Best thing to do is to compare and to ask fitters which one is the best or reasonable,

I deal with natural stones, as granite, marble etc. if a kitchen could have a worktop of standard 30mm ( some they reduce to 20mm because its lighter, but is not standard), they should be built properly.

If you find someone who deals with kitchen directly, not form a showroom is even better, so you wont pay for all the showroom costs!

have fun asking around

Ciao

Paolo

Sorry Jane, why did you go to Magnet? They are one of the worst national offenders of having a never ending sale. You would have found a better quality of kitchen, design and service from an independent kitchen specialist. You may have had to do a bit of searching but it would have been worth it.

Sorry to be so blunt but an independent would have been much better.

CK

Thanks Jane. The problem is that any company that sells a product on the basis of giving a huge 'discount' has the primary objective of selling as much as possible to a customer. So quality of product, design and service is not important.

Anyway I wish you good luck with your project and hope all goes well.

CK

What about IKEA? They seem to have a good range now.

I would try local independents. I had a howdens kitchen in my last house and have always recommended them on here and to my mum whose kitchen was finally finished last week. The howdens quote was really high though ( so much more than I paid 9 years ago!) so I tried to persuade my mum to get independent quotes but to no avail! Whomever you choose, I would always go for quality worktops, handles and taps as it makes all the difference imo. I would also bear in mind the cost of the kitchen versus the overall house value as it is easy to overspend and lose money. Try going on streetlife or other local websites for recommendations

Hi

diy-kitchens.com make decent enough units, it's all generic stuff like Wickes or B&Q although they aren't particularly easy to deal with.

As with all Internet kitchen retailers though you don't get the personal interaction or designer, let alone an experienced kitchen designer. For people that are happy enough to order a basic set of units online and are really not that bothered to explore good design then Internet is fine.

But for people that want to invest in a new kitchen that is a bit more special and want proper advice on all aspects of their new kitchen, then there is no substitute for an experienced kitchen designer, as they will eliminate the risks of doing it yourself.

CK

Hi

WickesB&Q and the like are DIY stores that retail products to the end user. These retailers have to adhere to consumer law and your protection has to be covered directly by them as the retailer.

Howdens on the other hand are a trade supplier. Which means that their customer (the builder or chippy) who supplies the end user has very little protection by consumer law. The end user is protected by consumer law and the builder or chippy the end user purchases the kitchen from has to adhere to the law as the retailer. I believe not many builders or chippys that purchase trade supplied kitchens and sell on to their customers fully understand this! There are other implications to this trade selling route to market also. Howdens in particular have a stellar high retail price then give 2 quotations to their customer, generally one with around 40% discount for the chippy to show their customer and then the 2nd quotation has a 70 to 80% discount on it! Now I'm not saying that all chippys just give the 40% discount quote to the customer and keep the rest, because in fact I believe that the vast majority give their full discount to their customer, the thing is the whole Howdens business model is set up for deception and to me this is just plain wrong!

Anyway, this a side, Howdens range of cabinetry is similar to Wickes and B&Q as in terms of quality they are all bottom of the market with a very limited range of styles and finishes and units to choose from.

If you go to the right Independent Kitchen Specialist you will get much better quality of kitchen, design and service, with a lot more choice of styles and finishes and proper advice on all aspects of your project.

CK

Hi tamp75

I understand your point about a tight budget for a kitchen at the end of a big renovation project. In fact that describes most of our customers! And as an Independent Kitchen Specialist we do several ranges which cover all points of the market, after all we are a 'kitchen specialist' business which does not mean 'expensive kitchens' business.

We just need the customer to be honest about what they want and what their budget is so we can guide them to the best range for them. In short, any decent Independent should do a range of kitchens that is better quality than the DIY stores for around the same money.

CK

I like the independents and I echo the points above about the customer having to be honest. A friend recently criticised an independent for being costly but had looked at a significantly more expensive product in the independent than the one she eventually chose elsewhere. I dispute the saving was prudent as her kitchen design (in my opinion) is an exercise in fitting in a lot of units.

I am sure that the independent could have steered her towards a better looking product that matched or bettered the quality for similar money. Furthermore I think a quality designer could have fitted the room better ultimately making it look more expensive and adding more to the house value.