Kitchen badly designed, what are my rights?

Addick

Thanks for the replies.

I don't think I can put too much blame on the fitter here, the goods have been supplied with the design to me and I've passed them onto the builder who has followed them.

The retailer have admitted that the kitchen has been mis sold. I don't want to go into too much detail on a public forum until it's been resolved but I'll see how I get on and post back with the results and further details as a warning to others.

Thanks again.

littlerock

i had my worktops replaced recently . did nit cause any damage to floor units. Did you buy a layout as displayed in their catalogue or showroom. ? Is the problem that the the plumbed or wired in services do not reach the units or something else? What is retailer offering to remedy it?

Annie1960

Addick wrote: »

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The retailer have admitted that the kitchen has been mis sold.

If the retailer (who is also the designer) is admitting they got it wrong, then you need to ask them what they propose to resolve the problems.

Let them suggest what they should do.

Addick

The worktop was very slim, 12.5mm which left no room for the hob once the cooker was slotted in, that was the main issue along with a few other mis-measurements by the designer

I was offered all sorts of solutions including an upgrade to a higher quality work surface however delivery would have left me waiting a few weeks which I can't really do.

We settled on a refund on the worktop which allows me to source quickly a new one with hopefully a few pounds to spare which will help over some of the additional labor costs that I'll occur. The worktop we had chosen was quite pricey and the store said that they had not sold much of it as it's a new product.

Thanks again for all of your help.

xyz123

What type woek top Is it? Did you also get wppliab6from same supplier as part of same order..

Furts

Addick wrote: »

The worktop was very slim, 12.5mm which left no room for the hob once the cooker was slotted in, that was the main issue along with a few other mis-measurements by the designer

I was offered all sorts of solutions including an upgrade to a higher quality work surface however delivery would have left me waiting a few weeks which I can't really do.

We settled on a refund on the worktop which allows me to source quickly a new one with hopefully a few pounds to spare which will help over some of the additional labor costs that I'll occur. The worktop we had chosen was quite pricey and the store said that they had not sold much of it as it's a new product.

Thanks again for all of your help.

12.5mm worktops are asking for trouble. From fitting sinks, to hobs, to durability, to every day wear and tear. I am coming from a practical, building approach here and not from a kitchen designer/salesperson approach. Indeed I have posted before on this with reference to Wilsonart, if my memory serves me correctly.

It follows that someone wanted the 12.5mm and somebody specified it. If you wanted it, if you specified it (and you did project manage) then it appears more likely that you may have to accept some accountability in all this.

You may decide you passed the accountability to your kitchen fitters, and if they were experienced and competent they should have made the points I have made. May be they did? We do not know on this.

Addick

To be honest it's not something I really thought about. It's my first time doing up a house, we liked the solid timber worktop but was of talked out of it because of the care it requires after installation, I've never liked the traditional laminate coated chipboard type so we were shown this solid laminate which I've never come across before and was told the advantages of it.... but none of the disadvantages.

It's certainly a learning curve, we didn't receive any of the designs/plans until the evening before install so it was very much hand it over to the fitter and hope for the best.

I have a whole house I'm trying to refurbish so I imagine it's not the last mistake like this I make..

Annie1960

Addick wrote: »

To be honest it's not something I really thought about. It's my first time doing up a house, we liked the solid timber worktop but was of talked out of it because of the care it requires after installation, I've never liked the traditional laminate coated chipboard type so we were shown this solid laminate which I've never come across before and was told the advantages of it.... but none of the disadvantages.

It's certainly a learning curve, we didn't receive any of the designs/plans until the evening before install so it was very much hand it over to the fitter and hope for the best.

Welcome to the forum, and don't be put off by the small number of posters who seem to enjoy blaming customers for the mistakes of traders in the construction industry.

I have a whole house I'm trying to refurbish so I imagine it's not the last mistake like this I make..

I'm refurbishing the whole of my house, so I understand your position. I'm glad you got it sorted out and that the designer took responsibility for their error.

Welcome to the forum, and don't be put off by the small number of posters who seem to enjoy blaming customers for the mistakes of traders in the construction industry.

Furts

Annie1960 wrote: »

I'm refurbishing the whole of my house, so I understand your position. I'm glad you got it sorted out and that the designer took responsibility for their error.

Welcome to the forum, and don't be put off by the small number of posters who seem to enjoy blaming customers for the mistakes of traders in the construction industry.

I am not aware of any posters who seem to enjoy blaming customers. I will have to look more closely. But it does get me thinking. OP may work in an office where the worktops at the work station might be 18mm, or in a garage where the bench top could be 25mm, or own a Workmate, or own a dining table. All typical examples in life, but there will of course be variations. Nobody expects these to be manufactured at 12.5mm and perform a useful life. So why expect a kitchen worktop to be plain sailing at 12.5mm? Here one is deviating from the norm, and the retailer did warn it was a new product with minimal sales experience. The warning bells were ringing and with this comes a risk.

Hopefully everything will turn out fine, we have all made mistakes and we have all been misguided by sales people - after all that is their job!

getmore4less

whats the thinnest hob you can get?

a quick look

Even slimline induction are 60mm+ they would protrude a fare way below a 12.5mm top

Smeg have a 45mm one and that is probably as thin as they get.

hob over oven housing was potentially going to be an issue with a top that thin

there are likely to be ovens with more clearance behind the front panel so changing oven may be the cheaper solution to the labor costs to change the top.