What are Homebase & B&Q Kitchens/Bathrooms Like?

trailingspouse

No, we didn't cost fitters separately, but Homebase kitchen +Homebase fitter was cheaper than Magnet kitchen + Magnet fitter etc.

We also liked the fact that their work was backed by Homebase's guarantee, which we wouldn't have had if we'd gone for an independent. And it was far easier than trying to arrange separate trades as the fitters could do the plumbing, electrics, tiling etc as and when it was needed.

premkit

Both sheds are to avoided. B+q for their all round bad product and service! Homebase for its bad basic range hygena. Nailing hardboard panels to the back of units is shamefully in 2015.

There are good fitters working for the sheds, it's just the luck of the draw who you get, not worth the stress. I have put a lot of kitchens right due to bad shed fitters and mates from the pub.

Independent showrooms weed out bad fitters, they can't keep an average fitter like the sheds do.
Where in the uk are you? I have friends all over the uk who are very good.

Ma77hew

We had a B&Q kitchen fitted, used their design team.

After they designed it I had to have it altered as when I measured I realised it wouldn't actually fit.

We had loads of issues with delivery, they where totally useless, at one point I had 3 fridges and 2 freezers in my garage. Some of the cabinets and doors were discountinued whilst we where waiting delivery, and so was the belfast sink we had ordered. Regards the sink they just advised us to source it from somewhere else, and we actually managed to find it ourselves in a B&Q store.

The bathroom design was also really bad, when the fitter looked at it he told me I would need to move the plumbing around for the toilet that they had ordered, it was same position but the pipes went in a different direction, which would have required major changes. We ended up taking the toilet, sink, shower unit all back, i found the same shower for a 1/3 of the price, the toilet had the wrong fitting and the sink was one that went on a cupboard forget what they are called, but the cupboard they had sent wouldn't fit in the space we had so that all went back as well.

We ended up getting 20% refund as an apology.

Our fitter, someone we found locally, told us that he gets a discount at howdens, which would have put the howdens kitchen at the same price as the B&Q one. If I had known I would have found a fitter before ordering a kitchen. Live and learn.

Furts

premkit wrote: »

Both sheds are to avoided. B+q for their all round bad product and service! Homebase for its bad basic range hygena. Nailing hardboard panels to the back of units is shamefully in 2015.

I agree with the comment on hardboard, yet many manufacturers and retailers are open about the construction of their units. For example, go into a Wren showroom and the back panel is clearly detailed. It does not have to be the lowest of the low.

The verdict has to be that the majority of customers do not care about the construction, or are only happy to pay the cheapest conceivable price for the units. However, the difference in cost between a hardboard back and a chipboard back might be a few pounds - peanuts in terms of the cost of the kitchen. So from an mse money saving viewpoint it is a no brainer - negotiate hard, shop around and avoid the dross.

And this is before we start talking about chipboard panel thickness, worktop thickness, worktop laminate quality, shelf supports, hinge quality and door construction - all of which do not need to be cheap and nasty.

A better product does not cost vastly more in terms of the overall price of a kitchen.

penguine

We had a Homebase kitchen fitted last year as part of a complete house renovation project. We went with them because we needed the interest free finance as we were getting so much work done but our builder fitted the kitchen for £1200 rather than the £4000+ that Homebase would have charged, and I don't think Homebase would have done as good a job.

I'm happy with our kitchen as it looks nice and has tons of storage but I'm not sure the quality is that great. The designer was nice enough but if it hadn't been for me realising that a run of full size cupboards going over the sink was going to be a bit awkward that's the way it would have been done, and also it was only because I realised we were short on drawers that we ended up with more than 2 which is what he had put in the original design.

Then there were problems with not having all the parts. We were short a drawer front and a couple of handles and when we phoned them up it took several weeks to get the missing parts delivered and what was in the delivery included some random stuff we didn't need (a couple of cupboard doors) and still didn't include the handles. We had to phone them again and wait a number of weeks to get these small fittings to put the front of the drawer on and then they sent us a whole new drawer carcass instead of just the four pieces of plastic we needed! We went into the local Homebase at one point to get the missing handles ourselves and had to wait 4 weeks to get them on special order, only for them to turn out to be the wrong style and size despite me giving them the actual item number off my kitchen order form.

What's more the worktop for our kitchen peninsula was the wrong size and they had come up with this strange configuration to work around that simply because they didn't stock a piece of worktop long enough. It would have looked a bit crap because there wouldn't have been a rounded edge to the worktop on the side facing our dining area, but luckily our builders realised this was going to be a problem before putting in the worktop and they knew that Wickes stocked the same worktop at the longer length we needed. I don't know why Homebase didn't carry it or at least suggest a different worktop that was available in the longer length!

I would never buy a kitchen from Homebase again. You are much better off finding a local kitchen fitter who can source a kitchen for you through Howdens or somewhere. I always find tradesmen on Checkatrade and have never had a bad experience.

penguine

Just wanted to add my experience in terms of bathrooms as we had two completely new bathrooms fitted too. We found the fittings ourselves online and our builders came up with really good configurations, far better than what our architect had originally suggested. I think finding a good tradesman is better than going to a shed and getting them to design it for you because that way the people putting in the bathroom have the first-hand experience to know whether the layout is actually going to work.

Crabman

Thanks everyone for the replies. As several replies mentioned it, I had a local builder visit who works on his own (sub-contracts gas and electric work) so the job will take much longer than with a team. He'll work out the price for his labour, plus materials. He said if we're happy with that he can then help us select the individual items for the bathroom or can buy them on our behalf to get discounts. He is listed on the local trading standards trader register.

I had Homebase's fitter do a survey today. That meant paying a £250 deposit which will be refunded in full if we choose not to place the order. He too is local and had excellent attention to detail which is why I'm still interested in Homebase. Although I am concerned about some of their reviews.

A local independent kitchen firm has also quoted but I need to remove some quoted items that we don't need so they can be compared with others. They have fitters who are self-employed, so we would pay them directly. I'm not too confident about that as it's not clear what happens in the event of an aftersales issue.

PheoUK

OH used to work for Homebase, trained as a kitchen/bathroom designer/consultant.

This is too open a question. It depends entirely what range you pick from. Value stuff isn't great, Schrieber is ok.

Really though, you've got to consider how you want to go about this, the price you want and level of risk. For instance, I bought my kitchen from DIY-Kitchens, and fitted it myself (sans worktop and sink, which I bought and had fitted). Obviously I'm designing that (well, the other half did obvs!), fitting it myself. This means a number of things:

1) I'm carrying all the risk. If I break it, I pay for it

2) I'm not paying for someone else profit margins

3) I'm not paying multiple peoples margins.

If you go shed, it has the following advantages:

- You can normally see most ranges in some description if you goto a big enough store
- You can pass the risk to the shed - they will charge a big mark-up for fitting, but if the fitter screws up, you can go back to them. And they have a physical store. This may be something you want to pay for.

But, it'll cost you more (think, double the fitting price).

Other alternatives to DIY inc getting a builder, and a howdens/benchmarx kitchen and have them fit it.

Or goto a local independent showroom - well worth investigating by all accounts.

So really, decide what you want to pay, what kind of kitchen you want, and level of risk. Pick accordingly.

cddc

Homebase used to be by far the worst of the shed kitchens but the Schrieber ranges are now at least on a par with everyone else at the price point. The cheaper Hygena stuff is garbage though. I would definitely take their bathroom material over B&Q's. Kitchens are broadly similar though in terms of quality (Schrieber v C&L).

Have said this many times before on similar threads but will repeat again here. If using the sheds fitting service, ask for their best fitter not the one on the shortest lead time. The designer should know who that is and be able to get the fit allocated accordingly. As Premkit correctly says, the fitters are subbies and some will be better than others.

Shed designers also vary in quality and knowledge.

Independent kitchens at that price point are no better than those from the sheds. you are not always guaranteed a great fit either, I have seen both good and bad.

It is interesting that the OP sees offering a 2 year installation warranty as and admission that the installation will only last two years.

If there is something wrong the install you will know in days or weeks rather than years. It just means you have a two years parts and labour warranty. The parts are guaranteed much longer in most cases.

teddysmum

I'm going to use a local small business, as they have a wider range, better quality and custom fit so you aren't restricted to the narrow choice of cabinets from DIY stores.


Their shelves are also better quality than other locals (the owner sent me to have a look at the competition) and my present ex-Magnet kitchen (which has suffered from internal discolouration, not caused by exposure to light and experienced by someone else who had the same units).