On 24/01/2018 08:55, Andrew May wrote:
On 23/01/2018 19:58, Tim Streater wrote:

Howden's has a decent catalogue which shows base/wall units and
dimensions. You prolly need to get a person at Magnet to start
designing you a kitchen, then you'll find out about carcass sizes etc.
If you're going to do that, measure up to start with, so they've got
something to get going with. If you get to the stage of a serious
design and an order, they'll send someone round to measure up and
refine the design based on that.


IIRC, Howdens have two catalogues, a coloured glossy one for the
customer and a detailed information one for the designer / installer.
They seemed quite happy to give the latter out if asked and, yes, it
does have useful information in it.

But not prices.

In my recent experience, Howdens turned out much more expensive than
using Wickes units, a lovely Iroko worktop from worktop express, and
'Best Kitchens' in Reading to fit it all.

OTOH, the John Lewis quote was clearly for people who just don't care
about the cost.

I was impressed by the quality of the Wickes stuff, certainly compared
to our old MFI(?) units. We did go towards their top end, but I'm sure
the carcasses are the same across the range. Their designer came up
with some ideas we hadn't thought of, Best Kitchens solved unforeseen
problems, and Wickes refunded on unused parts with no quibbling. We
bought the oven and other goods through Wickes who would price match
them to the cheapest I could find.

And no DIY involved, apart from small things like a Gridwall frame.

Cheers
--
Clive