DIYbanter - Kitchens - MFI v B&Q v Wickes

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Cowley

On 26 Feb 2006 09:12:33 -0800, wrote:

Looking at a largeish fitted kitchen from one of these 3 companies.
Including installation and oven / hob / hood / washer/dryer and
dishwasher.

Any big pluses or minuses with any of them in your experiences?

I'm in the process of installing a B&Q kitchen at home right now, so no
idea about the longevity of the units, etc. However, I will say that I
was amazed at the efficiency of reliability of B&Q. I was expecting some
headaches about delivery dates, things not turning up when they were
supposed to, items missing from order and the general fun and games you
often get when ordering a bunch of stuff from a large supplier who (as
far as I can tell) farms out their customer service and distribution to
different third-parties.

But I had none of that - everything turned up when they said it would,
and arrived in good shape, and looks to be fairly sturdy on initial
inspection. So certainly no complaints at all about them as long as the
kitchen itself end up standing the test of time.
--
Chris Cowley

Ditto for me too. I had the same quandry about 6 months ago. I now am also installing a B&Q kitchen and was surprised by the good quality. They are relatively cheap compared to the others with the added benefit of being able to go instore and buy compatible items. They even sell off the shelf 3.6m long worktops (not marble). B&Q have a really wide range with fancy features, so they are not only basic shapes. Also good if you cock up and buy the wrong thing. Can get a refund simple enough (even without receipt) and they often have sales on.

I bought all my solid oak doors from B&Q online as they were half price at the time, but this offer was not in the store. It is worth choosing a style then looking both in stoe and online, then waiting for say a bank holiday, when they have a good reason to reduce the prices. They never reduce the price of the carcasses, but buy them on a 10% off day and the are cheaper.

Better still, another good thing about B&Q is that you can buy vouchers on ebay and then purchase your kitchen with them. I did this and saved a further 20% (roughly) on the price, which justified me buying some expensive accessories ;-).

Appliance wise, do not buy from any of these shops. It is must better to find the makes/models of the appliances you want then source them on the internet - much cheaper. That is unless you are not installing the kitchen yourself whereby you would probably be best to buy the appliances with the kitchen.

I installed an MFI kitchen in my last house. Cost £1800 for just the woodwork (no appliances) and they wanted a further £1800 to install it!. And that was without any on-site cutting and fudging for awkward corners, out of line walls etc etc, of which I had a lot (especially around a chimney). Also told the shop assistant exactly what I wanted, but realised a week later that I need a few extra bits. Re-order these, they took a further 6 weeks to arrive if I remember correctly. Not very handy when installing and you realise you've missed a critical piece (like a corner post!). With B&Q you could pop in to a store and pick up the missing item.

Carcasses:
They are all the same. White melamine chipboard construction with plastic adjustable legs. The only bit you see is the door, so it is worth investing in good quality items. Am not disappointed with their quality one bit (which surprised me). Identical pewter bow handles were 50% cheaper in the screwfix catalogue.

Hope this all helps.

CC