Bauformat, Schuller or Mereway

CKdesigner

Hi Furts

Interesting and well done, you're right its not too difficult to get it all done as long as you have the time and some ability and as long as everything goes to plan.

Yes there is a huge difference in the abilities of kitchen designers, and its not always about how long they have been doing it. I've seen designs done by others, supposedly designing kitchens for longer than me and frankly my 3 year old could do a better job of designing!

I generally think the rule of thumb is that a kitchen designed for free has no value and the reason why the design is free is because the only goal of 'the designer' is to sell the customer a bunch of boxes.

Whereas if you pay for the design and can take the full set of plans away with you then everything changes, you are paying for the time it takes to create the design with hopefully someone who has a proper knowledge and experience in designing kitchens.

As a kitchen designer my role after the design process then changes to project manager. With direct accounts with mid to top end appliance manufacturers and I think the best worktop fabricator in the country we ensure the customer has just one point of contact, which I think you will agree saves them a whole lot of time and possible heart ache. You may think you will be paying over the top for this project managing but in reality its not the case, because of our experience and excellent relationships with our suppliers the customer gets excellent value for money. Even if I do say so myself!

Thank you again for your in depth reply.

CK

ryder72

Furts

I appears that you came across extraordinarily bad designers/retailers that ruined your kitchen design and buying experience. Kitchen buying can be a complex and overwhelming experience and we try and simplify the process as best we can without being sale-sy in our approach. Its not the market we're in.

Design is a very subjective thing. I see lots of kitchen designs which like CK said, a 5 year old could come up with on a scrap of paper. But its also true that people buy these 'designs'. Clearly that didn't work for you and on that basis, I can see why you took the steps you did. But again, most people have neither the time, confidence, patience or inclination to do what you undertook.

Furts

CKdesigner wrote: »

Hi Furts

Interesting and well done, you're right its not too difficult to get it all done as long as you have the time and some ability and as long as everything goes to plan.

Yes there is a huge difference in the abilities of kitchen designers, and its not always about how long they have been doing it. I've seen designs done by others, supposedly designing kitchens for longer than me and frankly my 3 year old could do a better job of designing!

I generally think the rule of thumb is that a kitchen designed for free has no value and the reason why the design is free is because the only goal of 'the designer' is to sell the customer a bunch of boxes.

Whereas if you pay for the design and can take the full set of plans away with you then everything changes, you are paying for the time it takes to create the design with hopefully someone who has a proper knowledge and experience in designing kitchens.

As a kitchen designer my role after the design process then changes to project manager. With direct accounts with mid to top end appliance manufacturers and I think the best worktop fabricator in the country we ensure the customer has just one point of contact, which I think you will agree saves them a whole lot of time and possible heart ache. You may think you will be paying over the top for this project managing but in reality its not the case, because of our experience and excellent relationships with our suppliers the customer gets excellent value for money. Even if I do say so myself!

Thank you again for your in depth reply.

CK

Hi CK
I do not begrudge project management - indeed I am a fervent fan of it.

The route I took was never the intended one. I have not mentioned the lack of professionalism we experienced at smart looking High Street showrooms, nor their reluctance to firm up prices, nor their inability to even consider if prices were open to a little, gentle negotiation. In essence, we gave in with the established route to purchase a kitchen.

Furts

ryder72 wrote: »

Furts

I appears that you came across extraordinarily bad designers/retailers that ruined your kitchen design and buying experience. Kitchen buying can be a complex and overwhelming experience and we try and simplify the process as best we can without being sale-sy in our approach. Its not the market we're in.

Design is a very subjective thing. I see lots of kitchen designs which like CK said, a 5 year old could come up with on a scrap of paper. But its also true that people buy these 'designs'. Clearly that didn't work for you and on that basis, I can see why you took the steps you did. But again, most people have neither the time, confidence, patience or inclination to do what you undertook.

Hi ryder72
Your last sentence is spot on. But there is a huge cost saving if one follows this route. This was not our reason for doing it and this was unexpected. On reflection the payback for the time involved, versus a quote we received from Wickes, is truly staggering.

It would be brilliant to get this financial return on everything in life!

Steve_the_fitter

its very easy to beat quotes from the likes of Wickes and other showrooms and end up with very good UK made kitchens. I have fitted many makes and styles of kitchens and can honestly say the best quality cabinets I have fitted are made in the UK. Some of the worst cabinets Ive fitted are one of the big sheds which advertise their kitchens as being made in Germany.

ryder72

Have you guys at Alaris fallen out of love with Schuller Kitchens?

I know you supplied and swore by Schuller for years and slated other manufacturers. Now it seems you have switched over to Bauformat and Pronorm and sing a different tune.

Habor

I'm considering a !!!!!!! kitchen. Any experience or information appreciated.

ryder72

There are loads of posts on the forum. Please do a search and come back with specific questions if you have any.

bux112

Schuller are great kitchen’s. We’ve had ours for 5 years and it still looks like new. As with all kitchens though, you need a great designer and fitter.

Our’s was done by Your Space Living in South Wales (@yourspaceliving on Twitter). Check them out via Google. There are loads of pics of their finished projects on the site. It’s worth a look, if only for examples and ideas.

b33k34

Writing as a competent DIYer/selfbuilder and not a professional kitchen fitter or seller. Adding this review to this thread as it was one of the most useful I found when looking for a kitchen this time.

We fitted our first Mereway kitchen around 12 years ago. Solid oak doors in a shaker style (though strangely the solid oak is then veneered). Fitted another Mereway 3 years - handleless white laminate. We've just fitted a large Schuller Next125 kitchen with matt glass doors.

Mereway -
+'s
Carcasses are very solid. They have full tops and thick backs which makes them incredibly rigid which in turn makes it easier to do a good job fitting as the units don't go 'out of square'.

Our Oak Mereway kitchen still looked like new over 10 years after fitting with daily use.

-'s
There are no instructions - you just have to work out how to do any fitting or assembly that's required.

The range is pretty unexciting - in terms of the colours and finishes there was nothing we liked this time.

The range of units is comparatively small.

Schuller
+'s
Huge range or units - multiple heights, depths drawer options etc etc. which mean you have potential to do more interesting layouts.
More modern and interesting door selection
Next125 uses the top end Blum drawers (Legrabox) which look and feel very good. C-range (used in our utility room) uses the lower end Blum drawers.
Instructions very good - a detailed book with instructions on how all the elements go together (handleless rails, plinths etc)
Attention to detail very good - handleless rails are machined to lengh so no joins. Where they meet an end panel the carcass is machined slightly differently to where they meet another unit. The overall appearance is excellent. Plinth (which has a compressible rubber seal on the bottom) sections are cut to length rather than just being supplied as long lengths to be cut on site.

-'s
The carcasses are significantly less robust than Mereway. When fitting the tall units it was difficult to avoid them distorting so took a long time. On our Oven units there's one place we cant' get the shut lines perfect as a result.
There are no tops on the units (they're open to the underneath of the worktop). This contributes to the lack of rigidity and means the top inside of the base units won't look as neat if you get on your hands and knees to look at it!
The backs are thin so where we've cut out for in cupboard sockets or wanted to fix through the unit we had to add reinforcement.
However - once fixed in place and all side fixed to each other there is no difference in rigidity against a Mereway and I can't see longevity being different. Ultimately it's the doors that age on a kitchen. Weak cupboard backs might be an issue if you overload cupboards but on units with drawers (nearly all of ours) they're an irrelevance.

Conclusion.
I'd buy either again. My view is that Mereway beats Schuller on simple construction quality but Schuller beats Mereway hands down on appearance and detailing.