kitchen falling to bits

ceridwen

I had a flatpack kitchen installed when I bought the house - and thought that's me done. Not so, unfortunately, 20 years down the line and its falling to bits gradually. Obviously I am not too happy - as I thought it would go on indefinitely - and I am certainly not going to buy another flatpack one again in case the same happens again. One only expects to do a kitchen once after all. Possibly the really good-quality (and priced to match) ones are okay - but I haven't got £10,000 to spare to refit my little kitchen.

Any ideas on where to go from here? By the way, I am not a DIY buff - to say the least.

I was wondering whether to buy various bits of secondhand furniture - eg welsh dresser, sideboard, sturdy shelves etc and just do something freestanding (rather than fitted) - just strip them all down and do some sort of paint effect on them to get them to match up or what - but the sink unit is more problematic. I also could do with replacing the floor - as it's chipboard-type panels (rather than wood planks) and has gone a bit adrift over the years (as in not exactly level).

What would other people do? and how much do you estimate the cost would be? (bearing in mind that the only DIY I am capable of is painting - and I guess I could probably manage to dismantle the existing units at a push).

Counting_Pennies_2

Is it just the doors that are falling apart or is it the whole cabinet.

You can get some great door replacements if so.

If it is the whole cabinet, why not ask around your friends for advice on a good carpenter and ask for a quote on repairing, that surely must be better than a replacement.

I think 20 years for a flat pack kitchen is very good. Much as you only hope to put in a kitchen once, most people do change it more often.

Pink.

Hi ceridwen,

After twenty years, I'd think I had got my money's worth out of that kitchen and replace it. By their very nature, kitchens take a lot of wear and tear....even if it had been really good quality I imagine it would be getting a bit tired by now.

You say it's falling to bits....do you mean the actual units or the exterior (doors etc)? If the main body of the units are ok could you just replace the doors and drawers?

Pink

ceridwen

Thanks for replies. By "falling to bits" - well, the whole kit and caboodle really. Doorhinges giving up the ghost one by one, hardly dare open one of the cutlery drawers its such a palaver to try and get the darn thing to stay shut again, the corner carousel thing is falling apart (a carousel was not a good idea in hindsight). With all that - its a difficult kitchen to sort - as its so small (about 12' x 9' I would think) and badly planned - back door and window are both in the wrong place and theres no way I would contemplate spending the money to put all that right. Nearly forgot - the waste pipe thingie to upstairs bathroom is in the kitchen as well (boxed in with modern bit of wall) just to make it all more awkward. Hardly a smooth run of units scenario.
The existing units are MFI (one of their more expensive ranges). Hence why I am thinking of how I do the freestanding bit with proper furniture and shelves as a possibility - as proper furniture (as long as its not chipboard) is "pass down the generations quality". One of my thoughts also as to how to deal with the kitchen is wondering if there is a firm anywhere - or instructions on the internet - that I could pass to a competent carpenter (assume I could find a suitable one) to make sturdy real wood freestanding box unit type things - sort of like bookshelves (as they wouldnt have any doors) and get wickerbaskets to put stuff in to plonk onto the shelves. I'm open to ideas - apart from another flatpack kitchen. Conscious also of not getting lumbered with anything else that has got "built-in obsolescence", as it seems my current kitchen has.

ceridwen

forgot to mention - the doors are wood to the units (not that formica-type stuff) - so I havent got peeling off bits at least. What I'm even wondering is also if theres somewhere on the internet where I could get new hinges and new slider things for the kitchen drawers. My local DIY-minded friend said its not possible - but one would have thought there would be some firm/person somewhere (no - not EBAY please!) that caters for those who don't believe in chucking things out at intervals just because manufacturers want to sell me a new one.! Of course, theres still that carousel - the front corner section has come off and I can now see right into it (being an outside wall that its built onto - theres problem stuff I've had there for some time - as in mould on those 2 adjacent bits of outside wall that I can't reach to do anything about - short of dismantling that whole section of kitchen). As an American friend of mine said to me - "I havent found any British house yet where I've felt able to put in a fitted kitchen - because of damp in your houses". I see what she means.

emg

Quite a few places are starting to sell free-standing kitchen units, IKEA and M+S are two ranges I have looked at recently.

Counting_Pennies_2

My kitchen is an MFI put in by the previous owners 10 years ago, and despite that they can still call up the details of the sale and provide me with spare parts for door hinges, appliances etc.

They may not have the exact details dating back 20 years ago, but if you phone them up and describe the units they might have the hinges etc, as they tend to be quite universal.

In terms of the cost of a new kitchen, prices really have lowered. And much as a flat pack might give nightmares they really are very good. I do think 20 years is a good innings for it.

In terms of a difficult kitchen layout mine is dreadful, but with a good carpenter the previous owners seem to have worked around this. We also have a down pipe from upstairs bathroom coming through the kitchen, and a unit is cut around it and it is tiled below as is the rest of the kitchen, this hides the pipe keeps continuity in the kitchen and is a place to store the odd mug and pot of sugar. Down the sides of the down pipe in the cupboard I store my medicines.

We have a cooker behind the kitchen door, not ideal but we still work with it, as an enormous window straddles the rest of the kitchen. If you take your plan with you to an MFI or similar they can come up with great space saving ideas and design a plan for free for you. I had the tiniest kitchen in my previous house and I went to Magnet who came out and designed a fantastic space saving plan, you can then take the plan to other stores that sell kitchens cheaper. I gather Wickes is the place to buy a cheap one these days.

So don't put off the idea of a flat pack, as they can be really good space saving ideas.

jennifernil

There are loads of places that sell hinges, drawer runners, even complete drawers mail order. Screwfix and Woodfit come to mind, but there are many others.

never_enough

If your kitchen is small I would advise against freestanding furniture as built in will hold much more stuff. Alternatively you pare down all your stuff & enjoy clutter free living. Never managed it myself but hear it's enjoyable if you're that way inclined! I guess I'd head towards a mix of the two, maybe a run of fitted units along one wall (with the sink & hob in?) then a couple of freestanding pieces against other walls. You'd have to be careful for it not to look too busy or thrown together if you're doing it yourself. I quite like that very 'relaxed' look, but it's not everyone's cup of tea if you're thinking of moving.
Habitat & Fired Earth both do lovely units, not a cheap option though!

ceridwen

Thanks to everyone for replies - food for thought time - I'm just off to look up websites for all firms mentioned to have a look-see.

PROFESSIONAL_LANDLORD

I had a flatpack kitchen installed when I bought the house - and thought that's me done. Not so, unfortunately, 20 years down the line and its falling to bits gradually. Obviously I am not too happy - as I thought it would go on indefinitely -




I had a flat chested wife installed when I bought the house - and thought that's me done. Not so, unfortunately, 20 years down the line she's falling to bits gradually. Obviously I am not too happy - as I thought she would go on indefinitely -


Yeah ! know wot you mean.