Kitchens - MFI v B&Q v Wickes

Looking at a largeish fitted kitchen from one of these 3 companies. Including installation and oven / hob / hood / washer/dryer and dishwasher.

Any big pluses or minuses with any of them in your experiences?

Cheers,

Fred.

Reply to
finisterre
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In my experience, the MFI ones have the chipboard on the floor, which means if the floor is not level you have to pack them up, and also the chipboard soaks up any water. The B&Q ones have ajustable plastic legs.

Overall I thought B&Q units were more solid than MFI. I have B&Q units in a cottage I rent out to holiday makers, after 3 years they still look almost as good as when new. I can't say the same of any of the 3 MFI kitchens I have had.

Rick

Reply to
Rick

The MFI ones I have have adjustable plastic legs which screw up and down ........

Stuart

Reply to
Stuart

MFI sub-contract their fitting work, we got a good Corgi fitter. Neighbour 2 doors down got one who was hopeless, they sent him away.

Are you referring to the plinth which in my MFI Kitchen is a sawn down to size piece of chipboard with the exposed edge against the floor, and has been stained by water spillages and mopping etc.

Probably a better fitter would have sealed the edge, or got the heights set up better so he didn't have to leave a cut edge against the floor. Actually, as a plumber once said to me "Everything in a kitchen seems to be made of the wrong materials" :((

The units still have adjustable legs which the plinth clips on to.

Mine is 4 years old and isn't doing badly. It was a top - end model though, but that AIUI only affects the doors and decor bits.

DG

Reply to
Derek ^

Have you considered IKEA? - We've been very satisfied with ours that we DIY'd 15 odd years ago, and we've just replaced the under-sink unit with similar; again, a very straightforward job to assemble.

IKEA now seem to offer an installation service too (at least from some of their stores).

Reply to
OG

The MFI plinths are normally supplied with a flexible plastic trim which the exposed chipboard end is meant to sit in. Maybe your fitter didn't bother fitting it.

As to adjustable legs. All MFI kitchens have them. They have 2 ranges - Schreiber and Hygena, Schreiber being the more expensive. Only much older Hygena kitchens didn't come with adjustable legs.

The two MFI Schreiber kitchens I installed 14 years back still look good.

Reply to
daddyfreddy

No experience of B&Q but MFI kitchens aren't bad for the price. Wickes kitchens are slightly better quality than MFI but also more expensive. I'd also check out Ikea kitchens, I've only heard positive things about them.

For fitting, I'd try and get hold of a recommended installer directly, the sub contractors the kitchen suppliers use are a mixed bag and you'll pay a premium for them.

Reply to
daddyfreddy

have a look at magnet kitchens, they used to do pre assembled nylon welded kitchen units which came with a 30 year insurance backed guarantee. if they still do them they are obviously the one to go for.

B&Q kitchen units have cardboard backs, wickes have chipboard. aside from that there's little to choose from, ime.

Reply to
.

I'm in the process of installing a B&Q kitchen at home right now, so no idea about the longevity of the units, etc. However, I will say that I was amazed at the efficiency of reliability of B&Q. I was expecting some headaches about delivery dates, things not turning up when they were supposed to, items missing from order and the general fun and games you often get when ordering a bunch of stuff from a large supplier who (as far as I can tell) farms out their customer service and distribution to different third-parties.

But I had none of that - everything turned up when they said it would, and arrived in good shape, and looks to be fairly sturdy on initial inspection. So certainly no complaints at all about them as long as the kitchen itself end up standing the test of time.

Reply to
Chris Cowley

Ditto for me too. I had the same quandry about 6 months ago. I now a also installing a B&Q kitchen and was surprised by the good quality They are relatively cheap compared to the others with the added benefi of being able to go instore and buy compatible items. They even sell of the shelf 3.6m long worktops (not marble). B&Q have a really wide rang with fancy features, so they are not only basic shapes. Also good i you c*ck up and buy the wrong thing. Can get a refund simple enoug (even without receipt) and they often have sales on.

I bought all my solid oak doors from B&Q online as they were half pric at the time, but this offer was not in the store. It is worth choosing style then looking both in stoe and online, then waiting for say a ban holiday, when they have a good reason to reduce the prices. They neve reduce the price of the carcasses, but buy them on a 10% off day an the are cheaper.

Better still, another good thing about B&Q is that you can buy voucher on ebay and then purchase your kitchen with them. I did this and saved further 20% (roughly) on the price, which justified me buying som expensive accessories ;-).

Appliance wise, do not buy from any of these shops. It is must bette to find the makes/models of the appliances you want then source them o the internet - much cheaper. That is unless you are not installing th kitchen yourself whereby you would probably be best to buy th appliances with the kitchen.

I installed an MFI kitchen in my last house. Cost £1800 for just th woodwork (no appliances) and they wanted a further £1800 to instal it!. And that was without any on-site cutting and fudging for awkwar corners, out of line walls etc etc, of which I had a lot (especiall around a chimney). Also told the shop assistant exactly what I wanted but realised a week later that I need a few extra bits. Re-order these they took a further 6 weeks to arrive if I remember correctly. Not ver handy when installing and you realise you've missed a critical piec (like a corner post!). With B&Q you could pop in to a store and pick u the missing item.

Carcasses: They are all the same. White melamine chipboard construction wit plastic adjustable legs. The only bit you see is the door, so it i worth investing in good quality items. Am not disappointed with thei quality one bit (which surprised me). Identical pewter bow handles wer

50% cheaper in the screwfix catalogue.

Hope this all helps.

C

-- Cordless Crazy

Reply to
Cordless Crazy

I too had a very good experience with B&Q delivery, etc. I would definitely recommend the premium drawer kit, and the little hydraulic bumpers that stop the doors banging.

MBQ

Reply to
manatbandq

I can't comment on the quality of their Kitchens but MFI in my personal experience they are unreliable. They don't deliver the correct units and cannot correct their mistakes. To be avoided.

I had to take them to the small claims court to get a refund on a bedroom suite.

Mark

Reply to
Mark

Yup, I'll second that. From what I remember, there isn't much of a price difference between the standard and premium drawer kits, and the premium seem much sturdier. The door buffers are also fairly cheap and make the whole thing feel much more professional.

Reply to
Chris Cowley

Last year I was forced to install two MFI ones and would never touch the things unless you are going to the top of the range.

A B&Q one I helped install was of satisfying quality for a budget one. No problems and it responded to *corrective surgery* quite well.

Never had a Wickes one.

Reply to
EricP

Have just installed a B&Q kitchen - was on sale, so the whole thing wa extremely cheap. I'm really impressed with the carcasses - the laminat is extremely thin though, so mitring is a little troublesome - but car and attention means a really good finish. Forgot lots of bits but 95 were availble in store and even bits I ...er..mucked up...were easy an cheap to replace. One major workd of warning though - the units ar generally stacked on the shelves by people who unsurprisingly are no that interested in delicate handling...so do check each and every piec whilst in store - it may take an extra 20 mins but will save you goin back time and again. That said, before I started checking in-store managed to take damaged doors/plinths back with no argument at all. researched extensively - I dont think you can find better value....

-- alexbartman

Reply to
alexbartman

wickes, but don't get appliances from them (aeg double oven £850 vs £520 on't net) just replaced a wickes 'canterbury' with their limed oak jobbie

Regards Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

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