DIY-Kitchens

[MinecraftMother]

Is anyone else have trouble with this company?

I heard so many great things about them, how easy their planner was to use, their customer service amazing etc. I've spent literally months going back and forth over the kitchen and utility we're putting in (huge space) and now it's time for me to place the order.

I want to speak with a human before I drop £25K but all they've got on at the moment is this irritating ticketing system where they answer but don't answer your question. You then have to submit another ticket which is reviewed in another 48 hours!

I have no idea where to go from here. I've asked for a call back numerous times, to no avail. I'm now worried about ordering with them - they've already responded with a PS we've got none of your appliances at the end of an email to me, just dropped in all casual like.

Well, wtf, are they all the same size and can I just go to John Lewis and buy them there? I also want a couple of queries re: worktop answered as the one we want is £TBC so perhaps not in stock? Who knows? Well, not fucking me because no one will answer my bastard questions!

There are a couple of other bits too, all of this could be simply sorted by a telephone call, but no - ticketing is the way forward apparently. So so inefficient and it looks like we're going to have to make the fucking trip to Pontefract on Tuesday (missing their end of month target before their prices increase) because I cannot for love nor money get a human to call me back to answer my questions.

I've put in so much time and effort into this. I am not very well minded when it comes to design and stuff, so I've really had to try hard. We are so nearly there and the builders tell me it'll be ready for the kitchen in a few weeks so get ordering, and I've reached a complete wall.

I could honestly cry.

For the sake of a phone call they're going to get me on their doorstep next week.

Who would drop this much money on a kitchen without speaking to a human?!

I had such high hopes for this company too - loads of people thrilled with them in the past but it would appear they've really gone downhill.

Maybe I should just start again with a local company (waaah!!).

Anyone else having issues? Because this could literally be my luck at the moment!

I've just ordered my kitchen through them and it's looking so good. They gave me a number for after sales - 01977 657 957. Could try that?

@Pringlesaremyspiritanimal you are a massive star and I am beyond grateful.

The kitchen and utility I've designed look great (even if I do say so myself!). I just have a couple of questions re: interior cabinet colour (I think i've made a boo boo here with my design), appliances obviously, worktop...

I will call them now, again, my genuine thanks.
MM

Ok, firstly, take a moment and breathe in and out. I was you exactly 6 weeks ago so I know it can be stressful. I ordered my kitchen through DIY and all went well.

They did have phone number you could call, and I was fortunate to get through quite quickly whenever I tried. However, because they have been overwhelmed with queries, they've suspended this.

As PP has stated, they do provide an after-sales contact number once order is placed (I found it easy to get through when I called), and you do generally have a few days to make changes/cancel the order after placing it.

RE: appliances - I didn't purchase any of these from DIY. I sourced these myself from either AO.com/Appliance city etc. They'll work out cheaper this way, and you have a bigger variety of options to pick from. I based my decisions on Which best buy reviews.

RE: worktop - again, I didn't get mine via DIY kitchens. I decided I'd source this myself since I didn't really like the options DIY had. I reached out to several independent firms, and managed to get the best price for my chosen worktop, after I'd reviewed several samples.

Once you have placed your order, this will be reviewed by DIY who will remove/swap out items that you may have incorrectly added. They will let you know as and when they do this. I accidentally ordered a tall unit in the smaller height which they noticed and changed.

You not being able to speak to a human is down to the pandemic, that said, the whole DIY model is based on the customer planning the kitchen themselves. They don't offer a design service as such, so they are pretty hands off. This is why they have invested in a planner that is quite user-friendly, and allows the customer to take ownership. Without sounding patronising, that is their USP, and the reason their prices are reasonable. If you want a different experience, that's where your Howdens/Wren come in.

I've just ordered utility room units from them, having got my kitchen from them a couple of years ago. I agree, it is very frustrating not being able to speak to someone when you want to and I found the whole ticket thing hard to work with. I sent in my order for them to check which took about a week (last time it was done within 24 hours) but when they did reply they had checked things through properly and they were quick to respond. You can also get in touch via Twitter and they reply quickly.

As PP has said, it isn't the same type of service you get from Magnet or John Lewis - you need to be pretty confident of your design and I would definitely recommend getting whoever is fitting your kitchen to review the DIY kitchen plan before you finalise it. You do get a few days "cooling off" period after you place your order which allows you to make any changes.

I was getting quite fed up of them myself, compared to the experience I had last time, but I think most places are the same. I contacted Howdens to get one of their designers to call me and 3 weeks later, I've heard nothing.

We got ours fitted about 5 weeks ago. I also found the ticket system annoying! However, the kitchen is in and looks good. We bought appliances and worktop separately (and the worktop company came to measure which made me feel more comfortable than me measuring!)

Thanks everyone.

I am taking a breath! I have no doubt that it'll be lovely, it just seems to me like there are a million strings that I need to pull together. It's taking up more time than my actual job and I'm aware that this is the DIY element of it.

For the appliances, how did you know which product to choose by dimensions? For example, I wanted an integrated dishwasher but can't have the one we chose from DIY-K so am having a look on AO (I do like that company) and there are various sized ones, all same width for the most part (apart from the slimline ones) but height varies a lot...?

I am in the same boat and was finding the lack of telephone number really difficult!

I think I am going to go with KitchenWarehouse UK because they can do bespoke units going up to our ceiling which DIY couldn't.

I gave DIY a plan from OnePlan on Houzz which they put into a shopping list but you do need to check everything - agree exhausting and full time job!

Hope it all works out!

Hello everyone

Hope it's ok to ask a related question here, since it's troublesome getting in contact with the company at the moment.

I'm planning out a new kitchen island with DIY and want to go for the bespoke colour option. I know this sounds really silly, but i can't seem to see anywhere which says that the end panels, kick boards etc will also be painted to match - has anyone else done this?

Also, I can only find a small range of panel sizes and can't see how to finish off the back of units under a seating area etc. Are you expected to buy big ones, cut to size and finish with a trim or something?

Sorry i know this seems very basic but I'm going round in circles on their website.

Thanks!

For example, I wanted an integrated dishwasher but can't have the one we chose from DIY-K so am having a look on AO (I do like that company) and there are various sized ones, all same width for the most part (apart from the slimline ones) but height varies a lot...?

Honestly, the fact that you're purchasing an integrated appliance should make that easier as the sizing should be universal (at least, that's my understanding), so I simply filtered the search options to 'integrated' on AO.com. This does of course depend on the unit size you've gone for i.e. some of the fridge/freezer units are for 50/50 or 70/30 fridge freezers. Same with dishwasher, would depend on whether you wanted slimline or standard 60cm width.

I'm planning out a new kitchen island with DIY and want to go for the bespoke colour option. I know this sounds really silly, but i can't seem to see anywhere which says that the end panels, kick boards etc will also be painted to match - has anyone else done this?

@curlytops21

Are you using their planner or not? It's much easier to create a shopping list that way, than searching for items on their site - the latter is confusing.

On the planner you can edit all panels to the bespoke colour of your choice. However, it's likely that during the 'checking' stage of your order, they would automatically do this for you in any case.

In terms of end panel sizes, again, the the online planner is pre-emptive, so it will automatically adjust the end panels to size, you don't have to add these in yourself. Sometimes they add in extra panels that you won't necessarily require (I find that all kitchen places tend to do this as it's an easy way for them to make money), but you can remove them. Will your builder/joiner be checking the list for you? They could advise on which end panels you do and don't need. This was the one issue I faced, since I was a complete newbie, having never done a kitchen reno. It's difficult to know where there should and shouldn't be end panels, but I consulted with my joiner who told advised on which to keep and which to remove.

@Smallgoon

I'm planning out a new kitchen island with DIY and want to go for the bespoke colour option. I know this sounds really silly, but i can't seem to see anywhere which says that the end panels, kick boards etc will also be painted to match - has anyone else done this?

@curlytops21

Are you using their planner or not? It's much easier to create a shopping list that way, than searching for items on their site - the latter is confusing.

On the planner you can edit all panels to the bespoke colour of your choice. However, it's likely that during the 'checking' stage of your order, they would automatically do this for you in any case.

In terms of end panel sizes, again, the the online planner is pre-emptive, so it will automatically adjust the end panels to size, you don't have to add these in yourself. Sometimes they add in extra panels that you won't necessarily require (I find that all kitchen places tend to do this as it's an easy way for them to make money), but you can remove them. Will your builder/joiner be checking the list for you? They could advise on which end panels you do and don't need. This was the one issue I faced, since I was a complete newbie, having never done a kitchen reno. It's difficult to know where there should and shouldn't be end panels, but I consulted with my joiner who told advised on which to keep and which to remove.

Ah thank you so much for your advice Smallgoon. No i knew what i wanted so just added stuff to the basket but i will try using the online planner tonight - it wasnt working last time i tried.

That will probably solve all of my problems by the sound of things! The island is fairly straightforward and my husband is an engineer and is doing most of the work, so i will get him to check it all.

Can't wait to go back and play around properly now! Thanks again for your help.

No worries. I know a few weeks ago they removed the kitchen planner link from their site to reduce traffic - if you can't find it on their site, here's the link. It's still working fine for me:

planner.diy-kitchens.com/

Ooh thanks - i had trouble finding it again but that's me in now. Thanks a million!

Was about to give you the same number a pp has given, got through very easily on that one. We had the same issues in the beginning with ticket system but once we actually placed the order (before payment) we had emails sent to us to confirm a few things, I found them really helpful! Once that was all confirmed the basket was created and we paid. It was delivered last week, fitting starting tomorrow. It looks good so far!

£25k seems an awful lot even when you add in all the appliances and work surfaces etc - unless you have an enormous kitchen. Ours will add up to not much more than half of that - Bespoke kitchen from Handmade Kitchens of Christchurch and appliances from AO and independent supplier for quartz worktops. The great thing with our supplier is that units can be any size up to a metre wide without paying extra.

I thought £25k was a lot too... I paid £4k for my units. Looking to spend £2k on quartz worktop, and then maybe £3.5k on appliances.

The kitchen is huge and our utility is like the size on a normal kitchen, so it's like 3 kitchens.
The worktops are £7K and hob alone is £1200!

Thank you again for the phone number @Pringlesaremyspiritanimal. It sorted me right out, speaking with someone who could Actually just make alterations easily and give me recommendations, such as what she'd do with the handles etc.

Apparently this is the 10th kitchen to be ordered from this new system. When I put the order through it said to call the original number which of course wasn't taking any calls! So tomorrow I hope they'll call me with the final figure and then I can just tick this off.

Then it's the Quooker and the flooring, cloakroom and hall... wasaashhh!

We bought ours there 5 years ago and it's still looking great! I also bought appliances and worktop elsewhere. I found it easiest to get Howdens to come and quote for the kitchen shape we wanted (all the right size units etc) then send that quote to DIY kitchens as there is noway I would have known all the little bits I needed.

@Qc16, I always assumed Handmade Kitchens of Christchurch would be ££££ but would love to use them if the price is half-decent. How many new units did you have put in and what did their cost come to, excluding the worktops and appliances you bought separately?

The handmade kitchen by ours (full wood carcasses) came to £45K for the kitchen only! If I was loaded, it would totally be the one though. It was absolute perfection when I saw their showroom. I have no vision, so to see the kitchen I want in the colours I want all set up in front of me, it was a real pull.
But the cost...
We're having Amtico floors in the new rooms and they're very expensive so I'm glad we didn't go for the handmade kitchen.

Hopefully I'll get a call to pay today and get my order in, then I can organise the Neff bits.

Dare I say it, I might be getting excited. I hate all the choices I have to make, husband is crap, and I find it overwhelming. Not just kitchen but build, how big to make the rooms, do we want the fridge set back? Where will the lights go? Do I really want a boiling tap?

It's not for me. But we're in it now!

[quote TaleOfTheContinents]@Qc16, I always assumed Handmade Kitchens of Christchurch would be ££££ but would love to use them if the price is half-decent. How many new units did you have put in and what did their cost come to, excluding the worktops and appliances you bought separately?[/quote]
We don’t actually have it yet but this is what we have on order - all units apart from the bin cabinet are 1 metre wide (they charge the same regardless of height or width up to 1m wide.

Tall Larder, 2 Doors (1+1), Adjustable Shelves Minimum ceiling clearance of 115mm required. Cabinet Includes 4 Loose Shelves
Spice Rack for 1 and 2 Door Larders
One per door
Spice Rack for 1 and 2 Door Larders
One per door
Tall End Panel
Pantry Doors, Frame on 3 Sides, 3 Panels (Engraved)
Equal Panels Only. (1 Pair, Side by Side) 200mm Bottom Rail on Doors (Up to 6 Letters)
Tall End Panel
Base cabinet 2 Doors, 1 Shelf
Cabinet Includes 1 Loose Shelf
Base cabinet 2 Doors, 3 Drawers Inside
Cutlery Insert
Drawers 1+2 Pan Drawers
Cutlery Insert
Fridge Top Box, 1 Door, Top Hinged, Two Panels
Magnetic Catch Only. Two Panels
Larder Top, 2 Doors, No Base, Adjustable Shelves
NOTE: There is a fixed shelf 450mm up from the base which has the bottom catches fitted to it.
Cabinet Includes 2 Loose Shelves

Island items
Base Side Panel
Integrated Dishwasher Door in Frame, Full Size
NOTE: Workshop - SEE PIC, Please note that the light projector feature on some dishwashers may not be viewable unless you have a recessed plinth
Integrated Dishwasher Sealing Fillet
Two fillets per door for inset sides on adjacent cabinets
Inset or Undermount Sink, 2 Doors, 1 Dummy Drawer
1 Door, Pull Out Waste Bin (Fixes to Door)
This cabinet has 2x35ltr bins, and a recess of 30mm
Internal Bin
Inset Side Panel
Drawers 1+2 Pan Drawers
Cutlery Insert
Drawers 1+2 Pan Drawers
Inset Side Panel
Tulipwood Cornice Per Metre
Tulipwood Plinth Per Metre
Delivery to ground floor (Standard) in yellow delivery area

All of this for £8300.

Well, I'm still waiting to put in my order! 🤷‍♀️

The system is apparently brand new and speaking with the (fab) girls in the office it seems like management have just swiped the old system from
Under them and this one is now the one to be used, but they're not ready.

I have been trying to pay all this money for days now! It's thrown out my builders' timings now - they aren't happy 🤷‍♀️

Stressful, but also for their staff. They're such nice people and so helpful, I just can't understand how it can be this hard to place an order.

It looks wonderful tho.

Which kitchen are you going for OP?

I went for the Norton shaker in blue and grey

Same!!!

I wanted to snap the 3D image but I can't on the phone.

Island cobham blue and a gorgeous granite (white but with colours in it) and a Belfast sink in it. There's an overhang, for the littles.

Then wall units (all drawers) in dove grey. Tall units on each end, huge hob, two ovens and microwave housing.

I was actually more excited about kitting out the utility/laundry room...