Howdens/Wren Kitchen advice...

Jonah01

I have just ordered from DIYKitchens.

Howdens will say they'll price match but they don't do acrylic finished high gloss 19mm doors. They do the chipboard wrapped versions or the mdf wrapped which aren't comparable in terms of quality.

I paid £5.6k for a kitchen 5.5m by 3.2m and rougly.

Benchmarx equivalent was 9.2k

Getting delivered in October so will report back

oh and its the Altino white high gloss

Meepster

Jonah01 wrote: »

I have just ordered from DIYKitchens.

Howdens will say they'll price match but they don't do acrylic finished high gloss 19mm doors. They do the chipboard wrapped versions or the mdf wrapped which aren't comparable in terms of quality.

I paid £5.6k for a kitchen 5.5m by 3.2m and rougly.

Benchmarx equivalent was 9.2k

Getting delivered in October so will report back

oh and its the Altino white high gloss

Out of interest, what makes you think an acrylic fronted chipboard, edged in ABS, door is better quality than a vinyl wrapped MDF?

Jonah01

Meepster wrote: »

Out of interest, what makes you think an acrylic fronted chipboard, edged in ABS, door is better quality than a vinyl wrapped MDF?

I am not saying I am 100% correct but having done some research acrylic faced doors give a much better gloss look.

MDF is better than chipboard obviously.

I had read wrapped doors can de-laminate.

MarcTJTD

BlueHorizonUK wrote: »

Sorry to hijack this thread but is there a generally well respected Quartz kitchen top supplier?

Depends on your area; I know half a dozen companies in the north-east that supply and fit quartz at reasonable prices.

Meepster

Jonah01 wrote: »

I am not saying I am 100% correct but having done some research acrylic faced doors give a much better gloss look.

MDF is better than chipboard obviously.

I had read wrapped doors can de-laminate.

All true!

The bit you haven't thought about is how easy gloss acrylic doors are to scratch. Be very, VERY careful when cleaning them, a finger nail can scratch them if not careful and if you have a cat or dog, be extra cautious.

Jonah01

Meepster wrote: »

All true!

The bit you haven't thought about is how easy gloss acrylic doors are to scratch. Be very, VERY careful when cleaning them, a finger nail can scratch them if not careful and if you have a cat or dog, be extra cautious.

Thanks for the tip.

I had lost the will to live with looking at kitchens.

I might have gone for the lacquered version but that has been discontinued. They are suspectable to chipping so you can't win.

ka7e

We had laminate-faced doors which were very hard-wearing, easy to clean and looked great. But the door next to the oven started to de-laminate after a couple of years and every one did the same by the time the kitchen was 10 years old. Basically, the only thing keeping the fascias in place were the screws for the handles! It was allegedly a problem with the adhesives used at the time, and ours only had a zig-zag of the stuff behind the laminate.


I'm still rather wary of having acrylic fronts and hope to have a laquered door kitchen installed this time. The ability to keep the doors clean and grease and stain-free is my priority.

BlueHorizonUK

MarcTJTD wrote: »

Depends on your area; I know half a dozen companies in the north-east that supply and fit quartz at reasonable prices.

Based in Hatfield in Hertfordshire

ashnojutsu

I have just placed an order with Howdens, (it's via my kitchen fitter's account, so his name on invocie, but I paid fro it on my card, the fitter never stepped into the Howden's branch with me, just told me to contact the Howdens sales rep directly). I know I'm being ripped off, but I'd like to see just how much the difference in my quote and the fitter's quote there is.

Link to quote here:

https://imgur.com/FIPibeZ

Total: £2,330


I've got a feeling I'm being overcharged by around £1000 :mad:

Any chance I can cancel this order, or at least get them to price match a cheaper quote? It will be delivered in around 2 weeks if that has any bearing in the matter.

Luke1066

Meepster wrote: »

Out of interest, what makes you think an acrylic fronted chipboard, edged in ABS, door is better quality than a vinyl wrapped MDF?

Its more durable surely?

Our DIY kitchen is arriving either today or tomorrow, been waiting 10 weeks.
I just hope everything is there and none of it is damaged. I was reading the reviews yesterday from the last few's months and I have got very nervous now. It seems they've had some manufacturing/supply issues as of recent.