Getting a fitted kitchen!

Yup, that's exactly what we did. Got a recommendation and he got all the stuff from Howdens. We got a solid oak top for what it would have cost in B&Q et al for a laminate. We got all the appliances and he fitted them, ensuring that the gas hob was fitted by a qualified gas fitter and the electrics were checked and signed off as should be too.
 
Fit most of it yourself. If you can build Ikea stuff you can build and fit 90% of your kitchen. Will save you lots of money for a bit of extra time.
 
I certainly wouldn't recommend MFI!

I have just made a mistake spending £10K with them. Installation started on the 27th Feb and was supposed to take 3 days (8 foot square Kitchen so nothing elaborate) fitter struggled on for 7 days then couldn't complete because of missing or broken items he then left.

Anything that they miss off the order, or is damaged on arrival (Quite a few items) takes at least a fortnight to get a replacement.

So, I have had a kitchen with no oven or hob since, because they were just two of the items damaged when delivered. Customer service couldn't care less because with MFI you haveto pay them in full at least 4 weeks before installation starts.

The latest date for completion is a week next Saturday!
 
OCdude said:
I got a quote from Magnet the other week - it was....... quite a bit more than expected (£16k!!!! - was expecting closer to £10k.. although after some 'discounts' it came down to about £11K).

Anyway - they wouldnt give me an exact breakdown of things like the appliance prices... which... is another thing that confused me.... how the hell am i suppose d to make an informed decision about my appliances (integrated fridge/freezer/oven/dishwasher/hobs/hood) when all i have to look at, is a tiny catalogue, with 3 bullet points for each item, and no price or anything!!!).

Anyway i digress - basically, im just wondering 2 things:

1) Has anyone had a fitted kitchen in recent years - any reccomendations? (Are Magnet a rip off?)

2) Would it be best to get the appliances separately, then get them to install them? (im pretty damn sure that the prices Magnet were giving me for the tap etc had a huge markup!!!)

Thanks!!

(Also - been looking at John Lewis 'alno' kitchens...... anyone tried them? :p
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Nine out of ten British politicians recommend John Lewis kitchens...
 
I used to install fitted kitchens and from experience, I would recommend having a word with the local, self employed type. They seem to take more pride in their work and you can negotiate cost rather well, but thats just my experiences.
 
I'm a bit confused here... how exactly does parts + labour come to 10k? Not saying the OP is being ripped off (any more than other people), I'm just wondering why people in general tolerate such ridiculous prices at all? :confused:

Bending over and allowing people to do you in the behind seems to be a very common trait amongst the British middle class eh.
 
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Northstar said:
I certainly wouldn't recommend MFI!

I have just made a mistake spending £10K with them. Installation started on the 27th Feb and was supposed to take 3 days (8 foot square Kitchen so nothing elaborate) fitter struggled on for 7 days then couldn't complete because of missing or broken items he then left.

Anything that they miss off the order, or is damaged on arrival (Quite a few items) takes at least a fortnight to get a replacement.

So, I have had a kitchen with no oven or hob since, because they were just two of the items damaged when delivered. Customer service couldn't care less because with MFI you haveto pay them in full at least 4 weeks before installation starts.

The latest date for completion is a week next Saturday!
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seconded
MFI are a joke if something is broke or missing it takes them a fourtnight to get a replacement :eek:
I mean WTF is it delivered by donkey from Outer Mongolia
Anyway Howdens supply the same units/doors and are usually in stock for pickup(I think you have to have an account though.Although anyone can set one up)
 
seek said:
I'm a bit confused here... how exactly does parts + labour come to 10k? Not saying the OP is being ripped off (any more than other people), I'm just wondering why people in general tolerate such ridiculous prices at all? :confused:

Bending over and allowing people to do you in the behind seems to be a very common trait amongst the British middle class eh.
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10k is quite easy to spend on a good kitchen.

Pogan Paul kitchen is the way to go!
 
seek said:
I'm a bit confused here... how exactly does parts + labour come to 10k? Not saying the OP is being ripped off (any more than other people), I'm just wondering why people in general tolerate such ridiculous prices at all? :confused:

Bending over and allowing people to do you in the behind seems to be a very common trait amongst the British middle class eh.
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It is quite easy - most of the kitchens we fit are in the region of £15 - £25K and we dont make a great deal of profit out of them.

Howdens and MFI are crap compared to the kitchens we fit and there is a world of difference in the quality of materials used and, hence, the cost to produce.

We have an ex-howdens branch manager working for us and he thinks they are wildly overpriced for the quality you get. You DO get what you pay for sometimes you know. Cheapest and best are INVARIABLY mutually exclusive when it comes to kitchens
 
Lt. Manlove said:
I used to install fitted kitchens and from experience, I would recommend having a word with the local, self employed type. They seem to take more pride in their work and you can negotiate cost rather well, but thats just my experiences.
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I would add a proviso to that - we get lots of clients coming in through the door of our kitchen showroom saying they have been let down by the local self employed type and lost a lot of money. Often white van man can't be bothered to finish a job after being paid and simply changes his PAYG mobile so no-one knows how to get in touch with him. Other people have been let down by the joiner asking for more money to buy materials than was originally suggested.

I would say that you have to make sure you have everything in writing i.e a contract with whoever you deal with. Also, for extra peace of mind, at least a showroom has physical premises where you can make a nuisance of yourself in front of other potential clients AND they will have a land-line number. Also, as a last resort, trading standards would be able to help out.
 
My post above only touched the surface of my MFI disaster.

MFI had the order for 2 months, the money for 6 weeks but still only managed to deliver one length of the two lengths of worktop required as they didn't have the stock.

After creating a fuss in the local store I was told by one of their staff to get the missing parts from Howdens as they are the same parts ( For my particular kitchen) but they have stock instead of waiting a fortnight!

The induction hob and oven were smashed/damaged on delivery and apparently replacements were to be delivered by the manufacturer. After empty promises and wasted days off work, many irate phone calls and the threat of dumping the damaged appliances in the shop on Saturday afternoon I had my money refunded. I have since bought replacements from an online electrical retailer that i picked up the same day!

So hopefully i will have a complete kitchen next Saturday. Just the awful quality issues to sort now.........to be continued.

Oh, and a kitchen can easily cost £10K, a large part of the cost of mine was all new (Bosch) appliances.
 
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doopydug said:
It is quite easy - most of the kitchens we fit are in the region of £15 - £25K and we dont make a great deal of profit out of them.

Howdens and MFI are crap compared to the kitchens we fit and there is a world of difference in the quality of materials used and, hence, the cost to produce.

We have an ex-howdens branch manager working for us and he thinks they are wildly overpriced for the quality you get. You DO get what you pay for sometimes you know. Cheapest and best are INVARIABLY mutually exclusive when it comes to kitchens
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Not everyone has the money for that.. id say the OP aint looking at spending that type of money either.

Also if you find a local joiner with a good rep you should be ok. Only idiots normally get the wool pulled over their eyes by a builder doing a runner. Not all tradesmen with their own company want to take your money and run.. A fair amount want to build up a good rep and name.
 
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