B&Q Kitchens

[jaime]

Looking through google the general concensus seems to be that they are ok for a reasomably priced kitchen.

Is there any reason we should avoid them for either the units or the doors?

Looking at various kitchens the ones where the front of the carcuses matches the doors look much better, however these are only avaliable on expensive ranges or on a small selection of say the mfi range. Is it a feasiable idea to simply edge the front edge of all the units with the B&Q iron on edging edging strip that matches the doors?

Any recomendations on electric touch control hobs, double built under ovens (stainless steel style) and integrated dishwashers? (we're looking to spend £1500 max on the 3)

Also can a standard under counter fridge be placed in the same space that a built in under counter fridge would occupy, later being replaced with an integrated model?

Many thanks

Jaime

[EricP]

My neighbour had these last month and I was surprised by their quality. The drawers even had that self closing drop in the last cm.

I was impressed.

[Andy P]

We fitted a B&Q kitchen last year and it is fine. However, finding doors (we used their Beech effect doors which are now discontinued) in good condition was not easy. We originally had them delivered but found that more than half of the twenty doors were damaged, either because of poor manufacturing or being stored/handled badly. We ended up buying them in-store and opening the boxes before buying them. You could guarantee that to get a good door you had to open more than one box, quite often three. Sometimes the boxes that looked like they had been run over by their fork lifts were OK and the boxes that were in pristine condition were damaged!

Having said that, once we had a set of good doors they were fine and still are a year later. I would buy and fit a B&Q kitchen again.

Andy

[Alex]

I will eventually be probably fitting one of their kitchens in my own home - the construction of them is much the same as you will find with any of the 'budget' suppliers - the raw carcasses may not be the prettiest things in the world, but they do they job just fine.

With careful selection of doors, handles, appliances and most of all - good installation, you can get a very good looking kitchen for very little money. Buying appliances on the internet, you can find some very very good deals (I used to have a source for Bosch built-in fridges for around £230!).

Alex

p.s. I've had exactly the same experience as Andy with the doors

[Christian McArdle]

Get the door closing dampers (or whatever they're called). Vastly superior to those horrible looking stick on bumpers.

Merloni do a good fully integrated dishwasher for around the 270 quid mark. I managed to get mine Ariston badged, although I believe they've dropped that brand for kitchen appliances and they are all badged Indesit now. I've got one and it is excellent.

Yes. However, you must buy the door/carcase for the integrated fridge and store until needed. The only way you can guarantee the range you want will be available when you decide to upgrade, is to have already bought it. Also, you might not want to cut the plinth to size until the under counter fridge is in. Alternatively, you could overbuy the plinth and replace it when required.

Also, undercounter integrated fridges are considerably smaller (and less practical) than free standing types. Are you sure you only want a tiny fridge? If there is space in the design, a tall integrated fridge/freezer with the appropriate split is normally a more practical proposition. We went for a 70/30 split, which gives a freezer up to the worksurface and fridge from there to the ceiling. We never run out of room in that.

Christian.

[Chris]

And me, several of the Beech doors I bought had indent marks even though they came in plenty of cardboard

C

[shaun]

Yes - it is feasible to use the iron on edging strip. We did it on our B&Q kitchen and, although it is a PITA to do, it improved the finish by 100%

[usenet]

We have an integrated Baumatic dishwasher which seems to have Merloni electronics in it (they have Merloni written on them anyway). It's not been very good so far though it's been fixed under warranty each time. It *seems* to be OK now but only time will tell.

FWIW I'm not sure I like integrated appliances in general. An integrated dsishwasher has to have somewhat odd (and confusing for new users) controls. An 'ordinary' dishwasher is usually much easier to understand and drive. An integrated dishwasher also suffers from having a (probably) very heavy door which puts much more strain on the hinges than a conventional dishwasher door. (OK, it's got a counterbalancing spring but it's still heavy and the inertia bangs on the hinge stops when it's opened).

[snip]

As above, why go for integrated? We have a lovely big tall fridge which looks exactly like what it is, a fridge. I don't think it detracts from the appearance of the kitchen at all, it's a working kitchen for heavens ake. If the fridge looks like a fridge it's easier to find!

[jaime]

Where you both able to return the damaged doors to a store for swap/refund?

Thanks

Jaime

[jaime]

Thanks for the reply, the kitchen doesn't lend itself to having full height larder units due to the layout. I was just thinking that having the integrated look would look better if we came to sell the house at some point in the future. The fridge that we have is almost brand new and thus hopefully wont want replacing for quite some time.

Jaime

[jaime]

Thanks thats reassuring to know. However has it stood up well over time or has any of it needed reapplying/replacing?

Jaime

[Andy Hall]

I used a couple of their solid oak doors for a cupboard for my office. I didn't bother to open the packets, but discovered that one one there was a large contrast in colour between two boards that had been edge jointed to form the centre panel.

That was returned and replaced and a voucher for £5 received to cover the inconvenience.

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[Tim Mitchell]

In article , shaun writes

We put in a B&Q "solid beech" kitchen last year, and I was going to do this on ours, but in the event I decided not to bother as the doors line up well enough that you can't see the fronts of the carcasses.

The doors are very light coloured though, it may be more obvious with dark doors.

[Andy P]

No problem with refunds except for the queuing, which really bugs me. Why should I have to wait an age to have a problem that is not my fault resolved? I don't mind if I'm returning something just because I want to.

Andy

[MBQ]

We're very pleased with ours.

As others have said, buy the damped door bumpers and use the edging strip. I have beech effect and have had absolutely no problem with quality. I ordered on the web and everything was delivered on time with no shortages or damage. Biggest problem was disposing of the pallette they delivered it all on.

Also, I would recommend buying the premium drawer boxes. These allow horizontal and vertical adjustment of the drawer fromts for (near) perfect alignment.

One other problem was foolishly putting a spoon into a jug of boiling custard fresh out of the microwave. After the resulting explosion, hot custard dribbled down a door and has left a 2cm bubble in the foil laminate (no injury to humans, thankfully, but it was instructive for our 11yr old to learn from his Dad's mistake!)

MBQ

[Andy Hall]

Ask them for something for your trouble.

At B&Q it often results in a voucher for about 10% of the value of the product if you ask.

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[jaime]

Thanks for the replies, we were looking at going for the premium draw boxes and the door bumpers . Shall now make sure that we defently get them.

Jaime

[Christian McArdle]

I find pressing a quality tactile button twice to select the programme and then shutting the door considerably easier than revolving one of those horrible motorised switches to the start position (which is usually half way between two of the markings and will only go round one way, causing you to attempt to find the exact position about four times).

The counterbalance is adjustable and must be set to precisely match the door weight to prevent the door opening or closing by itself. Obviously, it can't be factory set as door panel weights vary considerably. It should balance perfectly in position and not bang open or shut.

That depends if you think big white appliances look cheap and crap. I do, but many don't.

Christian.

[Christian McArdle]

Probably when you move, just point out that you have the carcase and door for an integrated appliance if the purchaser so desires to obtain one. I doubt you'd make the money back actually fitting one, though, unless your current new fridge is very old by then, but if you find an integrated appliance enthusiast, they'll be happy knowing they can remove the white lump for just the cost of the fridge.

Christian.

[jaime]

That sounds like a very good idea, thanks.

Jaime