Thought Howdens were supposed to be good value...? Getting disheartened :-(

[mrsbleasdale]

I've had 4 quotes for kitchens so far...and Howdens have come out the most expensive WITHOUT fitting, £1000 more than Wickes which incl fitting, £2000 more than 2 independents including fitting and new ceilings, lights and walls. This is using Dad's trade account so i know he's not taking a cut. Am i picking stupidly expensive ranges???? I chose this range

www.howdens.com/product-range/kitchen-collection/classic/haworth-white/

And a painted bone one from wickes, and cream wood shaker from the other companies.

Are the painted wood doors just stupidly expensive? I don;t want vinyl as they can peel/steam off. We don;t have a Benchmarx anywhere near us. which seems to come recommended on here.

Am beginning to loose faith........And we're still being quoted around £2500-£3000 to fit . After advice in here people estimate around £150 a day, so even a 10 day fit which is what wickes amusingly thought would only be £1500.

Getting tempted to stick with the crap kitchen we've got

Thanks workshy I'm beginning to change direction now and stay away from these big companies. I'm not confident with any of them, their ranges or sales/pricing.

I've got another independent company coming to price, and a joiner who makes his own kitchens too. They seem more customer focused, on what I want and need, rather than just a sale.

It's such a big job, that I want to last many years, that if I'm not 100% sure, no-ones getting the cash . I really, really want a nice new kitchen but i'm niot just throwing money at them!

And as you point out, the Haworth isn't all painted wood, but veneered. A local company have quoted me about £2k less for oak painted ...

if you have the option of a joiner making you a kitchen I would definately go with that

a good kitchen should last you 20 years plus and craftsmen take so much more pride in what they do than someone putting in a flat pack kitchen, and they have had to come down in price to stay in business so quality is much more affordable :)

That's what i'm hoping! I went to another joinery place yesterday, and they claimed they could make me something for over a third less than someone like wickes would quote. Going to pop along this week with some plans and get a price Quicker to install to if i get great big cupboards built etc

We are looking at kitchens too but still in the early stages as we need a little bit of building work done first.

Sounds like you want a similar kind of kitchen to me and I looked at Wren and they do a range with Ivory or blue painted oak doors which seems quite reasonable for wood. Of course when everything is added up it may not be that cheap! Their fitting seems reasonable too. Might be worth a try.

The independent builder who has just quoted us for fitting a kitchen is charging £2.5K and that isn't including electrics or plumbing!!! Far too much IMO. He also said he could get Howdens at discount but the example price he gave us didn't look like he is passing on much discount!

I asked on here about Wren.....got told to look on moneysavingexpert, some of the reviews and comments put me off.

£2.5 is what we've been quoted and from some companies has included new ceiling, spotlights, walls replastered. As well as the kitchen fitting....so yes I think perhaps your quote is too much - unless you have a seriously massive kitchen

Have been to see the Howden Tewkesbury White doors today. I really like them.. Love the way you can see the woodgrain but the white seems very hardwearing too. This range has come in much much cheaper than the Haworth.

Still waiting for my joiners price..

Decisions, decisions!!!

£120 - £150 a day is fair for a quality fitter - and 3 days should suffice for a standard fit. I cant understand 10 days????

I went independant but mine was a solid oak and sourced the applainces myself from a specialist. Also sourced my workshop direct from the timbers merchant.

In my experience buy cheap get crap.

Not after cheap, just a fair price. I agree cheap will be crap - and that's not the look I'm after but some of these places with thier overinflated prices, silly sales and crazy installation costs are having a laugh. Wickes wanted £3000 to install, plus whatever extras the builder saw when he came to the house!!! It's a a good size kitchen, but not a mansion!!!!!

We also need the walls plastering and the ceiling (which is all of 3.5m by 2.5m) doing. Last guy said it could be all done in a week....which sounds much more appealing and realistic!

We had a Howdens kitchen installed earlier this year, and I love it. DP has a trade account, and when they sent us their price it had beaten Wickes by a considerable margin for a better layout. DP still haggled more discount and asked for better fittings for free, which we got. I've been told that if you have more than one Howdens locally it's worth pitting them against each other for a better price.

Definitely shop around for your fitter though, the best can make an average kitchen look awesome, while the cheaper ones can totally ruin an expensive one. I was very lucky that we had ours done for free by a friend who is a rather pricey carpenter.

Mine has taken nearly 4 weeks because of the plastering, it took ages to dry (very cold week) and we couldn't paint until it dried. Prices depends on where you live I suppose, took a lot longer than we thought there was extra days for tiling drying grouting etc.

4 weeks! Oh I hope not.....i know there's a huge chance it could take longer than we first think, but not that long. Dad had his kitchen done last year and it took 5 days. He had a lot done an probably the same number of units as us, floors and walls tiled which we're not doing.

Howdens seem to be dropping thier prices so if we chose them will try for some more discount, or as you say some better fittings. They're sending me one of their recommended fitters, will see what he says in comparison to other quotes for the installation.