DIY-Kitchens - any thoughts?

sg0102

Hi all,

So we are on the verge of choosing between Magnet (Studio Creme) & Howdens (Greenwich) for our new kitchen, and have had the designs etc.

But I am pondering the merits of DIY-Kitchens and welcome any thoughts from people who have used them?

My main nervousness is the fact that I will be responsible for the ordering of the units etc. I would plan on using the Howdens design (for example) which I'm hoping to reduce the risk of any errors, but interested on how others may have gone about it.

Similarly with the worktop? We are looking to get a Quartz worktop but I'm not clear on how that works in terms of sourcing personally.

If anyone has any tips or experience from doing this themselves I'd love to hear from them!

Thanks
Steve

john.h

Hi,
I have ordered doors, end panels, pellets etc from them (Remo dove grey). No problems at all. They were also a very good price. I could not get them much cheaper going through the company i work who would get them through the distributers (PWS)
I also got quartz Cilstone worktops from a company near york for a good price. A lot cheaper than local companies..

John..

sunnyskies123

we are doing something similar, I have designs from Homebase and Magnet, but will source and order my own kitchen.
If you download the Ikea 3D Kitchen planner, and do your design in there it generates a full shopping list, including legs, end panels, plinths etc. They maynot have the exact sizes you are fitting, but it can be a good starting point for you to see what is involved and use it to tick off your own order before you submit it.
I would be interested in any replys as to the sourcing of Quartz worktops, again that is something we are looking to do. Homebase quoted nearly £6000 for ours, including £2400 templating and fitting. A local kitchen fitter has quoted £3200. Looking online the avarage price seems to be about £2400 templated and fitted, but I don't know who to trust- it's such an expensive thing to get wrong.

sg0102

Thanks Sunny - I'll have a look at the Ikea design software, sounds perfect.

Really intrigued by composite (quartz) - we landed there as we didn't want laminate, and couldnt afford granite - but I must admit I hadn't fully anticipated the cost. Looks like DIY-Kitchen cost for the quartz, incl fitting would be around £2,400 - for about 3m/sq - so a lot more than I'd budgeted on!

CKdesigner

sg0102 wrote: »

Thanks Sunny - I'll have a look at the Ikea design software, sounds perfect.

Really intrigued by composite (quartz) - we landed there as we didn't want laminate, and couldnt afford granite - but I must admit I hadn't fully anticipated the cost. Looks like DIY-Kitchen cost for the quartz, incl fitting would be around £2,400 - for about 3m/sq - so a lot more than I'd budgeted on!

Quartz is in very general terms more expensive than granite!

sg0102

That's interesting!!

What other options do we have that may be cheaper than granite but aren't laminate??

Thanks
Steve

CKdesigner

To be fair there isn't much to choose from.

There is this huge gap from laminate to a solid worktop (quartz, Corian or granite) in terms of price and when a worktop manufacturer gets the right product to fill this gap in the market they will do very well!

The only realistic option is really Maia, which has a surface like Corian over a chipboard core, its not bad but personally I wouldn't pay the extra for it over a decent laminate with a nice edge.

Really if you are considering a new kitchen with something other than laminate for the worktop then I would suggest you visit a couple of decent local independent kitchen specialists as this is where you should get the best advice.

Independent kitchen specialists are perceived to be expensive, sure some are but the vast majority will be much better value for money than the usual builders merchants and DIY stores for kitchens.

CK

DirectDebacle

sg0102 wrote: »

That's interesting!!

What other options do we have that may be cheaper than granite but aren't laminate??

Thanks
Steve

Wood.

Independent kitchen specialists are perceived to be expensive, sure some are but the vast majority will be much better value for money than the usual builders merchants and DIY stores for kitchens.

A claim you regularly make but never justify. Provide the evidence. This is a money saving site, give examples of like for like kitchens in order that readers can judge for themselves.

Matt232005

Interesting you mention this as a friend of mine has just recently had their kitchen made over. They used Finsa Home - finsahome.co.uk - and claimed they represented very good value.

CKdesigner

DirectDebacle wrote: »

Wood.



A claim you regularly make but never justify. Provide the evidence. This is a money saving site, give examples of like for like kitchens in order that readers can judge for themselves.

Hi Directdebacle

I understand where you are coming from but as always its a lot more complicated than that as every kitchen we do is unique and different to the next.

I can't comment on other independent kitchen specialists or what they do as being independent kind of means everyone is different, but what I can say is that I have been a kitchen designer for over 20 years now and 11 years ago now the other half and I started our own independent kitchen specialist business.

As a specialist in our field we don't also sell paint or garden furniture like DIY stores. We are very particular about the products we supply, they have to be what we deem to be the best value for money possible for the markets they are in. And as we only do a relatively small number of kitchens a year compared to national kitchen suppliers we always offer much better service.

I often think its kind of like the differences between a nice local independent restaurant and a Beefeater. We have a nice one near us and now know the owner quite well. He sources locally produced quality produce, where as typically a national restaurant chain will always generally go to the cheapest supplier, and our local restaurant is really no more expensive than a Beefeater, but in terms of the quality of food and service there is no comparison.

I am sorry I cannot give you a direct comparison of a kitchen from a DIY store and one from us but hopefully as every kitchen is individual to each customer you can see why, and hopefully this goes someway to explain this.

CK

DirectDebacle

As you state you know nothing of what other independent kitchen specialists do then you can't claim that they offer better value for money than builders merchants or DIY stores. But you do. On almost every thread I have seen you post in.

You say that all your kitchens are unique, individual to each customer and different to the next. In other words you only sell bespoke custom made kitchens. That is a totally different product to those that builders merchants and DIY stores sell. It is therefore a false comparison and in itself no grounds for belittling competitors products or services.

If you do have reasons to say builders merchants and DIY stores kitchens are inferior (compared to whose/what?) and offer poor value for money then help other MSE members by sharing that information.

Persistently promoting your own small sector of the kitchen market and simultaneously denigrating your competitors (with no apparent justification) is tantamount to spam.