Howdens questions.

[DueinSeptember]

We've just been into Howdens and have a kitchen designer coming to our house next Friday to give us some suggestions and prices.

I asked about fitters, they guided us to a board with tradesmen's cards. I asked if there was anyone they specifically recommended and he gave me a handful of cards. He said he couldn't officially recommend anyone, but the cards were in order of preference.

I've been thinking about this and would I be right in thinking that the guy they've suggested must be good or customers would not be happy with their kitchens. Am I thinking too simply about this, or would there be commission etc involved and influencing them.

Any other tips with howdens too?

Howdens only supply to trade, so your quote will go to the fitter. He can then choose to give you the full discount (70-85%) or not.

I think they are pretty good, and we are about to get a Howdens kitchen. We have ordered ours through a neighbour who is a builder (he is not fitting it though) and he has just passed all quotes straight onto us. We have tweaked the design about 8 times now, and they have been very prompt to amend the plans/price.

I work in construction industry and the majority of new kitchens I see are Howdens.

Thanks porky!

we have a howdens kitchen and are very happy with it.
apparently builders/fitters love them as the carcasses are already built so it saves so much time and effort

We have the white gloss howdens kitchen with solid beech worktops, and I love it, would definitely recommend them. As someone further up the thread said they only supply to trade and they won't get commission from recommending a fitter as they are all independent.

Thanks both!

We have a Hosdens kitchen and it's great. Have a look at their laminate "oak" worktops. They actually look really good fitted (and I wouldn't have said that beforehand).

We nearly got a Howdens kitchen and were impressed with the quality. But we went with Magnets trade instead because I just liked the design and shade of the particular one I wanted better.

We looked and liked the white gloss Howdens units but none of their worktops (since I didn't want either wood or laminate). We then compared the price with a similar range at Magnet - for the same design, the quotes were almost identical (via our builder's trade account) but still substantially more expensive than the comparable Ikea units which are 2mm thicker. Yes, it's flat packed but even with 1 or 2 days labour to assemble by a joiner - it still came in (£2k less in my case just for the units - I had already decided to source the worktop and appliances separately). I had to limit the pan drawers and larder units in the Howdens/Magnet quote but I had as many as I wanted in the Ikea design. Plus all the Ikea interiors e.g hinges were of a higher quality than either Howdens/Magnet (Blum hardware rebranded as Ikea own brand) - a no brainer really. Ultimately for that much money, I could put up with a few trips to Ikea. I was surprised by how much of a price differential there was between Ikea and Howdens/Magnet - almost double and I know that my builder got a 70% trade discount which he passed on to me.

I tried to get a howdens kitchen, but the designer at my local branch was so totally useless I gave up. He just took too long to get back to me with the design and price.

Plus they only give you an all in price, they don't break it down. I was also told not to buy their appliances. Also, their prices are only reasonable if they are offering at a good discount, - but will tell you the offer is only available for a short term.

Thanks everyone.