Howdens quote

Clive_Woody

Doozergirl wrote: »

The lower end of Howdens' scale of doors. The highest end will involve elements of solid oak in the doors etc.

You need to go in and look and decide what suits you best.

Thanks again. Having had another look through the brochure it looks like Glendevon Gloss white would be a similar finish but from what I can tell is a better quality.

It’s a thicker door with an MDF rather than a chipboard core...which I’m guessing means it’s a higher quality. Am I on right track here?

We have an appointment to go back to Howdens next week so will have a look at the doors but it would be good to go armed with at least some basic knowledge

Doozergirl

Yes, have bought a lot of Glendevon for people in the past. Exactly that. I'm not sure how pronounced the difference is anymore though.

MarcTJTD

Clive_Woody wrote: »

Thanks again. Having had another look through the brochure it looks like Glendevon Gloss white would be a similar finish but from what I can tell is a better quality.

It’s a thicker door with an MDF rather than a chipboard core...which I’m guessing means it’s a higher quality. Am I on right track here?

Yup.

Howden's Greenwich Gloss doors are Cut-and-edged 16mm MFC (Chipboard) with PET finish.

Glendevon doors are 18mm MDF with PVC finish and moulded edges.

Thicker doors look and feel better, MDF is a stronger construction material than MFC and moulded edges look better and are more resistant to water damage.

Identical cabinets though.

MarcTJTD

Looking at the quote though, they're charging well over the odds for the spec that they're tendering.

Two examples in comparison to one of our ranges of a comparable spec:

1 GGW5955 Greenwich Gls White 2310 Tall Twr Decor End - 16mm 101.60 F

That's one panel. We sell our 2.4m panel for £38.40 (Ex VAT) and that's to the public, not trade.

1 GGW5231 Greenwich Gls White 600 CC Hi-Line Base White Cab 102.30 F

Our single highline 600mm prebuilt base cabinet is £61.79 (ex VAT) again, to the public.

I'd definitely recommend taking the quote to local competitors and asking for comparison prices; Howdens love to put 700mm units into their quotes as very few manufacturers supply them so it's difficult to get like-for-like prices; but any kitchen designer worth their salt will be able to tweakyour kitchen design to accommodate "standard" sized units.

TELLIT01

Doozergirl wrote: »

The lower end of Howdens' scale of doors. The highest end will involve elements of solid oak in the doors etc.

You need to go in and look and decide what suits you best.

We reduced the cost of our kitchen from Howdens by over £2k just by changing the doors we wanted.

Doozergirl

MarcTJTD wrote: »

Looking at the quote though, they're charging well over the odds for the spec that they're tendering.

Two examples in comparison to one of our ranges of a comparable spec:

1 GGW5955 Greenwich Gls White 2310 Tall Twr Decor End - 16mm 101.60 F

That's one panel. We sell our 2.4m panel for £38.40 (Ex VAT) and that's to the public, not trade.

1 GGW5231 Greenwich Gls White 600 CC Hi-Line Base White Cab 102.30 F

Our single highline 600mm prebuilt base cabinet is £61.79 (ex VAT) again, to the public.

I'd definitely recommend taking the quote to local competitors and asking for comparison prices; Howdens love to put 700mm units into their quotes as very few manufacturers supply them so it's difficult to get like-for-like prices; but any kitchen designer worth their salt will be able to tweakyour kitchen design to accommodate "standard" sized units.

Howdens prices include the doors.

If you're selling the single highline 600mm prebuilt base cabinet for £61.79 (ex VAT) including the door, I'll be looking forward to the trade price and buying everything from you from now on as even Ikea's complete unit, with high gloss doors (without handles) is £88 inc.

MarcTJTD

Doozergirl wrote: »

Howdens prices include the doors.

If you're selling the single highline 600mm prebuilt base cabinet for £61.79 (ex VAT) including the door, I'll be looking forward to the trade price and buying everything from you from now on as even Ikea's complete unit, with high gloss doors (without handles) is £88 inc.

Aye, ours are supplied prebuilt with doors too.

We do 18mm PVC-wrapped MDF for cheaper than Howdens is quoting above for 16mm Chipboard.

Fewer internal cabinet colours (on our cheaper range) but we're still way ahead on prices.

We only service the north of england, but if you're in the area give me a shout

Gastines3

If anyone from Howdens Management took the time to read these columns over the years,they would realize that the vague discount system loses them a lot of business and certainly a lot of customer confidence. I have dealt with them over a number of years and found huge variances between different branches. However,on the plus side,if you have any faults,yours or theirs,items are replaced straight away from stock,unlike many kitchen suppliers.

TELLIT01

Gastines3 wrote: »

However,on the plus side,if you have any faults,yours or theirs,items are replaced straight away from stock,unlike many kitchen suppliers.

That is certainly worth taking into account. Apparently, when our kitchen was delivered, all but one door were the wrong colour. Howdens were contacted and the correct delivery made the following day. It doesn't say much for their stock control but they did sort the problem.

Clive_Woody

Clive_Woody wrote: »

Thanks again. Having had another look through the brochure it looks like Glendevon Gloss white would be a similar finish but from what I can tell is a better quality.

It’s a thicker door with an MDF rather than a chipboard core...which I’m guessing means it’s a higher quality. Am I on right track here?

We have an appointment to go back to Howdens next week so will have a look at the doors but it would be good to go armed with at least some basic knowledge

MarcTJTD wrote: »

Aye, ours are supplied prebuilt with doors too.

We do 18mm PVC-wrapped MDF for cheaper than Howdens is quoting above for 16mm Chipboard.

Fewer internal cabinet colours (on our cheaper range) but we're still way ahead on prices.

We only service the north of england, but if you're in the area give me a shout

I’m guessing Sussex is a bit far then?

:beer: