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Due to have the kitchen rewired and the B and Q kitchen put in by previous owner isn't going to survive removal and refitting. (Misses wants a new one)
A wren brochure has appeared on the door mat
Any recommendations?
Try DIY-Kitchens.com
Really good quality and they come fully assembled so you just plonk them where you want them and attach to the wall.
Well priced too.
IKEA
Fitted one, bought another for the granny annex we're building, and will be buying another when we sort out our kitchen next year.
Diy kitchens + 1
I fit kitchens for a living. Just fitting a Wren kitchen, good quality but design details sadly lacking, ok if you don't mind a fiddle. Ikea are amazing value and not bad quality, I would have one but they are 'different' to most others. Howdens are good and well organised/ planned, but not the bargain they used to be. B&Q- don't bother. Not fitted DIY but sound good. With all kitchens it is not just screwing cupboards to walls.
I put an IKEA one into our kitchen a few months ago, it's brilliant. Very well put together and lots of details/well thought out stuff. Oven is crap though.
Thanks for the answers I can check out the wren and ikea stuff in person as they have local show rooms
I fitted an Ikea one at a mates house and have had Wren/Howdens and others fitted at various places.
The ikea one was good and easy to DIY and get it looking good so an ikea one fitted by a pro would be pretty good and easier to budget than most places.
Other than that the Howdens one that was fitted seemed pretty pain free, proper mock ups done and technical drawings for the chippy to work from.
We've just had a Howdens kitchen put in, really happy with it.
The in-laws have had there's for 10 years+ and it still looks fairly fresh.
We had a Howdens put in 8 years ago. Still looks like new, nothing failed, worn etc.
Do the Ikea ones still have no void for pipework at the back?
I found this a bit less convenient when I fitted one quite a few years back.
Diy kitchens + 2
I fitted my own at the end of last year. Quality is superb and pretty simple to install.
I just fitted an Ikea one (after seeing my bros). They're good.
I put an Ikea kitchen in our house. Went in easy and the quality is good (backed up by a long warranty). Its also easy to price up and tweak elements. Its very frustrating dealing with some companies where they will only give a total including some fictional 'discount'. There's no void for pipework but that isn't an issue unless the plumbing is a bit convoluted. In that case you can put a deeper worktop on.
Similar situation soon and I have to say that miost of the IKEA stuff looks fairly fresh whereas the other stuff looks pretty ordinary and all different flavours of the same.
I supply and fit kitchens for a living. I use the parent company of diy-kitchens.
You'll struggle to get better quality at the prices they charge.
Where are you based.
Do the Ikea ones still have no void for pipework at the back?
The one I fitted the other week had no void by design so we fitted a deeper work top to create a void. Definitely something to watch out for as it can mean moving a lot of plumbing if it's in the way.
We fitted a Schuller Kitchen last year. It looks fantastic but the quality isn't as good as the Mereway ones we fitted before. The cabinets are not nearly as rigid or well braced which means it's much more work to get it spot on.
Our old Mereway still looked almost new after 10 years of use. John Lewis use it as one of their 'own brands' but can be ordered 'supply only' at a good discount from http://www.alarisavenue.co.uk/
I'm based between Manchester and Liverpool
Ikea one just has 15-20mm space behind. Not a problem if you run pipes either flush against the wall or drop them to floor level.
Try BENCHMARX just fitted one, on par with Howdens but at a fraction of the price, located inside Travis Perkins
Funnily enough, I've just fitted our Wren kitchen.
Really good quality and can't fault them really. They were also £2k cheaper than Howdens.
Try cygnet kitchens in ormskirk. Apparently great quality and good prices . A couple of neighbours have had these and can't reccomend them enough .
Bit far for me to have a look!
I popped into a few local kitchens places with the wife yesterday, as she has to see things, I think it's a woman thing.
Called into Moben. £35k is their basic starting price!
What are people referring to when you say "good quality" - surely all of these mentioned are chipboard carcasses and MDF fronts if you're lucky? Are DIY kitchens solid wood? Isn't it just a matter of ensuring that the thicknesses of the board material are at the higher end of the spectrum? Shove some Blum hinges on and get someone that knows what they are doing to fit it.
When we did ours I found the advantages were to be had in innovative drawer systems, pull outs to maximise space use etc etc rather than one seller over another - all those mentioned here seem to offer a variety of ranges in terms of price with the exception of Moben that rely on their "Mug" brand...
The schueller brand offered more in terms of cabinet depths and heights and combined that with low plinths so making more internal space available in the cabinets. Wren were recommneded to me but I found them disorganised with the showroom falling apart not helping either. They also tried the double glazing sales method on us - should be 27k but today only its 15k, 13.5k as neared the door!
I'm in the process of purchasing my 3rd kitchen from [url= http://www.handmadekitchens-direct.co.uk/index.html ]Handmade Kitchens Direct.[/url]
They make Bespoke handmade cabinets to any dimensions you want. Cabinets for a very large kitchen I'm doing now (60m2 with an island) are £10k. Previous kitchen, was £5k.
Are DIY kitchens solid wood?
They do solid oak doors, that's what we chose.
But, the carcasses are chipboard dowelled and glued so very sturdy (you can have them delivered dry as an option if you require some flexible for fitting). But the thickness of the backboards etc is substantial and on a par with Magnet, Wickes etc.
Howdens vary the price depending on how much trade you give them.
As said above, good quality and their planning/diagrams are great.
If you want to send me a kitchen layout diagram I'll send it to my branch for a quote (Birkenhead).
I usually get between 80% to 90% off list.
We've got a Wren at home, quality is similar to Howdens, maybe only slightly better.
Looking at quotes for ours and someone at work also mentioned DIY kitchens so I'll be having a look there as well.
I'm based between Manchester and Liverpool
I have a very good friend who runs a kitchen business. He's based in Macclesfield. PM me if you're interested.
Fitted 2 Ikea's, everything else cosy wy more.
No regrets
Done 3 1/2 ikea kitchens. They're cheap and rather good. Very efficient use of space. And now they are getting more into the custom worktop business. I got corian put on one and it was great.
If I was starting again I'd use them.
Has anyone had any experience of online worktop suppliers. Our wooden worktop has started to rot around the sink so I'd like to replace it. In theory the idea of getting precut worktops with the butt joins also precut sounds really good. Any downsides? Would be going for wood again.*
*Yes the original has rotted but was here when we bought the house and clearly not cared for.