First time buying a kitchen - quality and process of Ikea or go with B&Q/Wickes etc.

katejo

fordy3004 wrote: »

We have looked at many kitchens and worktops and at the moment are edging towards Wrens Owen Sold oak with Bosch appliances and Maia worktops.

However I have been told today that it may be better to go for an oak veneer rather than solid oak as real oak is a natural product so it gets easily damaged. likewise i have been told that Getacore is a cheaper supplied of composite worktops than Maia.

So questions:

Is a veneered oak really better than slod oak? Are wren any good?
Are maia worktops ok? Are Getacore better or cheaper? Who is the scottish supplier of Getacore and where can I view them?
Are Bosch appliances any good?

Any help would be much appreciated. thaks in advance

Be careful re. Wren Kitchens! there have been some very negative reviews of their customer services on MSE including a very long one just last week.

premkit

Nanny; replacing doors from howdens can be expensive, some time the whole 600 base can be £10 more than just buying the door. ask for the door only this may bring the price down, no hinges or handles.

Fordy; solid oak is always better than veneered

maia and gets are virtually the same, you have to have a fitter that has fitted them before and knows what he is doing with the joints. if they fail through not following the instructions to the letter, the manufacturers will not replace them. i went to a job a builder did with maia, the joint fittings ( splines ) were on the window cill. joints were very poor. also don't go for the black colours they show the scratches to easily.
Bosch are good.

samtheman1k

IKEA/Wickes/BQ/HB/Magnet are all pretty much identical quality IMO, thus it only really comes down to price...
IKEA have an online kitchen designer, or you can go into the store and they will design it for you instore.
IKEA doesn't have any space at the back for pipes, so you have chop areas out, but this is at the back of your cupboard, where you won't see it, or you can put a cover on it if you want. I'd personally rather that and gain the extra few inches on cupboards where there aren't any pipes.

cddc

samtheman1k wrote: »

IKEA/Wickes/BQ/HB/Magnet are all pretty much identical quality IMO, thus it only really comes down to price...

Not identical at all..

From the bottom up....

Homebase....Thinner cabinets, flappy back panels, some decent doors and some rubbish ones, generally overpriced, exorbitant fitting charges... are normally more money and generally less good overall than...

IKEA.....18mm cabinets, flappy back panels, no service gap which means bigger cupboards but either putting pipework/wiring visible in cabinets or channeling into wall or buying deeper worktop, so irritating. Not good if your walls are not straight. Good points...good value.. 25yr guarantee, cheap accessories, if you want to alter something, just go and get it.
But you would have to say that qualitywise they are probably beaten by....

B&Q Cooke & Lewis (avoid the cheaper IT kitchens as a rule, they are poorer quality).... 18mm cabinets, large rigid support bar but still a bit of the flappy stuff, lacqured gloss doors rather than vinyl wraps. Downside...lack of a decent warranty..and the orange square is not exactly famed for customer service or delivery accuracy either, not quite as good as ...

Wickes (to order, not the cheap instore takeaway stuff which is cheap for a reason)......18mm,15mm solid back panel, soft close as standard. Accordingly will normally be a bit more money than any of the above...

All use similar quality hinges and wirework, all but B&Q being blum/hafele. So you pay your money and take your choice.... trying to be fair, the only one I would run a mile to avoid would be Homebase. They are just not value for what you get. You can make a case for all of the others depending on price.....

NannyV

Thanks, Im going to take some measurements into Wickes today and see what price they come up with.

Pipes - don't mind cutting in the back of the cupboard but OH was going to box them in but I wanted a coloured splash back from the work top to the boto of the top unit and think a boxed in pipe against this will really stand out unless we can use the splash back to put on top of the boxing. We also have 2 knobbly bits sticking out just by the sink so not sure what to do about those either.

As it stands we can't get 2 replacement doors so we either stick with what we have and do lino, plaster and new cooker or we have to go the whole hog. and replace everything.

Hopefully have all quotes by next week so will update then

NannyV

Thanks CDDC, just the info I needed

fordy3004

Does anyone know the best way to ensure my kitchen fitter has the appropriate experience to install Maia worktops? is it just pot luck?

Steve_the_fitter

Maia worktops are not to tricky to fit when you know how but you do need to know what you are doing. There no qualifications you need to fit them so i guess the only way to know if he will be able to do the job is a gut feeling. Chat with him and find out how many he has done. Has he any pictures of the joints etc. Can you talk to any of his previous maia customers?

jackyann

We are just doing a kitchen - but dh is making all the units. Otherwise, having priced & searched for a few years, here are my tips, which may or may not be helpful:
We recently spent a year in a house with a Wickes kitchen, it was very good quality. They use Hafaele fittings - which we are now using in our units - better quality / value than Blum IMHO
We got granite worktops from CGL; friendly, pleasant, helpful: http://www.cglgranitesales.com/
My previous experience makes me think that Bosch are not quite worth their price. As we are looking to make these appliances last 20+ years, we've gone for Miele. Friends speak highly of John Lewis own.

katejo

NannyV wrote: »

Thanks, Im going to take some measurements into Wickes today and see what price they come up with.

Pipes - don't mind cutting in the back of the cupboard but OH was going to box them in but I wanted a coloured splash back from the work top to the boto of the top unit and think a boxed in pipe against this will really stand out unless we can use the splash back to put on top of the boxing. We also have 2 knobbly bits sticking out just by the sink so not sure what to do about those either.

As it stands we can't get 2 replacement doors so we either stick with what we have and do lino, plaster and new cooker or we have to go the whole hog. and replace everything.

Hopefully have all quotes by next week so will update then

How did you get on in wickes? I am making a similar visit tomorrow.