Modernising kitchen on a budget

zoothornrollo_2 · 12 February 2018 at 5:20PM

We have a small galley kitchen that we'd like to spruce up without spending a fortune.

We'd be looking at new units, new surfaces & new splashbacks minimum. A new induction hob and new flooring are maybes if the above can be done cheaply.

Am totally blinded by all the choice out there: we really don't want to spend much (- maybe £2-3k? I just dunno how much these things cost) as we are not going to be there more than a couple of years. So we are looking at the cheaper end, but just wondering where we will get best value.

Happy to arrange a fitter separately but would ideally like to buy everything in one place rather than units here, and surfaces there etc. If we can get it fitted well by the supplier too then all the better.

As a first step we have taken Wickes up on their free design service just to see what they come up with.

Any further recommendations most appreciated.

PS. we are in Greater London.

Debbie_Savard · 12 February 2018 at 8:02PM

Check Ebay, loads of peeps offloading kitchens with fittings just to have the latest fashion

andyhop · 12 February 2018 at 9:03PM

Your budget does not match the actual value of work

Kitchens average closer to 7-10k

tacpot12 · 12 February 2018 at 9:37PM

Buying the parts and services separately will be much cheaper than paying one supplier to do the entire job. You are saving the cost of the project management and coordination time. These are not usually priced in any transparent manner, so you end up paying a very high price for them. You might find a good kitchen fitter who will do the PM work for a fair price. Personal recommendations based on similar projects would be the way to find the right fitter.

Help1234 · 13 February 2018 at 12:07AM

andyhop wrote: »

Your budget does not match the actual value of work

Kitchens average closer to 7-10k

We are getting a Howdens kitchen, solid oak worktops, Belfast sink and appliances, and fitting for under £4000.

zoothornrollo_2 · 13 February 2018 at 3:45PM

Thanks for the replies all - we've also been recommended Benchmarx, above Ikea at a similar price.

spadoosh · 13 February 2018 at 4:28PM

I think the budget is ambitious too.

About 5 days to fit and finish a kitchen, so your talking about £1000 in labour. If theres any electrical work involved it could get real expensive making it part p compliant.

Youll find out soon enough when you get the wickes quotes. You wont get it fitted from a DIY shed for that price. Removal and disposal will come in at £500 alone from those places.

I used to try and pre warn customers about fitting costs, the rough rule of thumb we (a diy shed) used was the cost of the kitchen again. So if you where spending £5k on your kitchen, fitted it would be £10k.

Ways to cut costs:

Look at getting your own handles/knobs some people pay £15 per handle, thats £150+ in your average kitchen.
Avoid expertise work (try and work round the current electrics and plumbing.)
Remove as much as you can yourself.
Avoid tiling (labour intesive), certainly intricate stuff (mosaics).
Taps etc are usually cheaper on ebay although quality is hit and miss.
If you go for things like soft close drawers, by them yourself (ebay etc) and fit it, Its usually only a few screws but adds up on fitters time.

You can get ex display kitchens and few year old kitchens fairly cheaply although probably worth getting your fitter to look over quality.

The alternative is in the DIY sheds theyll have returned/slightly damaged packs which usually get sold cheaply, sometimes its a few missing screws which can be easily bought at a fraction of the mark down. Also worth asking about discontinued stock theyre holding (more doors and drawer fronts than carcasses) which might offer some savings but will be limited in whats available.

Ive heard storied of someone being charged £500 to fit a toilet in london which makes the £2-3k budget seem just a bit too ambitious.

tonyh66 · 13 February 2018 at 5:35PM

also check gumtree, people changing kitchen shove their old ones on there.
keep the cabinets, change the doors. An induction hob is going to cost £500 alone unless you self fit. Even then you may need to upgrade the electric circuit to cope with it.

Furts · 13 February 2018 at 7:41PM

This is a money saving forum so let us all do a Robert Peston and make a statement of the bleedin obvious. There is currently a kitchen in the home which will be functioning to some extent. OP says they will have moved within "a couple of years" So why even touch the kitchen? Why not put the kitchen budget towards the next home? Indeed doing this may make the next home affordable even sooner.

jennifernil · 14 February 2018 at 12:19AM

Unless the kitchen is dire, I would agree.

Tastes in kitchens vary widely, what you choose will not be what everyone wants. It the kitchen is old, they can justify changing it to what they want, more difficult if they have paid more for the property to reflect the fact it has a fairly new kitchen.

zoothornrollo_2 · 14 February 2018 at 5:25PM

Furts wrote: »

This is a money saving forum so let us all do a Robert Peston and make a statement of the bleedin obvious. There is currently a kitchen in the home which will be functioning to some extent. OP says they will have moved within "a couple of years" So why even touch the kitchen? Why not put the kitchen budget towards the next home? Indeed doing this may make the next home affordable even sooner.

Fair point.
It's mission drift: we started off thinking exactly this, then I saw how cheap new laminate surfaces were in Ikea, and then...

Modernising kitchen on a budget

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