Integrated appliance recommendations?

roadie

roadie

roadie

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Hullo all,

I have done a search prior to making this thread, but could not find anything specific to my circumstances. In any case, I know there are some very knowledgeable people on this forum who's advice I would value.

I'm in the process of buying my first flat. It will be a project to get it up to scratch, as nearly everything needs doing. The kitchen for instance is completely empty other than the cabinets, work surfaces and fortunately a new boiler. Nevertheless, other than the boiler, they will all be coming out and the room completely renovated. I have a friend who works for Howdens who will be helping me with this and who can get me stuff at trade prices.

The aim is to have a modern, completely integrated kitchen with appliances that have quality in appearance and in use. Howdens do their own range of appliances, plus a selection from Bosch, NEFF and AEG. I'm yet to price everything up and am not sure whether my friend can get discounts on appliances from those manufacturers other than those Howdens list. Sourcing my own appliances could also be an option.

Whichever approach is taken, I have in mind a budget of ~£2k for a:
  • gas hob
  • electric oven
  • cooker hood
  • fridge/freezer
  • slim dishwasher
  • washing machine
I will also get a freestanding microwave and tumble drier. The drier shall sit in an empty airing cupboard adjacent to the kitchen.

I'm keen to have matching cooking equipment in terms of brand and appearance. I have looked online at a range of goods from a variety of manufacturers. Baumatic seems to look decent enough, is relatively cheap and comes with a two year warranty. The Bosch appliances I have in mind come in more than 50% more expensive and AEG nearly 100% more, largely due to the cost of the hobs and hoods.

For white goods I have looked at Gorenje, Beko, Amica and White Knight. I've no idea whether the products these manufacturers produce can rival the quality of those made by Bosch, AEG and NEFF in feel, use and noise etc?

Another option is completely kitting the kitchen out with appliances from Ikea, which look decent enough, are covered by a 5 year warranty and would come in under budget.

I know integrated appliances might not be to everyone's taste and are more expensive than their free standing cousins. However, what I have in mind calls for them. Tips and advice on manufacturers and models to consider would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers. Whoever thought kitchens could be interesting!?
 
We bought everything baumatic. Some of it has lasted well some of it was absolute junk and didn't last very long.

My opinion is that it doesn't really matter about manufacturer it matters to me about customer service which is why we buy everything now from John Lewis because when it goes wrong all you get is 'yes sir sorry sir we'll fix it or replace it immediately' which is very far from the service we got from others.

I would buy the integrated fridge freezer from howdens just because they work well with all the cupboards.
 
We sell loads of Gorenje gear, most comes with a full 5 year parts and warranty.

Amica is cheap Chinese stuff, buyer beware.

Beko stuff is OK, Howdens use them foir their gear, parts are plentiful and cheap.

Do you really need a built in washing machine, it limits your choices, if you can go for a free standing one, buy an LG, you will not regret it.

Whirlpool built in washing machines are good, but the depth of them can be a huge PITA, they are ever so slightly deeper than other manufacturers, any obstruction at the rear and they won't go back for enough.

The only built in dryer will be a White Knight regardless, which is fine as they make really good stuff.

Cheaper Bosch dishwashers for example now come with a part plastic/metal tub, avoid them like the plague, they leak from the bond, if that happens it is scrap.

AEG, Mr Cookie is your man, we see very little of it.

Rangemaster also do built in, it is just cheap stuff from Haier with an astronomical markup.
 
Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated. I like the layout of the AEG hobs so may well go with one of those and a matching oven and hood if the budget allows. If not, there are plenty of options.

For the other goods, I am thinking:
  • fridge/freezer: Gorenje RCI14181AWV (£350)
  • slim dishwasher: Ikea Medelstor (£300)
  • washing machine: Ikea Renlig (£400)
Would the White Knight integrated fridge/freezer (FF250IHE) and slim dishwasher (DW0945IA) be compelling alternatives that would rival the quality of these more expensive products?

What other products in this kind of price range I should be contemplating to get the best quality for the money?
 
I've helped fit an ikea dishwasher and it wasn't a pleasant experience. Their kit (including kitchens themselves) provide no "void" behind and fit flush to the wall which doesn't really fit with the UK way of doing things.

If your water pipes/socket/drainage arrangement are behind them they simply will not fit in.

This also applies to some other makes as noted above so be careful
 
That's interesting feedback, thanks. However, the Medelstor is specified as being 55.5cm deep with all the others I have seen being 55cm in depth. Does that extra 0.5cm really make a difference?
 
roadie said:
Would the White Knight integrated fridge/freezer (FF250IHE) and slim dishwasher (DW0945IA) be compelling alternatives that would rival the quality of these more expensive products?
Click to expand...
White Knight just buy them in cheap and badge them up, steer well clear.
 
I went with AEG integrated everything.

No problems apart from the dishwasher went **** up and it was looked at and replaced in 4 days.
 
OldCoals said:
White Knight just buy them in cheap and badge them up, steer well clear.
Click to expand...
OK, great to know, thank you. I shall!

pepp77 said:
I have come up with this - https://1drv.ms/x/s!AtbZWd3VVi48ol9w6GdtNDvLfvVJ
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip on the Whirlpool dishwasher, that looks interesting.

SPG said:
I went with AEG integrated everything.
Click to expand...
This is what I would like to do, but it would come in at over £2,300 based on what I have found so far. In any case, here is my list so far using as much AEG as I can for the budget. Did you purchase any of these?
  • gas hob: AEG HG65SY4550 (£366)
  • electric oven: AEG BE330302KM (£329)
  • cooker hood: AEG X66163MK1 (£259)
  • fridge/freezer: Gorenje RCI14181AWV (£350)
  • dishwasher: Whirlpool ADG 211 (£250)
  • washing machine: AEG L61271BI (£430)
  • TOTAL: £1,983
How does this look? Can anyone suggest some better alternatives for the price?

Would it be worth looking at cheaper washing machines like the Beko WMI71442 or is that just asking for trouble?
 
Same oven - Fantastic
Same hood - It does what it does I guess.

Went with a induction hob again AEG no problems.
 
Thanks SPG, good to know.

I shan't be having an integrated tumble dryer unless I can't shove a freestanding one out of the way in the former airing cupboard of the flat.
 
Get a frestanding high capacity LG or Samsung washer/dryer. You won't regret it - we've just moved to a house with a built in washing machine and hate it already - unfortunately we have to sell our LG wahser/dryer simply won't fit unless we replace an expensive 1 year old kitchen.

Similarly, check the capacity of integrated fridge/freezers. Our new place has a NEFF but the fridge capacity is barely enough for two people, let alone a family - we've just bought a full height Samsung larder fridge to compensate.

I was planning from new I'd go for US-style stainless steel fridge/freezer with french doors, Bosch or similar dishwasher full width, freestanding LG washer and sepearate dryer, NEFF or similar make of built-in Oven and Microwave and a NEFF induction hob.
 
Actually the LG machines look pretty swish. Especially this washer/dryer. That may fit into my pictured handless, gloss white kitchen well.

I only really dry towels and bedding. How do modern washer/dryers deal with these heavy loads?
 
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We went with Neff for oven, combined micro wave and oven, dishwasher and gas hob.

The lock mechanism on the self cleaning feature on the oven broke, Neff fixed it inside a couple of weeks on-site with no questions asked (did take 2 visits as they needed to determine the part and order from Germany).

Have to say the ovens are great. The oven is the slide and hide door model with self cleaning- B57CR22N0B fantastic. The combined microwave/oven is brilliant as space saver C17MR02N0B (unless you ever need 2 ovens and a microwave at the same time) - but it took about 3 months to get delivered (this was late 2015).

The dishwasher is fine - S51L43X0GB . It's sold as being very quiet, which I guess it is , but I can't say I've noticed much difference to previous models.

The gas hob also seems good, very study, plenty of options with various burner sizes- T26S56N0 - it's a 5 burner model, so 70cm wide, not the easiest to clean - but most gas hobs aren't.

Total for the 4 was 1.8K ish - but you might only need 1 oven so you can knock about £500 off that.
 
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Lumeycom said:
I've helped fit an ikea dishwasher and it wasn't a pleasant experience. Their kit (including kitchens themselves) provide no "void" behind and fit flush to the wall which doesn't really fit with the UK way of doing things.
Click to expand...

I fitted my IKEA dishwasher last year and had no such problem.
 
I spent a significant proportion of the bank holiday weekend looking at kitchens in Bristol and focused today on looking at the build quality of appliances. I was very disappointed by the build of the Ikea and cheaper Bosch ovens. The face plate deflected noticeably when using the push and twist dials. NEFF and AEG ovens were built the best with Electrolux and Samsung also being decent.

A brand I came across but have not heard of before is CDA. Can anyone tell me about them?
 
CDA just badge up whatever they can get hold of at the time, parts and service are a nightmare.

AEG and Electrolux are one and the same by the way.
 
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