New kitchen

MenInBlack

Hi all,

So I'm looking at getting a new kitchen fit. I had a utility room and the old kitchen now just one space. I've been to Howdens, magnet and wren. I had an independent fitter round, recommended by Howdens telling me about delamination. I've read some threads on here too about it. Has anyone had a kitchen from the above and how did it go? 

My issue is all three companies have given me different designs but I really like wrens. I opted for full tiling but the fitter mentioned he feels uncomfortable fitting a kitchen because the tiles could crack. 

Has anyone fitted a kitchen with full tiling done first?

Thanks

ic

Are you talking about floor tiles or wall tiles?

You can take any design you like to any company, and tell them that's what you want.  If you want to change the design, do.  Its your kitchen, and you're paying for it.

Emmia

Wall tiles in kitchens is pretty standard, but usually the tiling is done after the kitchen is installed. Cracking is always a risk with tiles, but it's not a significant one on walls - floors are more likely if things get dropped on the tiles 

If you're looking at flooring then the choice is doing the whole floor before the units go in, or just tiling the floor area Infront of the units you'll see/walk on. 

DullGreyGuy

MenInBlack said:

So I'm looking at getting a new kitchen fit. I had a utility room and the old kitchen now just one space. I've been to Howdens, magnet and wren. I had an independent fitter round, recommended by Howdens telling me about delamination. I've read some threads on here too about it. Has anyone had a kitchen from the above and how did it go? 

My issue is all three companies have given me different designs but I really like wrens. I opted for full tiling but the fitter mentioned he feels uncomfortable fitting a kitchen because the tiles could crack. 

Has anyone fitted a kitchen with full tiling done first?

Have had both Magnet and Wren kitchens, but didnt buy either. Their quality was reasonable but their price does reflect their marketing budgets. Neither were inspired designs but were functional. Ultimately it comes down to personal preferences and the skill of your designer. Spoke to much more expensive companies and it's no guarantee their designers are vastly better and some came up with ugly designs.

Floor tiles before the kitchen, wall tiles after.

jonnydeppiwish!

As above, full floor tile (wall to wall, under where the cabinets are going), them then the wall tiles after. 

If you like the Wren design, go onto DIY Kitchens and use the kitchen designer in there. Much better quality in my opinion 

FreeBear

DullGreyGuy said: Have had both Magnet and Wren kitchens, but didn't buy either.

Went to Magnet when I was looking for a new kitchen a few years ago. The "designer" was more interested in filling all the available space (walls included) with as many units as he could squeeze in. Even went as far as specifying trim panels between every unit... That extra 18mm between each unit would have meant a brick wall would need to be moved to get it all in. He then proceeded to spam me with all their latest "offers" despite being told not to - Ended up going in and tearing a strip off him in front of several prospective customers.

Will never, ever deal with Magnet again.

Grinch6912

I wouldn’t touch wren with a barge pole. Read the reviews on Trustpilot, although wren throw a lot of legal resources to have negative reviews removed. Promise the earth;you actually get a bag of soil. 

I have a howdens account and have fitted a number of their kitchens. Their solid built cabinets are excellent quality. However, the real draw for me is customer service. If you have any issues there’s always a store nearby. They quickly replace damaged items, not that there are many, and resolve any other issues quickly and efficiently.  If you don’t have an account, you’re somewhat at the mercy of your fitter/builder because howdens wont tell you the price. Your fitter is able to buy for 5k and fit it for 10. I’ve also fitted a number of ikea kitchens. Great value and easy to assemble. Biggest issue with them is the wait time to resolve problems…not so bad if you live near one, but I don’t 

DullGreyGuy

FreeBear said:

DullGreyGuy said: Have had both Magnet and Wren kitchens, but didn't buy either.

Went to Magnet when I was looking for a new kitchen a few years ago. The "designer" was more interested in filling all the available space (walls included) with as many units as he could squeeze in. Even went as far as specifying trim panels between every unit... That extra 18mm between each unit would have meant a brick wall would need to be moved to get it all in. He then proceeded to spam me with all their latest "offers" despite being told not to - Ended up going in and tearing a strip off him in front of several prospective customers.

Will never, ever deal with Magnet again.

The kitchen in the flat we bought was from Wren and the design was very odd, its in a corner of the room but on one wall there are tall wall mounted units and on the other there are 2/3rd sized ones, they dont actually meet in the corner but have a gap of about 3"

Having not been the one that bought it have no idea who's bright idea that was but we do know from neighbours that a former owner put it in (not our vendors) who's keenness for DIY may have significantly exceeded his proficiency. Hence will give them the benefit of the doubt and say that the units have held up well though think they have yellowed a little over time; they are supposed to be an offwhite. 

Magnet we sent a design from another firm for them to see what they could do and the designer got it totally wrong even though they had detailed plans and generated images of the layout. This ultimately comes down to the skill of the designer though and whilst certain high end places may invest more in their staff's design skills everyones tastes are different and someone else may prefer Magnet's design over the one we'd given them to copy. 

diveunderthebonnet

We had our kitchen fitted years ago ,bought it from Homebase and fitted it myself ,the only thing i would change/do differently was i fitted the floor tiles around the units ,had to cut loads of them ,with hindsight would tile the whole kitchen floor and sit the units on them THEN if you want to change anything in the future the floor tiles are not an issue.

Kittieslovefood

I've just had a new kitchen and didn't have wall tiles put on at all. I was fed up of them falling off the wall and having to replace them. I had a wide splash back put all the way around instead and haven't regretted my decision. Also replace the existing floor tiles with tough waterproof laminate flooring. They were laid on top as the old floor had chipped tiles and the cost too prohibitive to dig up. I looked at Magnet, Wren and all those brands for my kitchen, but didn't like anything they had. In the end we went to a local kitchen firm who planned everything exactly as we wanted. We did pay a little more but it was worth every penny. Very happy with it. 

Emmia

Kittieslovefood said:

I've just had a new kitchen and didn't have wall tiles put on at all. I was fed up of them falling off the wall and having to replace them. I had a wide splash back put all the way around instead and haven't regretted my decision. Also replace the existing floor tiles with tough waterproof laminate flooring. They were laid on top as the old floor had chipped tiles and the cost too prohibitive to dig up. I looked at Magnet, Wren and all those brands for my kitchen, but didn't like anything they had. In the end we went to a local kitchen firm who planned everything exactly as we wanted. We did pay a little more but it was worth every penny. Very happy with it. 

We have glass instead of tiles on the walls - more expensive but much nicer.