Roundhouse Kitchen

[laketa]

Just about to sign Terms and Conditions for a Roundhouse Designs kitchen, and having a last minute panic about a) are they any good and b) T&C are massively slanted in their favour, not sure if that's standard for a bespoke kitchen. Loathe to spend this much money when I'm not 100% certain. Has anyone used Roundhouse before? Or had similar experience of T&C with bespoke kitchen designers?

Haven't used Roundhouse but am having a kitchen designed at the moment. What kind of Ts&Cs are you unhappy and maybe we can give you an idea of whether they are standard in these contracts?

We got quotes and they look v. good, but v. expensive. Out of our price range in the end.

They did however, MASSIVELY negotiate down on price (and I know others have said the same). So I am sure you are getting a great quality kitchen, but I'd push hard to get the price well down from first quote before you sign anything.

Hope all goes well. What they have looks amazing.

T&C's I'm worried about are (i) disclaimers on finishing i.e. gas connections not done, we're providing our own worktop so sink & taps not connected, reliance on own workmen to do all electrics/plumbing (as they won't touch any of this) (ii) lack of specificity on delivery, both on the short term (i.e. it's one day within a certain week) and long term (contract only cancellable if they don't deliver within 180 days of original date, (iii) guarantee only for 1 year, I see John Lewis is 5 yrs for their kitchens (iv) kitchen is unuseable until completed (approx. 3-4 weeks from when fitting starts) compared to JL again who fit a temporary worktop (v) 2.5% additional fee to pay by c/c, but as a small co. in current environment i wouldn't want to take the chance.

Well, it doesn't sound very much like what we have signed up to. Our kitchen is not being delivered until Aug but we have a specified date and the installation will begin the following Monday (both specified in writing). I can't understand why they cannot give you, at least closer to the delivery date, a more specific day.

I wouldn't like at all the fact that you are supplying your own workmen for electrics/plumbing. This sounds both (a) more expensive, as you will have to specify in advance when you want the plumber and electrician there and their payment will presumably start from when they arrive even if the kitchen fitters are running behind and (b) liable to lead to arguments if the hole in the kitchen cabinet doesn't match up exactly with where the plumber is installing the waste disposal for instance. I can't understand why they would have their own tradespeople so they can sort it all out between them. I can just see the discussions down the line between them about who is to blame for what!

Don't like the fact that cancellation of the kitchen is so heavily weighted in their favour. One hundred and eighty days is half a year!

Our kitchen installation will be guaranteed for a year but the actual units are guaranteed for five years and appliances will have whatever the manufacturer's warranty is.

Yes, I would expect them to leave you with a temporary worktop while the granite template is being made. Is the lack of a temporary surface because you are not getting the actual worktop through them? Whatever the reason is, it sounds like a pain. However, we have been told that our granite worktop will only take a week so not sure why yours would take so long?

Think the 2.5% fee for cc payment is pretty normal.

Have you taken up references from previous clients? Perhaps they could put your mind at ease about how the installation works?

Have asked tho' have also just downloaded their accounts from Companies House which has raised more concerns. Can I ask who you're using? Have you found them good so far? We picked Roundhouse quickly because we were out of the UK a lot and didn't have time to do much research, I'm wondering now if we should start from scratch rather than risk making a very expensive mistake. Thanks for all the T&C info.

Just wanted to say that we've had two Roundhouse kitchens (one when they first started in Camden & one last year in our new house) and we have recommended them to lots of our friends.

We can't remember the T & C's from the 1st kitchen (probably 14 years ago) but we did look into them further this time and found they are pretty standard.

We had no problems with the installation of either of our kitchens, in fact the company was very organized and helpful; they co-ordinated with our builders and everything went to schedule. We love our kitchen, it looks fantastic; the quality of the drawers etc is amazing, and I would highly rate the company.

Just as an update, we did use Roundhouse in the end and the quality of the kitchen is superb. Also the actual experience of the fitting, despite the concerns re. the T&Cs was fairly much pain free which i never thought i'd say about a kitchen fit! Excellent fitters, prompt, tidy, proactive (!) and obsessive about the finished product.
Things in particular that make me glad we chose them: attention to detail, project management and communication, quality of the drawers (to echo the post above - seems like a small thing but oh so important...).
Would I use them again? Yes. Particularly (and perhaps almost counterintuitively), particularly if we had another small kitchen - although I think there's a perception that bespoke is what you do with a big space, the upside for a small space with a design that allows you to put every inch of space to good use is huge.

I agree - we love our Roundhouse kitchen too, three years in. Eye wateringly expensive, but ours was a relatively small space and we needed a design that would make the most of it. And you can feel the quality...

Lucky you.. I haven't had such a good experience with Roundhouse. Since they expect you to do all the groundwork, you have to make sure you have quality builders who know what they're doing. And get the timing right so one finishes just before Roundhouse delivers. For me, they were late in delivering, difficult and uncompromising.... overall not good value for money and I wish I'd stuck with John Lewis. Good luck everyone...

We did lots of research and it seems standard for this level of kitchen, that you get your own builder to prepare the room. We were doing building work anyway, and Roundhouse provided our builder with information and drawings for everything that was needed. The whole installation process was relatively pain-free, and the kitchen was delivered and fitted on schedule. It did take some time, as we were having a stainless steel worktop specially made, but we were warned, so we set up a microwave and a collection of take away menus! In the end it was worth the wait - the kitchen is the best room in the house now, and we all virtually live in it.

We just had a Roundhouse kitchen, and although it looks fab, it has been a totally nightmare end to end, and things continually go wrong with it. from the kitchen fitters being abusively rude to me (swearing at me in front of my daughter and then laughing when I cried), to the work surface needing weeks of fixing as it had been dropped, to the dishwasher not being fitted correctly, so not working....the list goes on and given the cost (it came to over £40k), I really regret it. their staff do the bare minimum to keep you quiet and get your money. proceed with caution, choosing roundhouse was the biggest mistake i have made.

oh, and echoing malvernmum, our cabinets have already started to chipped, after just a few weeks.

Not looking to have a new kitchen, well I'd love one but there is nothing worng with the one I've got, it's just 10 years old, but still good, damn it!

But Good Grief, over £40,000 on a new kitchen that you are NOT happy with, I would cry forever .

Actually over £40,000 on a new kitchen you are happy with is a bit for me but that's just on my part.

wrong even.....

There's no excuse for chipping paint. I sell coatings to kitchen manufacturers and they should have a guarantee of ten years at a minimum when applied correctly. Even on mdf.

Our experience with Roundhouse couldn't have been more different. The whole process was very professional, well-organised and I ended up with exactly the kitchen I had dreamed of - fairly similar in layout to my previous one (I'm a creature of habit) but so much better made, with lovely quality. I particularly like my huge new pantry cabinet which has an amazing amount of storage. The designer was very patient with me and my endless indecisions, the kitchen was delivered on time and fitted straight away by a fitter who couldn't have been more polite. He had real attention to detail and was also immaculately tidy. I would recommend the company, in fact I already have!

Goodness, Chiswickmom, anyone would think you worked for them!

I'm currently debating a Roundhouse kitchen which I was very excited about until I read some of the above posts. But are any other kitchens any better at the same level?
Also how much of a discount were you able to negotiate. They have come in above our budget (of course) and at the moment are fairly adamant there is no room for manouvre, which of course in the current economic climate is utter nonsense.
Would be interested to hear your views.
Thanks

I would think very carefully before deciding on a Roundhouse Kitchen i have had bad luck from the very beginning, my kitchen was delivered at the beginning of June, now we are at the end of September and its still not complete the organization is very poor indeed, with things being completely missed off the order, and having to wait weeks for them to arrive only to find the items are wrong again, the problem now is seeing my kitchen was started back in June 2012 they seem to have forgotten about me altogether, not even answering my messages. you have been warned

We have bought 2 kitchens from Roundhouse. The first one several years ago was excellent, and so having moved house we went back in 2011

Prices have been hiked, service and design was surprisingly poor given their design led- ethos, and the £30k+ pricetag. Some glaring errors such as lack of a cutlery drawer we are still stuck with. The memory of the poor service, never getting back to us and generally unpleasant experience we also suffer every time we see the Roundhouse logo, which they tack onto every available surface

1 year in and the kitchen is already showing signs of wear with doors coming loose, and certain issues with the appliances. Given their poor service and unhelpfulness during fitting I will actually have this fixed myself rather than suffer trying to have them provide any further service

Overpriced and underwhelming, I would certainly not recommend them

Glad I have just read these reviews! We were on our way to Roundhouse this afternoon, NOT anymore thou. Phew!

You are all making me very nervous!
Have just spent a fortune on a Roundhouse kitchen and are 4 weeks into the 7 week project.
The actual kitchen itself is now sitting in the middle of the room waiting to be installed Monday.
So far, they could not have been more polite, helpful, attentive and brilliant with us. They are constantly on the phone or here checking things over. The thing about making your builders prepare absolutely everything is true though. The design meant that we had to get a plumber in to move a load of pipes (we had no idea we would need to do this) and the builder has ended up needing an extra week as he was expected to basically prep each last detail for them to simply come & fit. Will let you know how we get on!

My friend has a roundhouse kitchen. imho our ikea one looks equally good and it cost a fifth of the price.
Just sayin

We bought a kitchen from Roundhouse last year and were really happy. A new kitchen is always a big disruption but they got back to us quickly on any issues and did what they promised. The end result has transformed our house. I'd recommend them.

We've got a small roundhouse kitchen and we're really happy with it. It was fitted about 5 years ago, still looks great and works perfectly - great drawer action etc :)
They were fast and efficient when they were in. Getting a kitchen fitted when you're living in the house has to rate as one of the worst bits of doing up your home (unreasonably, it always makes me want to cry) but they were as quick as they could be and the level of finish is great.
Plus we always get the 'wow what a nice kitchen' comments which is pretty good.