Hi. We also had some walls coming down. We had total 3 steel beams inserted. One - in line with joists,which easly could be 40 cm higher- and hidden, second - in opposite direction to joists which needed to be much lover , and third on external wall for French door. All 3 of them are connected and linked together - to be able to link them all 3 have to be on correct hight -under first floor joists. We have specified bolting not welding- purely for exposure. All 3 beams are visible ( yes, we have building control prrecision). If you box around them and whole celings are same coulor after a while you will stop noticing "beam drop". Our Whole kitchen walls and ceilings is white -black steel beams stand out even more. It may not be to everyone taste. But we love our steel.

@JenP - Yes it was a max budget of 40k...and I have every single budget meeting all around 38-40k; but then at the very end he explained his error which was on every sheet over the six months!!! This error (not carrying over the figure) meant he got the final totals wrong...and its now 50k. @jonathan - OK good to hear about your mum and I agree with everyone and will get legal advice. In my case, it wasn't even that the work hours or materials were higher, it was his calculations on paper - so the individual totals all work listed, but his actual final totals (and what he would advise me when I would have my monthly budget meeting) were continually incorrect - until he realised the mistake at the very end. Lesson Learned: Even when given a printed budget, always recalculate the totals yourself! THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR ADVICE AND TIME - I will update here once I have an outcome. The good news is that I love my apartment and the quality of work is beautiful.

Did you get support for your enquiry? As others have said, contacting the company that provided the kitchen in the first place would be the best course of action - failing that a direct contact to the manufacturer, if you know who that is. Your plinth may be under warranty depending on the issue concerned. Failing that, if you wanted help through Houzz, I would indicate where you/the property are, the make, colour, finish of the plinth you need and dimensions. A pic would help. Alternatively, seek out your local friendly independent who may be able to assist. Good luck!

Number 4 could be your man. You could ask him for details of previous work, and if possible go and view them yourself if the clients don’t mind, My brother is a sole trader builder who doesn’t do the internet or Facebook or anything like that, and all his work is by recommendation/word of mouth. Being a sole trader doesn’t mean he does it all himself, he has an army of traders he calls in when required from labourers digging the footings to plumbers and electricians. He is an excellent brickie so he builds the walls himself. He usually asks for part payment as the work goes on, but you could pay for the building materials yourself along the way. Remember the trades people he employs will need paying at the end of each week. I always say to him that he’s practically rebuilt our home town! It is always a worry when looking for trades people and fancy websites and reviews do not always tell the truth. I hope all goes well for you.