Which Kitchen company to go with? B&Q, IKEA or DIY Kitchens

Bionik

Hi all,

I am in the process of having my kitchen renovated in my 1 bed flat. I have gone to multiple suppliers for designs and quotations with B&Q, Homebase and Wren. I have been meaning to go to IKEA but it is a bit of a drive away. So far, B&Q had created the most likely design and quote coming in at around £2500 for a handless IT range kitchen.

After trailing the internet and many forums, I am hearing some horror stories of B&Q. I have a fitter pretty much chosen who recommends B&Q and has offered his trade discount with them. But I am now a little uneasy with proceeding.

I have been on DIY kitchen quite a few times but it looks like a lot of hassle to get on with - but I have heard amazing things. Also heard great things about IKEA apart from the back of the units. Can anyone advise if it is definitely worth going to IKEA or DIY kitchens? Any advice on how to order correctly from them?

I may be overthinking it a little, but it's always worth asking The fitter has just installed a B&Q kitchen in his own home and rates them highly. He also referred me to the design guy who was also excellent.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

vansboy

If your fitter likes B&Q &the branch has a skilled designer, then you are at least off to a good start, in those respects. My personal experience of their designers wasn't good, but every branch will be different.


I'm Ikea fan and on the fifth one in new house currently being installed. All good so far and previously, too. Everything in stock and delivered for £30, so don't imagine you have to pick it off their shelves, yourself and take it home with you.


Do your own design from what you ahve from competitors, already, using their on line planner. It is a bt fiddly at first, but then really easy to make changes and create the look you desire. Then make astore appointment for more precises alterations and get to see the styles in their showroom. All without pressure, or false pricing. The planner actually prices each and every item, as you go, so no surprises there.


Interest free credit is pretty much standard with Ikea and occassional offer of an amount credited to a voucher/card to use in store, so worth asking.


Dont expect cheap installation from their contractors, but again, worth a quote, to compare to your fitter.



The lack of a void in rear has never really been an issue and most fitters can work around any pipes or cables, anyway.


Long warranty on appliances, 5 years, but check you are happy with their limited range. Also if you have their loayaly Family Card, the items you buy are covered against damage during building the things, so no worries if something goes wrong on installation.


And will be cheaper than everyone else, in the end, too.


VB

rubble2

We have just (within the last month) had a new kitchen fitted from DIY kitchens.

Our fitter had previously installed a DIY kitchen and rated them for quality, having installed ours he has again praised the quality and attention to detail in the design and construction of the units, we are very happy with the finished kitchen.

However, it is not all sweetness and light, we found the customer service to be slow to respond to questions and delivery dates were put back a couple of times (but only by a few days).

There was a mistake with a couple of missing items from the order but nothing that held up the installation and the parts were dispatched quickly once identified.

Not being a serial purchaser of kitchens it is difficult to say if our experience of DIY kitchens puts them in the top ten regarding customer service or in the relegation zone, bur reading other peoples experiences with kitchen suppliers I would give them an overall thumbs up.

Hope that helps.

Waterlily24

We also have an Ikea kitchen and love it but hubby installed it himself. He did have a moan about the backs for the sink unit by got round it easily.

MarcTJTD

Be wary of B&Q at the moment. They're in the process of discontinuing the vast majority of their kitchen range and you may be stuck with delays and/or problems if you have a warranty claim in a years time.

Ikea's an odd one; their base cabinets have rails whereas most kitchen base cabinets have 18mm MDF. If you've a hob situated over the top of a set of drawers and you've a thin worktop, make sure the top drawer will still open. The lack of a service void can cause problems and unnecessary work.

DIY Kitchens have a good reputation for quality and price, but as with the above poster I've heard bad things about their after-care and warranty.

Just a note; make sure you're comparing like-for-like when considering kitchen purchases as suppliers often omit important details from their websites and catalogues.

For example; these three are about the same price:

B&Q's Marletti range, is a 19mm MDF door with laminate wrap front and ABS edging, cabinets are flatpack 18mm chipboard with 3.2mm back panels.

Ikea's Voxtorp is a 21mm thick doorwith foil front and edge. Cabinets are flatpack, 18mm chipboard with 2-4mm back panels.

JT Dove's Vallo range is a 19mm thick door, painted and lacquered, cabinets are rigid-built 18mm chipboard with 18mm back panels.

Source: I'm a kitchen designer.

Bionik

Thank you, everyone, for your comments!

I have booked an appointment with IKEA for Saturday so I will see what they conjure up. I am going to go as minimal as possible to save as much money as possible. I may look into worktops elsewhere and flooring etc.

Hopefully, it all works out. In an ideal world, the total cost would come to around £1800 for the kitchen.

I will keep the thread updated.

Doozergirl

If price is your main concern then Ikea is going to be the winner.

They are flatpack, but if you don't mind building a few carcasses ready for your fitter, you'll save a decent amount of money there.

toddler9

Within the last 2 years I’ve had kitchens from both Ikea & DIY Kitchens. (We renovate and move)
Ikea pros- excellent design service , they came out for feee and were really good at building a plan to my specifications
Also price - very reasonable price for the kitchen and worktops and appliances
Would I get an ikea kitchen again- no. I dont think the quality was that great- they seem to be wrapped in some kind of material- got example we had a grey kitchen and one of the cabinets started peeling to reveal white underneath. Their solid wood worktops were great though
DIY KITCHENS- much better quality - we went for one of their bespoke designs. The kitchens are less ubiquitous and easily recognisable as the Ikea ones
The cost was reasonable- more expensive than ikea but about 20% cheaper than the same plan from Wickes.
Cons- there’s no design service - as the name suggests it’s DIY! They do check over the plans but our personal experience was that some of the planning advice was subsequently incorrect and had to be sorted on site (ie incompatible sink / sink drawer unit?’) also some items missing off the delivery I had to chase up

Hope that helps

phoebe1989seb

We took out an Ikea kitchen (guessing it was between five and ten years old) when we purchased our current house last year. I have to say the quality was awful - peeling surfaces, shoddy carcases and flaking fake metal handles. Ughhh! I definitely wouldn't recommend!

I've heard loads of good stuff about DIY Kitchens, although less good of late - think they've had a few production line issues.

A few years back we had a quote from B&Q but actually found an independent to be cheaper and far better quality.

We purchased our current cabinets from Handmade Kitchens Direct and were very happy with price, quality and service, although they were actually bought four years ago for our last house (opted not to fit them there ) so couldn't speak for current experience.

Doozergirl

Ikea changed their kitchen carcasses over five years ago to METOD. The quality is hugely improved and even within Ikea they have real budget doors and handles and much better quality stuff.

I did a new METOD matt white kitchen for a friend three years ago and it's absolutely beautiful.

Our own kitchen is the old FAKTUM cabinets with the previous incarnation of the matt white doors. It was 'temporary' eight years ago and it's held up superbly well. Far better than I'd have expected considering that it was a grand total of £4k for 15 units, two ovens, a dishwasher, microwave, hob, extractor fan and worktops.

We just dented a door replacing the dishwasher and I stained a handle a few years back when oven cleaner leaked out of the oven. Otherwise, it's still (to my surprise, perhaps) getting compliments.

On the other hand, we had friends who fitted their own Ikea kitchen and it was a state from day one. Needless to say it didn't wear well. Anything fitted well will last far better than just throwing the units up and in.

I have zero criticism of Ikea. They provide a superb product for the price and are completely transparent.

NaughtiusMaximus

I was very impressed with the Homebase kitchen we bought in 2012, still looked as good as new when we sold the house 5 years later and the Homebase fitters did an excellent job, definitely better than both the independent fitter used by the in laws around the same time and the clueless muppet who fitted the kitchen in our current house before we bought the place.