B&Q vs Wrens kitchen.

[butterflybuns]

We are having a new kitchen and changing its position into a new extension. We like cream gloss with a solid wood worktop and will have around 18 units in including a peninsula and integrated appliances. We've chosen pretty much middle of the road stuff so no outrageously expensive ovens or anything. We've been quoted £11.5k for a Wrens kitchen and just under £10k for the B&Q one- same design but the Wrens cupboards are lacquered rather than B&Q's foil wrapped and both include installation.

Is it worth paying that £1.5k extra as we are worried about posible bubbling and delamination or are we worrying over nothing? We are obviously on a budget (who isn't?) , so that difference would go a long way towards a new floor in the whole room.

We thought about getting Howden's round but I think they'll be a similar price? We went to IKEA today to look but we weren't blown away by their designs. Almost getting fed up with searching, I thought it would be fun searching for a new kitchen not stressful! Any thoughts or advice would be great as we are rubbish and wracked with indecision.

I assumed local firms would be more expensive than bigger companies. Will give the one we have in town a look.

I don't know about b&q but we loved a wren kitchen. Came home, googled wren kitchens and wouldn't touch them with a barge pole. I was so disappointed as we really liked the kitchen but please do look for reviews online, hardly anyone has a good word to say about them. Missing/broken bits, non existent after sales service etc.

We got a crown imperial kitchen in the end from a local builders merchant. Really good quality and service. If you're in bucks/oxon I can recommend them and an excellent fitter.

Wren were just terrible ime. Really inexperienced staff, lazy fitters, appalling customer service. I'd look for a local firm too.

My best friend had an awful time with wren. They kept changing the date it would be fitted, it arrived with the wrong components, rude customer service, the whole works.

We had our kitchen done through Wickes-they were great and three years later it still looks new.

Wren had to measure our kitchen three times. They still couldn't draw up a plan with the correct number of cupboards that would fit. We ended up asking for our deposit back, as we totally lost faith that we'd ever receive a kitchen that fitted.

foil-wrap falls off. Most quickly if it is with a few feet of a kettle, toaster or dishwasher, but I have seen it peeling off samples in a showroom.

Avoid Wren like the plague!

Kitchen was months late.
Installation was scheduled to take 5 days - it took 5 weeks!
Installation staff were lazy and rude, didn't stay for a full working day at any point during the process
Customer service was atrocious
Kitchen design was full of errors

Oh dear! Maybe I get myself down to the local firm and see what they can do.

Have you looked at Wickes? Our last Wickes solid oak kitchen was as good as new after 8 years.

I wouldn't touch B&Q with a bargepole. Shit customer service, shit products, shit delivery, and they're not even cheap.

I might go there for a bag of cement I could lob in the back of the car, but place an expensive order for home delivery and fitting? No chance.

We had B & Q high gloss. No problems - has not bubbled. Although our's are laquered. Maybe a different range.

Our old kitchen, which came with the house, was chipboard covered in a sticky back plastic kind of stuff. Wood effect. Not very effective, it did bubble and lift.

^thing is B & Q do subcontract to local tradesmen for fitting. So service may vary.