Kitchen Refit: Additional demolition work: via Wren or separate contractor?

dgerrard

Hi all!  Apologies in advance for the breadth of topics here:

Getting our kitchen re-done.  Aiming to go with Wren, we've been most impressed with them out of the bunch.  We've got pretty limited DIY skills ourselves.

Here's the floorplan of our odd-shaped kitchen, extension on the original property:



My main Q's:

We like the look of corian countertops.  The consultant though was nudging us towards quartz, esp. as we'd like the backsplash to be the same material as the countertop.  Looking online it looks like quartz is better for a variety of reasons (strength & heat resistance).  We're not super fussed, but:  any reason we shouldn't go with quartz?

Our biggest issue, is the weird sliver taken out of the bottom of the floorplan above.  We just thought this was to do with the property line somehow, but we were having some work done and they told us:  that whole area is inside the house, behind a false wall.  They believed that that wall could come down, and we could have a fully aligned countertop instead of the annoying jutting that we deal with currently.  Only thing is:  we really aren't sure who to go with to get that work done!  Our players currently are:

• Our regular plumber.  Great guy, he's the one who showed us that this was a false wall.  He said he's got some guys who could do it for us.  He's v confident that this wall can come down, and the issue was just previous builders who didn't want to bother having the plumbing inside the wall for the sink.  Said the only issue might be electrics, but is confident that won't be an issue.

• Our regular electrician.  Good guy who we trust, but not as much as our plumber.  He's v hesitant about us doing anything here, says it wouldn't have been done this way without a very good reason.  Says it would be a lot of expensive work to get in there, and could very well find out that we can't do what we want in the end anyway.

• Wren themselves:  they said they could have their kitchen fitters do this for us.  They said without actually seeing the site that they could definitely do it no problem, but would be a separate quote and they can't quote us on that without us putting a non-refundable deposit down on the kitchen itself.

So:  any advice on how we proceed here?  I actually quite like the idea of having everything done all through one company, especially as arranging schedules seems a nightmare (Wren can't start until September at earliest).  But I don't know if I trust a kitchen installer, to also do kitchen demolition.  Whereas the plumber and his crew have already done some demolition in the kitchen (installed a dishwasher), and they did a great job.  But I'd need to either separately book the electrician, or have the plumber bring in their own electrician, who won't know the property like our usual guy.

What would you do in this situation?  Thank you!

Browntoa

I'd not have wren anywhere near the installation. They are not wren employees but contractors.

I'd employ my own contractor , I used a qualified carpenter and trades  

There are some horror stories out there about their contractors .

And fully check your wren delivery for all items 

victor2

Can you get your trusted plumber to send the builder he would use round to have a look? I'm no builder but would be concerned there is a bigger reason than ease of routing plumbing for the wall being where it is. Foundations, outside drains, sewer pipes etc. I would doubt it is as simple as the plumber suggests.

FreeBear

Does the outside of the building have a matching step in the wall ?

I would be very wary of ripping out what appears to be a "false wall" without determining how the house is constructed - If it uses SIPs (pre-fabricated timber framed panels), then a wall may give every indication of being a false wall. Knock it out, and you suddenly find that it is a key structural component. The age of the house will give some clue as to the type of construction.

Another possibility is that it is a single skin or solid brick wall and someone has fixed studwork & insulation to try and make the space warmer.

Rosa_Damascena

Browntoa said:

I'd not have wren anywhere near the installation. They are not wren employees but contractors.

I'd employ my own contractor , I used a qualified carpenter and trades  

There are some horror stories out there about their contractors .

And fully check your wren delivery for all items 

There are plenty of horror stories about Wren full stop.

dgerrard

Excellent, thank you all!  Going to start getting some quotes for the works.

Doozergirl

We're fitting a Wren kitchen in the next few weeks.  I'm quite looking forward to seeing what happens.    One that we've not done before.  

Rosa_Damascena

Doozergirl said:

We're fitting a Wren kitchen in the next few weeks.  I'm quite looking forward to seeing what happens.    One that we've not done before.  

Looking forward to being let down by an unreliable supply chain? 

Doozergirl

Rosa_Damascena said:

Doozergirl said:

We're fitting a Wren kitchen in the next few weeks.  I'm quite looking forward to seeing what happens.    One that we've not done before.  

Looking forward to being let down by an unreliable supply chain? 

I'm looking forward to first hand experience! 

I'm let down constantly by unreliable supply chains at the moment.  There isn't a secure one.  Most of my time is spent chasing around for stock at any price.  

It's a disaster out there, shipping
containers have quadrupled in price and that affects more than the construction industry. 

Rosa_Damascena

Doozergirl said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

Doozergirl said:

We're fitting a Wren kitchen in the next few weeks.  I'm quite looking forward to seeing what happens.    One that we've not done before.  

Looking forward to being let down by an unreliable supply chain? 

I'm looking forward to first hand experience! 

I'm let down constantly by unreliable supply chains at the moment.  There isn't a secure one.  Most of my time is spent chasing around for stock at any price.  

It's a disaster out there, shipping
containers have quadrupled in price and that affects more than the construction industry. 

Just about to hit the button on my kitchen order and don't want to hear about any problems, only solutions

Seriously Wren screw up their deliveries without any excuses about shipping. I get the impression there is a lack of care in logistics full stop. Maybe they should team up with Toyota and get it sorted.

kasqueak

Wren are a shambles. My inlaws paid over £20k for a fully installed Wren kitchen. Took 9 months to be done as delivery of the bits was all over the place, wrong items delivered, faulty items, tradesman not turning up, bodge jobs etc. The soft close doors don’t close. Nothing is lined up. Oh and don’t forget ripping out the old kitchen and dumping it on the front lawn as Wren won’t arrange a skip/collection until the job is finished so it sat there for 9 months!
The list goes on. Wren not interested. It’s caused so much stress and upset for my elderly inlaws. 

Please don’t waste your time and money. 

Find a decent kitchen fitter based on local recommendations and purchase a kitchen. Be cheaper and better in the long run!