New kitchen required

DanielDeronda

I've got a small galley kitchen in my 1 bed flat 

Alart from painting the doors of the cupboards & putting some new ceramic tiles in, I've not done any other work on it in 21yrs of living there.

I therefore want to completely refresh the kitchen.  The cupboard carcasses are in ok condition but doors definitely need changing. And want new paintwork & floor tiling.

I've got 7 or 8 cupboards on 1 wall including a set of drawers & 1 corner cupboard.  4 above the worktop 4 below.  Then 1 under the sink & 1.5 cupboards next to the sink cupboard.

Worktops are MDF I assume & need updating.

The cooker & fridge are freestanding & the washing machine is under the worktop next sink cupboard.

I've got ideas on colour schemes, flooring & worktops & want to keep same format.

I should be able to get a kitchen fitter from personal recommendation.  Can they also buy the raw materials as well or will it be better to buy through Howdens, B&Q etc?

No inclination for any DIY or skill however basic.  Leave it to the pros!!

Got a £10k budget but maybe go higher.

FreeBear

Do not go to Howdens, Magnet, Wren, B&Q, etc unless you want to pay through the nose.

If you are willing to do the work yourself (or can find a fitter), you can get everything from somewhere like DIY Kitchens fairly cheaply. If you are looking for a one-stop shop to do everything, I'd suggest visiting some of the local independent kitchen showrooms. A much better service, and the price will (probably) be less than the national chains.

I have a small galley style kitchen (2.4m by 3.4m). Getting rid of wall units makes the space feel much bigger at the expense of limited storage space - Reduces the temptation to hoard. Might be something for you to consider.

FlorayG

I was advised to get one of the kitchen companies in to design and quote and then buy the required parts and get a local fitter in to do the work and save yourself thousands.

Bigphil1474

If you have a recommended fitter who can do the work, see who they use and what they advise. My mate of a mate fitter gets all his stuff from Howdens at a massive discount and he does it at cost price to the right people, just his labour rates on top. If you aren't getting mates rates, then it's sourcing at best price. If you are keeping the carcasses, then £10k should be plenty enough.

Grenage

About 10 years ago we had someone local supply and fit new doors and panels.  It was about £680 and it was effectively a new kitchen in appearance.

ButterCheese

I'm not sure where you are, but do you have a Trago Mills or a "The Range" near you?  I had quotes from them which were reasonable, and ended up going with Trago Mills.  My medium sized kitchen came to £7k with all new carcasses and integrated white goods (excluding fitting), so your budget would more than allow for a modern kitchen and someone to fit it.

My advice would be to go into a store as they have all the computer software to model your new kitchen based on the measurements you give.  They can also suggest new things that you may not have thought of before.  I would try to find a handyman/kitchen fitter beforehand and not go through the kitchen supplier, as you never know who you're getting and it will be more expensive. 

I would avoid going cheap and ordering stuff off the internet without seeing it, or without at least getting a (free) consultation from a kitchen shop.  There are many things that you may find when ripping the old one out, and many things that may go wrong.  You then have to start cutting around things, buying more materials etc etc which can add £££ to the labour costs and is generally very frustrating

Northern_Wanderer

The only question you ask is about raw materials? They can be bought either way.

What do you want help with other than that?

If you are looking for advice on what to do with 10K - have a think about how you use your kitchen and anything you want to change about layout. Then go into any kitchen supplier and sit with a designer to get a design you are happy with. The least units possible reduces cost, savings can be made on choice of appliances, worktops, backsplash, any ironmongery like drawers increase costs. Get a quote, then repeat process with other suppliers. Also, once you have your design, get fitters quotes including electrical and plumbing work, as those costs can be eyewatering.

maman

I'd agree with getting the design just right to suit your needs. Describe these to the kitchen designers and be open to suggestions. 

We're just about to have a new kitchen installed (Howdens) to replace the old (Wickes) one. The previous one was 15 years old and would have lasted longer but we're having other building work done so it made sense to replace it.

The design of the working area is almost identical to the previous one (and the one before that which DH did DIY). It has the perfect working triangle between cooker, sink and fridge. The only real change I've made is to have a larger fridge. 

FreeBear

ButterCheese said: My advice would be to go into a store as they have all the computer software to model your new kitchen based on the measurements you give.  They can also suggest new things that you may not have thought of before.

And this is one area Magnet fell well short of with my kitchen - The "designer" insisted on filling all the wall space with cupboards and adding filler panels between each base unit. From the outset, I'd said no wall units, and the extra panels would have meant the base units wouldn't fit in the available space - 3.4m space. 3.3m of units, 18mm panels (6 off) = 3.408m. So no wriggle room to account for walls being out of square, and doors would be banging in to walls. Oh, and he wanted to fit a dishwasher right next to a door... Berk !

DanielDeronda

Northern_Wanderer said:

The only question you ask is about raw materials? They can be bought either way.

What do you want help with other than that?

If you are looking for advice on what to do with 10K - have a think about how you use your kitchen and anything you want to change about layout. Then go into any kitchen supplier and sit with a designer to get a design you are happy with. The least units possible reduces cost, savings can be made on choice of appliances, worktops, backsplash, any ironmongery like drawers increase costs. Get a quote, then repeat process with other suppliers. Also, once you have your design, get fitters quotes including electrical and plumbing work, as those costs can be eyewatering.

The area I've least knowledge is on worktops, what are my options & pros & cons of each.  Want durability but easy clean.

Where would most of my budget go, would it be on worktops or something else? And what's easiest to cut costs? Having no wall cabinets is certainly not something I've thought of before. I'd need to see if I can do without them.

Tiles: again want durability & easy clean. The porcelain tiles I've got currently do the job.

I guess next step is to get some designs & see what they look like. And get a couple of my recommended local fitters in as well once I've confirmed the design.

FreeBear

DanielDeronda said: The area I've least knowledge is on worktops, what are my options & pros & cons of each.  Want durability but easy clean.

Laminate worktops are durable, easy to clean, and come in a variety of colours/patterns. Cut edges, particularly around sinks need to be sealed or they can swell up and fall to bits if water gets in. Can be damaged by excessive heat and sharp knives. So hot pans should always have trivets under them. And you should use cutting boards when chopping stuff. Well cared for, a laminate worktop can last 20+ years. Budget grades not as durable, and from the likes of Wickes/B&Q, longest length is usually 3m. Other suppliers can go up to 4.2m in length.

Solid wood worktops can suffer the same type of damage as laminates. Also prone to staining if not regularly oiled. Also more expensive.

Solid stone - Nice, expensive, but can be damaged (also darned heavy). But can look very nice if you have the budget.

Synthetic/reconstituted stone (quartz) - Cheaper than real stone, but still quite expensive.

Solid glass - Suits some tastes, but again, expensive.

Stainless steel - OK if you want an industrial or commercial kitchen look. Can be a cheaper option if you find the right supplier (I'd go to a stainless steel fabricator rather than a kitchen supplier).

Solid laminate - Can be had down to just 12mm thick, and like regular laminate, available in a range of colours/patterns.

Stone, quartz, glass, and stainless steel would all need someone to visit and carefully measure up so that the worktops can be accurately cut in the workshop - This adds to the cost. Joining sections can also be tricky...

Any kitchen fitter should be able to work with laminate and cut/trim on site. And if they are any good, be able to make near invisible joins using a jig & bolts - No need to use ugly plastic or metal joining strips in a modern world (aside from looking cheap, they harbour germs).