Russell griffiths Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 Starting to do designs for kitchens and wanted to know what difference there is in these foreign kitchens, I’m looking at the usual English suppliers and cannot find a lot of difference between any of them, same carcass materials used in all of them, some have a better product used for end panels and plinths. Happy to pay a lay a bit more for better quality, but would like to know what is better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeGrahamT21 Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 I've only ever dealt with DIY Kitchens Online, so can't comment on others, but from what I've seen of my units the carcases certainly are pretty much the same as any other carcass. The DIY ones are flat colours, i suspect if you want a wood grain effect you may have to go to luxury provider and pay a lot of money. All the end panels and plinths from the above supplier were MDF, and were painted to a high quality. From what i've read in magazines, I think the general thought is to buy cheap carcasses (but get the ones which are glued and ready built), and then if you want more expensive doors go for those seperate, just make sure you've bought standard size carcasses to keep costs down 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markc Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 @MikeGrahamT21 for what its worth, im presently replacing my kitchen and ended up ordering the cabinets and doors from Wren, i couldn`t make them for the price. I used their designer to and 3D rendering to sort the design but i will be fitting my own hardware, handles, bespoke drawers etc. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 Everything 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 2 hours ago, Russell griffiths said: ... but would like to know what is better. Nolte. Rich fella like you can afford it..... (no German spoken: just trashy musak) . As I understand it, they supply many other manufacturers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryder72 Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 German kitchens are manufactured in large highly automated factories and like most German product, the product quality, detailing and finishing is generally higher. Like car manufacturing, the manufacturing is customised and made to order (which explains the longer lead time) but German manufacturers dont have factories full of ready to ship good. This provides flexibility in manufacturing and customisation. This said, German kitchens are just kitchens in Germany so like all products there is grades of products, some entry level, some mid market and some high end. The main differences between there are quality/grade of chipboard used, flexibility and degree of customisation offered, degree of 'bespokeness' available and quality of components used. As a blanket statement, I would say the stuff sold by British sheds would have no market in Europe. The quality is just not acceptable. As an anecdote, Howdens attended a trade fair in Germany in 2018 and it became an object of curiosity. As a retailer I have tried to work with British made products and my experience was typical of British manufacturing - that will do. Sloppy detailing, chronic underinvestment in machinery and technology etc. To the point where it didnt remain economically viable to buy locally manufactured product and cheaper to ship a truck full or mostly air from Germany and still it at lower or very similar prices to German products. The exception to this are the high end bespoke products that are British. Beautiful craftsman but expensive. Lots of comparable parallels exist between British car brands such as JLR or the top end ones like RR and Bentley. Capable of making great products but quality can be patchy and they are expensive. Watch out for smoke and mirrors. Lots of entry level German products get sold as high end ones with German being the selling factor. After nearly 15 years in the business, I closed my doors to British kitchens. It doesnt help me run an efficient operation and I am not interested in creating work for myself. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markc Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 Got to agree with the above, we deal with a number of German machine manufactures and as an engineer i find them to be mediocre engineering dressed up to look pretty. "Made in Germany" .. fabrication in Poland or Yugoslavia, Italian Hydraulics and Chinese Electrics, so yes you have to be careful and look beyond the hype. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 7 hours ago, nod said: Everything Sorry Russ bit short we had prices from Wickes Howdens and Magnet All more than a Nolte kitchen The German kitchens are so easy to fit Even the kick boards are cut to length and all edges bound It very much like comparing a Ford and a BMW Both do the job But a Beamer just feels better made 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyT Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 We bought ours from online kitchens great service, no connections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeGrahamT21 Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 5 hours ago, nod said: Sorry Russ bit short we had prices from Wickes Howdens and Magnet All more than a Nolte kitchen The German kitchens are so easy to fit Even the kick boards are cut to length and all edges bound It very much like comparing a Ford and a BMW Both do the job But a Beamer just feels better made but are they better in all the wrong places? Ie where you don’t see anyway. the DIY kitchens runners and fittings are all German made, and surely chipboard is chipboard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 7 hours ago, MikeGrahamT21 said: but are they better in all the wrong places? Ie where you don’t see anyway. the DIY kitchens runners and fittings are all German made, and surely chipboard is chipboard? I agree they are all chipboard I was surprised that Wickes and Honebase where more expensive than the real thing Magnet was about a third more expensive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 (edited) 7 hours ago, MikeGrahamT21 said: surely chipboard is chipboard? Hell no, density and thickness. Some is like Weetabix and only really fit for use as cover boards when shipping the good stuff! My lounge floor is made from similar, not proper T&G boards. Tbh I'd say it's an own brand, budget Weetabix. (A fat bloke I know went through it once ? ). Edit: Twice... Edited February 9, 2021 by Onoff 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryder72 Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 10 hours ago, MikeGrahamT21 said: but are they better in all the wrong places? Ie where you don’t see anyway. the DIY kitchens runners and fittings are all German made, and surely chipboard is chipboard? You have got factually incorrect information. DIY use Blum hinges which is Austrian. Or is it a case of German/Austrian - same thing? Like all chipboard is the same. Is all toilet paper the same? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryder72 Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 2 hours ago, nod said: I agree they are all chipboard I was surprised that Wickes and Honebase where more expensive than the real thing Magnet was about a third more expensive Its absolutely not. Buy chipboard from the sheds and its all uniform density stuff. I deal with 2 German manufacturers and when their chipboard quality/density varies. You can feel the weight of the carcases. And yet the cheaper of the two kitchens is leagues better than the sheds here. I have had small local builders that do 5-10 houses a year switch their buying from the sheds where they could arguably get better discounts to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeGrahamT21 Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 23 minutes ago, ryder72 said: You have got factually incorrect information. DIY use Blum hinges which is Austrian. Or is it a case of German/Austrian - same thing? Like all chipboard is the same. Is all toilet paper the same? Your right, I thought they were german. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 29 minutes ago, MikeGrahamT21 said: Your right, I thought they were german. Ooooof.... Ask a southern German (Blum hinges) ; same thing. Ask an Austrian and get a smack in the mouth. Same kind of thing as Candian and American or Ozzie and Kiwi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 We always intended selling So a German kitchen has a better ring to it than Wickes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandAbuild Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 I have to confess we went with a Siematic kitchen. Even though it cost maybe a 1/3 more than a good quality UK supplied one, you can see the difference. The most obvious ones are the cupboards have a noise seal along the entire perimeter of the carcass, the shelf supports are very robust (I think I could probably stand on them) and the doors have fittings to take a range of accessories (which are eye-wateringly expensive). Having a good fitter also helped. We didn't buy it to make the house easier to sell though. 3 years on, it still looks like new, despite the best efforts of our grandson. ☺️ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 2 hours ago, RandAbuild said: I have to confess we went with a Siematic kitchen. Even though it cost maybe a 1/3 more than a good quality UK supplied one, you can see the difference. The most obvious ones are the cupboards have a noise seal along the entire perimeter of the carcass, the shelf supports are very robust (I think I could probably stand on them) and the doors have fittings to take a range of accessories (which are eye-wateringly expensive). Having a good fitter also helped. We didn't buy it to make the house easier to sell though. 3 years on, it still looks like new, despite the best efforts of our grandson. ☺️ We also bought Siematic after having one before. Yes they are expensive but they last for years and are top quality. You get what you pay for and in our case we decided to go Siematic again. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Vorsprung durch gute Kuechen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryder72 Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 Yes Siematic is a good product, albeit a bit pricey. But it will easily last you 25-30 years and will still look good as new with a bit of TLC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russdl Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 At the very real and obvious intention of drifting this thread, please accept my apologies. Mods, deal with me as you see fit. The best thing the Austrians ever did (apart from kitchen hardware obviously, oh, and the Jaguar Ipace) was to convince the world the Hitler was German and Mozart was Austrian? ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 On 10/02/2021 at 09:05, ryder72 said: Yes Siematic is a good product, albeit a bit pricey. But it will easily last you 25-30 years and will still look good as new with a bit of TLC It goes really well with Gaggenau appliances as well! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 @Pete, stop posting kitchen porn. God, you've even left the quadruple dose of Viagra on the kitchen surface man! GedaGripMan. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stones Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 We have a 'Schuller' kitchen, sourced through our local Buildbase who carry it as a mainstay to compete with the two Nobilla suppliers here. Similar prices and quality as far as I could see, with Schuller having the edge for what we were looking for. The best thing about both suppliers was their ability to supply units and finishes to accommodate an extra 100mm of worktop height (our worktop sits around 1000mm high rather than standard UK 900mm). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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