The builder who's working for us at the moment looked very scornful at the idea of IKEA kitchens, and said that Howdens - a trade-only supplier he uses - make much better quality kitchen units.
Since I have no way of judging this matter, who is a decent-quality maker of kitchens? The last new kitchen we had I made myself, so I haven't any experience of buying them.
Daniele
Howden's are certainly OK; I have no experience of Ikea.
Bear in mind that if you buy Howden's stuff via your builder he will no doubt mark up the price, so there is clearly an incentive there for him to rubbish Ikea.
Also since Howden's supply their units already assembled, then it's much quicker/cheaper to install than messing about with flatpacks, so that needs factoring in to the buying/fitting costs.
David
I've been fitting a Howdens kitchen this week. No problem at all with the units and fittings, and at a reasonable price. Everything is sturdy, and goes together very well.The units are pre-built, saving a lot of time against flat packed units, as well as keeping quality up. There was a rather major problem with the delivery of it on Tuesday. It appears the person I was dealing with was pretty useless, and hadnt took much notice of the shortages, when, with a few phone calls it could have been rectified easily. Another person I spoke to on Wednesday was very apologetic, and sorted it all out in less than half an hour, and got the missing bits to me by 1pm. It restored my faith in them.
I'm not sure that Ikea would be so willing to rectify matters so quickly, firstly as they have fewer outlets, secondly, their outlets are far further apart. However, if they have everything in stock, then it doesnt matter.
Alan.
Howdens say they only supply to "trade professionals". One of their reasons is :- It'll fit your space, because a Howdens designer will draw up a professional plan for your builder to follow. I can see they want to avoid DIY plonkers, and I guess they are sold without consumer rights etc ?
Anyone know what I can blag / fiddle etc. to get howdens to supply me a kitchen (and plan it ??) I do my own building regs drawings, bricklaying etc. How can I become a "trade professional" ?
Or, are howdens not worth it ?
If I got one and had problems, how is this dealt with as a non- consumer ?
Thanks, Simon.
......
Probably, never looked into it. You have a Contract with the fitter, so as a Consumer, it shouldnt be a problem to you. They are set up for Trade only, they dont want to be answering numerous queries from 'private' customers. They like it when you go in, say hello, give them a list of part numbers, you go and load up. They just dont have time to get 6 types of handles out to compare them on the 5 different shades of Oak door they have - they are cheaper as they dont do that, they'll sell me 5 different small doors, and the 6 handles, and I'll have to show the customer.
You open a Trade Account with them. Pretty easy, go in, tell them you are a jobbing builder/carpenter, and you can open an account within a few weeks. They will require evidence of your work - a business card/letterhead etc, or turn up in your sign written van.
They keep a lot in stock, no need to pay for a Month, they generally get anything in the next day if not in stock. So, yes, in the Trade, they are worth it. For a one-off purchase, probably not, as B+Q et al are easier to buy a one-off from.
You go in tell them the fault, they give you a new one.Never had a problem yet - we broke a screw in a door handle this week,ruining the handle. Went in the next day to buy a new handle, mentioned that we had snapped the screw, got given it FOC. Alan.
IKEA recommend that all flat pack furniture fittings are tightened annually. That's enough to persuade me not to buy a kitchen from them! Howden's units are more stable because they are glued and dowelled rather than using cams and pins.
Howden's prices are similar to IKEA if you bargain hard enough, although the fitter may add a mark up. Factor in the time your fitter would spend assembling, and Howden's should be noticeably cheaper overall. Cabinet sizes available are different, so your design may need to be altered accordingly.
A
Well you can print off a business card easy enough !! Other points duly noted !
Simon.
Can I jump in an ask the same question of Second Nature in Bishop Auckland? They are a trade-only supplier of rigid cabinets and doors, and seem to supply most of the smaller kitchen shops in the area, and possibly Wickes too.
Anyone here had dealings with both Second Nature and Howdens, and how they compare in price and quality? I'm looking at a £4k supply-only of the units we like, from local suppliers, but I suspect I could get some labour thrown in with that too if I go to an independent fitter with my parts list.
-- Jason
That would be enough to persuade me to glue all joints while assembling IKEA units, which is what I do in any case.
I glue all flat pack furniture that I buy. It's surprising how little glue you need to make it much more stable.
tim
>
Exactly. It transforms its strength, stability and durability.
Amazing how a little judicious use of my Makita TD020 (impact driver) has a wonderful effect as well.
Well, the advice was duff. A kitchen unit isn't a Poang chair. Unless the assembly or installation was grossly incompetent, they don't/can't move around after installing. I've installed
2 complete IKEA kitchens and helped with a few more, and none have ever had anything come loose or need tightening.Even flat-packed, you'll need to take over another room to take delivery into. I can't imagine what I would have done if the thing had arrived already assembled, or how I would have collected it.
I just went in and said I was just starting out as a property developer, and they let me open an account there and then with no 'evidence' at all. (Presumably there was a bank ref involved - just on my ordinary personal account.)
David
snipped-for-privacy@cucumber.demon.co.uk (Andrew Gabriel) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:
That's a very good point - when our kitchen was done a couple of years ago, the boxed ready-built (not Howdens) units were delivered a few days before they were required. Stored in the kitchen, they filled the entire room - so had to be stacked in the garden whilst work was actually being done. Fortunately, the weather was good - since I'd hate to think how chipboard carcasses in cardboard boxes would stand up to a pissing wet day...
On top of that, a corner unit had to be disassembled in order to physically get it into the house, never mind the kitchen, and a couple of others (boiler casing and base for butler sink) had to be dismantled to accomodate a couple of modifications.
Flatpack would have made life a LOT easier.
"D.M. Procida" wrote in message news:1iuh2jd.ydjt191qo58vvN% snipped-for-privacy@apple-juice.co.uk...
To the best of my knowledge, IKEA have a pretty good reputation as far as these things go. We had a kitchen-full in place for 17+ years with few problems. We recently replaced the wall cupboards from IKEA and they went together just as well as before. My only gripe is that the drawer design isn't the same so we had to rout out a slot on the new drawer fronts so they could be made to fit the old drawer frames.
Some people complain that there isn't dead space behind the under-sink cupboards for piping etc, so you have to have the gubbins 'in' the cupboard rather than behind a false back wall. Other than that they are well made, long lasting, easy to assemble, and - umm what was it? oh yes, affordable.
Not so believable now ;-) Simon.
Totally agreed.
Also, if you need to massage the design of units to work in your kitchen, it is much easier if they arrive flat. I have recently replaced a few units (due to water damage). Realised that the original installation had done some odd things. And decided on a different set of odd things for the replacements. Such as cutting a 1000 unit down to about 800 (instead of 500 as in the original). Would have been a devil of a job on glue and dowelled fully assembled units. As it was, all I had to do was cut the base and the cross rails, drill a few new holes for the Confirmats and assemble. (Yes - cut a slice off the thin back as well.) And add a couple of holes for legs!
It's a great time if you want to buy property and have finance.
Owain
I want to have finance too.
Where do I get some? :-)
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.