John Lewis Fitted kitchens

katejo

keystone wrote: »

I'm clearly being thick tonight as I've read this question three times now and still don't understand it.

Cheers

Surely Leif means "Is it better to have an expensive kitchen fitted by an incompetent fitter or to have a cheap kitchen fitted by an expert fitter" ? Or have i missed the point too ?

phill99

katejo wrote: »

Surely Leif means "Is it better to have an expensive kitchen fitted by an incompetent fitter or to have a cheap kitchen fitted by an expert fitter" ? Or have i missed the point too ?

Having a kitchen fitted is, for most people, the most expensive investment they will make in their homes. Given the sums involved, you really only get one chance to fit it correctly. Therefore, paying for a decent fitter will pay dividends as, if it is a good quality kitchen, he will make it look excellent and if it is a poor quality kitchen, he will fit it to the same high standard.

If he is a poor fitter ie a bloke that did carpentry at school who bought a tool kit from Argos and decides to call himself a kitchen fitter, then he will most likely mess your kitchen right up which will cost loads of money to rectify.

Therefore it's best to pay more for a decent fitter and get it done right the first time and everyone is a winner.

keystone

katejo wrote: »

Surely Leif means "Is it better to have an expensive kitchen fitted by an incompetent fitter or to have a cheap kitchen fitted by an expert fitter" ? Or have i missed the point too ?

In which case its the latter. Thanks to Phil for his post.

Cheers

Leif

keystone wrote: »

I'm clearly being thick tonight as I've read this question three times now and still don't understand it.

Cheers

I thought it was clear, but obviously not, so second time lucky. As I explained earlier, I had to remove a wall cupboard to repair plaster and repaint a wall, and I was surprised how easy it was to do. Basically the way the cupboard is made makes it easy to do a good job. All the adjustment is in the fittings, so as long as the wall brackets are placed within a few millimeters the rest follows. I was chatting to my neighbour who fitted his own kitchen, and he said the carcasses were just as easy. So, my question is what is it about fitting a kitchen that is hard? What would a bad fitter do wrongly?

Maybe be I am underestimating how bad a bad fitter could be i.e. wonky cupboard, unlevel carcasses, poor sink silicone sealant ...

Leif

katejo wrote: »

Surely Leif means "Is it better to have an expensive kitchen fitted by an incompetent fitter or to have a cheap kitchen fitted by an expert fitter" ? Or have i missed the point too ?

No I don't. I am simply wondering what a bad fitter does that is bad. Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I do wonder. Not that I wish to emulate them.

keystone

Leif wrote: »

So, my question is what is it about fitting a kitchen that is hard?

Already answered previously viz: "There is no rocket science involved in fitting a kitchen". You just need to be methodical, accurate, know what to do and have the right tools to do it, know the things that will go wrong if you give them the opportunity, recognise the little problems in that particular room that will throw the whole thing out and have a pride in your work.

What would a bad fitter do wrongly?

In three simple words "F it up!"

wonky cupboard, unlevel carcasses, poor sink silicone sealant ...

Oh that and a whole host of other things...............

Cheers

Leif

keystone wrote: »

Already answered previously viz: "There is no rocket science involved in fitting a kitchen". You just need to be methodical, accurate, know what to do and have the right tools to do it, know the things that will go wrong if you give them the opportunity, recognise the little problems in that particular room that will throw the whole thing out and have a pride in your work.

In three simple words "F it up!"

Oh that and a whole host of other things...............

Cheers

It makes me wonder how someone like that would stay in work.I can only assume their employer does not give a damn, I assume they would not survive on their own.

Gastines3

Several posters make the point that fitting the carcases yourself is fairly straightforward,I agree with that provided that you have all the tools required from spirit level or laser level/hammer drills etc etc. The problem comes with the rest of the job. Can you alter the electrics to suit your new design,legally and safely,add the plumbing and gas works to that and then presumably you will want to re-tile and decorate.It's all very well for an amateur to look at a computer printout of how the new kitchen will look:presuming you have given the planner ALL the details correctly: but how many then realise that fitting the carcases is the easy bit and then find that they needed to do rather a lot of work before the kitchen was fitted.I fit my own and have probably now done about 40 but am fortunate that my wife checks all my plans as she has more idea how a kitchen works,I have a qualified electrician who looks at my plan and points out all the cables/sockets etc I do before he connects up and likewise with the registered gasfitter/plumber.Many older buildings requiring the gas meter moving from in the kitchen to exterior wall boxes.
Yes, you can save hundreds of pounds on fitting charges but be prepared to do all the donkey work and get things ready for the trades required.
Main lesson I've learnt,is I never take on any refits if the person,persons, are living in the house.Fortunately, now retired, the only work I do is for our children and soon if they can afford to buy,grandchildren!!

philip1988

From reading many different threads on kitchens installations it appears the key is having a good kitchen fitter.

Being new to the area can anyone recommend a good kitchen fitter in the Aylesbury/Bucks area

Many thanks

Leif

Gastines3 wrote: »

Several posters make the point that fitting the carcases yourself is fairly straightforward,I agree with that provided that you have all the tools required from spirit level or laser level/hammer drills etc etc. The problem comes with the rest of the job. Can you alter the electrics to suit your new design,legally and safely,add the plumbing and gas works to that and then presumably you will want to re-tile and decorate.

I had electricians and plumber to do the electrics and gas, and I did the decorating. Floor tiling was done by a professional, large tiles are hard to do well, so I am told. Actually small ones are hard work, although quite doable. Tiling floors is one job that is not easy.

Gastines3 wrote: »

It's all very well for an amateur to look at a computer printout of how the new kitchen will look:presuming you have given the planner ALL the details correctly: but how many then realise that fitting the carcases is the easy bit and then find that they needed to do rather a lot of work before the kitchen was fitted.I fit my own and have probably now done about 40 but am fortunate that my wife checks all my plans as she has more idea how a kitchen works,I have a qualified electrician who looks at my plan and points out all the cables/sockets etc I do before he connects up and likewise with the registered gasfitter/plumber.Many older buildings requiring the gas meter moving from in the kitchen to exterior wall boxes.
Yes, you can save hundreds of pounds on fitting charges but be prepared to do all the donkey work and get things ready for the trades required.
Main lesson I've learnt,is I never take on any refits if the person,persons, are living in the house.Fortunately, now retired, the only work I do is for our children and soon if they can afford to buy,grandchildren!!