Kitchen advice
Discussion
Chaps, any 'experts' out there? We had a company round last night to quote for a new kitchen. Do I accept their estimate as it stands, or should I be expecting the 'haggle factor' to kick in? If so, how much - as a percentage - should I expect them to come down? An additional complication is that the quote was produced based on their january sale prices. Any suggestions - about kitchens! - welcome.
Sounds a lot for a Moben, and I've heard that it's an awful company. I went to one of those kitchen 'boutique' sorts of places and basically annoyed the hell out of the sales guy every day until he dropped the price to get rid of me. As in, I made him drop the price every day. He just seemed to lose the will to live in the end and agreed to anything.
Not granite (we dont like it). Standard 'Formica' type stuff, but it is on a thick base. Doors aren't solid wood, but beech faced. We have a friend who works for a rival company, so she'll be invited back to discuss prices. Just wondered about the room for manoeuver on the first quote. Thanks for you replies.
In that case it is a very expensive kitchen.
Go to B&Q, let them design and price it for you (I would have thought between £2k and £3k should see it done) and get a local fitter to install.
I have just put a new kitchen in. Room is 4m x 4m. Loads and loads of units, soft close drawers and doors, solid Star Galaxy granite worktops, birdseye maple veneered doors (made by a local cabinet maker), franke undermount sinks, perin & rowe taps, utility room done the same, Siemens built in m/wave, oven, warming drawer, wine cooler, coffee machine, hob, cooker hood and Disk wasger, side by side stainless fridge
Paid £15k the lot
Moben price £29k
Go to B&Q, let them design and price it for you (I would have thought between £2k and £3k should see it done) and get a local fitter to install.
I have just put a new kitchen in. Room is 4m x 4m. Loads and loads of units, soft close drawers and doors, solid Star Galaxy granite worktops, birdseye maple veneered doors (made by a local cabinet maker), franke undermount sinks, perin & rowe taps, utility room done the same, Siemens built in m/wave, oven, warming drawer, wine cooler, coffee machine, hob, cooker hood and Disk wasger, side by side stainless fridge
Paid £15k the lot
Moben price £29k
Formica top and faced doors should cost very little. We had a designer place quote us 7 grand for a small galley kitchen. Got the same design with solid wood doors and all the trimmings from MFI (delivery only, don't trust them to fit). Added a proper cooker from the internet (none of the dodgy stuff they throw in to make you feel like you're getting a deal) and got a local carpenter to fit it all.
Total cost of a very smart kitchen, better specc'd than the designer place - two and a half grand.
You can get good stuff from places like B&Q and MFI. Just avoid kitchen ranges that come flat packed and with veneered doors - they're not as sturdy, more likely to warp and react badly if you get them wet (which tends to happen in most kitchens). Some MFI ranges are only delivered with the units pre-built, and they're easily as good as any designer place. Going for the quality stuff doesn't necessarily cost more, you just have to check what you get when you order. At the end of the day kitchen units are not much more than wooden boxes, so the designer places haven't got that much more to give than B&Q.
>> Edited by Tuna on Thursday 2nd February 12:15
Total cost of a very smart kitchen, better specc'd than the designer place - two and a half grand.
You can get good stuff from places like B&Q and MFI. Just avoid kitchen ranges that come flat packed and with veneered doors - they're not as sturdy, more likely to warp and react badly if you get them wet (which tends to happen in most kitchens). Some MFI ranges are only delivered with the units pre-built, and they're easily as good as any designer place. Going for the quality stuff doesn't necessarily cost more, you just have to check what you get when you order. At the end of the day kitchen units are not much more than wooden boxes, so the designer places haven't got that much more to give than B&Q.
>> Edited by Tuna on Thursday 2nd February 12:15
steveherb said:
Company starts with M, and has letters OBE and N in there as well. They quoted £12,100, or £11,180 for a 'quick' order.
We had those sheisters round recently to measure up and quote for a new kitchen. Designer was 30 mins late and had to ring 3 times because he kept getting lost. Didn't really listen to what the missus wanted and he tried every trick in the book to push us toward purchasing dark oak coloured cabinets. NOT what we wanted, but as I said, he didn't listen to her. There was absolutely no room to manouver(sp?) in terms of cabinet sizes and he was slagging off what we wanted saying it wouldn't go well with the white door frames.
Lucky for him, I was at work when he came round the house, otherwise I'd have ripped him a new orafice
We had a local kitchen supplier come round to measure and they can everything bespoke to what we want for about the same price as big companies' sale prices. AND they listened to what we wanted
If you don't take into account M's January sale prices, which are about 50% off normal prices, would you be happy forking out £22k - £24k for your kitchen?
rant over
Agreed, don't touch them.
We've had just this scenario (kitchen was "finished" yesterday). This time of year (turn of the year) is their worst time for sales and, as such, are desperate to make a sale.
NEVER accept their first offer - even the "quick deal" ones. Let them walk away if needs be. There are a few companies out there. PM me and I'll tell you who we used etc - I'll reserve a 100% glowing review until our snag list is completed but, so far, I'd recommend them.
We had 4 companies booked in to quote... Kitchens Direct and Moebone(?) are the same company so don't bother with both.
In the end it came down to two companies - we were upfront and said that we were seeing the other. It meant there was a bit of a bidding war - discount after discount, free this and that... in the end we got their original £17,000 quote down to £9,000.
That DIDN'T include Granite but it is a fair size kitchen with lots of units, rip out the old kitchen, custom built carcass around our american fridge/freezer, carcasses around our dishwasher/washing machine, solid wood doors, all electrics and plumbing, 900mm tall cupboards etc, 900mm 5-burner range cooker/splash back/chimney thing.
Like I say PM and I'll give you the details if interested. Bottom line though - there's always more they can take off/include!
Cheers,
Phil
>> Edited by chim_knee on Thursday 2nd February 12:30
>> Edited by chim_knee on Thursday 2nd February 12:56
We've had just this scenario (kitchen was "finished" yesterday). This time of year (turn of the year) is their worst time for sales and, as such, are desperate to make a sale.
NEVER accept their first offer - even the "quick deal" ones. Let them walk away if needs be. There are a few companies out there. PM me and I'll tell you who we used etc - I'll reserve a 100% glowing review until our snag list is completed but, so far, I'd recommend them.
We had 4 companies booked in to quote... Kitchens Direct and Moebone(?) are the same company so don't bother with both.
In the end it came down to two companies - we were upfront and said that we were seeing the other. It meant there was a bit of a bidding war - discount after discount, free this and that... in the end we got their original £17,000 quote down to £9,000.
That DIDN'T include Granite but it is a fair size kitchen with lots of units, rip out the old kitchen, custom built carcass around our american fridge/freezer, carcasses around our dishwasher/washing machine, solid wood doors, all electrics and plumbing, 900mm tall cupboards etc, 900mm 5-burner range cooker/splash back/chimney thing.
Like I say PM and I'll give you the details if interested. Bottom line though - there's always more they can take off/include!
Cheers,
Phil
>> Edited by chim_knee on Thursday 2nd February 12:30
>> Edited by chim_knee on Thursday 2nd February 12:56
There has been a big thread on this company and their sister company for bathrooms which is a sea mammal.
I would take their design, or your measurements into MFI (who also have a sale at present) and to a local fitter or two.
You should save thousands or get a better quality fit and finish. A local fitter might be able to source the kitchen from a wholesale company at a lower price. Where are you which might help people give you contacts.
I would take their design, or your measurements into MFI (who also have a sale at present) and to a local fitter or two.
You should save thousands or get a better quality fit and finish. A local fitter might be able to source the kitchen from a wholesale company at a lower price. Where are you which might help people give you contacts.
For 8 carcasses, a gas hob/oven, a dishwasher, all the surfaces (formica), the tiling, Timberjack flooring and full rip out/install, I paid £2500.
Because I know a bloke down the pub. You get mate's rates, and the best possible workmanship, because he can't afford to have you badmouthing his work.
These companies charge astronomical rates for their stuff, IMHO.
Because I know a bloke down the pub. You get mate's rates, and the best possible workmanship, because he can't afford to have you badmouthing his work.
These companies charge astronomical rates for their stuff, IMHO.
I have only ever done 1 kitchen ,,,first quote was 14,200GBP excluding electricals which i dismissed out of hand , shopped around a lot after this .
Ended up going back to the original company (different sales person) got the original units and work tops from the first quote and then shopped the electricals seperatly in the end the complete kitchen as i wanted , very close to the original spec cost 9,600- GBP
Mind you local shops owners selling electricals would run if they saw me coming
Ended up going back to the original company (different sales person) got the original units and work tops from the first quote and then shopped the electricals seperatly in the end the complete kitchen as i wanted , very close to the original spec cost 9,600- GBP
Mind you local shops owners selling electricals would run if they saw me coming
My advice would be to go to your nearest posh town/village, find a kitchen shop thats privately owned and has been there for donkey's years, and get a quote from them.
The guy who did my kitchen came recommended from a friend of mine. He did:
Solid beech worktops
Belfast sink and fancy taps
External water tap for hose
Quality cupboards with solid oak doors
Pelmets etc
All new plumbing
All new electrics
Loads of plastering (subcontractor)
Ceiling lights (quality ones not cheapo)
Moved a window (subcontractor)
Floor tiling and wall tiling (subcontractor)
Paid about £6000 for that lot. He even came around last year and repaired a stain on the worktop, didn't charge me anything. Fantastic guy.
If anyone wants his details (hes based in Stockport/Cheadle) PM me.
The guy who did my kitchen came recommended from a friend of mine. He did:
Solid beech worktops
Belfast sink and fancy taps
External water tap for hose
Quality cupboards with solid oak doors
Pelmets etc
All new plumbing
All new electrics
Loads of plastering (subcontractor)
Ceiling lights (quality ones not cheapo)
Moved a window (subcontractor)
Floor tiling and wall tiling (subcontractor)
Paid about £6000 for that lot. He even came around last year and repaired a stain on the worktop, didn't charge me anything. Fantastic guy.
If anyone wants his details (hes based in Stockport/Cheadle) PM me.
tollytuff said:
DONT GO TO MFI!!
f****g useless people, once thay take your money they lose interest. liars and cheats.. they treated us so badly. wouldnt spit on their shop if it was on fire...
Yesssss well they're also teetering on the edge of bankruptcy so probably not the best people to hand over a deposit to.
There's a PHer who does bespoke kitchens, very good stuff too, and at very reasonable prices, he's in Lambourn in Berks. There's another PHer who does excellent granite worktops, nearby in Ramsbury, Wilts.
Advantages of having the stuff especially made are many, including having units sized for the best fit, eg if the space is 1150mm, then 2 575mm units will look better than a 600mm, a 500mm and a 50mm filler which is the way firms like Bomen would need to do it.
Advantages of having the stuff especially made are many, including having units sized for the best fit, eg if the space is 1150mm, then 2 575mm units will look better than a 600mm, a 500mm and a 50mm filler which is the way firms like Bomen would need to do it.
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