German kitchens –quality not as good as hoped Hacker/Pronorm
Discussion
Have been looking into new kitchens and particularly gloss handleless German ones, hacker and Pronorm in particular, however when looking at the kitchens closely I am fairly underwhelmed by the horizontal flex in the likes of the pan drawers which don’t seem all that great, the overall cost is coming in about £25k but that includes a lot of money in Neff appliances, granite worktops etc
Now maybe naively but for £25k I was really expecting some fantastic quality here, in the units, am I missing something, are they just bog standard chipboard/mdf, all the moneys in the trim/unit fronts?
I know about the top end stuff but the budgets pretty fixed, and that’s with a battle as there’s all sorts of other work going on which is growing arms and legs.
For budgets like that what’s the best in terms of quality and design, or is that just the relaity within the budget?
cheers
Now maybe naively but for £25k I was really expecting some fantastic quality here, in the units, am I missing something, are they just bog standard chipboard/mdf, all the moneys in the trim/unit fronts?
I know about the top end stuff but the budgets pretty fixed, and that’s with a battle as there’s all sorts of other work going on which is growing arms and legs.
For budgets like that what’s the best in terms of quality and design, or is that just the relaity within the budget?
cheers
Franco German manufacturer Schmidt kitchens. Good quality bespoke units whatever you want or can dream of. This time last year I looked at buying a franchise but at £250k was a bit too rich for me.
http://www.schmidt-kitchens.com/
http://www.schmidt-kitchens.com/
Try ; http://www.crown-imperial.co.uk/kitchen/range_gall... - look for the furore/rialto handle-less.
I sell crown and to be honest their handle-less is a direct copy of a well known german brand for considerably less!
I sell crown and to be honest their handle-less is a direct copy of a well known german brand for considerably less!
paul0843 said:
We supply and fix worktops for numerous kitchen companies in the south east..
Kitchens ranging from 3k to 200k...
Imo parapan kitchens with solid acrilic doors are excelent quality and gvfm.
Qoogle parapan and try and find a supplier near you..
Paul
but they do scratch like buggery........Kitchens ranging from 3k to 200k...
Imo parapan kitchens with solid acrilic doors are excelent quality and gvfm.
Qoogle parapan and try and find a supplier near you..
Paul
but I do like to check here every now and then 
From what we saw, I suspect a lot of the imported stuff is built for transport rather than longevity, with lighter weight carcass backs. Eg kutchenhaus or whatever they're called - not great at all.
We went for the Crown Rialto handleless - black and white gloss doors, silver carcasses and the continuous ally trims. Very good value, and it does look minimalist/germanic, and I'd say the quality is right up there - door gloss is very good for instance.
I'd go with a decent UK manufacturer as above if you can - you will get more for your money as there's less logistics costs involved
We went for the Crown Rialto handleless - black and white gloss doors, silver carcasses and the continuous ally trims. Very good value, and it does look minimalist/germanic, and I'd say the quality is right up there - door gloss is very good for instance.
I'd go with a decent UK manufacturer as above if you can - you will get more for your money as there's less logistics costs involved
in reply to your posting, I have been selling Hacker kitchens for 10 years now, yes the drawer more from side to side a little nowever you can purchase at extra cost stabilisers that will stop this for you, then other thing to remember is Crown kitchens KD i,e these are flat pack kitchens supplied in a box, Hacker kitchens are made i.e rigid fro the factory.
All kitchens are made from MFC or chip board the drawer runners, hinges and internal fitting are made by blum, grosse or a company like this,
the other thing to remember when buying your kitchen you need to buy it complete from one supplier not somebody that makes the door and puts carcase with it because if you buy from hacker, alno etc etc you have the backing of that company because they supplied you all of you furniture not just the door or the carcases but all.
The order thing to remember do you want shiny door high gloss door, because the more shiny or gloos the door the more it can get marked.
as for neff appliances these can be found on the internet at good price,s however if you buy froma good kitchen shop they should be able to match these prices for you, if they want to sell you the kitchen in the fist place.
I hope you found this helpful
Regards
stephen Bewick
ETA
Sorry not allowed in the forums.
All kitchens are made from MFC or chip board the drawer runners, hinges and internal fitting are made by blum, grosse or a company like this,
the other thing to remember when buying your kitchen you need to buy it complete from one supplier not somebody that makes the door and puts carcase with it because if you buy from hacker, alno etc etc you have the backing of that company because they supplied you all of you furniture not just the door or the carcases but all.
The order thing to remember do you want shiny door high gloss door, because the more shiny or gloos the door the more it can get marked.
as for neff appliances these can be found on the internet at good price,s however if you buy froma good kitchen shop they should be able to match these prices for you, if they want to sell you the kitchen in the fist place.
I hope you found this helpful
Regards
stephen Bewick
ETA
Sorry not allowed in the forums.
Edited by Big Al. on Tuesday 2nd July 15:23
bewick55 said:
other thing to remember is Crown kitchens KD i,e these are flat pack kitchens supplied in a box, Hacker kitchens are made i.e rigid fro the factory.
In my opinion there is nothing inherently wrong with flat pack kitchens, the fact that some are 'rigid' and some are flat packed does not of itself say anything about the respective quality of each. Flat packing does offer some advantages too, a made up kitchen takes up a lot of space, so people need to have a think about where they are going to put it when it is delivered, flat packs can be assembled as they are needed, which can be a useful thing if space is tight.Some of the worst kitchens I have ever seen are supplied in so called rigid form.
Blakeatron said:
Thread bump or what!
I am a crown elite dealer, a component supplier (source cabs and doors seperately) and a bespoke manufacturer with my own full workshop.
Every option has it pros and cons!
A sI am a crown elite dealer, a component supplier (source cabs and doors seperately) and a bespoke manufacturer with my own full workshop.
Every option has it pros and cons!
tty thin back panel grooved into a factory built cabinet supplied 'rigid' or a nice thick back panel in a cabinet supplied in component form?What I used to like about Crown Rialto, thick durable panel edging, thick back panel, lovely metal edging on some slab fascia ranges. Just build the cabs up in a workshop and deliver rigid!
German stuff is overrated, considering board, hinges, runners, preman drawer boxes are often sourced from the same third party manufacturers and from the same ranges (egger, Blum, grass).
I have seen such a range of manufacturers noted on here. For one example - Bulthaup.
You have to understand that as well as varying build/component qualities there are also varying design features. Some of the attractive ideas that Bulthaup offer are simply not available with some lower priced suppliers and it shows!
You have to understand that as well as varying build/component qualities there are also varying design features. Some of the attractive ideas that Bulthaup offer are simply not available with some lower priced suppliers and it shows!
I have had a leicht kitchen fitted in February this year to my main house. Cost was around 24k including approx 4k labour and all the granite worktops and mainly miele appliances and some neff. Admittedly the kitchen dealer did a deal on the miele on some ex display units.
In short, i'm very happy with the Quality of the Leicht units including the pan drawers. I otiginally was looking at hacker but for not much more the shop quoted me a good deal on leicht.
I used AM designs in Bromley and would use them again.
In short, i'm very happy with the Quality of the Leicht units including the pan drawers. I otiginally was looking at hacker but for not much more the shop quoted me a good deal on leicht.
I used AM designs in Bromley and would use them again.
holengarth said:
I have a new Pronorm handleless kitchen just fitted, the showroom was outstanding and the quality was the same. I am delighted with the kitchen and cannot understand your comments on the drawers. It sounds ridiculous but they are a pleasure to open and close and dont move other than in and out. We went for an 1800mm wide drawer unit at the hob area, it works perfectly and looks stunning. The initial price we got from the Wigmore street showroom in London and it was a bit scary. There is a Pronorm showroom in Dartford around the corner from Bluewater which had a much better showroom layout and thats where we bought from, my quote dropped 10k and although i didnt tell them what my budget was they were very close. They are Alaris Kitchens and are so helpful. I would def recommend Pronorm but I cant say how they compare with Hacker as i didnt get a quote.
Nice story! I bought a kitchen from Alaris, bunch of cowboys. I'm sure the OP has got his kitchen by now, nice try. Edited by megaphone on Friday 5th September 08:24
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff