Another Kitchen Post...

spadoosh

cddc wrote: »

The problem that is most common is with vinyl doors "bubbling" as the vinyl comes away from the mdf underneath. Most other sellers at round about this price point will replace doors in these circumstances for at least 5 years after purchase. Not B&Q.

Other reasonably common issues include drawer runner and hinge problems.

Most issues with kitchens are caused by poor fitting rather than faulty materials but it is nice to know you have a decent period of comeback if you do have problems.

B&Q sell very few 'wrapped' doors and i think none in the cooke & lewis range there all lacquered or real wood, also there carcusses are thicker than most i tihnk. Wouldnt look at the basic range, the coffe bean design in the carcusses is just too upsetting but i really cant argue with the quality or price of the cooke and lewis kitchens, weve had two.

The problems we had were with delivery, an item missing and an item damaged, picked up and replaced in two days, so cant really argue with that, just dont book your fitter till the kitchen is all in your hands!

cddc

spadoosh wrote: »

B&Q sell very few 'wrapped' doors and i think none in the cooke & lewis range there all lacquered or real wood, also there carcusses are thicker than most i tihnk. Wouldnt look at the basic range, the coffe bean design in the carcusses is just too upsetting but i really cant argue with the quality or price of the cooke and lewis kitchens, weve had two.

The problems we had were with delivery, an item missing and an item damaged, picked up and replaced in two days, so cant really argue with that, just dont book your fitter till the kitchen is all in your hands!

As I said earlier, C&L are decent for the price point but although the gloss ranges are lacquer I believe they do a couple of "country" style ones that are still vinyl, and this is what the OP is after.

Agree with you about the IT range too. That coffee bean carcasse pattern is vile!

royat33

I recently had a kitchen extension (I can recommend a builder if you're after something similar in the Reading-Guildford range) and was offered Howdens with all the discount passed on to me.

I chose a top spec with a nice hood and paid under £6k - and I have to say at that price, it's great value. The units are very well made and the quality of the doors top notch. Everything looks great!

There were (apparently surprisingly for Howdens given what our builder said) very few problems with the order. One work surface was incorrect and we had to reorder a smaller unit to replace one that didn't quite fit, but as the depot was only a mile away all the issues were sorted by the fitter before I got home from work on the day they were raised. Howdens even gave me a full refund for several bits that remained unused.

The real secret though is not the kitchen, it's the fitter. Hire a cheap and underskilled fitter and even the most expensive furniture could end up looking second-rate. Get a good fitter - or a great one as it turned out for us - and even a modest kitchen will end up looking good.

Hello123_2

I am in love with the Cooke & Lewis 'Woburn' kitchen but just worried it's a little pricey at £3.5k for units & top only (perhaps i'm just tight?!) Although it should have been £4200 and they price matched for me. B & Q have been fantastic so far I must say.

Going to IKEA later to have a mooch also! Thanks for the link above

All the trade places are out of the question (except STAX which I now realise is a big no no!)

Like some on diy kitchens websites too but worried about buying online without seeing first.

Thought homebase was a bit pricey (£4000 for the Windsor range) so that's a no. Magnet also came in at this.

Had a look at Wickes 'take away' last night and it was ok. Came it at £1700 for units which is v good but they looked quite low end.

Decisions decisions!!

Thank you all for your help would be lost without this!

spadoosh

Hello123 wrote: »

I am in love with the Cooke & Lewis 'Woburn' kitchen but just worried it's a little pricey at £3.5k for units & top only (perhaps i'm just tight?!) Although it should have been £4200 and they price matched for me. B & Q have been fantastic so far I must say.

Going to IKEA later to have a mooch also! Thanks for the link above

All the trade places are out of the question (except STAX which I now realise is a big no no!)

Like some on diy kitchens websites too but worried about buying online without seeing first.

Thought homebase was a bit pricey (£4000 for the Windsor range) so that's a no. Magnet also came in at this.

Had a look at Wickes 'take away' last night and it was ok. Came it at £1700 for units which is v good but they looked quite low end.

Decisions decisions!!

Thank you all for your help would be lost without this!

Bear in mind with the woburn the fram impedes the cupboard space so small doors are very restictive with what can go in them!

cddc

Out of those you are looking seriously at, and the price point, the C&L or Ikea would seem to be the best bets.

Diykitchens do have a good reputation on this board, although I cannot personally vouch for them.

Wickes T/A kitchens are good for what you pay for them, but quality and range wise less good than any of the slightly classier options listed above.

You are right to rule out Homebase at that price though! A less good product than either Ikea or C&L and more money!

Hello123_2

Right, been to IKEA and had a lovely lady help me with a plan!

I need:

WALL:
1000 double wall unit
600 single corner wall unit
800 double wall unit
2 x 500 tall glazed wall units

BASE:
500 single base
1000 corner base
500 drawers
2 x 600 base dresser style ie with fake drawers on doors
600 Sink unit for belfast sink
300 single base

OTHER:
50/50 fridge freezer housing
600 Door for intergrated dishwasher
2 x 300 single doors for decor
2 x wall end panels
2 x tall wall end panels
3 x 3m plinth
3 x 3m trim
26 handles/13 pairs
6 x base end panels

Have had a word with chippy as quite like the 'Holbrook Cream' on Howdens and Linton & Shakercream on Magnet Trade but he said the discounts are fake(!) and we won't really get a 'discount'..plus he doesn't want to open an account to get prices grrrr!

If we were to purchase the above what are we looking at ROUGHLY trade? Will it be a big difference from £3500? Have told chippy he doesnt have to pass all discount on to us, wouldn't expect him to!

Hope someone can help :-)

Doozergirl

Do you know why you need 6 base end panels for 7 base units? And none for the fridge freezer housing?

Did you get a plan of it that you can post up?

EDIT: I wonder if we crossed paths in Ikea this afternoon, that would be funny

Hello123_2

I think that should be 7 end panels!!

I presumed the 2 'tall' end panels were for the F/F.

Thanks :-)

rob7475

I too will be fitting a new kitchen shortly. At the moment I'm thinking of buying from DIY kitchens. Not sure where the OP is from, but they do have a factory and showroom near pontefract. We had a look there recently and the quality does look very good for the price. They will give you a tour of their factory if you want to have a look at how the carcasses are built/put together.

We've also looked at Wren and Ikea. Wren seem good quality but a bit too pushy and heard bad things about customer service. Ikea were good for the price but have limited cupboard sizes.