Kitchens - cheap vs expensive

[FWIW]

James6112 said:

:yawn:
We all know you’ve got it in for Wren
You keep in banging on about it. Looks like an unhealthy obsession(surprised the mods haven’t muted you for constant naming & shaming TBH)
For What It’s Worth, the vast majority are very happy with Wren thankyou very much.
Every kitchen company will have a few unhappy customers. Usually due to poor fitting. Par for the course
unfortunately.
I’d advise. Ignore FWIW & make your own choices.

LOL.

Wren stooge?
James? Are you really ‘Adam’, Wren’s full time social media manipulator?

Yes, I’ve ‘got it in for Wren’ because I don’t want people to go through what I and many many others did.

The amazing thing is, you don’t have to take my word for it; just spend a few minutes browsing one of many ‘Wren Kitchens Disasters’ groups on FB. Then check the competitor’s equivalent groups. There is a stark difference.

I withdraw my wish of luck for you, and hope that your lovely kitchen delaminates like many others and you face the Wren hell that hundreds are so familiar with…

[FWIW]

Wagonwheel555 said:

Fair enough, I have had a couple of S75 claims with Amex over the years and both times they were great but as with anything, mileage does vary.

Im not suggesting I am 100% guaranteed not to have issues but its at least another protection avenue should it be required, hopefully not.

We have a toddler and full time jobs, finding a couple of hours just to view some kitchens was enough of a struggle, I just don't have time to be traipsing between kitchen places. Getting some quotes for the fitting was hard enough, some didn't even bother showing up, some took over a month to give even a rough cost. Now we have a delivery date and fitting date, I will deal with a few Wren issues should they occur.

I get it
Good luck!

[ovlovlover]

A moderately interesting read of opinions and experiences.

We are planning a kitchen refurb in 12 months or so.

5m x 3.5m so some of these prices are a tad scary as it's for our forever home. Equally I'm aware there is a range of options but I'd rather a good quality kitchen with lasting components so maybe we just need to plan and then save.

2 questions:

I am fairly proficient at diy and woodworking. Is it a ludicrous idea to consider making the entire kitchen, cabinets and all?
I'll certainly be diying the rest of it.

Why is everyone getting quartz worktops? I like wood. Why no wood?

[princeperch]

Unless you take really good care of it, wood will end up looking shyte in a year or so.

I have memories of my father spending ages wiping down the wooden worktop every night, then regularly sanding it and putting the oil on it.

Life is way too short for that. Plus a stone worktop, properly done, looks top notch and should last for years.

[loughran]

ovlovlover said:

A moderately interesting read of opinions and experiences.

We are planning a kitchen refurb in 12 months or so.

5m x 3.5m so some of these prices are a tad scary as it's for our forever home. Equally I'm aware there is a range of options but I'd rather a good quality kitchen with lasting components so maybe we just need to plan and then save.

2 questions:

I am fairly proficient at diy and woodworking. Is it a ludicrous idea to consider making the entire kitchen, cabinets and all?
I'll certainly be diying the rest of it.

Why is everyone getting quartz worktops? I like wood. Why no wood?

Let's face it, making kitchen cabinets isn't rocket surgery, all you need is some space to work in and some tools and things.

What style of kitchen were you considering ?... painted shaker, contemporary flat panel, an in frame design, polished wood ?

If you're a wood worktop fan, wood is good but needs maintenance.

I'm not sure why quartz has swept the market, if I were fitting a forever kitchen I'd use granite.

Have a look here for options :- https://www.istones.co.uk

[paulrockliffe]

princeperch said:

Unless you take really good care of it, wood will end up looking shyte in a year or so.

I have memories of my father spending ages wiping down the wooden worktop every night, then regularly sanding it and putting the oil on it.

Life is way too short for that. Plus a stone worktop, properly done, looks top notch and should last for years.

Ours has been in 10 years now and hasn't been touched. There are a couple of edges that need refinishing after the kids have done saft stuff, but otherwise they look exactly as they did when they went in.

They were finished with 4 coats of Sadolin IP67, a two-pack varnish that is hard as nails.

[dmsims]

princeperch said:

Unless you take really good care of it, wood will end up looking shyte in a year or so.

As long as it's not around the sink it's okay

We inherited an oak topped island and it's been fine with minimal maintenance

[ovlovlover]

loughran said:

Let's face it, making kitchen cabinets isn't rocket surgery, all you need is some space to work in and some tools and things.

What style of kitchen were you considering ?... painted shaker, contemporary flat panel, an in frame design, polished wood ?

If you're a wood worktop fan, wood is good but needs maintenance.

I'm not sure why quartz has swept the market, if I were fitting a forever kitchen I'd use granite.

Have a look here for options :- https://www.istones.co.uk

Probably shaker. It's a rural 60s bungalow and we don't particularly like handleless modern. Probably aim for modern farmhouse whatever that means. That's the description I have in my head though

Not necessarily a wood worktop fan just wondered why nearly everyone went for quartz. Ease of use seems the answer then. From examples I've seen seems very modern and often chintzy. Personal taste obviously and I'm sure in applications/patterns I've not seen would look nice.

Oh and when I said is making cabinets a ludicrous idea I meant in terms of any possible cost saving as opposed to difficulty. I'd imagine economics of scale would mean no but interested if anyone has considered the option/maths.

Edited by ovlovlover on Thursday 16th February 11:57

[paulrockliffe]

If you make bespoke I think you can half the volume of material that goes into a pre-build free-standing units. You don't need 2x18mm panels between cupboards and you don't need a solid panel on the top under your worktop either. (Hinges need a little consideration as normal ones are designed for an 18mm panel each)

I suspect if you have a basic design with no complications you might not save anything, if there's complexity you will and either way you'll end up with better quality overall, so long as you don't screw anything up.

If you have some design ideas beyond the normal run of the mill, DIY will save a lot on that.

You can always buy just the doors and have stuff spray painted for you to simplify things a bit..

[loughran]

Buying doors/drawer fronts in is a good idea then all you have to make are the drawers and carcasses.

How well equipped are you ? Do you need to factor in the cost of track saw, router, sander, jigsaw, mitre saw etc ?

If you've got the time and the kit then making your own kitchen will be very rewarding.

[ollie plymsoles]

Just coming to the end of our kitchen refurb. It's been a long process with tiles floors and underfloor heating but we are getting to the end now. Quartz templates were done on Monday for fitting next Thursday.

All units supplied by wren. Fitted by our joiner friend who does rate the products. Had a couple of small issues like a damaged unit which was replaced within the week and a slight design issue where we could get a bigger unit in the slot instead of the one they supplied. This was also replaced foc by wren due to the design issue.

We originally wanted a Howdens kitchen but due to underhand tactics between the salesman and old kitchen fitter we told them to do one. Like for like Howdens were 3k dearer with no appliances. Wren were 3k cheaper including appliances!!
So the salesman and old fitter were ripping us off even though I wanted it to go on my trade Howdens account , they insisted it went on the old kitchen fitters account.

Bosch appliances supplied by wren, 2 ovens , dishwasher, hob, extractor and wine fridge.
I sourced the sink and taps as I'm in that trade.
We organised Gemini to do the quartz and all other trades.

[Sheepshanks]

ollie plymsoles said:

We originally wanted a Howdens kitchen but due to underhand tactics between the salesman and old kitchen fitter we told them to do one. Like for like Howdens were 3k dearer with no appliances. Wren were 3k cheaper including appliances!!
So the salesman and old fitter were ripping us off even though I wanted it to go on my trade Howdens account , they insisted it went on the old kitchen fitters account.

You do wonder where the bottom line is with Howdens - there's stories about them discounting 80% and there's a thread on, I think, MSE where someone has detailed their kitchen quote and is moaning about it being £3K and eventually Howdens does it for just over £2K and throw in a dishwasher!

We never looked at Wren but there was a brand new Wren kitchen is the barn conversion AirBnb we stayed in for a few weeks during our refurb and it was very good quality and had been nicely fitted by, I think, the estate owners 'finishing' guy.

[SpunkyGlory]

We've just had a quote for a new kitchen, moving from the existing location to where the open lounge/diner is at the moment, to take advantage of the best views in the house and the fact that we want a big social, open space with the kitchen at the centre.

The plumbing and electrics aren't too bad but the rest seems extortionately expensive. It's from a local place who come very highly recommended, and the quality seems very high. But at the end of the day it's 15 units + accessories - £10k, 8 appliances (Neff) - £5.5k, quartz worktop including island waterfall - £5k, 50sqm LVT herringbone flooring with fancy edging pattern - £8.5k(!), plus other bits and bobs, and total cost is fast approaching £40k, which I'm seriously starting to question.

I've no problem paying for quality but can't help thinking someone is having my pants down.

[Cupid-stunt]

SpunkyGlory said:

We've just had a quote for a new kitchen, moving from the existing location to where the open lounge/diner is at the moment, to take advantage of the best views in the house and the fact that we want a big social, open space with the kitchen at the centre.

The plumbing and electrics aren't too bad but the rest seems extortionately expensive. It's from a local place who come very highly recommended, and the quality seems very high. But at the end of the day it's 15 units + accessories - £10k, 8 appliances (Neff) - £5.5k, quartz worktop including island waterfall - £5k, 50sqm LVT herringbone flooring with fancy edging pattern - £8.5k(!), plus other bits and bobs, and total cost is fast approaching £40k, which I'm seriously starting to question.

I've no problem paying for quality but can't help thinking someone is having my pants down.

Appliances have definitely seen an uptick over the last few years - perhaps if you source yoursefl you may see some more value.
The floor is nowt to do with the kitchen and whilst fancy LVT in herringbone can look amazing, that's where I would be looking to change in order to bring costs down. We had Karndean with (Australian walnut) laid on a diagonal with edging all round - it was ripped up as the format of the new kitchen meant alterations and we opted for tiles instead.

[Sheepshanks]

SpunkyGlory said:

But at the end of the day it's 15 units + accessories - £10k, 8 appliances (Neff) - £5.5k, quartz worktop including island waterfall - £5k, 50sqm LVT herringbone flooring with fancy edging pattern - £8.5k(!), plus other bits and bobs, and total cost is fast approaching £40k, which I'm seriously starting to question.

Our Howdens units with sink, tap, extractor and other stuff were more than that. Which 8 appliances - £5.5K doesn't sound bad? I sourced the quartz myself, had three quotes all pretty well identical at just over £4K - we have a biggish Island, but not a waterfall one. Straight lay mid-range Karndean cost £4K.

Our last kitchen was custom made by a fancy local firm - we talked to them this time but they don't custom make now, they just fit standard units. We didn't get into fine details but they were open that they were looking for it to be a £30K job (without flooring) to make it worthwhile.

Edited by Sheepshanks on Monday 24th April 17:34

[number2]

SpunkyGlory said:

We've just had a quote for a new kitchen, moving from the existing location to where the open lounge/diner is at the moment, to take advantage of the best views in the house and the fact that we want a big social, open space with the kitchen at the centre.

The plumbing and electrics aren't too bad but the rest seems extortionately expensive. It's from a local place who come very highly recommended, and the quality seems very high. But at the end of the day it's 15 units + accessories - £10k, 8 appliances (Neff) - £5.5k, quartz worktop including island waterfall - £5k, 50sqm LVT herringbone flooring with fancy edging pattern - £8.5k(!), plus other bits and bobs, and total cost is fast approaching £40k, which I'm seriously starting to question.

I've no problem paying for quality but can't help thinking someone is having my pants down.

The floor does seem very expensive. If you were laying a expensive tile it would be less. £100 x 50sq. m. + even £4k for prep and laying = £9k.

The rest of it is what it is. You choose the appliances and the worktop, and they cost what they cost. Quartz can pretty much double depending on the style (demand led mostly).

Units @ 10k fitted seems fine. Tbh, can spend way more not fitted. Question is are you happy?

Costs can add up quickly but that's down to choice of fittings etc. rather than having pants pulled down.

[x404]

Another vote for DIY Kitchens here. I'm just in the process of finishing our utility, which is good size (4m x 3m), I've used cabinets from DIY Kitchens, and they are far superior in quality to our kitchen units which were from Howdens - thicker backboards, solid construction and best and most solid adjustable legs I've seen. All drawers and hinges are Blum, few quid extra for the soft-close ones. Also had them supply a 3m and 2m section of decent Duropal laminate worktop, and had a pro chippy come and join and install it, do the sink cutouts, mitre the cornices, pelmets etc. Delighted with it, would definitely use them again for units if/when we renovate our kitchen.

Howdens were good (but not excellent) for our kitchen, but it took ages to negotiate the unit prices via a chippy friend, first quote was laughable. It is a large kitchen, all built-in German appliances from AO and solid wood full stave worktops from Worktop Express online. Looks superb, but re-oiling the worktops is a faff and needs doing again around the sink, so consider that if you like the look of solid wood.

[akirk]

our DIY kitchen arrived today, mainly custom painted and first panel I unwrapped looks superb…
already have their units in the utility & pantry, fitted a few weeks ago, so am looking forward to this going in as the quality is superb…

[Wagonwheel555]

Got our Wren one fitted eventually.

Out of the 20 doors, around 10 of them were damaged and new ones being delivered today apparently. Other than that it seems fine.

[rossyl]

We've actually got a Wall Cupboard unit (Helmsley - Mussel colour) and Drawer Base Unit ( Helmsley - Mussel colour) leftover from our kitchen build, if it would be of use.

Really happy with DIY Kitchens.