboard lights go to a local independant electrical shop. I paid less than half the B & Q price for better units.

My kitchen just needs tiling now (thank god) and looks a treat.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Cheers

Mary

rachelandgromit

Hi Mary

Thanks for your reply. I've seen some of Wickes Kitchen (the gloss white) one. However I've seen the flat pack take away kitchens. Do you know anything about these? They are alot cheaper than the Wickes normal delivery kitchen whereas the ones I've seen are about £300 and you take them away there and then.

Obviously I'm not expecting them to be as sturdy as the other Wickes kitchens.

Thanks for your response, I agree that I found MFI to be of poor quality considering their price compared with Wickes.

Rachel

jobbingmusician

Just a quickie to say that although MFI kitchens are not exactly best quality, their solid oak worktops are excellent, and far cheaper than anywhere else I've found!

rachelandgromit

jobbingmusician wrote:

Just a quickie to say that although MFI kitchens are not exactly best quality, their solid oak worktops are excellent, and far cheaper than anywhere else I've found!

Thanks for that - useful to know as I'm thinking of mixing the cheapie cupboards with a nice worktop - solid oak sounds good but expensive, what sort of price was it?

MJay

Hi Rachael.
I'm not sure whether the 'flat packs' you refer to are also from Wickes so wouldn't like to comment.....and the Wickes kitchen comes 'flat packed' too! Sorry..... read your e-mail again....... Ask if they are the same...... Allison, the Wickes kitchen planner was a great sourse of straight forward help. Also, she came out and did a kitchen plan (the third that was done and only store to offer this service...) and was endlessly patient when I changed differnet aspects. By the by, I bought on mostly interest free credit and I am paying out of an account that is earning nice interest out of the balance..... Us pensioners have to watch the pennies!!!!!

Another thought (prompted by Jobbing...) check out local kitchen & bedroom makers..... I couldn't get the countertops I wanted from Wickes so bought from Travis Perkins. One wasn't wide enough (beware pipes 'n plugs if going for integrated units.... There is only 50mm (still can't get my head around metric so hope this is right.... very very little space) and because of my complex plumbing (gulp) had to buy a wider countertop.

It was much cheaper ( and supplied more quickly) from the local cabinet maker, who also supplied cutlery trays/ cut extra shelves etc at a fraction of shop price!

Do come back if there's anything else...... It has been a huge learning curve for me!!

Mary

rachelandgromit

Hi, for those of you I've confused, here is the link to the take away kitchens I'm referring to. The one I'm interested in is the Michigan take away kitchen and at the moment these are on offer at £278 for a 8 unit kitchen - see how cheap they are!!!!! This is why I will be able to afford a more expensive worktop!!!!

rachelandgromit

Doh! Here is the link!!

http://www.wickes.co.uk/content/ebiz/wickes/resources/images/pdf/Take%20Away%20Kitchen%20Brochure.pdf