Howdens kitchen - first price

catsdad

Howdens white saponetta kitchen - was looking forva doer upper kitchen to keep us going for 12 -18 Months
First price from howdens £2880...
500 base for sink
1000 base - 1 door
500 drawer unit x1
800 2 drawer unit x 1
1000 base unit
Tall oven housing unit
Tall 500 larder
2 1000 wall unit - 2solid doors -2glazed doors
500 wall unit solid door
Basic Extractor hood
Beech block laminate worktop 2x 3m
20 nickel handles
Internals for drawers

12m sq laminate floor slate tile effect
I am providing hob, oven, sink, taps
Awaiting breakdown of price - confusing promotions Glasgow depots advertising sale, my local depot just flyered us - one day sale 17 sept - 50% off pluscadditional 20% discount that day... As an NHS employee I was told there would be a staff discount. Hoped for a like for like kitchen about 2k plus fitting - now seems unrealistic...
Is the £2880 a first price ( a la double glazing)? Any thoughts

Doozergirl

They can do better than that. Saponetta isn't an expensive range at all and the flooring is as cheap as chips. Beech block worktop you could find cheaper online if you were inclined, rather than from Howdens.

Why would you only want the kitchen to last 12-18 months? A Howdens kitchen will last much longer than that. The again, if it's not for long, then a laminate worktop would be the place to do the budgeting. Some of them look great now.

cddc

If you are only looking for something to last 12-18 months, a wickes takeaway or similar (screwfix?, Selco? any large builders merchants) will be much cheaper than that.

Putting a Howdens kitchen or similar is overspeccing really. You could probably get something for half that if you shop around that would easily do the job.

catsdad

Tired kitchen when we moved in - but weren't going to stay long so could live with mixture of imperial and metric units, stained and grained them...5 years later twins arrived, circumstances overtook and we're still here!! Same Kitchen but even worse!!

We DO aim to move subject to current market, not looking for the WOW factor in this kitchen , merely not the 'OHMYGAWD" factor from potential buyers. So we'd like something that we'd be happy with till we move on ( but not anything bank-breaking).
Saponetta seemed a fair compromise, we'd probably go for a glossy kitchen by choice (Glendevon-like). Want it to still look decent 18 months down the line (not self-destruct at 18 months!!)

I have no great DIY skills or contacts so looking for one-stop shopping if possible...

DOOZERGIRL : They can do better than that
any indication as to how much better?
Have now received itemised estimate, will study this - can I attach pdf of estimate for comment?

visidigi

for 12-18 months go Ikea - for longer look to howdens - you could have a full kitchen from Ikea for under 1k if you got your own appliances etc.

jlsh

Hi,

Firstly I'm interested to know how you got Howden's to give you a price. As I understand it they only deal with trade. Do you have a trade account with them? We'd love to be able to go directly and get a price!

My second comment was about what happened to us today. We had a kitchen fitter all lined up and he recommended Howden's to us. He said they don't really have a price list because they offer big discounts to tradesmen and allow them to make a profit from the units. He said from the outset he wasn't interested in doing this, he was only interested in charging us for the fitting. We came up with a design together and he took it to Howden's and came back with the computer images and a price. The price was for supply, fit and decorate. I have to say we were a bit disappointed as we had heard that Howden's was such good value and it only came in a fraction cheaper than Magnet (with Magnet fitters). We wanted to make a fair comparison in case we decided to go with the Magnet kitchen but get our fitter to install it so we texted our fitter last night to ask how much of his quote was for supply and how much was fitting. He refused. Today he emailed to say he didn't want to work with us anymore! I must say I am rather bemused as we only asked a simple question. I did think as it it our house and our several thousand pounds we were being asked to part with, we did have the right to ask what the money was going on! Have we made some sort of majorly offensive error here?

cddc

jlsh wrote: »

Hi,

Firstly I'm interested to know how you got Howden's to give you a price. As I understand it they only deal with trade. Do you have a trade account with them? We'd love to be able to go directly and get a price!

My second comment was about what happened to us today. We had a kitchen fitter all lined up and he recommended Howden's to us. He said they don't really have a price list because they offer big discounts to tradesmen and allow them to make a profit from the units. He said from the outset he wasn't interested in doing this, he was only interested in charging us for the fitting. We came up with a design together and he took it to Howden's and came back with the computer images and a price. The price was for supply, fit and decorate. I have to say we were a bit disappointed as we had heard that Howden's was such good value and it only came in a fraction cheaper than Magnet (with Magnet fitters). We wanted to make a fair comparison in case we decided to go with the Magnet kitchen but get our fitter to install it so we texted our fitter last night to ask how much of his quote was for supply and how much was fitting. He refused. Today he emailed to say he didn't want to work with us anymore! I must say I am rather bemused as we only asked a simple question. I did think as it it our house and our several thousand pounds we were being asked to part with, we did have the right to ask what the money was going on! Have we made some sort of majorly offensive error here?

If his quote was only a fraction cheaper than Magnet with company fit then he was certainly was not charging you what Howdens were charging him! You sussed him so he has scarpered! Either that or he is the most expensive fitter in the UK.

catsdad

jlsh wrote: »

Hi,

Firstly I'm interested to know how you got Howden's to give you a price. As I understand it they only deal with trade. Do you have a trade account with them? We'd love to be able to go directly and get a price!

That was my understanding from the postings here. I don't even haveca fitter as yet - hoping Howdens could provide contacts of local fitters...
We invited Howdens to measure up and prepare a plan, they provided drawings and asked us to comment , modify - we did and got another drawing on Saturday. I emailed Monday to ask for price, thinking I'd be told prices provided to Trade only...they supplied an overall price, I emailed for breakdown and this was emailed by return... I was surprised...still looking for a keener price, however...

jlsh

Perhaps if you were trade they would have given you a better price.

jeradcjerry

The price was for supply, fit and decorate. I have to say we were a bit disappointed as we had heard that Howden's was such good value and it only came in a fraction cheaper than Magnet (with Magnet fitters). We wanted to make a fair comparison in case we decided to go with the Magnet kitchen but get our fitter to install it so we texted our fitter last night to ask how much of his quote was for supply and how much was fitting. He refused. Today he emailed to say he didn't want to work with us anymore

ConfusedDep

I got my kitchen from Howdens last year in October as that is when they have there annual Sale in Cumbria.