Kitchen - any thoughts on Symphony or Sheraton via Buildbase?

warby68

ryder72 wrote: »

£31k for a Sheraton kitchen?????

How large is the kitchen?? What make of appliances are you having?

Its £31k 'retail' £20k ish after 'discount'. The Magnet was one was over £50k but soon came down to £25k including fitting! The numbers they start with are staggering.

Includes £5k quartz tops (I think we should be able to get for £3k - £3.5k) and ALL NEFF appliances with headline prices about £4.5k (we will be chipping away at these too). He's also included lighting, stools, splashbacks and there are a few drawer sets in there so pretty much everything apart from fitting and flooring.

Kitchen is 7m x 5m approx and includes a utility room as well - pretty big. In my rough totting up there are 31 units and 3 runs of quartz. We also want a large corner larder which is pricey.

Like I say its first draft and the man has gone away on his jollies.

I'm trying to get my ducks in a row for when he's back - haven't done any negotiation yet at all

Furts

warby68 wrote: »

Its £31k 'retail' £20k ish after 'discount'. The Magnet was one was over £50k but soon came down to £25k including fitting! The numbers they start with are staggering.

Includes £5k quartz tops (I think we should be able to get for £3k - £3.5k) and ALL NEFF appliances with headline prices about £4.5k (we will be chipping away at these too). He's also included lighting, stools, splashbacks and there are a few drawer sets in there so pretty much everything apart from fitting and flooring.

Kitchen is 7m x 5m approx and includes a utility room as well - pretty big. In my rough totting up there are 31 units and 3 runs of quartz. We also want a large corner larder which is pricey.

Like I say its first draft and the man has gone away on his jollies.

I'm trying to get my ducks in a row for when he's back - haven't done any negotiation yet at all

Like ryder72 I am shocked at the cost. You are boxing yourself in by limiting your supplier to Buildbase because you cannot play one off against another. My local Buildbase has an excellent, huge, showroom but this has to be financed somehow. Equally I have a closeby independent builders merchant with a smaller showroom, and smaller overheads, who is probably keener on doing a deal.

The real shock to all who read your price is it excludes fitting. That really takes some swallowing, plus on a Sheraton kitchen you want, and deserve, a good standard of fitting.

warby68

Buildbase don't know we want to go with them - as far as they are concerned they are in competition. So no boxing in and we have 2 'won't be beaten on price' promises to play with from elsewhere.

I'll come back when there's a final price

What does anyone think we should pay for 31 units, 8-9m of quartz with cut outs, a utility and a full range of appliances? I'm not entertaining £20k, that's for sure but seriously, its very hard to get a clue about what is reasonable. Magnet was £18k, pretty much their bottom line for what we wanted but with a third less units and no tops Howdens was £10k, for many more units but no worktops. Does my £15k including tops, appliances (9 in total), 2 sinks, splashbacks and wall panels still sound too much for this size of room and quality?

Our fitter is excellent

Furts

warby68 wrote: »

What does anyone think we should pay for 31 units, 8-9m of quartz with cut outs, a utility and a full range of appliances? I'm not entertaining £20k, that's for sure but seriously, its very hard to get a clue about what is reasonable. Magnet was £18k, pretty much their bottom line for what we wanted but with a third less units and no tops Howdens was £10k, for many more units but no worktops. Does my £15k including tops, appliances (9 in total), 2 sinks, splashbacks and wall panels still sound too much for this size of room and quality?

It is childs play to go to B&Q and price up units - you know what you need so only you can do it. Very rough figures - a corner base unit is a big unit like three single units so big money here. This will be around £60 for the better quality range. (They also do a cheapo range). Add some doors and it depends what you want here but could be up to say £100 per door.

Of course you do not want B&Q, but it will give a guide and there is very little to choose between different companies products.

The worktops are a doddle to cost up on line - numerous companies out there. Obviously only you know what quality you are seeking so only you can price this up.

warby68

Thanks, I'd done precisely that with DIY Kitchens online a while back although got a bit stuck with the cabinet ends and panels. I know there are price lists for cheaper kitchens but its not really what I'm asking.

What I'm trying to say is how do I know that this is a fair price for a Sheraton kitchen when the pricing is not transparent and NOT really how does a Sheraton kitchen compare to B&Q because I don't want B&Q.

And yes, I've done the worktops online too - that's why I think £3k not £5k. And sense checked the appliances.

That's where I was getting to £15k or so for a target based on £3k for tops, £3k for appliances, £9k for cabinets.

Sorry if its an impossible question

bouncydog1

Our independent kitchen specialist is being really good in pricing everything for us. Everything is broken down and prices for all Neff appliances are pretty close to what the online retailers are quoting. Also if anything is wrong then if stuff is sourced from them, they will get sorted. Have you tried seeing what the independents can offer - you might be pleasantly surprised.

warby68

bouncydog1 wrote: »

Our independent kitchen specialist is being really good in pricing everything for us. Everything is broken down and prices for all Neff appliances are pretty close to what the online retailers are quoting. Also if anything is wrong then if stuff is sourced from them, they will get sorted. Have you tried seeing what the independents can offer - you might be pleasantly surprised.

Not yet. If we can't get comfortable with Buildbase we have a couple of local recommendations along those lines to try next. Its hugely time consuming, we started in May and still haven't made much progress (partly our lack of time though). Its such a lengthy process to get a design and a price out of them unless we've just been unlucky.

If we can get happy with Buildbase our fitter will more or less take the job over in full which is really what we want - for someone else to get on with it for us (not asking much are we lol)

If he doesn't know the supplier he'll want us to do the ordering and trouble shooting etc

My husband works very long hours and I work, have kids and care responsibilities for my mum so we want an easier option even if we pay a slight premium (only slight, mind you )

To be fair the NEFF appliance prices were competitive but he'd picked some things where we'd be happy with cheaper models eg two fridge freezers rather than full height fridge and full height freezer.

I'm gearing myself up to do battle this week again

cddc

warby68 wrote: »

Not yet. If we can't get comfortable with Buildbase we have a couple of local recommendations along those lines to try next. Its hugely time consuming, we started in May and still haven't made much progress (partly our lack of time though). Its such a lengthy process to get a design and a price out of them unless we've just been unlucky.

Is that the Oxford Buildbase by any chance?

They are notoriously hard to deal with on kitchens.

Do some nice stuff though.

warby68

No, we're a long way further North

In what way 'hard to deal with'?

We've only had ' very slow' and 'emailing a first quote 5 mins before going on hols for 2 weeks' so far... so curious what the challenges might be.

cddc

warby68 wrote: »

No, we're a long way further North

In what way 'hard to deal with'?

We've only had ' very slow' and 'emailing a first quote 5 mins before going on hols for 2 weeks' so far... so curious what the challenges might be.

Just that.

A seeming general level of disinterest in actually doing their jobs and having any desire in actually selling you anything.