Anyone had any dealings with them?

Early stages of planning a new kitchen and quite liked some they had whilst wondering around today

Been to others this weekend, Kutchen Haus, Magnet and Howdens have been out last week did a design, but obviously didn't listen to my MO

Also, Neff or Bosch seems to have nice ovens, are they worth the extra money?[/list]

Hi I fit mainly Howdens kitchens, heard of a few issues with work tops lately

I've been fitting these for years

I had issues with Magnet at the old house, Formica worktop and he cracked the top, blamed Magnet for designing joint too close to sink cut out, blamed anyone apart from himself and wanted me to pay extra £900 out to buy the new worktop

Thinking solid type worktop this time, quartz or Corian type

Obviously you try to design the sink away from the joint, or too close to another cut out

Other work tops will require a specialist to cut and joint

We used Wren at the start of the summer. Initially I was apprehensive due to what I had read on the net but the area manager assured me that those issues had been taken on board and dealt with. Plus our local designer kitchen place wanted 3x the price that Wren came out at, albeit quality may have been top notch. However the Wren quality is pretty much ok.

The design guy listened to what we wanted, including the numerous times we changed things, and kept producing the designs along with 3D pictures of what it would look like. Price was ok and delivery was on time, complete and no damage although one drawer front wasn't 100% but after a phone call it was replaced within 72 hours no hassle.

We used our own installer and everything fitted spot on (the cabinets are delivered ready built). The only thing I would stress is double check all of the measurements yourself before finalising to be absolutely sure. The only drawback was the 10 day wait between the units being installed and the Quartz work tops being installed since they can't template the work tops until the base units are in place. The worktop company they use were also very good and kept us informed re progress. If you use laminate work tops then this isn't a problem

Wife chose all Bosch goods & is happy. We have no complaints but can't speak for their installers &, as with all these things, I guess alot depends on the people at your local store.

Thanks, read a few mixed reviews but hands on fellow forum members is a good way to find out true reviews

Still going to go down the measurement and design route and make a mental note of the design or grab a sneaky photo of the plan

I'm happy to quote for fitting if you so wish, I could also get a plan and price from Howdens

npinks wrote:

Thanks, read a few mixed reviews but hands on fellow forum members is a good way to find out true reviews

Still going to go down the measurement and design route and make a mental note of the design or grab a sneaky photo of the plan

That's what we did with the local expensive designer place. They came up with some ideas we & Wrens hadn't thought about so we incorporated them in the final design

BTW, keep in mind that, despite the so called discounts, the price Wrens quote you will still be negotiable

Friend of mine did the same - Wren did the initial designs and were good but price was crazy so copied the drawings and catalogues and got own fitters of do it at a fraction of the cost. When I did mine I got Ikea in. They did the designs for free only item I had to supply was the tiling they did everything (including putting the tiles up and all the wiring) in the price including a new freezer and separate fridge, new built under combo oven/ microwave etc and induction hob only mistake I made was to have a custom granite drainer............. in black granite. Never again stains very easily even with water droplets. They have their own nationwide contractor who does the fitting. AND if you have a Family card you get a further 15% discount. I found the quality amazing for the price too. Have a neighbour who got Wren in and 2 years down the line is still waiting for the job to be properly completed and a couple of new drawers supplied because they didn't match with the rest of the fronts..... It was because of her experience I went to Ikea 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
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Ohh not thought about ikea

Definitely worth considering Ikea especially with their 25 year guarantee for units and 5 years for appliances. One of the benefits is that if you need a replacement, it is very easy to get as most of the stuff is usually readily available in stock. We designed the layout ourselves on a computer in their store using quite neat software and they helped with any technicalities (like space fillers etc.) and ordering. Their worktops were rubbish though so we got ours from Howdens.

Ikea have kitchens to suit a variety of budgets and obviously you get what you pay for. Ours was neither their top end nor their cheapest but was way less than half the price of Howdens for same quality stuff and Howdens were only willing to give a 5 year guarantee. Been fitted for well over 5 years now and despite seeing a lot of use and a hard life with young kids and us hosting guests a lot, nothing has gone wrong. The only time we have had to use the guarantee was when Mrs. managed to light a bonfire on the hob and the flames reached and damaged some parts of the extractor hood We had to pay for the parts obviously because of misuse but fitting was FoC under warranty.

Ignore any fitters who try to tell you Ikea is bad. Generally one of their arguments (apart from the perceived low quality, which also isn't true) is that Ikea units are deeper than the standard sizes, which I personally think is great and don't understand why it is a negative thing as suitable appliances are easily available for the size. Perhaps the real reason is that some fitters are too lazy to follow instructions and assemble the flatpacked Ikea stuff. We got our own fitters to do it and they did a great job. Current: Volvo XC90 T8 Inscription Pro PHEV with some optionals on top
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Friend had issues with a wren kitchen she paid £££££ for, but it comes down to poor fitters not product quality.
I went round all the local kitchen places last year, from Homebase, ikea, wren, magnet, b&q, and decided on BenchMarx (trade version of wickes I think) Quality of the product was best I found from above for the price bracket.

Our kitchen is nothing special but we bought all Bosch appliances 13 years ago and haven't had to touch a thing and this is a "heavy use" household with three kids and all that goes with that. The appliances were not cheap at the time and we know that they won't last forever but we would definitely replace with Bosch when the time comes as it's cheaper in the long run. We also bought quite high spec machines for the washer, dishwasher and dryer.

Nothing against Neff etc. and I'm sure that there are good alternatives to Bosch. Now sold 2010 TDV8 Santorini black, lots of extras and best car I ever owned, and there's been a few. I will be back.

I came back with an L405 FFRR

thanks all

Getting Wren out to measure and see what plans then come back with and make a metal note of what they say

They apparently give you a list of parts and cost, but not drawings so mental note and draw them myself

I have been recommend a company local to me also DIY-Kitchens, and they seem to offer all the same things as Wren do, walking in Corner Larder, Units of similar design etc and offer the worktops such as quarts and corian also, which is a biggish part of my plans, but might compromise when the £££££ start growing

For the initial design and the subsequent 3 redesigns we were given detailed costings, sets of drawings for floor plan, base units, wall units etc showing detailed measurements along with 3D images.

Maybe different stores have different approaches but if they had indicated to me that they wouldn't provide the drawings to take away and study then they wouldn't have been coming out to measure