Extension - Who to install kitchen

ajkzr

Hi,


I'm just in the process of getting quotes for a rear extension. The architect has suggested that I supply the kitchen and the builder installs it. I would like some advice on whether that is a good idea.



I can see the advantage that there will be no doubt about who is going to doing electrics etc., but will the regular local kitchen companies sell on a supply only basis. Or will I be I more more limited in choice about who I buy the kitchen from.


Thanks in advance!

debtdebt

All kitchen sellers will sell on a supply only basis.

kboss2010

My advice - DON’T go with Howden’s. We’re in the middle of a kitchen fitting & the kitchen they designed didn’t fit, they delivered the wrong items, the list they were working off doesn’t match the kitchen they designed & we’re going to have to likely spend extra time & money rectifying their mistakes.

Jeannine

When we had our extension, we asked the builders doing the extension to fit the kitchen. We had a Howdens one (and contrary to previous post had absolutely no problems, including the Lamona oven/hob) which is still looking good. They also did the flooring and tilimg.

We were happier with them doing it rather than getting someone different in order for the whole proces to be done by same company. Depends how you rate your builder I suppose!

Doozergirl

Have never had a problem with Howdens apart from their lack of transparency on pricing.

If there is something awry then it can be swapped almost immediately. Not many companies can do that.

DIy Kitchens is the one that everyone's talking about. I found it really hard to communicate with them; just for a few checks it took 48 hours to get a reply. On this occasion I gave up after over a week of just wanting to place the order and went to Howdens and got them to price match so it was still worth doing the homework.

Davesnave

kboss2010 wrote: »

My advice - DON’T go with Howden’s. We’re in the middle of a kitchen fitting & the kitchen they designed didn’t fit, they delivered the wrong items, the list they were working off doesn’t match the kitchen they designed & we’re going to have to likely spend extra time & money rectifying their mistakes.

We had a really good design from Howdens, though they didn't supply the kitchen we eventually chose. They did supply many other things and the cabinets for the utility room.

I can think of one occasion where Howdens failed to supply on the day, because they broke the worktop in the depot with a forklift.

People are human and mess up. Large firms like Howdens employ a lot of people, so stuff happens, but if you or I have a bad/good experience in one depot, it's statistically insignificant. Overall, their business model works.

Over time you also get to know which branchis most helpful as well.

smoothound

We were doing what you are proposing this time last year and used the builders own kitchen fitter which worked well.

We also had an extension added and kitchen redesigned with units in different places. The builders electrician and plumber did a lot of preparation work and set everything up for the Kitchen Fitter. They were used to working together so this helped and we had minimal snags.

Like others we used Howden's who were happy to supply units only. We sourced appliances ourselves as we found Howden's were not the best in price and range so could get branded items elsewhere at a better price. Items all fitted with the exception of the Mircowave which was slightly smaller but the fitter neatly boxed this in.

kboss2010

Davesnave wrote: »

We had a really good design from Howdens, though they didn't supply the kitchen we eventually chose. They did supply many other things and the cabinets for the utility room.

I can think of one occasion where Howdens failed to supply on the day, because they broke the worktop in the depot with a forklift.

People are human and mess up. Large firms like Howdens employ a lot of people, so stuff happens, but if you or I have a bad/good experience in one depot, it's statistically insignificant. Overall, their business model works.

Over time you also get to know which branchis most helpful as well.

That’s the issue we’ve had. It hasn’t just been one thing, it’s been us having to go back every day to collect things that weren’t provided because their system isn’t working, they don’t know what they’ve given us, they don’t understand why it doesn’t fit (they forgot to account for the filler panels that they put in the design), they don’t seem to know what we need to fit the kitchen they designed for us & they’re leaving it up to us to tell *them* how to do their job.

The last Howden’s kitchen my joiner fitted arrived totally wrong too from a different branch & had to be returned. It seems to be kitchens purchased in their annual sale?

After this week, I wouldn’t even buy a tap from them.

kboss2010

Doozergirl wrote: »

Have never had a problem with Howdens apart from their lack of transparency on pricing.

If there is something awry then it can be swapped almost immediately. Not many companies can do that.

DIy Kitchens is the one that everyone's talking about. I found it really hard to communicate with them; just for a few checks it took 48 hours to get a reply. On this occasion I gave up after over a week of just wanting to place the order and went to Howdens and got them to price match so it was still worth doing the homework.

I think that’s also a thing that is frustrating. You just have to take their word that you’re getting a good deal on the price. They have the best range of cabinet sizes but nothing riles me more than poor service & unwillingness to admit fault with after-sale issues. Mistakes happen. It’s how you deal with them that matters.