New kitchens - howdens, wren or benchmarx?

mattatclc

Benchmark units have an 18mm back whereas Wren and Howdens have a 8-12mm back. Not much to sing about other then that in terms of differences for these mass-produced outfits...

cddc

It is sometimes worth checking certain items on quotes though... items like integral soft close, drawer boxes, etc can vary quite widely...for instance heard the phrase "luxury drawers" today from someone who had been to Homebase. What is considered luxury in one place will be standard elsewhere.....

When comparing quotes from competing firms, make sure you are getting like for like quotes, not only in terms of cabinets spec, but in terms of drawer and hinge spec, wirework etc. Oherwise what seems like a bargain may actually not be .

J.M.S

cddc wrote: »

It is sometimes worth checking certain items on quotes though... items like integral soft close, drawer boxes, etc can vary quite widely...for instance heard the phrase "luxury drawers" today from someone who had been to Homebase. What is considered luxury in one place will be standard elsewhere.....

When comparing quotes from competing firms, make sure you are getting like for like quotes, not only in terms of cabinets spec, but in terms of drawer and hinge spec, wirework etc. Oherwise what seems like a bargain may actually not be .

That is some top advice, thanks!

J.M.S

Polly05 wrote: »

Could have got it delivered earlier. But not off work til the weekend..
No, checked everywhere I could think of (that I thought I could afford and avoiding companies like wren and magnet coz didn't read good things about them on here)

Hi Polly. Being the indecisive man I am I have yet to take the plunge into buying a kitchen! Just wanted to know how did the arrival/fitting of your brand new kitchen go?

seha

I googled about it and I prefer wren.

Polly05

J.M.S wrote: »

Hi Polly. Being the indecisive man I am I have yet to take the plunge into buying a kitchen! Just wanted to know how did the arrival/fitting of your brand new kitchen go?

Opps, just saw this!
It came in two halves, but they didnt bother telling me that. so the first half was fitted, then the other half came the next weekend. All fitted and no probs so far... fingers crossed.

missesther

I'm currently having a Howdens kitchen fitted. I did look at Benchmarx too but I just preferred the look of the Howdens kitchen. The kitchen arrived in two deliveries but everything is there and it looks amazing They did mess up a few details but my fitter is excellent and sorted it out with no problems. Hope that helps.

J.M.S

Two deliveries is a bit strange, but as long as it comes in the end can't really complain. Thanks for the info though guys, very useful. Scared to say this, but I think I have made my decision!! :eek:

Guessing everything went well missesther?

dhowell8

I'd like to save fitters money and time and the end customer grief and frustration and money too.

Never ever buy a Benchmarx kitchen. We bought their in-framed kitchen units. What a bargain we thought an in-frame kitchen for the price of ordinary doors. Of course you only get what you pay for and we bought rubbish.

From an end user perspective, the kitchen looked fab in the show room, but don't be taken in. Whilst the Guarantee looks attractive, the way in which the kitchen hangs together is completely and fundamentally flawed.

In 2010 when we bought ours the construction tries to do without side panels in key places. It's too innovative and cost cutting to work. Not enough supports in some corners and the way in which in-built fridges/freezers sit in the frame is laughable. Basically they sit on the floor with a couple of screws that attach them to the side panels.

Key items were out of stock and whilst the store manager promised to get the right size draws in. They never arrived. And of course whilst you might choose and design your kitchen the contract and price stays with your builder so when you complain the store will have little to do with you only the builder.

We chose our builder who installed our kitchen on his 30 year reputation and references from local people whom we knew. Indeed we used him 20 years ago for a small project and we saw his most recent kitchen work just around the corner. Glowing praises were given.

To instal just the units, draws and appliances (first and second fix electric's were already done) we and the builder allowed two days. Five days later it was done...as best as the builder to get it. He spent hours trying to get the draws/doors to line up with frame.

Since then (2012), one frame surround came away, our granite top, fixed by a leading firm in Sussex dropped when our daughter lent on the granite surface and we are noticing some paint wearing thin in some places and the special offer wine cooler is very noisy.

Back then, Benchmarx were owned by Travis Perkins. Taking the issue further all was all but impossible and of course when you are trying to finish the build against the clock you don't have much time to have a fight with the builder and suppliers, especially when you specified the units against the advice of the builder.


The whole proposition is stacked in the favour of Benchmarx. If you choose them I hope you are luckier than we were but you have been warned?

Jaynne

Got to say the opposite about Benchmarx. I fitted ours 4 months ago and the experience was great.

If your builder took 5 days to install it they are simply incompetent. I have never fitted a kitchen and managed it pretty much alone in 2. There are 9 base units in ours so its hardly tiny. Everything was easy to put together.

When I needed some extra fixings the chaps (and lady) at the depot were very obliging and gave me them for free and even sorted us out some extra shelves - we wanted 3 shelves in some of our wall units and they came with 2 which we hadn't checked beforehand.