Replacement kitchen traps - what to watch out for?

strtdv

We went with a local firm for our last 2 kitchens. First time I did a lot of work myself (removed the old kitchen, leveled and tiled the floor, did the plumbing for the new kitchen and the lighting).

Second time round I was already up to my oxters with a major house renovation and extension so got trades in to do most of it.


I'd say: don't go for a plain white worktop, it'll show tea stains etc very clearly. Same for very dark/black

I'd definitely recommend a boiling water tap. Ours is a Franke who from past experience have very good warranty support.
 The other thing I'd recommend is a larder cupboard with a double socket in it. The larder cupboard is fantastic storage, and you have the option of keeping the toaster/coffee machine etc off the counters

We got underfloor heating at the same time in our current kitchen but that's because we were fitting new floor screeds anyway.

Get more sockets than you think you need. Our kitchen is pretty big (8m x 5m) with an island and a casual sitting area, we've got 7 double sockets as well as all the sockets for appliances, and tbh in retrospect I'd have put in a floor mounted socket near the sofa.

Headphones

strtdv said:

We went with a local firm for our last 2 kitchens. First time I did a lot of work myself (removed the old kitchen, leveled and tiled the floor, did the plumbing for the new kitchen and the lighting).

Second time round I was already up to my oxters with a major house renovation and extension so got trades in to do most of it.


I'd say: don't go for a plain white worktop, it'll show tea stains etc very clearly. Same for very dark/black

I'd definitely recommend a boiling water tap. Ours is a Franke who from past experience have very good warranty support.
 The other thing I'd recommend is a larder cupboard with a double socket in it. The larder cupboard is fantastic storage, and you have the option of keeping the toaster/coffee machine etc off the counters

We got underfloor heating at the same time in our current kitchen but that's because we were fitting new floor screeds anyway.

Get more sockets than you think you need. Our kitchen is pretty big (8m x 5m) with an island and a casual sitting area, we've got 7 double sockets as well as all the sockets for appliances, and tbh in retrospect I'd have put in a floor mounted socket near the sofa.

Far better to never need it!

strtdv

Headphones said:

strtdv said:

We went with a local firm for our last 2 kitchens. First time I did a lot of work myself (removed the old kitchen, leveled and tiled the floor, did the plumbing for the new kitchen and the lighting).

Second time round I was already up to my oxters with a major house renovation and extension so got trades in to do most of it.


I'd say: don't go for a plain white worktop, it'll show tea stains etc very clearly. Same for very dark/black

I'd definitely recommend a boiling water tap. Ours is a Franke who from past experience have very good warranty support.
 The other thing I'd recommend is a larder cupboard with a double socket in it. The larder cupboard is fantastic storage, and you have the option of keeping the toaster/coffee machine etc off the counters

We got underfloor heating at the same time in our current kitchen but that's because we were fitting new floor screeds anyway.

Get more sockets than you think you need. Our kitchen is pretty big (8m x 5m) with an island and a casual sitting area, we've got 7 double sockets as well as all the sockets for appliances, and tbh in retrospect I'd have put in a floor mounted socket near the sofa.

Far better to never need it!

Cartridges are consumables, the tap gets heavy daily use and one started to drip a little at about 5 years, they sent out a replacement no questions asked.
Their stainless sinks have a 50 year warranty.
Both kitchen and utility sinks in our house are Franke and I've been very impressed with them.
Their Omni tap is proper stainless steel too, a lot of other manufacturers use plated brass

TTBZ

ToneControl said:

Don't anyone ever be tempted to use  cupboard door paint, like I was. It's "designed for the purpose", but looks crap after a year.

This. I don't think we even got a year out of ours before they started looking chipped up and crap. Thinking about vinyl wrapping them myself soon as I can't afford new cupboards! Hopefully that will at least last a bit longer.

strtdv

TTBZ said:

ToneControl said:

Don't anyone ever be tempted to use  cupboard door paint, like I was. It's "designed for the purpose", but looks crap after a year.

This. I don't think we even got a year out of ours before they started looking chipped up and crap. Thinking about vinyl wrapping them myself soon as I can't afford new cupboards! Hopefully that will at least last a bit longer.

Our last 2 kitchens have been painted wood, the one in our last house still looked brand new after 5 years. 
If it's formica they're painting then yes it'll chip, but wood has been painted very successfully for hundreds of years.

Your kitchen manufacturer should use paint that is water and grease resistant (just wipes off with some water and a microfibre cloth)

I'd have more concern with vinyl wrap to be honest, it can tend to shrink and pull out of corners, and can peel at the edges (unless it's dipped which is a different process).

crosstownvamp

TTBZ said:

ToneControl said:

Don't anyone ever be tempted to use  cupboard door paint, like I was. It's "designed for the purpose", but looks crap after a year.

This. I don't think we even got a year out of ours before they started looking chipped up and crap. Thinking about vinyl wrapping them myself soon as I can't afford new cupboards! Hopefully that will at least last a bit longer.

I did mine over 18 months ago and it still looks great. Did a very thorough prep job, used a dark 'velvet' acrylic paint and put new handles on, it looks good as new.

sev112

Thanks for lots of excellent advice all

weve been looking at a few , we’re surprised by Wickes, and everyone says Howdens.
both want to survey and do design.  So is that the sensible thing to do, get birth of them to design and compare outcomes and prices ?   My challenge is ive then got to get the builder t9 consider both, as it seems Wickes come flatpacked  and have to be built and the gadgets fixed, whereas Howdens seem to be delivered as buoy units with all the nice sliding gadgets etc already fa Tory fitted, which makes me think that’s a cheaper instal?

Sporky

My brother had a Wicked kitchen. It looked smart and lasted ages. 

boogieman

sev112 said:

Thanks for lots of excellent advice all

weve been looking at a few , we’re surprised by Wickes, and everyone says Howdens.
both want to survey and do design.  So is that the sensible thing to do, get birth of them to design and compare outcomes and prices ?   My challenge is ive then got to get the builder t9 consider both, as it seems Wickes come flatpacked  and have to be built and the gadgets fixed, whereas Howdens seem to be delivered as buoy units with all the nice sliding gadgets etc already fa Tory fitted, which makes me think that’s a cheaper instal?

The Howdens’ carcasses come ready made but the fitter will still need to assemble any internal bits like drawers, shelves, any sliding larder shelves, slalom drawers, etc then fit the doors etc. So you might save a tiny  bit on the install budget I guess but I wouldn’t let that influence your choice too much. You’re better off looking at things like how thick and solid the carcasses are, and what the drawer bases are made of (cheap units will just have hardboard, which warps and drops with time). 

Most kitchen suppliers will do a free survey and plans, so there’s no harm in having more than one quote… you might even get some good ideas from a firm even if you eventually don’t go with them. The Howdens planning guy we had on our latest kitchen was good and adapted things when we made suggestions or said we didn’t like certain aspects of his plan, I guess most would do the same. 

boogieman

Double post 

strtdv

The difference in needing the fitter for an extra morning won't be much so wouldn't be the deciding factor for me unless it was at the very bottom end of the market. 

The sky is the limit with what you can spend, ours was what I would call good quality mid range (handmade traditional wooden doors, neff slide&hide ovens, large island and quartz worktops and backslashes) and between it and a small utility room we spent close to £25k (plus tiling). Our fitter also does very high end kitchens and said a very high end kitchen the size of ours could cost up to £70k!

strtdv

See https://www.devolkitchens.co.uk/kitchens for an insight into how the 1% buy kitchens. Note that the "heirloom" range doesn't have pricing!

horse

strtdv said:

See https://www.devolkitchens.co.uk/kitchens for an insight into how the 1% buy kitchens. Note that the "heirloom" range doesn't have pricing!

 Wow - I've regularly jammed with a couple of guys who work for them, but didn't realise how upmarket they are!