If I buy a kitchen can I choose my own sink? How does it work?

[ICanSmellSummerComing]

I've never had a new kitchen, if I choose say a wren kitchen but don't like their sinks m, how do I get a new sink.
I ask this because in my current utter shambles of a kitchen I tried to replace the sink and it never had matching measurements anywhere!

Are there any other tips anyone could help me with?

Do most people replaster and do plaster people put lights in or does that come after?
We have spot lights in a faux wooden ceiling, I'd like the faux wooden ceiling removed and normal lights put in.

I have a wren kitchen and sourced my own sink / taps and hob, the worktop is just cut to the right size by the fitter. I didn’t use wren fitters, our units were pre built and we put it in ourselves , we just used a carpenter to fit the worktops.
You’ll need a plasterer/ general builder for the walls/ceiling and an electrician for the lighting plus any sockets/cooker point etc.

I’d use the opportunity to have extra sockets put in if needed, a useful thing to have is flexible pipework with closing valves under the sink, makes any future changing of taps much easier.

You’ve just got to make sure it fits in the base unit under the sink. They can cut worktops round it

So I choose sinks first? Taps, where I want plugs and then I get plaster person then kitchen?

We are about to do this, we have everything ordered and booked in.

Units and some appliances ordered from Wren.

Sink, taps and cooker ordered from other places, keeping our existing fridge freezer and washing machine.

Quartz worktops ordered from a quartz place who will fit it.

Flooring from a local flooring place who will lay it.
A local general builder is doing the rest of the fitting and organising plumber, plasterer and electrician. We are having our ceiling replaced - the old one will be ripped out, then wiring put in place, then plastering then electrician comes back to fit light fittings.

It has taken us about 6 months to find, choose and order everything but would have been quicker with no lockdowns. Its worth taking time at this stage though, get designs from more than one place, go to lots of showrooms.

@EversoDelighted

The problem is our cooker has been condemned so rather than buy a new one I thought we could just go for a new kixthen. It's a small ish kitchen, small budget as well and replacing like for like but brand new and lovely.

So I choose stuff basically then it's down to the fitter to make it happen?
If I got an oven that goes in the wall does fitter have to make it fit a cabinet. Person who does work top has to make it fit sink.

Your builder is project managing evryrhjngy?

One more question, our floor probably needs bu evening out it's bumping is that what we should sort first?

If you’re on a budget I would avoid wren: very expensive. We bought from DIY and were very happy. We bought the units, appliances, sink, and worktops from separate suppliers. Fitting was done by our builder. Electrics were completely replaced, along with plumbing and new ceiling/skim.

You probably need about £10k even for the most basic job if you’re doing absolutely everything (plumbing, electrics, flooring, plastering), though you might be able to get it down for £6-7k

Built in ovens are all a standard size so just slot into a pre-built unit.

Our builder is project managing the unit and appliance fitting, plumbing, plastering and fitting. We are organising the worktops and flooring but have gone through it all in detail with the builder to work out a schedule of what needs to be delivered and fitted when before booking them all in.

I do agree that if you don't need a design and have your own builder it would be worth looking at DIY kitchens. We found the design service from Wren was excellent but we really needed help with that, we were going round and round in circles trying to do it ourselves. Our units, which are ready assembled, are coming in at about £4.5k for a medium sized kitchen.

Floors - do you mean your floorboards are wonky? What surface do you have at the moment?

Have a look at DIY Kitchens.

www.diy-kitchens.com/

They can be very much cheaper than the likes of Wren and and are very good quality. The units come ready built which makes fitting cheaper. You have to design it yourself, which can be daunting, but if you’re literally replacing like for like it will be a much simpler job. You can also take a plan you’ve had done at, say Wren, and give to DIY who will price up on a like for like basis. They will also give advice on the telephone or email and make sure you don’t forget easily overlooked items like corner posts and end panels.

I would avoid Wren. Some people have a very good experience with them but there are way too many horror stories for my liking. If you do go with them find your own fitter. Most of the worst stories seem to be about their fitters rather than the units themselves.

Maybe see if there are any local, small building/renovation companies with a good reputation who will contract the other trades so the electrics, plastering, fitting etc will be co-ordinated for you. I think this is can be hard to manage yourself, especially now when all tradespeople seem to be inundated with work. Try to see examples of the fitter’s work and reviews - it’s the quality of the fitting that can really make the difference.

Even if you think you want to replace like for like it could be worth getting someone to look at it and see if you can make simple changes that would improve the layout although I appreciate your current kitchen many work very well for you as it is!

If you look at the Property and DIY board there are lots of useful threads around kitchen planning - or you could start your own there. You’ll get lots of advice if you want it.

Good luck OP - very exciting to be getting a new kitchen

We already going to Wren and magnet today to just start the process get an idea of prices.
We have twelve units at the moment and will probably replaces in same places just different style eg drawers not cupboards and we have a free standing oven so again just want to get a slot in oven in the wall.

So the cupboard perhaps get from DIY? Source our stuff from floor to tops then ask around for a fitter /builder?

Ever I think it's concrete type material, we have crap lino down at the moment.

It never sits flat and rushes up.
I'm thinking about a classic old fashioned tile for it as it always gets so dirty

I would definitely avoid Wren fitters, all the horror stories I have read have been about the fitting rather than the design and delivery. The design service has been excellent I must say. The delivery - we'll have to wait and see.

Unfortunately tradespeople do all seem to be very busy at the moment. The flooring person we are using said they have been going flat out all year and he's never known anything like it.

For a concrete floor flooring people use a self levelling compound (like thin cement- pour it onto the floor and gravity takes care of making it perfectly flat) before laying the tiles or other choice of flooring. There is a other quite long thread at the moment about choices of kitchen flooring and what shows the dirt etc.

So for comparison, our (reasonably large) kitchen came in at £5.5k for DIY painted shaker wooden doors; magnet wanted something like £11k for the same layout, in a plastic wrapped mdf I think; Wren were more expensive still!

Actually no, I tell a lie, Wren we’re about £9.5k. Magnet were most expensive.

That's interesting - when we compared our Magnet design with our Wren one the Wren one was less than half the cost of the Magnet one and had more units. It does depend a lot on exactly what promotions they have got on at the time I think.

Ah, x-posted.

I have a Wren kitchen and also needed lots of plastering/electrics doing. Wren sorted it all so everything was done quickly, they subcontract it out and it was managed pretty well. The plasterer was so good we just got him back 4 years later to replaster the living room. I think if you choose a few of your own appliances/fittings then they can just cost that in- your Wren advisor should be able to tell you.

@EversoDelighted we had a Wren kitchen in our old house, in 2014 and that really was the cheapest because it was £11k for a larger kitchen than we have now, including all the appliances. But last time they were expensive compared with DIY

Look at Howdens as well - not sure on cost but I know some property builders who use them. My sil got a great second hand kitchen from one of the used kitchen companies but I can’t remember which one - but it was gorgeous

One reason I was hoping to do everything under one place was to get the finance for this..

We can pay the up front lump sum but wanted to stretch out the rest.

I wonder can we get bank loads? How do other people pay for these things?

this wow!!