ryder72

Its a Liebherr. They are designed to open within the width of their body. SUperbly designed and engineered product. Well worth every penny they cost.

Lets get to basics - Historically fitted kitchens across Europe has been 720mm carcase and 150mm plinth to make 870mm plus 38mm laminate worktops to make 908m, nominally 910mm. This sort of goes back to the 30's. Modern European kitchens have moved to a different system to optimise manufacturing to a now more or less standard height of between 780-795mm with a smaller plinth of 100-120mm depending on the manufacturer. Only the most basic European and all English kitchens stick to the 720mm+150mm system. Think about this giving you both a higher working height (average European is about an inch taller since 1930's) and using the plinth space for storage. So the first question to ask is why did your kitchen end up at below even the 870mm height without worktops? Was the kitchen installed on the bare floor without taking the height increase of the floor covering taken into account? Once also need to factor in worktop thicknesses. Historically laminate tops were 38mm but with modern materials this has gone down to 30mm, 20mm and even 12mm. This needs to be compensated while setting up the kitchen to ensure that the end worktop height is still ergonomically sound. Were any conversations had with the kitchen designers in this respect. OP and his other half are tall so I would recommend at the height of the worktop should be closer to the 925mm mark. In summary there is no such thing as a standard height so leaving this to the architect is no good unless you had signed off on elevations showing specified heights. Also bear in mind that a kitchen should be set up to have a level worktop hence the feet are adjusted from the highest point in the kitchen to accommodate uneven floors. Its not unusual for a floor in a modern build to run out by 5-7m across 4-5m kitchen so your working height is going to be a specified height usually from the highest point unless otherwise agreed with the client.

All of the major ones are affected. There are very few that make everything in Europe/in-house and these are in a much better position. I know Novy is virtually unaffected. VZUG has some extended lead times but they make almost everything in Switzerland. Some of the entry level stuff from Turkey and italy is not that badly affected.

The appliance delay fiasco continues. This started with the pandemic and BSH group shamelessly blamed it on huge consumer demand when this clearly wasn't the case. BSH group has a terrible track record of supply chain management over the past 5-6 years and they were perhaps 'managing' the situation. As the news has got out the narrative from them has changed to reflect the truth. As it happens there are only a handful of manufacturer unaffected by this so order with a 3-4 month lead time in mind. With respect to delivery - Most retailers will stipulate a window to report damages and this is only reasonable. If you were to take delivery and store it for months, then understandably the retailer would be within their rights to turn down any reports of damaged goods outside their stipulated window. With respect to warranty - Your warranty starts when you install and register your warranty. In case a warranty has not been registered, your proof of purchase (invoice) is treated as the warranty date so it becomes vital that you register your warranties in a timely manner. If an appliance is faulty (not damaged) at installation, the manufacturer usually reserves the right to inspect and offer a replacement or repair at their sole discretion. If you have had an appliance sitting in storage awaiting installation and proves to be faulty at installation this isnt necessarily a problem.

Only works if you arent having any under worktop appliances. 76cm is very low.

All ceramic scratches. The premium ranges from Bora, Novy and Gaggenau use K Ceramic which the mainstream ones use Schott Ceramic. K Ceramic is a harder more scratch resistant material. But if you are going to buy a nice hob and be scared of scratching it, buy a cheaper one that you will use. Like others have said, its a tool - dont become a slave to it.

The reason they cant call is a F&B colour as that is trademark protected. So they can only do a colour match. This will leave you with a slight colour varition but its perfectly acceptable. Dont be under the impression that you can buy a painted kitchen and paint over it if you dont like it. Spray painted kitchens use a 2 part polyurethane paint and this cures after spraying. If you need to paint over you need to sand the paint, reprime and paint it and its not going to be be cheap. If you hand paint it you wont get the finish.

Let me try and clarify a few points about this- The doors that DIY use are all almost exclusively EU made. No local employment generated The hardware is mostly to exclusively Austrian. No local employment. The chipboard is locally made partly from UK grown timber and mostly imported EU grown timber. Machinery is mostly Italian or German. Handles etc are mostly EU made. Obviously the carcases are cut and assembled in the UK but I cant see how this is calling it a British kitchen. Its about as British as the new Land Rovers made in Slovakia. Having been in this kitchen game for a while the reason we have turned our focus to exclusively German products is three-fold - Quality is better. The detailing is far better. Components and chipboard is better. Finishing is better. Reliable supply. When they give us a delivery week it gets delivered that week. A week before we get a half day delivery window and it gets delivered. In 15 years of working with German suppliers we have had 2-3 deliveries that didnt make the delivery week and all due to factors out of the deivery drivers control. Competitive pricing - For the quality of product delivered the prices are sensible. Not cheap. But sensible pricing. I have tried numerous British suppliers and regretfully unless one goes to the very top end of the market (£50k+), its nothing but trouble. British manufacturers simply do not invest enough to be able to deliver.

Worktop will need a proper batten to rest on. Dishwasher you can fit easily in a 600mm gap. Dont need anything wider as it will only show unsightly gaps. You have plenty of space.

I woould say almost certainly yes but you could check by removing the drawers or extending the drawer and looking up through the door.

Fair play. It does say here are no warranties on it though. If they have cost engineered it, I wonder if thats affected its ability to resist stains.

iQ White Quartz from International Stones (made by Cosentino) - As far as I know (and I have been in this industry only 15 years the only brand of quartz they make is Silestone. A little google search on Internation Stones shows they they are an importer of stone. Some of their material colours are the same as Silestone but their website also curiously says their materials match technologies used by Silestone, ceasarstone, Compac etc. Both statements are unlikely to be true. So I am of the opinion that they import Chinese quartz in colours to match Silestone. Something isnt adding up. Good luck with your warranty. If it is Silestone, someone from Cosentino will visit wearing branded clothing and inspect. If not, its anyone's guess what you have got.

Indeed. Oxalic acid has a pH of 1.3 making it a very strong acid (in the hydrochloric/sulphuric/nitric acid territory). It therefore follows that the concentration in Rhubarb has to be very very low else you wont have teeth left as you eat your rhubarb. What brand of quartz have you got? Have to tried contacting your supplier for remedial action?

When I said it doesnt stain, I meant foodstuff. Not strong acidic or alkalis, solvents or suchlike. I am things used in normal everyday cooking. And they will not stain the worktop as they are only very mildly acidic or alkaline. Resin is actually quite inert. The most likely reaction is from the acidic/alkaline material reacting with the quartz content. Or solvent reacting with the resin.

It is not possible to permanently stain quartz.

You are not wrong with this approach. The building control figure of say 60l/sec is a flow rate irrespective of the size of the kitchen. This is to ensure that mould doesnt become a problem and is completely inadequate from a perspective of clearing a room of smoke and odour created from cooking. Another example of building control stuck in the dark ages. multiplying your room volume less volume of goods in it (like kitchen units) and multiplying this by 12 will give you extraction rate you would require to rapidly remove smoke and odour from grilling steaks etc. Multiplying by 6-8 is what you need for normal cooking activity. However also remember that this figure makes sense in a self contained kitchen. Open plan living has challenged extraction capabilities. Venting hobs are changed the way extraction requirements are defined. Lets say your room is 6m * 5m * 2.4m = 72 m3 * 12 = 864 m3. Ideally you want your extractor to have an extraction rate of 864 m3/h. You are right, very few extractors have this sort of capacity, but also remember that an extractor that does 600 m3/h will still do the job, just slower. Try and find one that gets as close to the target figure as possible and you will get best possible extraction performance. Dont tie yourself up in knots if you cant find the extractor. Its not the end of the world.

Nobilia will be dearer than Howdens but competitive with Magnet.

Novy with External motor and you will get something ridiculously powerful and quiet

Find a good designer. Tell them honestly what you can afford to spend and discuss with them what it is you'd like from the kitchen and let them do their their thing. If you have a good designer, the more information your give them, the better will be the end result.

What they dont tell you about porcelain worktops - Most arent through coloured so the finish you see on the surface isnt what you see on the front edge. Drainer grooves if required for the same reason could be a completely different colour and often looks unsightly. The material is extremely brittle and virtually impossible to repair should chips appear. Other than that, its sound. To me, its not really worth the spend unless there is a colour/finish you cant find elsewhere.

Howdens units are 720mm high and the plinths should be 150mm (need to confirm but I am 99.9% sure I am right on this, making the height of the units without worktop 870mm (adjust this up or down based on plinth height but it should be thereabouts). There will be some variation from this as kitchen floors are rarely perfectly flat and the fitters will usually start from the highest point in the room and sometimes allow an extra 5mm to allow for a small ventilation gap about the plinths. This is good practise as it allows any unexpected humidity under/behind units to dry out. 910mm is too high. Your designer should have factored this by offering your solution at the design stage, but its Howdens, so ..... I wouldnt be forced down the 12mm route. Too many problems. The right thing would be to get the fitter to install the kitchen to the product specifications. If your floor is now down, he needs to allow for this. Any items requiring reordering should be to the fitters account.

Novy hoods are not the cheapest around, but they are the quietest. Their hobs are reasonably priced when you consider three elements - higher grade ceramic offering much better scratch resistance, the octagonal induction coils providing much better cooking performance and longer warranties. PM me if you'd like it priced up.

It sounds like you are having an English kitchen from the fact that you have 320mm units, so your gap between worktop and units will be around 490mm. You may have to go for shorter wall units to get a bigger gap but it wont be 560. It will probably end up being more like 730mm unless you ignore top alignment. We have used, Gutmann or Novy hoods in this situation. Novy are quieter.

On most induction hobs you can go down to 500mm (check spec) but in practice this is too low. Condensation and delamination is not a huge concern with induction hobs provided you have a powerful extractor installed with a 6 inch ducting and this is used correctly. Our cabinets provide a height of 560mm and wall unit cabinet depth of 360mm. We regularly do this set up for clients provided they are no taller than around 5ft 10in. We supply good quality extractors and provide detailed use instructions and have NEVER has a delaminated cabinet. The operating ergonomics are largely a personal issue but the mechanics are not a problem provided basic principles are observed.

It appears that the worktop/sink junction hasnt been sealed with silicone with allows water to stand and is soaking the timber. The oak doesnt appeared to be oiled either. If the staves have split, there is very little you can do now.