New Kitchen Woes
Discussion
My Mum and StepDad (SD) are in the market for a new kitchen, they've been looking for a while and had some people round to give quotes. Firstly, do these types of businesses really not need the work, as out of about 6 places they tried, only 2 have come back with a quote after visiting the house.
They've had calls ignored and not returned, and had to try to chase quotes then given up. £6k-$10k is small fry compared to some peoples kitches, but to them, it's a lot of cash.
Lately they've had a large firm round to quote on the kitchen, the designer came round, had a look, took measurements, asked questions e.t.c. I should add that my stepdad is in a wheelchair after breaking his back many years ago, he is fine with a normal kitchen, the only stipulation is that they wanted the sink lower so he could use it.
Anyway, they explained all this to the designer, and he said it may be an issue, as they couldnt get smaller units (400mm) to go under the sink. SD then says they dont want cupboards under the sink as he needs to be able to wheel the chair under it. Designer says thats ok, we can put some trim there to cover the bottom of the sink. SD says no as it would still block his access. Designer then says that he thinks that would be a Health and Safety issue and he would need to speak to a Chief Designer for his opinion...he was on leave though and wouldnt be back for 1 week.
Current kitchen design has the sink in a corner and completely seperate from all the other units in the kitchen, so lowering the height of that section will not affect the rest in any way at all.
OK says SD, call us then. A week passes, and Chief Designer calls, says it's not a H&S issue, but it would leave the kitchen looking unfininshed. SD says fine, it's my kitchen and i'll have to live with that to have the access. Chief Designer then says they wont do it as if Mum and SD sell the bungalow later on, the kitchen will not look as Aestically pleasing to the new owners and it would reflect badly on the Kitchen Co.
Surely this is bollox, surely the customer should get what the customer pays for. After all, if they do sell the house, the low sink will be an issue for the new owners anyway...as would the wet room, lower light switches, ramps e.t.c. As you can imagine, SD is a bit pissed off with this, and is now looking at hiring another firm who seem keen on getting the work, but for more money. we were talking about it at the weekend, and he was saying about complaining to customer services, I told him to call The Sun.
They've had calls ignored and not returned, and had to try to chase quotes then given up. £6k-$10k is small fry compared to some peoples kitches, but to them, it's a lot of cash.
Lately they've had a large firm round to quote on the kitchen, the designer came round, had a look, took measurements, asked questions e.t.c. I should add that my stepdad is in a wheelchair after breaking his back many years ago, he is fine with a normal kitchen, the only stipulation is that they wanted the sink lower so he could use it.
Anyway, they explained all this to the designer, and he said it may be an issue, as they couldnt get smaller units (400mm) to go under the sink. SD then says they dont want cupboards under the sink as he needs to be able to wheel the chair under it. Designer says thats ok, we can put some trim there to cover the bottom of the sink. SD says no as it would still block his access. Designer then says that he thinks that would be a Health and Safety issue and he would need to speak to a Chief Designer for his opinion...he was on leave though and wouldnt be back for 1 week.
Current kitchen design has the sink in a corner and completely seperate from all the other units in the kitchen, so lowering the height of that section will not affect the rest in any way at all.
OK says SD, call us then. A week passes, and Chief Designer calls, says it's not a H&S issue, but it would leave the kitchen looking unfininshed. SD says fine, it's my kitchen and i'll have to live with that to have the access. Chief Designer then says they wont do it as if Mum and SD sell the bungalow later on, the kitchen will not look as Aestically pleasing to the new owners and it would reflect badly on the Kitchen Co.
Surely this is bollox, surely the customer should get what the customer pays for. After all, if they do sell the house, the low sink will be an issue for the new owners anyway...as would the wet room, lower light switches, ramps e.t.c. As you can imagine, SD is a bit pissed off with this, and is now looking at hiring another firm who seem keen on getting the work, but for more money. we were talking about it at the weekend, and he was saying about complaining to customer services, I told him to call The Sun.
That's terrible! Went searching for kitchen suppliers at the start of the year - i'm STILL getting calls from the damned people now. Stupidly had a house call one night too - the guy was there for 4 hours! 
Bizarrely, at our kitchen fitters recommendation, we've gone with IKEA as being the most flexible with what we wanted, ease of assembly for our fitter, solid cabinets, made to measure worktops etc etc - and a reasonable price to boot. Plus I enjoyed using their design tool
Bizarrely, at our kitchen fitters recommendation, we've gone with IKEA as being the most flexible with what we wanted, ease of assembly for our fitter, solid cabinets, made to measure worktops etc etc - and a reasonable price to boot. Plus I enjoyed using their design tool
On the pricing of whatever they eventually buy, look at the cost of all the end panels & trim bits & pieces, handles etc - that's where they make their money - or rather that's where you can get murdered.
You can get suckered in by a wall cupboard looking quite reasonably priced at 50 or 60 quid & then find that if you want an end panel for a tall cupboard to match the rest of the kitchen you'll be asked to pay £250 for what is essentially just a piece of veneered chipboard. Even if you have solid wood doors etc, all the end panels are always just chipboard.
Then look at the fitting price against a number of days & see how much you are paying / day in order to see whether its reasonable. Bear in mind it can take just as long to fit a small kitchen as it does to do a big one. Often there isn't proportionatly that much less stuff & there is less space to work in.
You can get suckered in by a wall cupboard looking quite reasonably priced at 50 or 60 quid & then find that if you want an end panel for a tall cupboard to match the rest of the kitchen you'll be asked to pay £250 for what is essentially just a piece of veneered chipboard. Even if you have solid wood doors etc, all the end panels are always just chipboard.
Then look at the fitting price against a number of days & see how much you are paying / day in order to see whether its reasonable. Bear in mind it can take just as long to fit a small kitchen as it does to do a big one. Often there isn't proportionatly that much less stuff & there is less space to work in.
Kitchen supplier is taking the P badly.
I had similar problems, I'm a wheelchair user too.
STRONGLY suggest they design it themselves, buy units etc from Ikea and pay a freelance guy to install it.
I'd forcefully advise against using any kind of 'specialist' company, too - total utter ripoff territory.
I had similar problems, I'm a wheelchair user too.
STRONGLY suggest they design it themselves, buy units etc from Ikea and pay a freelance guy to install it.
I'd forcefully advise against using any kind of 'specialist' company, too - total utter ripoff territory.
becca_viola said:
Kitchen supplier is taking the P badly.
I had similar problems, I'm a wheelchair user too.
STRONGLY suggest they design it themselves, buy units etc from Ikea and pay a freelance guy to install it.
I'd forcefully advise against using any kind of 'specialist' company, too - total utter ripoff territory.
My mum and dad, designed the kitchen they wanted, gave all the information to a local builder and he did it for a fraction of the cost of a SPECIALIST. I call them specialists but i'VE DONE 3 KITCHENS and quite honestly it's an easy enough job if you have any DIY experience. And I think our current kitchen is better. Basically, all the SPECIALISTS said "that won't work" "that won't fit" etc and guess what IT DOES !!! I had similar problems, I'm a wheelchair user too.
STRONGLY suggest they design it themselves, buy units etc from Ikea and pay a freelance guy to install it.
I'd forcefully advise against using any kind of 'specialist' company, too - total utter ripoff territory.
Lets look at the skills required.
A bit of plumbing (piece of piss to get 2 taps, 2 washing machine connections and an outside tap - whilst I've got a drill in my hand lets put a pipe outside)
The ability to assembly units, and Fix them to a wall STRAIGHT.
The ability to cut mdf Straight, and the ability to use a router. and the ability to move (or add) afew sockets) 4 days of solid work ripping the old one out and fitting it all and then 1 day tiling and 1 day painting and decorating. Including laying lino - which I will say is the hardest bit.
Another vote for Ikea.
One night me and the misses were a bit bored and got to talking about the kitchen, half an hour later were on our way to Ikea.
2 hours later new kitchen bought, packed in motor, driven back home and stored in garage. Found it quite amusing you could, at 6pm one evening, decide a new kitchen was in order and by 9pm have a the whole lot in the garage, amazing how much you can fit in an A6 estate.
Fitting it wasn't that easy though
never again!
One night me and the misses were a bit bored and got to talking about the kitchen, half an hour later were on our way to Ikea.
2 hours later new kitchen bought, packed in motor, driven back home and stored in garage. Found it quite amusing you could, at 6pm one evening, decide a new kitchen was in order and by 9pm have a the whole lot in the garage, amazing how much you can fit in an A6 estate.
Fitting it wasn't that easy though
never again!Edited by dave_s13 on Friday 29th June 12:47
jacko lah said:
becca_viola said:
Kitchen supplier is taking the P badly.
I had similar problems, I'm a wheelchair user too.
STRONGLY suggest they design it themselves, buy units etc from Ikea and pay a freelance guy to install it.
I'd forcefully advise against using any kind of 'specialist' company, too - total utter ripoff territory.
My mum and dad, designed the kitchen they wanted, gave all the information to a local builder and he did it for a fraction of the cost of a SPECIALIST. I call them specialists but i'VE DONE 3 KITCHENS and quite honestly it's an easy enough job if you have any DIY experience. And I think our current kitchen is better. Basically, all the SPECIALISTS said "that won't work" "that won't fit" etc and guess what IT DOES !!! I had similar problems, I'm a wheelchair user too.
STRONGLY suggest they design it themselves, buy units etc from Ikea and pay a freelance guy to install it.
I'd forcefully advise against using any kind of 'specialist' company, too - total utter ripoff territory.
Lets look at the skills required.
A bit of plumbing (piece of piss to get 2 taps, 2 washing machine connections and an outside tap - whilst I've got a drill in my hand lets put a pipe outside)
The ability to assembly units, and Fix them to a wall STRAIGHT.
The ability to cut mdf Straight, and the ability to use a router. and the ability to move (or add) afew sockets) 4 days of solid work ripping the old one out and fitting it all and then 1 day tiling and 1 day painting and decorating. Including laying lino - which I will say is the hardest bit.
I too been having a nightmare with a kitchen company (N.Ireland) who on every single aspect have been an unmitigated disaster. In fact to say nightmare is an understatement; it has been the most infuriatingly protracted episode I've ever encountered. To add to my annoyance, in a local society magazine I've just read a case study of one of their apparently wonderful kitchens, in a house which I recognise as the company owner's...
dave_s13 said:
Trouble I had was our wonky walls, trying to get a square unit to fit to a curvy wall is a bit of a task. You're totally right though, not rocket science just time consuming.
Hence why a kitchen fitter - recommended by chums - is worth his weight in gold. Tells you all sorts of things you wouldn't have thought of yourself.The client can of course have whatever they want, but the vendor is not obliged to sell to anyone they don't want to either, so finding a different vendor would seem to be the way to go.
Kitchen installation is not difficult. I'm rubbish at DIY and I managed to do mine using flat pack units from Homebase (very robust when assembled and still solid 10 years on). Got a carpenter in to do the worktops and had the lino laid by carpet fitters as those are what I call 'specialist jobs', ie easy to muck up and expensive / inconvenient if you do.
Kitchen installation is not difficult. I'm rubbish at DIY and I managed to do mine using flat pack units from Homebase (very robust when assembled and still solid 10 years on). Got a carpenter in to do the worktops and had the lino laid by carpet fitters as those are what I call 'specialist jobs', ie easy to muck up and expensive / inconvenient if you do.
Just looking at kitchens myself, and having (eventually!) received quotes from a few places I think Ikea's looking favourite. Quotes have ranged from £5k - 13k (from MFI!!!!) and Ikea came in at about 2.5k. I know it will need some assembly but it's worth it to save that kind of money.
Good to hear a few positive comments about Ikea before finally committing and handing over the cash!
And the design tool is lots of fun!
Good to hear a few positive comments about Ikea before finally committing and handing over the cash!
And the design tool is lots of fun!
one thing to beware with IKEA kitchens is that the base units dont have a service gap behind the back panel, like all other kitchens. Solution can be to get deeper worktops and put a baton on the wall behind the units to give yourself space to hid wires and pipes, it can get messy without one!
Im based in leeds and can easily design a kitchen for any user, its not rocket science. As for the company that said they couldnt get units of a certain height, have they never thought to cut them to size?!
Im based in leeds and can easily design a kitchen for any user, its not rocket science. As for the company that said they couldnt get units of a certain height, have they never thought to cut them to size?!
bint said:
dave_s13 said:
Trouble I had was our wonky walls, trying to get a square unit to fit to a curvy wall is a bit of a task. You're totally right though, not rocket science just time consuming.
Hence why a kitchen fitter - recommended by chums - is worth his weight in gold. Tells you all sorts of things you wouldn't have thought of yourself.Another vote for Ikea, we've just bought a kitchen to do a 13x18 foot L-shape with solid oak worktops for under a grand - that doesn't include appliances, which are only a few years old anyway, or wall units, as our ceilings are only 2metres high.
The next cheapest was about twice that, and had thinner worktops and no handles etc..
The next cheapest was about twice that, and had thinner worktops and no handles etc..
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