Jen B

Thanks all for your comments. I’m delighted to say our fitter returned & after some discussion worked until late into the evening lowering all the units. After some gentle persuasion he also lowered the island. He eventually conceded they were a bit high & although initially told me it would be difficult to cut the plinths down (really?), did so to achieve the correct height (both ergonomically & technically) & close the over-sized gap. I’m very happy at the outcome although I could have done without the added stress but at least it was resolved amicably in the end. I hope some of the responses above might be useful to others.

Many thanks for all the responses so far. To clarify, the fitter had already tiled the floor including under the units. The 30ml granite worktops are due this week & our fitter was aware of this but our guess is he has not catered for them & when setting the unit height at 910mm. If it wasn’t for the height issue, we would accept trim being added to the plinths to cover the gap but unfortunately height is an issue, particularly for me. The worktop height would not be ergonomic & the working height for me at our gas hob would be unsafe. it is a big job to lower the very long run of units as it includes sink & dishwasher plumbing. However, as lowering the island (which was to be long awaited my main pastry/pasta/cake making worktop) would be more costly because of replacing the glued sides & back panel, we feel we have to insist on the lowering of the other units. Interestingly the fitter claims he set his levels from the separate corner run of units where we have a double oven & yet the height there is 15mm lower than all the others. If only he’d admitted the error, rather than make so many ridiculous justifications, the situation would be less tense.

We’ve just had a kitchen fitted professionally & have noticed he’s left a 15mm+ gap between the top of the plinth & the bottom of the units. It can be seen from the living room. The gap is 22mm on the breakfast island. The unit heights are now 910mm without worktops (coming this week) which will make them above average height & too tall for me at only 5ft - creating a real ergonomic problem. We’ve challenged him & he says the gap is for ventilation & the height is correct. My own research contradicts this, also the Howdens manual he worked from (yet our Howdens designer apparently thinks what he did was right). We believe he needs to lower the units to correct the problem. Unfortunately to redo the island would mean having to potentially destroy the glued panels & purchase replacements. Please could any professional fitters out there give me their opinion/advice.