DonMaico

I finally decided after getting three quotes from Howdens, Benchmarx and Magnet to opt for a local independent retailer/installer who uses doors supplied from Second Nature fitted onto carcasses made by a firm in Eastbourne called Gallery Furniture Systems. Their carcasses are made from high density MFC, have18mm backing and come in a choice of colours .Still undecided about worktops but it will probably be a choice between Quarts and Tristone .I shall keep most of the appliances as they are stallion good working our as well as the tap and will replace the oven and induction hot plus add a boil in combination oven/microwave/ grill. Any thanks for the feedback

my next port of call will probably. be Benchmark although looking at their brochure it's difficult to ascertain which doors and other frontages are not of the wrapped type. ythe Somerset range are the only ones too have sort of description that is they have "solid timber frames with veneered centres" whether that means they are painted finish I dont know but none of the other ranges give any description at all so my instinct is to assume they are all wrapped

yes I don't think my wife would be too happy about something. like that happening

we have branches all over the place here as they are very popular with kitchen installers but the £16k quote did me baulk somewhat but as you say there reliability in terms of delivery and availability is a big plus with them

funnily enough I was trying to use their online planning tool without much success .It only only seems work in multiples of 100mm so difficult to get accurate measurements

thank I l''bear that in mind .I was hoping to find a fitter who has experience with DIY Kitchens and let him do all the planning ordering etc .I also got sample aFROM DIY Kitchens for one of their cabinets and what struck me is how dense the MFC is

Hi am very tempted by DIY Kitchens based on the many positive reviews I have read about their products but one negative review put me off because of the hassle and time it took to get replacements for some damaged cabinets and the fact one was missing from the order. As I wont be fitting myself I cannot waste my fitters time. In terms of quality and durability the alternatives seem to pale by comparison but at least I can get what I want with minus hassle . MY current kitchen which is now ten years old ,is a Benchmark Turin but given it is one of the foiled types, some of the doors are already beginning to delaminate .I also had to replace some of the screws with longer ones because a couple of the doors in a corner unit fell off and a pan drawer collapsed . I guess the supplied screws are too short but it also shows to me the inherent weakness of MFC. Maybe it's not dense enough and therefore not great at holding screws wherever there is a load . Anyway I am now looking for alternatives but I have no idea which are the better options of the ones I mentioned in the thread title. All have positive reviews but are made in a similar fashion with perhaps the thickness of the cabinets differing .There is local fellow who supplies both fitted and bespoke kitchens so I hope to have. word with him soon . The bespoke's doors are in framed with the doors fitted to the frames via butt hinges. To my mind that is a sign of quality although the price may well end up being far more than I am willing to pay .I'd would go as far as £20k all in if the quality is there -cabinets , quarts worktops, pelmet lights taps sink a single oven combination microwave and induction hob.Existing fridge, extractor and dishwasher I would keep as they work fine .I had one quote from Howdens for their painted Chelford range which made me almost fall on the floor as I worked out that the cabinets would come to 10k, more or less. I know that is RRP buy my mate paid almost half of that and that included appliances. Anyway I would welcome suggestions ,Thanks I also included a plan of the room which also includes for print of the current kitchen .I would to like the new kitchen to more or less follow it Kitchen_planb_2_1_copy.pdf