Quote for approx £3,500 for fridge-freezer cupboard and re-tilling...

Cluelessabouttax

We've had this quote to integrate an American style fridge freezer to make it blend into the rest of the kitchen. This will include a wine rack to one side and a cupboard above to maximise the space. The quote also includes removal of the tilling in the cooker recess and refilling this and the cooker surround. 

The quote does not include the fridge-freezer or the price of the tiles.

The quote is from one of the many kitchen companies based in Olney, Bucks. 

Is this quote reasonable? It seems a lot for what we want doing. On the other hand I've never bought a new kitchen and don't really know what pricing should be. I've read that you should spend between 5 to 15% of the current value of your house on an entire new kitchen (which of course this isn't). However this advice seems to come from some of the major kitchen companies who can hardly be expected to be impartial. 

ButterCheese

It sounds too much.  Unless they are going to turn your free standing FF into an integrated one, which would be a lot of work, but if they're simply mounting it inside a cupboard then no.  You might be better off finding a private kitchen fitter and getting another quote.  Kitchen fitting companies always charge more. 

That said, it would be helpful if you had some pics.  The carcass, doors and fitting that will go around the FF will be a few hundred.  An electrician would need to re-wire the FF once it's in but it's not a big job - just ensuring it is up to code i.e. that it has an isolation switch somewhere accesible.  Tiling is not a huge job either unless there are lots of angles and corners to be cut.

But pics would help

DullGreyGuy

Cluelessabouttax said:

We've had this quote to integrate an American style fridge freezer to make it blend into the rest of the kitchen. This will include a wine rack to one side and a cupboard above to maximise the space. The quote also includes removal of the tilling in the cooker recess and refilling this and the cooker surround. 

The quote does not include the fridge-freezer or the price of the tiles.

The quote is from one of the many kitchen companies based in Olney, Bucks. 

Is this quote reasonable? It seems a lot for what we want doing. On the other hand I've never bought a new kitchen and don't really know what pricing should be. I've read that you should spend between 5 to 15% of the current value of your house on an entire new kitchen (which of course this isn't). However this advice seems to come from some of the major kitchen companies who can hardly be expected to be impartial. 

Is the FF designed to be integrated fully? Have you factored in the ventilation requirements correctly in the design? Presumably you anticipate it looking something like the below:




What's the total area to be tiled?

Are they proposing bespoke carpentry for the cupboards and wine rack or something off the shelf? Just basic painted/wrapped kitchen units or bare wood or?

On the face of it it sounds very high but it really depends on more detail. We did something similar as a temporary fix so just bought 3 Ikea larder units and another unit to span the top but leaving a gap at the back for ventilation. Total job was about £700 inc a bracket to help support the floating unit. 

Cluelessabouttax

We would be purchasing an American style F-F and it would then be fully integrated to match the rest of the kitchen as closely as possible. I guess would be more like bespoke carpentry with the fronts of the units sized to fit what we need. The rest of the kitchen as some cupboards which i think may be bespoke if I'm interpreting that correctly? It's an older house so nothing is plumb or a standard size.  Here's a photo of the area which needs tiling. The black tiles need removing; they also go around the extractor fan at the top of the recess. Then the pale area around the recess either needs tiling. 

DullGreyGuy

Cluelessabouttax said:

We would be purchasing an American style F-F and it would then be fully integrated to match the rest of the kitchen as closely as possible. I guess would be more like bespoke carpentry with the fronts of the units sized to fit what we need. The rest of the kitchen as some cupboards which i think may be bespoke if I'm interpreting that correctly?

So like the photo? you can see the doors of the fridge/freezer and they are proud of the cabinet fronts (so they can open)? Or so it's actually in a cupboard and you're just seeing cupboard doors? 

If its bespoke then its a lot but less crazy. In another kitchen could have said something intentionally different may work but it's fairly traditional so maybe not, that said you have two different work tops so maybe.  Were you willing to have it not identical then you may be able to get off the shelf which will be cheaper. If you have it like the photo then it should be easy enough to do. If you went with a fully integrated Fridge and Freezer then it's generally easier to do as they're designed to fit in a cabinet so it's not custom. 

Personally would love one of the crazy high end devices which can be fully integrated without going in a cupboard and either can be a SS front or hung with a door. Unfortunately I dont have enough kidneys to sell and not sure our floor would take the 275kg it is -v- our 115kg Samsung.

Cluelessabouttax

No; not like the photo you posted. So it's hidden in an integrated cupboard to make it look like the rest of the kitchen as much as possible. They can integrate any American style F-F we buy (or so I am assured) so it doesn't need to be sold as integrated or built in. They would include a wine rack to one side of the F-F as this would be the only thing slim enough to fit into the space.  and some additional storage above the F-F.