New kitchen - Howdens or Magnets? ....or?

[hutchysrs50]

Having fitted a Howdens kitchen about 9 year ago I know they are good quality so got a salesman out to price me up a new kitchen.

Quote came through today at about £4,500! It's quite a small kitchen but does come with appliances, washer, dryer, microwave, oven, hob and extractor.

Without appliances and the tap it's about £2,800. This seems a lot to me but I don't work in the trade so don't know day to day prices.

Advice/guidance please?

[Chan110]

I had the same dilemma: B&Q vs Wickes vs Magnet vs Howden

Everyone says Howden top quality and not as expensive as ppl think.

But dependent on wot u want -

And after reading WHICH? Magazine giving IKEA top marks -

I headed to local IKEA and bought a complete kitchen unit for 1/2 the price of the others.

PLUS it was on sale

PLUS a discount for IKEA FAMILY members on top! :-)

[adamal]

With Howdens the key is finding a builder who can get their massively discounted trade prices. My mate is a builder and got about 66per cent off the units even with his cut... There appears to be a lot of margin in their prices and 4500 was what my middle size kitchen cost fitted including appliances, wall and floor tiles!

Adam

[steved83]

Just bought ours from B&Q. 13 units in gloss cream, so the cheaper end. Plus fridge freezer, dishwasher, double oven + extractor, worktops, lino, tiles, plus all the sundries like filler, paint, sockets, grout the list goes on. We had father in law fit it so no cost there and Id say we came in at about 4/4.5k. Our kitchen is 3mx2.6m give or take a window and a bit of boxing in.

[hutchysrs50]

Magnets are going to come out Friday, won't mention Howdens so it won't influence a price and see what price I get, if it's cheaper go to Howdens and see if they can match or beat it?

Don't want to go in cheap or fight them off yet incase they cut corners.

[999pooch]

Have you opened a trade account with Howdens to get their discounts?

I own a business and decided to open an account when I needed some bits & bobs for

my shop, as they said they only dealt with trade when I asked on the phone.

I went with all my details & Vat registration, but they didnt want any of it. Just filled in a form with my name & gave them my bank details. Nothing was given with my business details on it.

They weren't interested whether I was actually trade or not.

Worth trying. Just say you are a joiner and give them your personal banking details to openan account.

[patrolman]

My mate fits kitchens for all the above,but if he is supplying a kitchen to a client he all ways uses benchmarx kitchens swears by them.

[grr666]

Benchmarx here too. I used to work there for a while

but they aren't UK wide yet and are largely London centric.

They supply the exact same kitchens as Wickes but at trade price. 

[whitep]

Howdens are good, but you can get the same quality flatpack at a fraction of the cost. At work we went Howdens for a 'lab' and spent £900 on half a dozen double units with only doors no soft close and 2 lengths of worktop... i then bought the decent same thickness chipboard flatpack from wickes including soft close everything, 2 drawer units, 4 wall units, 8 double base units and 3 lengths of worktop for £600!

[Aspman]

Have always heard good things about Howdens kitchens but I always install the kitchen with my Father in law so I don't have a trade account with them.

 

Got a Focus Kitchen last time (10yr warranty ain't worth much now), we were only £1000 for a large kitchen (no appliances). Got a local joiner to fit the worktops properly.

[io1901]

We had ours made to measure out of real wood + oak worktops by a local firm and only slightly more expensive than IKEA. We were actually surprised how cheap they were.  The downside as they make them to order we had to wait three months - the upside is that it is a fits the kitchen perfectly.

[KenONeill]

Well, my Mum went with a Magnet. It's been there something like 15 years and nothing's needed replaced except the oven (which Magnet didn't make).

[gadgetman]

I thought Howdens made most of the diy store stuff?

[@Lee]

despite the fact that IKEA sell you much tat you never knew you needed in the market part, their kitchens aren't that bad and come with a decent warranty I think.

Failing that, Poggenpohl or Allmilmo

[Macdemon]

Having fitted a Howdens kitchen about 9 year ago I know they are good quality so got a salesman out to price me up a new kitchen.

Quote came through today at about £4,500! It's quite a small kitchen but does come with appliances, washer, dryer, microwave, oven, hob and extractor.

Without appliances and the tap it's about £2,800. This seems a lot to me but I don't work in the trade so don't know day to day prices.

Advice/guidance please?

 

 

Don't forget to check out Wren Kitchens, they do a VERY smart range of units and options.

 

http://www.wrenliving.com/?_$ja=cgid:14664198435%7Ctsid:58345%7Ccid:166407675%7Clid:11369204832%7Cnw:g%7Ccrid:46533647835%7Crnd:10516512782854871729%7Cdvc:c%7Cadp:1t1&gclid=CjkKEQjwh7ucBRD9yY_fyZe398gBEiQAAoy4JF9AQl31NaqSkZPqXKvR1XTIpWb3CIZeYXbS48VTkujw_wcB 

[J306TD]

Don't forget to check out Wren Kitchens, they do a VERY smart range of units and options.

http://www.wrenliving.com/?_$ja=cgid:14664198435%7Ctsid:58345%7Ccid:166407675%7Clid:11369204832%7Cnw:g%7Ccrid:46533647835%7Crnd:10516512782854871729%7Cdvc:c%7Cadp:1t1&gclid=CjkKEQjwh7ucBRD9yY_fyZe398gBEiQAAoy4JF9AQl31NaqSkZPqXKvR1XTIpWb3CIZeYXbS48VTkujw_wcB

Don't go to their Hull showroom. Went in over Christmas. More staff than customers in a supermarket. Looked like ovens had been used and genuinely dirty

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[dbg400]

I work for one of the big kitchen manufacturers, and while they don't do much direct selling (it's mainly to the big housebuilders, local authorities, etc) there is a small department geared up for that. It's actually easier dealing with them than going the staff sale route, even if it is a little more expensive. The kitchens do last - I bought mine 20 years ago (!) and last year, rather than replace it wholesale, I refurbished the doors and put in new worktops and had a plumber put in a new sink. PM for details if you're interested.

[JB-)]

I've fitted off the shelf B&Q kitchens in both my houses and they're spot on. The only weak point if you want to call it that is the thinner backs to the carcases, but you can easily strengthen them, or just don't smash stuff in to them! When I fitted the second one I didn't buy their hinges or drawer casings, I bought Blum ones off ebay for the same price as B&Q basic ones. So now functionally the kitchen is the same as a higher priced one with nice solid hinges and drawers that all soft close.

 

Mate of mine had looked at Magnet kitchens, went to Wickes and commented they look the same, to be told by the guy at Wickes that they are.

[Gwilo]

we've got Howdens units in our (rented) house.

Not sure if it's the landlord just specifying the cheapest units (which it probably is) but - less than three years down the line:

All the drawer handles are detaching. 

The sink/waste pipe has "unsealed" and leaks copiously for anything more than a weak trickle of water.....right into the unit carcass (thankfully not warping yet)

leading edge of a cupboard is all deformed and warping, ostensibly because the toaster is located beneath it.......not directly beneath mind you......

Surround around the oven is a blank/bare face of unsealed chipboard......

Cooker extraction hood doesn't actually go anywhere, so no idea why that was spec'd...

Lamona oven/hob/sink drainer are cheap, tinny, low-rent affairs - the shelf guides in the (way too small) oven are lopsided!

 

Granted, several of the issues are probably down to an incompetent fitter hired by the cheapskate landlord, but the quality, fit and finish certainly doesn't suggest a budget half as big as what the landlord makes out it cost him - 1 10ft worktop, single drainer sink, 1 single oven, ceramic hob, 4 drawers, 1 base cupboard, 4 wall cupboards and a (pointless) extractor hood. he reckons it cost him £4,000.......

[gadgetman]

I'd say it's been poorly fitted. Handles won't be from Howdens, and the leaking pipework won't be theirs either.

From what I've seen Howdens (or the diy chains they provide store brand stuff) is pretty good.

[Ad Lav]

Where you based hutchy? I have a howdens account if you were local you could use it.

[hutchysrs50]

I work beside a builders yard so have became friends with them over the years, I've used there account to price the kitchen up, the quote I've got showes you the discount on each item which changes from 0% up to about 78% on most items it's 66% discount, but my guess is it counts for nothing.

Working as a mechanic I daily see prices such as rrp £110 per brake disc but trade price is £14 each so....

Magnets so far seem quite rubbish... They came round Friday at 6:00 to sort out a estimate. This was a woman with a piece of paper, tape measure and a pen. The questions went somthing like "what type of doors do you want?" "What type of work top do you want?

Replys went somthing like "light wood with a type of patern I guess" and "a nice black one"

They had no pictures or designs, catalogues or brochure... Who knows what I will get but find out on Tuesday!

Howdens came out with a design book thing with sort of a step by step guide, pick your wood, pick your bench, pick your cooker, pick your taps etc etc and then gave me a design and price, it worked well!

[hutchysrs50]

Rough price is £5,600 from magnets, but haven't went through the quote yet to see what's what!

[Jonny118118]

@hutchysrs50 did you manage to finish your kitchen? Who did you choose? 

 

Has anyone else got some reviews on magnet or howden - or a different company? 

 

Tia!

[hutchysrs50]

Yeah the kitchen has been finished for a good few years

 

I used Howdens in the end, few years on everything is still perfect as when it was fitted.

 

Dont think I have any complaints, nothing sticks out looking back other than I didn’t use them for electrical appliances, seemed expensive and poor quality compared to others 

21 hours ago, Jonny118118 said:

@hutchysrs50 did you manage to finish your kitchen? Who did you choose? 

 

Has anyone else got some reviews on magnet or howden - or a different company? 

 

Tia!