new kitchen

Leif

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

You will find very little difference in the quality of low range units to that of much higher priced ranges.
I've said this before and not all agree, but "there is cheap rubbish and there is expensive rubbish".

By that I mean they are all compressed sawdust or chippings with other crap thrown in for good measure.

I was shocked when I found that almost all kitchens are made from chipboard with some form of sheet on top. That said, there are grades of chipboard, some being moisture resistant. Also, there seems to be differences in the build. I had a kitchen in a flat a few years back that was no more than 5 years old and yet the melamine sheet was delaminating in many places, and under the sink the edges of a shelf had expanded where damp had soaked in to the chipboard. I've not seen that elsewhere, so I assume this was a poor quality kitchen. I have read here that some German kitchens have thicker melamine on the carcass edges, and it is glued on more strongly (compressed by machine?) meaning they are tougher and last longer. My parents had some MFC (Melamine Faced Chipboard) shelving units in the sitting room, and when my mum died, I had to send them to auction. Although they were about 30 years old, they looked like new, so clearly the build was not that bad. Not a patch on solid wood IMO, but not bad either.

I still don't like MFC but there is not much choice is there?

penguingirl

We're halfway through fitting our kitchen from diy-kitchens and so far have been really impressed- they seem to be an excellent quality and have been really easy to fit. They come pre-fitted and are made with glue and dowl rather than flatpack. Also they are 18mm carcasses, rather than 15mm which is what some cheap kitchens are.

We only got our units from there, and have bought handles, appliances, worktops etc elsewhere which has helped with the cost too.

HarriettPotter

My old man is a kitchen designer and really rates Ikea...

evokit

HarriettPotter wrote: »

My old man is a kitchen designer and really rates Ikea...

Shocking.... esp if a kitchen designer

cyclonebri1

Leif wrote: »

I still don't like MFC but there is not much choice is there?

No there isn't which is where I came in with the rubbish theme,

but they will last if fitted correctly, kept of the deck , ie, dry, and decent worktops fitted.

Leif, chipboard is now an accepted material for cabinet construction for the reasons I and others mentioned.
How the hell they can justify MDF for such as worktop upstands escapes me.

The last 1 I did was for my youngest daughter. Quality worktops from B&Q, ok, the best they do, and the matching upstand.

Fitted at the end of the day with the express message not to wet the backs until I had sealed them properly.

Next day the kids had splashed water everywhere and the upstands where blown/trashed. Ok we sorted it with the supplier at no cost when we pressed that they where not fit for purpose, but what the hell, someday they are going to get wet.

I had granite fitted to my 16 year old MFI units last year, simply because I know that it's the tops that usually go 1st.

Anorak point, bet I'm the only 1 here that once per year oils the hinges on all the cabinet doors????, day after Xmas is my prompter. Make that anal anorak.