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New kitchen, whats the best value for money


Albert 888
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Go to a small local independant, good service, better product and a resonable price, from my exeriance anyway, I would steer clear of the sheds (Howdens, B&Q, Wicks) lifespan of 5 years

nonsense, howdens will last donkeys years, mine is 3 years old, looks brand new, but by your reckoning I will have to lob it out in 2 years time, joker :lol:

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I'm a chippy and fit quite a few, for me I think howdens have got quite expensive, always trying to beat last years October sales figures. IKEA are Ok but from memory there units don't have any pipe relief at the back, in other words no void at the rear of cupboards for services. One that comes high on my list is B and Q yes they are flat pack but go together easy, about 5 mins for a base unit. Also with 10 mm solid backs compared to howdens 5mm hardboard. Think B and Q also offer interest free. Worth a look.

Me too and I agree. If you go to anywhere like howdens, Travis perkins, etc. Never accept the first quote Cruz they always start high
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We have had kitchens from wickes, b&q,and most recently a company called diy-kitchens, an online retailer. It took a leap of faith to order online and you have to be able to plan yourself and know exactly what you want but the value for money was fantastic, the price came in around 2/3rds of the cheapest quote from wren, Howdens, Ikea and b&q and you can order sample doors in any of the colours and styles. One of our neighbours ordered from them after seeing ours and her fitter couldn't fault the quality or believe the price, if your happy to order online its worth taking a look at their website.

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i've fitted quite a few howdens kitchens over the last 6 months, the quality is poor, carcasses have been wrung and twisted out of square, worktops bowed all ways so the mason mitres never quite sit right, the last one I did I had to lift one side of the joint to match the surface of the other as it was 3mm thicker. when I worked for the council we used benchmarx and symphony, the symphony were awful too, paper thin laminate on the doors and worktop, benchmarx were the only units i've seen with 18mm backs, very solid but a tad heavy. I hate chipboard with a fury, when I made my own kitchen I used birch ply and lipped the cut edges, it still worked out cheaper than the likes of magnet, howdens, and benchmarx even after taking into account all the workshop time.

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i've fitted quite a few howdens kitchens over the last 6 months, the quality is poor, carcasses have been wrung and twisted out of square, worktops bowed all ways so the mason mitres never quite sit right, the last one I did I had to lift one side of the joint to match the surface of the other as it was 3mm thicker. when I worked for the council we used benchmarx and symphony, the symphony were awful too, paper thin laminate on the doors and worktop, benchmarx were the only units i've seen with 18mm backs, very solid but a tad heavy. I hate chipboard with a fury, when I made my own kitchen I used birch ply and lipped the cut edges, it still worked out cheaper than the likes of magnet, howdens, and benchmarx even after taking into account all the workshop time.

nothing wrong with my howdens, i bought a load of their internal doors and external door and hinges/handles aswell, all quality stuff that is solid 3 years on.

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For anyone stating howdens are quality you need to see this.

I had these dropped off by a customer straight from howdens, they bow every direction and this is due to a poor cheap manufacturing defect. They have no balancer on the back like in the 3rd picture and no vapour seal.

Everyone knows you can't laminate one side so you have a balancer ;) this keeps the tops flat.

In the pictures you'll see they have already bowed after I machined them.

post-27066-0-98396800-1484861983_thumb.jpg

post-27066-0-18570800-1484861992_thumb.jpg

post-27066-0-17369100-1484862000_thumb.jpg

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come round my house and i will show you the opposite, yeh i am saying howdens are quality, :good: based on all that i purchased, not what i read about, or what someone told me.

the above picture was took by myself . I sell/fit kitchens for a living. They are terrible and the proof is in the picture sorry . The rules of laminating are you must use a balancer . These tops were bowed from the factory as you can see in the picture.

It's the cheapest biggest load of junk. These are also square edge tops and they haven't even set the set bander to clean the abs off flush.

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the above picture was took by myself . I sell/fit kitchens for a living. They are terrible and the proof is in the picture sorry . The rules of laminating are you must use a balancer . These tops were bowed from the factory as you can see in the picture.

It's the cheapest biggest load of junk. These are also square edge tops and they haven't even set the set bander to clean the abs off flush.

they must have changed them since i bought mine then. :good:

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Yep I can also vouch for the Howdens tops being rubbish. Have fitted 2 of their kitchens in the last 2 months and both tops have been dodgy. Being bowed in the length is one thing but being bowed in the width is another as it's a right pain when it comes to jointing like paddy stated. Can't believe they haven't put a balancer on by now. I also find the finish on the edges of their doors are a bit rough and have a pimply look. Maybe because it's their cheaper range.

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Go on then I'll jump in.

Have fitted Howden, wouldn't buy one myself.

Have a mate who did a bit for B&Q, wouldn't buy one myself.

Benchmark are the commercial arm of wickes, would buy these.

I fit kitchens and bathrooms for a living.

Hate to say it tho that the top range of b and q aren't to bad. Their IT range is just cheap .

All our cabinets we sell are 18mm backed and it's a pleasure to fit then ( hate fitting kitchens )

We sell duropal , axiom, bushboard tops and it's just nice stuff to use

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Go on then I'll jump in.

Have fitted Howden, wouldn't buy one myself.

Have a mate who did a bit for B&Q, wouldn't buy one myself.

Benchmark are the commercial arm of wickes, would buy these.

I fit kitchens and bathrooms for a living.

 

What's the difference between Benchmark and Howdens/B&Q and how do they compare price wise ?

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No idea about price.

B&Q my mate walked away from, quality concerns.

Howden I've had issues with the tops and general finish of the doors, panels and trim the stuff you pay the most for??

I'm sure others are very happy suppling this to their customers and their customers are happy with it, each to their own.

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No idea about price.

B&Q my mate walked away from, quality concerns.

Howden I've had issues with the tops and general finish of the doors, panels and trim the stuff you pay the most for??

I'm sure others are very happy suppling this to their customers and their customers are happy with it, each to their own.

 

It's just that I am in the market for a new kitchen, both like one in B&Q but I don't like the fact they are flat pack, bought my present kitchen from Howdens because the then MFI version was a Hygena 16mm flat pack whereas all Howdens are 18mm rigid and have to say it still looks fine (including worktops) after maybe 14 years ! I think if you fit them for a living it's possible to be a little over critical about things that never really get noticed once it's fitted although admittedly bowing tops are just silly.

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if the cabinets are looked after then they can last a while, just depends on the numpty in the warehouse/delivery truck/site labourer, if they get bashed about then they start falling apart no matter who made them. I personally found the benchmark cabinets the strongest. I've recently fitted new worktop to my kitchen, not the most expensive but hardly a cheap one, came from b&q, the delivery drivers were very careful unloading after I bought them a breakfast, the quality is spot on, nice and flat and uniform thickness, mason mitres are perfect, but I did use biscuits in the joints.

at least with flat packs you can glue the joints yourself to make sure they're done, and as they're in situ there's less risk of damage.

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