are there any kitchen fitters out there that can recommend a brand of kitchen units and fronts etc they will last a good few years?
ta chaps
steve
- posted
9 years ago
hardest wearing kitchens?
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- posted
9 years ago
Not a brand, but solid pine fronts last for decades and can be revarnished when battered.
If you want soemthing more contemporary but hardwearing look at the contract furniture suppliers used by universities etc for student housing and similar, eg
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Look for certificate to BS furniture standards for construction and wear.
Owain
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- posted
9 years ago
I would expect those made for commercial kitchens to be the hardest wearing, although most are probably all stainless steel and rather industrial looking.
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- posted
9 years ago
My solid wood with an oiled finish is still looking great after 18 years, and I imagine it will last for several more decades.
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- posted
9 years ago
+1
If the OP wants something that lasts forever - solid wood. It's not indestructible, but it is *maintainable* (and repairable).
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- posted
9 years ago
Tim Watts wrote in news:m9c2pb-h74.ln1 @squidward.dionic.net:
Go for doors that don't have joints (Shaker Style) go for the moulded front type. With joints water will penetrate.
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- posted
9 years ago
Unless you're very heavy handed, most kitchens last forever (or until the lady of the house gets tired of them)
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- posted
9 years ago
Or they just look grotty because they haven't been cleaned properly.
Owain
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- posted
9 years ago
I just sanded down and painted all my solid wood doors & drawer fronts because we fancied a change (*). The kitchen is ~25 years old and with 2 exceptions (one split & one water damaged) the doors were all fine.
I had to repair 3 or 4 drawer runners, replace 6 cupboard door hinges and replace a couple of metres of the edging strip on the carcasses (finding dark brown 19mm edging strip to match was a PITA. Homebase had a few dusty packets on shelves, which I bought all of.)
New tiles (Laura Ashley, although bought through an online TP subsidiary) arrived on Monday, worktop (Duropal) samples ordered. Happy, happy, joy, joy.
I also took the trim panel off the dishwasher door and painted it. Looks pretty good, even if I do say so myself, after many (5?) coats of brush painting and wet&dry flatting.
Still need to order a fridge. Dismantled the (gas) hob, removed a nasty aluminium trim strip & gave it a damn good clean which made it look a lot better. Also need a new tap. BTW, Screwfix taps are crap. I've installed three in recent years and all of them need replacing (either through internal failures or pitted chrome.)
(* And John Lewis wanted ~£25K for a new one! :oO !!!!)
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- posted
9 years ago
???!!!!!!
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- posted
9 years ago
Yep, that was my response. Only with more swear words.
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- posted
9 years ago
Cheap.
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will do you a nice kitchen for £300,000.
I'm hoping to upgrade my kitchen to have separate shelving units for the cr ockery and the cable reels I keep in there.
Owain
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- posted
9 years ago
crockery and the cable reels I keep in there.
Cheap kitchens generally use cheap components and cheap board. That may mea n cheap hinges, cheap drawer runners (not to mention cheap drawers) (cheese ) kd fittings and cheap melamine faced board. Ikea points the way. After th at the quality of the kitchen owes a lot to the installer.
The endurance is down to the user to a large extent.
Like everything else you get what you pay for.
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- posted
9 years ago
Only four things really work well in a kitchen Natural/artifical stone Ceramic tiles Melamine Stainless steel
each has different strengths and weaknesses.
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- posted
9 years ago
The right wood.
Think about the teak workbenches you had in chemistry lessons...
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- posted
9 years ago
Totally good advice. The chipboard and mdf is all a bit crappy really, even if you are painting it and plastics look like rubbish when they are worn so really wood for longevity, durability, renewable and repairable.
Carcases are expensive in ply but they can be made. Softwood/pine panels glued up from smaller pieces and bought off the shelf are a very good carcase material.
Hinges and drawer runners do fail, but make sure you get quality and not cheap copies of the actual Swiss or German hardware.
Tim W