Where is good for kitchens these days?
Discussion
Harry Flashman said:
Am I the only PHer who thinks these people are rubbish? OK doors, but the cabinets are crap quality chipboard, and theior delivery drivers were rude and messed up the delivery.
It looks like you are in the minority to be honest. No company is ever going to get it 100% right with all their customers, so maybe you are just the one if the unlucky ones?I've fitted quite a few kitchens over the years and their cabinets are better quality than a lot of the alternatives at similar price level. Unlike most others, they also come fully assembled with the doors pre-hung, so all you have to do is fit the legs and install against the wall. The last kitchen I did below was entirely from their units and I had no quality or delivery issues at all. Just one thing was supplied incorrectly, but I contacted them the next day and the correct component was delivered a week later.
I'm another one with a kitchen from DIYkitchens, would recommend them myself. Everything was built and ready to go, the guys who delivered were really good, they were running late and kept me informed when they were going to arrive so no complaints. Was missing a soft close attachment for one of the doors, phoned up, no quibbling, just very sorry, new one arrived the next day! My neighbour who fitted it with my help last summer was very impressed, he has fitted quite a few kitchens in his time.
Got a pic somewhere, I could post if you want?
Mark
Got a pic somewhere, I could post if you want?
Mark
My experience with Ikea kitchens has been reasonably positive.
Their previous kitchen system, Faktum, was in production for 20 - 30 years and I imagine its replacement, Metod, will be too - so if you fancy a quick refresh at some point down the line you can be fairly confident of being able to source compatible replacement doors/drawer fronts.
The carcasses themselves are 18mm and the materials & fixings compare favourably with similar offerings from other manufacturers. In terms of worktops and doors, there's a pretty extensive range of options to suit a variety of budgets. You can also add on all manner of fripperies like in-drawer lighting.
In terms of fitting, the units are simple enough to construct and are hung on a rail - meaning they're all automatically aligned with each other (although you can adjust them if you need to for some reason).
As others have said, the only potential annoyance of any significance is the lack of a service gap behind the base units. Whether this is relevant will depend on the construction of your house. The last one I installed was in a house with a suspended timber floor in the kitchen, under which all the water/gas pipes ran. The dishwasher was next to the sink and both were on an external wall. Consequently, I didn't have to run any pipes/drains behind the base units. The lack of a service gap does have an upside though - increased cupboard capacity.
The only temporary issue I've ever had related to the incompatibility of the Ikea doors with non-Ikea integrated dishwashers. Because the base units sit quite close to the floor, putting an Ikea door on a non-Ikea integrated dishwasher means the dishwasher won't open properly. Fortunately I eventually discovered that they intermittently offer a £20 sliding adapter mechanism that resolves the issue, although they don't seem to publicise the fact much - perhaps worried about harming sales of Ikea dishwashers?
Their previous kitchen system, Faktum, was in production for 20 - 30 years and I imagine its replacement, Metod, will be too - so if you fancy a quick refresh at some point down the line you can be fairly confident of being able to source compatible replacement doors/drawer fronts.
The carcasses themselves are 18mm and the materials & fixings compare favourably with similar offerings from other manufacturers. In terms of worktops and doors, there's a pretty extensive range of options to suit a variety of budgets. You can also add on all manner of fripperies like in-drawer lighting.
In terms of fitting, the units are simple enough to construct and are hung on a rail - meaning they're all automatically aligned with each other (although you can adjust them if you need to for some reason).
As others have said, the only potential annoyance of any significance is the lack of a service gap behind the base units. Whether this is relevant will depend on the construction of your house. The last one I installed was in a house with a suspended timber floor in the kitchen, under which all the water/gas pipes ran. The dishwasher was next to the sink and both were on an external wall. Consequently, I didn't have to run any pipes/drains behind the base units. The lack of a service gap does have an upside though - increased cupboard capacity.
The only temporary issue I've ever had related to the incompatibility of the Ikea doors with non-Ikea integrated dishwashers. Because the base units sit quite close to the floor, putting an Ikea door on a non-Ikea integrated dishwasher means the dishwasher won't open properly. Fortunately I eventually discovered that they intermittently offer a £20 sliding adapter mechanism that resolves the issue, although they don't seem to publicise the fact much - perhaps worried about harming sales of Ikea dishwashers?
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