ryder72

Further update - Alno UK has gone into administration today. I have been in Germany past couple of days and news is that Alno is most likely to go and someone may buy the brand (though its been badly damaged in the past few months). The factories that the German regional governments are trying to keep open to protect jobs are very old and practically worthless so no buyers are interested in these.

All appliances work on the same underlying principle. Yet some go up in flames and other work for 20 years without bother. Like with every consumer product, there is a sweet spot and finding that sweet spot is crucial. As someone from the kitchen/appliances world, my recommendation is to buy basic models of well known brands as it gives you as assurance that corners havent been cut on quality, reasonable customer service and parts availability. For instance most induction hobs use induction loops made by pretty much one supplier. They also make complete hobs for a very top end brand. The super cheap induction hobs are usually chinese circuits which work but may not have the same quality of components and therefore durability. The lower end European brands (Beko etc) then to use older generation technology to keep costs low. While the hobs perform and are reasonable quality, the circuits are not as responsive, efficient or reliable as newer ones. One important factor to consider is the longevity of the brand. If you put in an induction hob in a solid surface worktop, the worktop and kitchen will most likely outlast the hob. If in 10 years the hob needs replacement, will another one using the same cutout be available. Here BSH appliances hve stuck with the same cutouts for 25 years so its a guaranteed fit. My advise for almost all appliances at most budgets is stick with Bosch, Neff or Siemens. Avoid the gimmicky add ons and you have a good solid product.

ALNO has officially suspended production in a press release out .

@Grosey - PM me.

Kesseler is a British company that uses a Germanic sounding name. Its alright. Nothing special and you can get better kitchens for your money.

@Ed_MK - Others on this site are far more knowedgable than I on the subject so you will no doubt get great advice. However, I can speak with some experience after having received planning permission in a very difficult village not far from and in a borough adjacent to MK. This was for an ultra contemporary dwelling in a hamlet where half the houses are listed or in a conservation area and the potential for every resident to raise objections was very high. I believe that a very well written D&A statement not only help make the case for planning to be granted, but also made it an absolute breeze. On the basis of this experience, I would urge you to seriously consider spending money on a professional to make a reasoned case. In the event that your application gets refused, the refusal becomes part of the planning history. Since you are in MK, if you want contact details for a very reasonably priced architect, PM me.

I know this system very well. What you see here doesnt represent the actual structure on the ground.

Multiple points to consider @Grosey 1. Intoto franchise system is a trading brand of Alno UK set up to provide a retail arm for Alno UK. If they were to sell kitchens for another manufacturer, there is nothing in it for Alno UK and it may be one day that the Intoto Franchise itself may be sold to someone. I do know that there is significant disquiet within the franchisees and many have left the franchise in recent weeks. This act may render the franchise worthless and unsellable. 2. Each franchisee operates as an individual business. I know some are seriously struggling for cashflow with kitchens not being delivered. Even if Intoto survives, the survival of the franchisee is also key to this working out. 3. If Alno goes bust and Intoto get sold to a new manufacturer and the franchisee survives, warranties for Alno kitchens may remain unfulfilled. Basically too many unknowns.

There is no guarantee that it will go into insolvency. Alno is a well known brand so a competitor may buy the brand but it is anyone's guess what scenarios may emerge. Right now the only thing that's clear is that they are not able to despatch complete kitchens so my sincere advice is to take the money and look elsewhere. I reiterate - it's not just the Alno German business that is at risk. It is anyone in the supply chain from their UK subsidiary to their retailers who are solely dependent on Alno to fulfil their orders.

As someone with an insight here is the situation. Your contract will be with a UK retailer who source the kitchen thru Alno UK who in turn source it from Alno Germany. You are not a creditor to Alno Germany so as such you have no right to recourse with either Alno UK or Alno Germany. Alno Germany went into a Chapter 11 type of self administration to sort out the situation but that has sort of made matter worse as their regular supplier who are owed millions are refusing to supply goods. This means the whole supply chain has ground to a halt and no information coming out from Germany. I know some Intoto retailers personally and I feel sorry for them. Some have switched their kitchen orders with me. I heard today that Alno UK have allowed Intoto's to switch their orders to other manufacturers if required. It does not appear that Alno is likely to emerge out of this unscathed or at all. How many Intoto's will survive this is another question. What would happen to warranties or customer service issues? My advice would be to look at other kitchen retailers, not just manufacturers

@jack - I think you might have got the doors I was initially considering and the idea of the fibreboard to softwood visible junction made me nervous so I bailed out.

I could be wrong on this but my understanding was that an unlipped door is softwood, which if planed could leave difficult to finish off knots etc while a lipped door has hardwood lips of around 4-6mm which are easier to plane and leave better finish. Could be wrong of course. I have gone for lipped paint grade flush plywood fire doors. The bewildering choice is made worse by uninformed & disinterested sales staff at the merchants and pricing as the sole sales driver approach.

Not necessarily. Its apparently to allow a little bit to be planed off if required, still offering a hard lip to paint over. What I cant find information on is what happens if I have an unlipped door and need to plane a few mm off.

Further question. I have narrowed down the doors I want but they are offered lipped and unlipped. What are the advantages/disadvantages of these?

Thanks. I had seen those but I wanted flush doors with no detailing at all. Todd make some quality products and they offered me a bespoke option at £172 each. Just couldnt justify it.

This is it. Perfect. Thank you.

I am looking for some help on a very simple requirement - I am looking for metric (826 * 2040) sized flush primed doors. The ones I have seen (Howdens, Premdoor etc) are filmsy and make from hollow cores and feel very cheap. I cant seem to find any substantial doors and have looked into FD30 fire doors as an alternative. Unfortunately, they are only available in unfinished plywood and I cant seem to find a supplier that will offer what I am after. Does anyone know a supplier who might be able to help?

I dont know is the honest answer. This type of extractor is an attempt to eliminate even the 30-35cm height rise that a downdraft has from the worktop to create genuine barrier free extraction. Fundamentally all extractors that rise out of the worktop are attempting to defy physics in some way, shape or form. Whether this works effectively or not is dependent not only on the extractor but the rest of the installation as well (ducting length, type of ducting etc.) Bora claims to be the first company to have approached this from an accelerated air speed perspective rather than an air volume drawn out perspective and gone and created a market from nothing. Others companies have followed suit and one of the early challengers to Bora was Gutmann. I am having a Gutmann hood in my house which broadly works on the Bora principle rather than a downdraft principally because - A. I have never liked the look of downdrafts B. I am not ducting out contrary to my original plans so decided against a ceiling recessed extractor which would have been an unnecessary addition to the ceiling C. I trust Gutmann as an old fashioned hardcore engineering German company more than anyone else. They are not the cheapest products around but they are made to be bomb proof. I have seen data on the performance of Gutmann vs other products working on the Bora principle and Gutmann outperformed others.

Yes. Same thing with 4 names for Bosch, neff, Siemens and gaggenau. And they might even contract manufacture it for someone This is the next big market so lots of players in it.

Yes it is.

Precisely my thoughts. The price uplift on a dual pump system over a single pump system is around £800 and while I dont know detail spec on the pump, but good quality submersible pumps are under £200, leaving plenty of money in the bank for a few replacements.

We are putting in a pumping station due to adverse invert levels. We will be installing a tank which will then pump sewage into the mains sewer in the road. As far a I have understood it, there is no Building Regulations approval needed for a pumping station. The guide is that the pumping station should be large enough to hold 24 hours worth of waste. I have yet to decide on whether the station should be a single or dual pump version and whether it should be alarmed. Any views welcomed. My own thoughts are a single pump version with alarm giving me enough time to arrange a callout should the alarm trigger. I am hesitant about the dual pump version as the second pump is a redundancy built into the system. All being well, the second pump may never operate until the crucial moment arrives, unless a regular testing regime is in place. If a regime isnt in place, the second pump may fail due to it seizing up or similar making the investment worthless anyways. I think the alarm is an important addition into the system.

We used fibreglass mesh. Very pliable and needs a sharp stanley to cut.

Where the render bead meets the frame its 1-2 generally. Where cladding meets the frame its up to 5mm.

Hi I am looking for a good quality exterior grade silicone in black and graphite colours for sealing up junctions between render and window frame and render and stained timber cladding and window cills. Any recommendation of good quality sealant?