DIY Kitchens!

[AltheaVestr1t]

Currently planning a house move and a new kitchen, and I'm leaning towards a navy and white kitchen from DIY kitchens. There are a few DIY Kitchen threads on here but none since 2016. Does anyone have any good or bad experiences of DIY Kitchens to share? Thanks!

We had a kitchen from DIY kitchens a few years ago. I was happy & would likely use again, but just a few comments -

Double check that a local kitchen supplier can't get near the price. 5 years ago, DIY kitchens were far cheaper, but the gap may have narrowed now they are more popular.

Be wary if you are against a deadline/have a fitter booked - some bits were missed from our order. They sent them out a few days later; not a problem for us, might be for you.

We had a shaker style, and the long doors for the fridge displayed some obvious warping/bowing after a few years - the gap between door and unit widened at the top by 3mm or so. It might be the case that all doors that size eventually do that, but I'd check.

The supplied unopened touch-up paint was dried out and ruined when we opened it for the first time, after a few years. It was still sealed so annoying.

we live in Yorkshire and my fitter was my son in law whos a joiner and grandson so he did give us a good price which was £800 but he did say he would normally have charged around £1200 this was for 4 wall units, 5double base units and sorting out the plumbing for putting the sink unit in and worktops

I think we're talking about 13 base/tall units (including island) but no wall ones. I have literally no yardstick for this job so I have no idea of what is a decent price and what isn't!

we didnt go with Wickes but their qoute for the same kitchen was £2000 using their fitters

Thanks @FurierTransform, that's all great advice!

I have just got our kitchen design done by Karen and going to send it to DIY Kitchens.
All the way I was thinking of Luca gloss.
There is another thread about gloss vs matt and the conclusion there is gloss is easier to maintain. However, Karen recommended to go with matt doors as they show less fingerprints etc. Also I thought gloss would be better for a north facing small kitchen as it would reflect more light.
I got Dekton Arga XGloss sample and it feels that it will make kitchen look brighter.

Just wondering if anyone has already got Luca Gloss, how it is in maintenance?

@Lily7050 we've got Luca Matt in Dove grey - not much help but it's very light and easy to clean.

Thank you BullshitVivienne. Would you know if Dove grey is lighter than Cashmere?
I got door samples in Cashmere (Linwood painted) and in Mussel (Altino Gloss) but cannot decide which one would suite better. I like Cashmere and not sure if it will make the kitchen too dark. Though Cashmere colour feels warmer than Mussel.

@AltheaVestr1t

Can anyone give me a rough idea of fitting costs for a DIY kitchen? Obviously there are a lot of variables but a ball park figure would be really helpful.

I had a local carpenter fit mine and he charged a day rate of £125, took him about a week. That said my kitchen isn't very big but he did make a bespoke wall unit for me too....I'll attach a photo

@boredboredboredboredbored: Very nice kitchen! But open shelves are not for me.
If you kitchen of the photo from DIY Kitchens, what colour is it?

@Lily7050

Thank you BullshitVivienne. Would you know if Dove grey is lighter than Cashmere? I got door samples in Cashmere (Linwood painted) and in Mussel (Altino Gloss) but cannot decide which one would suite better. I like Cashmere and not sure if it will make the kitchen too dark. Though Cashmere colour feels warmer than Mussel.

They look similar I think but cashmere seems a bit warmer. Our kitchen gets lots of light, so we've got a darker island.

[quote Lily7050]@boredboredboredboredbored: Very nice kitchen! But open shelves are not for me.
If you kitchen of the photo from DIY Kitchens, what colour is it?[/quote]

Yes this is the Norton in Dove grey. I didn't want enclosed wall units all the way around as it's a small kitchen. I'd completely run out of money by the time I got to the kitchen as the house was a complete derelict renovation and this was a good compromise.

I am waiting for a quote for DIY Kitchens. I also sent Karen's design to Magnet and Schmidt as they got showrooms close to my home.
Howdens did not want even to see the kitchen design until I give them a a buider's account.

Could anyone please recommend other competitors of DIY Kitchens to get quotes to compare.
I looked at Units online but they would send 3 samples only even though the samples are not free. Also not sure about Onlinekithenstore. I looked at their accounts on Companies House. Both are very small companies. It is a bit worrying that they did not manage to grow their businesses unlike DIY Kitchens.

@Lily7050 - how was your quote from DIY?

I would be interested to see how they compared for essentially the same design.

@101namesforme: DIY's units came just under £3K, Magnet quotes £8K with 50% discount.
Magnet's pricing policy does not make sense to me as the quality of their doors and painting is not as good as DIY. Also magnet's designer made a small change that I thought was a good idea. I asked DIY's sales person to include the change but he said it won't work and explained why.

Thanks @Lily7050 that’s interesting. Was the magnet quote £8k before or after the 50% off?

@101namesforme

Thanks *@Lily7050* that’s interesting. Was the magnet quote £8k before or after the 50% off?

@101naemsforme: it was after 50% off.

@boredboredboredboredbored Love your kitchen! Did you go for wood tops, since your sink is undermounted? If so can you tell me where? I'm thinking of ordering from Worktop Express today - argh!

I'm interested in fitting costs too as a friend's husband is doing my fairly small kitchen (2 double wall units and 5 base units, all pre built) for £1k, including tiling. And I'm not sure if that's a good price?

@Misty9 that sounds about right with the tiling done ours would have been £1200 without the tiling and only two more wall cupboards than yours

[quote isseywith4vampirecats]@Misty9 that sounds about right with the tiling done ours would have been £1200 without the tiling and only two more wall cupboards than yours[/quote]
Thanks. I'm getting the same kitchen as you 😊

Thanks @Lily7050

Anyone managed to use their online planner recently?

@Soulstirring: I do not think they put the planner back to life.

I would recommend Better Kitchens in Western Super Mare. Brilliant personal service and excellent quality. They will draw up plans for you using the info you provide and are online like DIY. Nothing is too much trouble. My kitchen has been fitted a year now and is still perfect. Really love it.