Another Kitchen Post...

Hello123_2

Thanks for all the advice.

Ikea prices are good but they only do white country style as far as I can see Please correct me if i'm wrong.

I've been quoted £3,500 today for B&Q Cooke & Lewis 'Woburn' excluding fitting, appliances. My OH thinks we could do away with a few things on there to get it closer to £3k/change a few units.

What are peoples opinions on this?

Thanks everyone!

phill99

My experience with b 7 q is that they rearely send out the complete order at the same time. Additionally, if something is damaged or needs exchanging, it can take up to 6 weeks for a replacement.

Howdens and Magnet Trade have all of their stuff ex-stock so an exchange can be actioned the same day. Give them a try and you will be surprised.

ionahenor2

My OH has just fitted out my kitchen from Ikea and also one for mum. I have no wall cupboards so the room looks so spacious. Instead I have the drawer units which are great and far more useful than cupboards that you have to empty if you need something from the back.
Also Ikea have an offer on at the moment £100 back on a £1000 spend.

Hello123_2

phill99 wrote: »

My experience with b 7 q is that they rearely send out the complete order at the same time. Additionally, if something is damaged or needs exchanging, it can take up to 6 weeks for a replacement.

Howdens and Magnet Trade have all of their stuff ex-stock so an exchange can be actioned the same day. Give them a try and you will be surprised.

oh dear :-/ Thanks for the tip. What do you think about price/quality of the woburn?

Sorry if this sounds dumb but aren't howdens & magnet trade just for trade account holders? If so we don't have any contacts except a family chippy but he already said hes not opening anymore accounts. Thanks

Doozergirl

Hello123 wrote: »

oh dear :-/ Thanks for the tip. What do you think about price/quality of the woburn?

Sorry if this sounds dumb but aren't howdens & magnet trade just for trade account holders? If so we don't have any contacts except a family chippy but he already said hes not opening anymore accounts. Thanks

They are but your chippy doesn't need to do much to open an account. He doesn't need credit, just a cash account which takes very little time at all.

phill99

Doozergirl is right. Your chippy just needs to prove he is atradesman and they will give him a cash account.

Alternatively, go to one of thise business card making machines in your local shopping centre and get 50 cards made for £5 with your details and the words 'Carpenter and Kitchen' fitter and a cartoon picture of a grinning man with an enlarged head and a saw in his hand. They will acccept this as proof that you are in the trade and sell you a kitchen.

Doozergirl

Ruski wrote: »

Why has it taken you longer to fit DG?? By how much??

I posted on another thread about it the other day.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3695319

The Howdens kitchen would have been £600 more expensive than Ikea. We've got drawers rubbing against each other, doors going on immediately very wonky etc. and some bits I've had to source deeper worktops from Magnet than Ikea sell themselves. The end panels don't cover any sins at all when it comes to hiding wonky walls and they don't come forward of the panel to cover the side of the doors either, or down to the floor which I think makes it look like a cheaper kitchen. I now need to source a smooth, matt White tall tower end panel from somewhere else, which I'm looking forward to. Oh, and their fridge freezer doors for the towers don't fit my Bosch fridge freezer in any combination so we still have to cut a door!

I might learn this because it's the first time with one, but we just don't have the same problems with any other kitchen (and we've bought several of the brands that mentioned here over and over) I know that H will never buy one again. The products just don't allow you any leeway when you're finishing it to look the best it can, and you can't seem to solve the problems with an Ikea product.

It has cost me more, but if I was paying two professionals at a proper rate, it would have already cost £450 more with at least another £300 to spend on labour and I've been back to Ikea three times (a 50 mile round trip) to pick up stuff that wasn't in stock on the day I ordered, take back worktops that didn't fit which was partly my fault for measuring before the boiler pipes went in (and subseuently cost a lot more than the original Ikea price) and change a load of hinges that were incorrect - and then back again because they resold us the same wrong hinges. It took nearly a whole day just to try and buy the thing and get delivery organised, not even design it - I did that at home! And they sent a 125cmx60cm door by Royal Mail! It's damaged on the corner, so that has to go back too.

I was asking H why, on my fourth visit, they still hadn't finished fitting the same kitchen in their showroom. It is stunning but I know why it takes that long!

Ruski

Well DG - sounds like you were just unlucky!

I fitted a large Ikea a couple of months back - absolutely nothing was missing from the delivery (only complaint was the lorry blocked the road for half an hour while we unloaded it!!) - it was all zapped by a PDA thing so everything got 'ticked off'

I understand what you say about pipework, but most times moving said pipework to floor level will sort that out - just depends on how much time you're prepared to spend on the prep I s'pose!

No wonky doors or drawers for me - nice self closing metal drawers, fully adjustable but most were bang on first hit.
My biggest problem was how to hide the boiler inside a wall cupboard and keep the necessary clearances and allow for servicing... but that would be the same on any cupboard presuming you could find one big enought to hide the boiler in in the first place.. that's the nice bit about their deep wall cupboards.

Anyway - post up some piccies of the finished product - you'll forget about all the 'problems' you've had with it once it's all nice an sparkly

Russ

Hello123_2

Chippy has an account at STAX - anyone ever heard of them? What the quality is like? Thanks.

Ruski

Hello123 wrote: »

Chippy has an account at STAX - anyone ever heard of them? What the quality is like? Thanks.

If it's STAX the warehouse I wouldn't bother - very low end flatpacks.