Flat Pack Kitchens - It's OK to call in the professionals

It's OK to call in the professionals.

We’ve written before about how easy it is to get the kitchen of your dreams, what to look for when choosing a kitchen company and how to take advantage of computer-based planning to get a good idea of what you’re new kitchen could look like.

We’ve covered topics like ensuring any plumbing work is carried out by a Corgi registered engineer if any gas appliances need re-plumbing or gas pipes need moving.

We’ve shown you some pretty pictures of kitchens to die for – the latest trends in colours and designs as well as kitchen designs for disabled and wheelchair users.

We’ve proved that it doesn’t have to cost the earth to get a new kitchens, planned and installed by professional kitchen companies and our online kitchen quoting website is always busy helping homeowners get an instant online price for their ideal fitted kitchen.

And yet, we still receive calls from homeowners who have a room full of half completed kitchen unit carcasses, unable to complete the job for a variety of reasons – ill health, not having the right tools, unable to get that finished look due to uneven walls and floors, or suffering horrendous home-plumbing nightmares. Yes, unfortunately for those homeowners, we’ve heard them all.

And it’s nobody’s fault. A fit your own flat-pack kitchen, on the face of it, sounds like good value. It’s only when you start totting up the extras – taps and tiles, handles and granite worktops that the costs start rising – not to mention the large quantity of your valuable time to that the time factor and how doing it yourself could mean being without a kitchen for a few weeks, that it doesn’t sound so attractive anymore.

Getting a professional company round is so relaxing compared to DIY. You go online, type in your measurements, select your style and get a rough expectation of cost there and then – job done!

We’ll call you back from our own offices in Derby, discuss your choices and find out a bit more about what’s involved (perhaps you were thinking of an extension to put the new kitchen into? Or there’s a wall you want knocking down?) and then offer to get three local companies to call round, cost up the job, discuss your design requests etc and leave you with a written quote.

They’ll have the right tools for the job, the experience to cope with the most uneven of walls and floors or removing walls as part of the planned refurbishment and qualified plumbers as part of the team. They’ll also be remarkably quick compared to doing it yourself too.

Their cupboard carcasses are usually factory made, solid units so they’ll last longer and take more punishment than flatpack. Finally, they’ll have specialist tools and tricks to tend to those all important finishing touches.

Visit KitchenQuoter today and get your instant online quote for your dream fitted kitchen.

photo credit: hannahandsimon

5 tips to consider before getting a new kitchen

Getting a new kitchen is a great way to improve your home, and add considerable value to your property. Whether you are building a completely new kitchen or simply renovating the existing one, here are five tips you must consider before you begin:

1 – Plan early and thoroughly
Whatever the work you have in mind, getting a new kitchen is a huge task so it’s essential to plan thoroughly before you start. The first question you need to ask yourself is ‘what am I going to use this room for?’ – for some people the kitchen is simply a food preparation area, but for others it is the social centre of the house. Are you going to have a seating area? Do you want new flooring or wall tiles? Will you need new electricity points? Ask yourself these questions well in advance to avoid problems once the work has begun.

2 – Appliances – remember the ‘triangle’
Anyone who’s designed a kitchen will tell you about the famous ‘triangle’ theory, between the sink, fridge and oven/hobs. These three points are the main areas of any kitchen, so it’s important they are not cramped into one place together so you can move freely between them – by putting them in a triangle in your kitchen, you’ll probably find all the other elements of the room fit in around them. This is also the time you will need to think about units: most kitchens fall into one of four design categories: single-line, double-line, L-shape or U-shape – the space you have to work with usually dictates which one you’ll go for.

3 – Who will do what?
It’s always best at this stage to delegate jobs – if you are simply updating the current kitchen with a lick of paint, you may be able to complete the work yourself. Alternatively, if you’ve bought all the components yourself, you may only need to hire someone to fit it for you. However, it is always advised that if you are unsure of any of the aspects of the job then call in the professionals. It’s also a good idea to identify any specialist services you will require, such as removal firms, electricians, or water & gas specialists.

4 – Don’t forget the regulations
If the new development involves an extension of your house, make sure you contact your local council as planning permission may be required. There are all sorts of regulations around cooking areas, and the distances between certain items. One area in particular where you must be careful is the hob. There are very strict regulations regarding the location of wall units around hobs, and the proximity of electrical points – if you don’t get this right your kitchen could end up being condemned by the authorities, and before you know it you’ll have to fork out for even more work to replace them.

5 – Get the professionals in for the utility points
If you’re having major work done to your kitchen, it’s likely you’re going to have to move the gas, water or electricity points. Even if you intend to do most of the kitchen project yourself, get the professionals in for this part – although it might add a bit to the cost of your new kitchen, it’s simply not worth the hassle of breaking regulations, or worse still causing an accident by doing it yourself! If you’re moving or installing a gas boiler or hobs, ensure that you get a CORGI (Council of Registered Gas Installers) registered installation firm – there are around 50,000 of them in the UK.

When looking for firms to carry out work for you, the universal rule for all home improvement companies applies: make sure that you employ a reputable firm with a proven track record! www.kitchenquoter.co.uk can help you choose your supplier.

Supply only kitchens - are they real value for money?

Is that 'supply only' kitchen the value for money you think it is?

A price tag of £1000 or £1500 for a brand new kitchen sounds tempting doesn't it? For the sake of a few hours with a screwdriver and a drill surely that's a worthwhile saving over the price of a full installation?

Not always. Even taking advantage of many suppliers' planning and advice services may not provide the results you're looking for, and don't forget that the showroom that shows off supply-only kitchen units has been designed around the units – not the other way around.

At the KitchenQuoter.co.uk desk we receive calls every day from people who have got as far as half way through the installation of their flat-packs and then end up calling us to see if we can recommend a local tradesman.

Kitchen Quoter's Vernon Baptiste explains: “There's a lot more that goes into the design, planning and construction of a kitchen than people often think. Unless you happen to live in a brand new house, the chances are the kitchen will be far from square for a start, so off-the-shelf units will only fit to a point. After that you either put up with gaps and unused spaces or you have to embark on some pretty fancy carpentry.”

“The other difficult parts come along when you need to plumb in appliances. Modern integrated appliances will often need some degree of coordination with the cabinet design or require the manufacture of doors or panels to blend in with the rest of the kitchen. It's these touches that add those extra thousands of pounds of value to your house and that extra quality of life.”

“There are also lots of specialist and unusual products available that our network of installers can suggest and source for you. Taking a flat-pack design off the shelf probably means you're going to be limited severely by the range of the catalogue you're choosing from.”

By law you will also require competent certified tradesmen to make plumbing or routing changes to gas or electric supplies, and these are all costs that need to be factored into any price comparison. By the time these are added in and you've done with the hammer, chisel and plane yourself then there's always much less of a difference than you think.

If you're thinking about a new kitchen, make sure you get independent quotes from registered and approved local companies to you by using KitchenQuoter for an instant online quote. Click here to get your online quote now.