Kitchen Recommendations

eripmav

Hey guys,

My first post on MSE for quite some time.

Long story short. I had a burst pipe over my kitchen, which totalled the whole room. This was back in July and since then, I’ve been constantly back and forward with the insurance, Oriel and the builders. After being told numerous times that would would start the following Monday, nothing had occurred and today I chase the insurance (after a business trip) and was told that Oriel and the builders have decided that there’s no way that they can guarantee the damp (that was hidden prior till the kitchen was obliterated and torn out) will not return.

We have a chimney breast in the kitchen, which was hiding quite a large damp spot for years - totally unbeknownst to us. Once the units were torn out, it became clear that the area, even after drying out with huge dehumidifiers, would keep returning to its damp state. We’ve been without a working kitchen for months now and the insurance have now decided that they’d rather cut a cheque and let us get the work done ourselves.

I've looked at kitchens over and over the last few months and honestly, I’m still none the wiser. Originally, the insurance were going to get us a Howden’s kitchen, but now we’re obviously free to go elsewhere and I just don’t have a clue as to who has the best bang for buck. The insurance are paying out approximately £10,000 for sorting out the DPC that was removed, the whole kitchen, finding and repairing where the damp is actually coming from and to replace the bathroom flooring they tore up when trying to locate the burst pipe.

Now, I’m left with a couple of questions. One - do you chaps think the money they’re offering is enough and two - who would you purchase the kitchen from? I already have a guy in mind to fit etc.

TIA

Doozergirl

Is it a small kitchen? That's really tight with all the additional work!

eripmav

It’s not dinky, but not a massive sized room. The insurance kept telling me that the contractors they use are expensive and the amount should be more than enough to get everything sorted.

Right now, it’s stripped back to brick, no floor or ceiling.

Mutton_Geoff

eripmav wrote: »

who has the best bang for buck

In my experience, www.diy-kitchens.com


No connection with that business, just a happy customer having bought several from them.


I have also used Howdens and others right up to a bespoke oak framed kitchen but value for money, decent quality and pre assembled cabinets, I like DIY Kitchens.

eripmav

Thanks Geoff, I'll let the wife look over that now. I'm a bit overwhelmed by all of this, really.

chappers

You can always accept the risk with the chimney breast and refuse the cash payment.
Without knowing the extent of the damage it's hard to say, but when it comes to sorting damp etc prices can rise rapidly. One thing you can be pretty sure of is that they are trying to put one over on you so my guess would immediately be that 10K is probably not enough.
You must by now have a schedule of the works they are going to carry out. get some quotes of your own, making sure you make it clear that it is an insurance job and se where that comes out.

becominganobsessivesaver

Can't help on the insurance side of things but we've almost completed our DIY kitchen and are very impressed with the style and quality. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

Furts

eripmav wrote: »

The insurance kept telling me that the contractors they use are expensive and the amount should be more than enough to get everything sorted.

I have worked with insurance funded contractors. The comment about the contractor being expensive is total bo--ocks. Insurance companies seek the lowest prices for all works everywhere, and frequently end up with poor standards of repairs. Think about it - it defies commercial logic for them to use contractors who are expensive.

What the comment really means is, "we cannot be bothered to do the job, it is going to cost too much money, there are potential risks and unforeseen work, so we will peddle nonsense to the claimant and hope they take all the work on at a lower cost than we may have paid out to the contractor".

The scenario is not total bad news because if you are savvy, accept a low cost kitchen, and turn a blind eye to matters you may come out showing a profit. The insurance company know this, and want this decision, and all potential risks, to be borne by you.

ryder72

It appears that the insurance company knows this could be an expensive and complicated job to sort out and cant find anyone to do it for a price they are happy to pay (ie as little as possible). By tempting you with a lump sum payment, they are trying to get this problem off their desk an make it yours.

You have a right to get this job done by a contractor of your preference, do it yourself by agreeing a sum with the insurers or let the insurer sort it out.

In the case of the former, you may have to provide more than one quote, but get the insurer to pay the contractor direct so the insurer is liable for getting the job done to an acceptable standard.

In the second case, the liability is completely yours. If you are savvy you can pocket some cash but beware because any recurring faults will be your problem. If you dont understand this game, stay clear. It could be a false economy.

My suggestion would be to bear down on the insurer and get them to sort out the damp related issues. If you desire a better kitchen, you can agree to them making a cash contribution to the kitchen and getting your own contractor to do it.

chappers

ryder72 wrote: »

In the second case, the liability is completely yours. If you are savvy you can pocket some cash but beware because any recurring faults will be your problem. If you dont understand this game, stay clear. It could be a false economy.

Could leave you in a situation whereby making a future similar claim might be troublesome

eripmav

Thanks for the answers, all.

Essentially this has been going on since late July. My wife is disabled and hasn’t been able to have a shower since, as we were told not to use it as they were unsure if the damp was coming from there, or not. I paid out of pocket for other jobs to be done, as once the damp on the chimney breast was rather concerning. But where the insurance are pointing to is a different area. I’ve had two builders on the lean to roof, checked the flashing etc and they’ve all said it’s fine. So I have absolutely no clue as to where it’s coming from.

I have had it dried out by the insurance twice already but it returns as soon as the equipment is removed. This leads me to believe that either there’s a slow leak from the toilet (seperate room), or that it’s the roof.

Now, I understand that the insurance is basically washing their hands but I’m at the end of my tether now and my wife is struggling to cope. I guess they sensed this and decided to cut their losses.

I have a builder coming out, who’s done work for me previously, next week and will give me an idea if his costs and then I can offset that against the cabinetry etc of the kitchen. Was kind of hoping that I’d be able to remove the bath and get a simple walk in shower for the wife, but I might be dreaming a bit here.