Spec me a kitchen!

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DIY kitchens vs Howdens vs Wrens

Seems like a lot of price obfuscation with Howdens
DIY kitchen seems to be on par/slightly better quality vs Howdens
Wren seems overpriced
Any other recommendations?

My current plan:
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Price up on DIY is a good starting point.
Yeah, I've just submitted the above plan to DIY kitchens, the current quote for the above (the plan is made from their website) is £7100 but they're running the free AEG dishwasher + cashback so should work out at £6500-ish for the above
Got the Howdens saleslady come round to mine last week, for a lesser spec (slimline dishwasher rather than full size, no integrated bin), Howdens asking for £9600
Both kitchens are in handle-less gloss white and laminated wood worktop...so a £3k (~50%) difference which is an extremely hard pill to swallow, both quotes not including fitting
My current builder that's doing my refurb at the moment is a Howdens partner so pushing quite hard for me to get Howdens, but even if he gives me a "discount" on the kitchen fitting, I can't see how it will make up a £3k difference in price
 
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Have a look at Better Kitchens, that's where I got mine from. Similar price to DIY Kitchens, but offered a True Handless kitchen, whereas DIY only offered the J-Pull style.
just had a browse through the website...looks pretty decent though their range of appliances aren't as large as DIY/Howdens
 
I mentioned, my other neighbour fits kitchens and supplies howdens for convenience but he was very impressed with our DIY kitchen and he’s sourcing his own kitchen from them. He still prefers to supply howdens as he can get any units or bits within 24 hours should he need them.. which is one of the key strengths of howdens.
Yeah my builder said the exact same. But I can't stomach the £3k difference. I've emailed the Howdens rep with my DIY kitchens quote and asked what's the best they can offer.

My current thoughts are that if Howdens won't come down on price I'll go with DIY kitchens. If my builder won't fit it, I'll get someone else who will. I can't see what the difference is though, as DIY kitchens are also preassembled units. And the specifications are close enough to the Howdens units.
 
Your builder won't fit the DIY Kitchens because he's probably factored in the £3k kick back he gets if you go to Howdens :D
I wouldn't be surprised if that was indeed the case lol

I prefer diy kitchens openness on actual price rather than hidden "sales" type tactics.
yes this is my thoughts too, i'd rather spend my money on a company with open practices

Paying a premium for solid worktops (quartz /granite) is something Id do again and more important than which fairly bog standard kitchen outfit to go with.
i was thinking of going laminate for now, can always change the worktop later down the line for a quick kitchen refresh win
 
I’d still get a quote, I haggled with DIY on quartz worktops, I effectively gave them the lowest price I’d had lically, which was for the cheapest quartz option, and they beat that with a more premium quartz..
Any recommendations on where to get a quote on a quartz worktop?
 
Thanks guys for all the help and advice.
I've gone with DIY kitchens as my builder has agreed to fit (rather than Howdens...I'm going to pay in fitting costs lol)

Howdens offered £8300 as a best and final offer for their kitchen spec (no bin unit, slimline dishwasher, no upstand)
DIY kitchens is £6800 with a better spec - bin unit, full size dishwasher and upstands to go round
 
I spec'ed up on DIY kitchens before I got the kitchen fitter round for a quote. Wanted to keep use it as a base to keep the quote honest. 7k iirc correctly. He designed and priced up the kitchen from Howdens for 3k, apparently they do a sale every year around September so if you can hold off till then you will slash any prices you've seen so far.
haha no can't wait...this is my "kitchen" at the moment :cry:

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Ok cool, good to see you getting quotes.

Beware that Howdens discount thing is a bit funny. If you're going through your builder, he will probably be paying nearer to DIY asking price then adding a "lol jokes" markup ontop ;) Don't go for a slimline dishwasher unless you're really tight on space. Ideally get 2 dishwasher hehe :D
Thank you, yes, also in part why i went with DIY kitchens...full size dishwasher

AEG..... Shudder, I'm all about ex-dem Siemens appliances and Liebherr refrigeration. Bosch S4 dishwasher is excellent value also.
DIY is having a sale on at the moment with AEG appliances :cry:
buy 4 (which i am - hob/oven/hood/fridge) and the dishwasher is free...and also £200 cashback to top it all off
my appliance cost for the kitchen is £1977 (inc vat) for all 5 items
so after cashback (£1777) works out to be less than £360/item...can't argue with that man-maths value

Are these handless kitchens you're looking at proper handless, or that fake j-handle horribleness? Go for a real handless kitchen ideally, much better look and ergonomics, plus you then have space to run LED strips firing down into the U-channel area to give a great effect that lights the inside of your big pan drawers when they're open.
fake j-handles :) good enough for me lol

Design looks pretty good. Now one VERY VERY IMPORTANT thing when it gets fitted. You see that end panel between the large cupboard on the far right (fridge/freezer?), that sticks out where the foot plinth is?

When it's fitted, have the joiner/fitter, cut that end panel back so it sits behind the plinth, then you have a continuous single run of plinth. The sticking out end panel always looks utterly awful and isn't needed, so should be cut back flush with the bottom of the unit for a seemless look:
thanks, yes i'll mention that to my builder. well spotted. :)
 
Just shop around for your appliances. You don’t have to go with them.
I went with DIY kitchens in the end because their appliances were the best value - For my 5 items i'd be paying £1777 via DIY kitchens
if I were to buy the exact appliances separately, it would've cost me £2700 (exc del) from multiple other etailers (would've cost me over £1k extra + other hassles such as taking delivery on multiple dates/times)

Then get your worktop done by an independent place.
same with the worktops, i'd be needing one 4m run and another 2m run - DIY kitchen was within £20 of independent worktop shops so just got it from DIY
 
So, the Howdens depot manager call me today and said he's able to revise their best offer from £8300 to 7300 and able to deliver within 48h...
Had to break the news to him that DIYK spec is still better and still £500 cheaper (and I didn't mind waiting an extra 4 weeks)
:cry:

WWOCUKD?
take Howdens or stick with DIYK?
 
What does "better spec" mean?

drawer units rather than el-cheapo cupboards
integrated bin unit
all AEG appliances (for what it's worth) rather than the mix of aeg/lamona that Howdens are offering
full size 60cm dishwasher rather than the slimline 45cm
upstands to go round the length of the worktop
led spotlights for the bottom of the wall mounted units to illuminate the worktop
 
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Oh yeah all those items are worth keeping. I wouldn't drop out those (apart from appliance brand loyalty can be mixed)

Honestly would be no chance I'd go 45cm Dishwasher.
yeah, relatively...the DIYK spec is much better than Howdens, the £500 cheaper bit is the bonus

I thought you were gonna say "cabinets are 20mm rather than 18mm" which some of them make a big deal of :D, in reality once they're all bolted together they're fairly sturdy.
:cry:

Only thing I'd say also is if you are staying for a long time... Get a quartz worktop. I know you say you'll change it in future but it's a lot of arseache :D
Haha I will change it when I eventually get round to building the house extension
For now laminate will suffice
 
I rather buy my own appliance tbh
true, but i'm getting a really good deal for the appliances
they're also the mid-range AEG 6000/7000 series appliances so not reaching the bottom of the barrel either

DIY is having a sale on at the moment with AEG appliances :cry:
buy 4 (which i am - hob/oven/hood/fridge) and the dishwasher is free...and also £200 cashback to top it all off
my appliance cost for the kitchen is £1977 (inc vat) for all 5 items
so after cashback (£1777) works out to be less than £360/item...can't argue with that man-maths value
 
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I'm having a Howdens moment with DIYK; the live pricing is £3520 inc vat. When I click for a Product List breakdown it shoots to £4652.13!
Yes, my mock up goes from 1.5k to 3k! It's all the end pieces and trims. I wish they would just show it all on the same page, rather than waiting for you to click through to the next stage.
if you click on the basket on the top right corner of the DIYK planner you can set it to include VAT, trims and appliances to give a better estimate of the total cost
what won't show is the added misc extras such as upstands/backsplashes/led lighting etc
 
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