Kitchen quotes

Russinating

Russinating

Russinating

Soldato
Joined
27 Dec 2005
Posts
17,316
Location
Bristol
Had our first kitchen quote through from Benchmarx. It's a little more expensive than I was thinking seeing as it doesn't include any appliances but I don't believe the builder has put any of his cut on.

I know the rounded corner units are adding a bit on as well but any other thoughts? We had a quote for a very similar kitchen from Wren and that was £3,700 but included a dishwasher, hob and hood so about the same as this if you exclude those.

Sorry for the terrible photo of the print, you can blame the other half :p.

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Send that quote you have to DIY Kitchens and get them to price it up in whichever kitchen style you like the most from them. I've no doubt in my mind it will be cheaper.
 
Oh yeah another question, which is even harder for me to answer at the moment - how much would you expect it to cost to fit a kitchen this size (for both flat pack and pre-built units)?
 
400 + vat for kitchen like that.

Also you should see discount off benchmark kitchens which they aren't showing you. Regular customers get up to 80% off rrp.
 
Thanks.

The builder is a regular, but would you expect there to be a discount after the total? You ever had any experience of a kitchen this size?

Matching everything up at DIY Kitchens and it's not shockingly lower. Excluding £409 of end panels and decor ends which at this stage I can't accurately match to DIYK, the DIYK basket is £2,232. Allowing £300 for those panels brings it to £2,532 so £400 less than Benchmarx which I'll certainly use as leverage. However Benchmarx have everything in stock for delivery within 48 hours which is a bonus as the room will be finished this Thurs.

We're absolutely nowhere near DIY Kitchens' showroom either so it would need to be a cracking discount to buy the worktops etc blind and we really can't be faffed with ordering, waiting for and returning samples etc!
 
Yeh you're right actually, prices arent too dissimilar really.

I got my kitchen from DIY-Kitchens and it looks a bit bigger than yours (wide U shape). Our units only came to about £2100 from there which was with soft close everything and some god-expensive spice racks either side of the cooker! (What the Mrs wants, the Mrs gets!!!!)

But once you factor in things like a sink and tap and worktop it's probably only saving you a few hundred quid. The convenience of everything being in and ready for delivery soon is a huge bonus aswell. I had to wait about 2 weeks with DIY-Kitchens as everything is made to order and constructed ready for delivery.

One thing to find out is if the Benchmarx stuff comes ready built or not. All of the DIY Kitchen's stuff comes ready built with blanking plates already on so will save your joiner a huge amount of time compared to if its flat-pack. I think we even paid a bit extra to have things like doors and drawer fronts already attached.

Just have to work out whats best for you really. We arent that close to DIY-K's showroom but we still had a trip over one day to check it all out. They have someone there who you can talk to before ordering and have all of their kitchens on display along with a room full of all the colour options for doors, worktops etc.
 
Thanks macca but we're not interested in solid purely for the upkeep. Unless you've got some miracle answers to everyone's pains that I hear!

What does the 620 etc refer to?
 
Ours have been fine, take more abuse than laminate and in five years only ever spent one morning sanding and three one hour stints oiling after. Any damage can be sanded out and they are more tactile than laminate.
 
Mmm yeah, I like wood. We have solid wood doors etc and you'll never find a plastic chopping board!

Any reason you linked oak or just random? Do you know how beech and ash stand up (we prefer a light coloured wood to match the style)?
 
Hi

Whatever you do, do NOT use Wren Kitchens. I got a quote from them, £11k, I paid a 10% deposit.

Then I read online **AFTER** of the reviews online, just google "wren kitchen reviews" so many complaints etc.
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.wrenkitchens.com


The installer came round a measured up for extra works to get the new kitchen fitted. He came back with a £3500 quote (thios was for relocating 3 double sockets, install the cooker hood, and remove the old kitchen - i would have expected some of this to be included in the install fee Wren quoted of £2500 aprox), I was planning to finance the whole kitchen, as per agreed with Wren. However Wren and the fitter then said they couldn't finance this part and I had to pay £3500 upfront.
Sadly I do not have £3500 spare at the moment due to all my savings going on my mortgage deposit in December. Not that I would have accepted that extra cost anyway.

The sales guy from Wren agreed that the £3500 quote is far too expensive. So they offered to get me a different installer, he came and quoted £2950, that installer told me they charge so much more on top for the little extra work, because Wren give them virtually nothing for the standard fitment, and it's hardly worth them installing it otherwise. He also offered to knock the VAT off if I could pay cash and didnt want a receipit either. LOL

Anyway I walked away and got my 10% deposit back.
 
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Russinating said:
Thanks, useful. Can you remember how much you paid for fitting, unless you did it yourself?

And I believe Benchmarx comes flat/separate.
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Unfortunately it was all bundled in as part of some larger work we were having done but he had it all done and in in 2 days. Having all the units come pre-assembled was a huge timesaver though. DIY-Kitchens come with them completely pre-assembled, I have heard that some Howdens units dont come with blanking plates fit which whilst not a major issue does add time.

Kitchen fitter arrived early, unboxed everything and it wasnt long til all the base units were in place etc. Took him a bit longer to get the wall units up.

It took him the longer to cut and fit all the worktops than it did to fit the rest of the kitchen actually!


Russinating said:
Thanks macca but we're not interested in solid purely for the upkeep. Unless you've got some miracle answers to everyone's pains that I hear!

What does the 620 etc refer to?
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Ours are "engineered wood" worktops (if thats even the name) and have took a fair amount of bashing. We've been in for nearly a year and theres minimal marks on them. I gave them 2 coats of Osmo Polyx as soon as they had been fit so its protected them pretty well!

covenantuk said:
Out of interest. Whereabouts do people design their kitchen when using DIY-kitchens or similar?
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DIY-Kitchens dont have an online designer, they have a printout'able one on their website which is a bit Fisher Price as you have to cut out your units and stick them on a grid but it gets the job done I suppose and has 99% of the units they sell on there.

I also used B&Q's kitchen planner online. Think you have to phone up to get them to make you an account but its quite handy. I planned it out on there using the same units as I was buying so I could get a visualisation of what it would look like. Worked well.
 
Thanks. Yeah Wren are out of the equation. We only even for a quote/design from them as we were passing, they had a slot and it was the bank holiday etc.

Been quoted £1750 after a reduction for fitting by the builders who are working on the extension. Still seems very steep to me but having never fitted a kitchen before don't know if there's more involved than I think.

Will try and get other quotes but most tradesman are so busy and useless it's sometimes worth paying more just to know it's all sorted and will be done quickly without hassle!
 
What does the fitting involve? Seems steep unless it includes things like wiring, gas plumbing, plastering etc.
 
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