B & Q Kitchens (B&Q Kitchen Furniture)

Member Name: Peter2670

Product:	B&Q Kitchen Furniture
Date:	06/03/01 (17608 review reads)
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I do not make any great claim about being a DIY enthusiast and sometimes possibly loathe the thought of having to tackle any kind of maintenance work whatsoever both inside and outside the family residence.

However I have surprised others and myself with some of the projects that I have undertaken over the years and can only put it down to the frustrated builder that has been lurking beneath the surface at certain times in my life.

My wife and I recently agreed that our current kitchen units were in desperate need of repair or replacement as they had in fact been the original units that had been installed some time prior to us taking up residence in our current home thirteen years ago.

They have actually been shifted around within the kitchen area following extension work that has been carried out and it is fair to say that they were beginning to fall apart and look rather shabby.

We had spoken recently about placing the house on the market and also agreed that the state of the units would not have encouraged any potential purchaser who may have visited the home. After all any home improvement projects could probably be seen as an investment anyway as it is one of the very few commodities that rarely depreciate in value.

The kitchen area is quite large and measures approximately 49 square yards (36 sq. metres) with a central brick pillar as a focal point.

Half of the room is used primarily as the kitchen with all the usual facilities installed in the front half and the rear half of the room used as a dining and sitting room area combined.

Although still thinking in yards, feet and inches I actually took metric measurements from the front half of the kitchen which was the area being refurbished and placed them onto a rough sketch diagram.

Items like the oven, hob, fridge/freezer, dishwasher and washing machine were still considered in reasonably good condition and serviceable and were due to rem
ain in their present locations.

A few days later we visited our local branch of B. &. Q.PLC and spoke to an extremely helpful sales assistant and explained to her exactly what we were looking for and the design that we had in mind.

B. &. Q.PLC usually operate an appointments system but the next available date was one week away but as it was a particularly quiet time of the day she agreed to spend what actually turned out to be almost two hours with us.

Having handed the rough sketch diagram to her and with a previously selected range of product having already been made she began to input figures into her laptop computer and a picture began to emerge which was a striking similarity to our very own kitchen.

Finally the finished article was produced in the form of a three dimensional drawing, front, side elevation and plan drawings showing exactly where all the units were to be placed together with the costs involved.

We had already decided that I was going to install the kitchen units my self so we didn’t inquire how much extra it would have cost for the kitchen to be professionally installed.

We decided to go ahead with the purchase and it is company policy that payment for the goods should be made immediately in the form of cash, cheque or credit card.

The very next day we received official written confirmation from B. &. Q.PLC of the purchase and were informed of the time and date that the units would be supplied.

B. &. Q. Kitchens are produced exclusively by Berstein Group PLC a leading family owned UK Company and we also received notification from this firm about the delivery that is carried out by them. Included in the correspondence were handy hints for DIY installation

The units arrived within the specified time on the delivery date in the form of some eighty-five separate packages properly sealed and labelled that were checked off individually with the delivery drivers. r>
You are asked to check the contents of all packages and report any discrepancies to the carriers as soon as possible but in actual fact you are allowed a period of twenty-eight days to do this.

Having decided on the appropriate area to start I began to assemble the units with consummate ease. Each pack contained a content and assembly instruction list showing an exploded view and a step by step procedure in how to complete the task and even advised on the appropriate tools to use.

Having completed one unit the work became progressively easier and quicker as you became familiar with the method of doing it.

The eventual assembled parts constructed from laminate chipboard were very sturdy and compact with items like doors and fascia panels constructed in the finished selected product.

However during the course of installing these units I had to make slight adjustments to gas and water supply fittings. I have to confess that having attempted to carry out this work myself I failed miserably and needed to call out qualified craftsmen to assist and it was during these periods that I wished I had never started.

However I did continue and managed to complete the project, which has taken me about two weeks to do and I have to say that I feel quite proud of my achievement. There were good days and bad days but on the whole the work went mainly to plan and it looks quite well.

I dare say that the professionals could have completed the job quicker and better but anyone who actually views the installed units in my opinion may not be able to tell the difference unless of course the viewer was a perfectionist.

Technical Specification:

Product type: Malvern (Natural Pine) (15mm kitchen units)

Two (2) 400mm drawer line base units - £120.00
One (1) 500mm drawer line base unit - £64.00
Two (2) 600mm drawerline base units - £134.00
One (1) 600mm drawerline sink/hob unit - £65.00
Fou
r (4) Natural pine end support panels - £56.00
One (1) 1000mm drawerline corner base unit - £80.00
Two (2) 925mm drawerline corner base units - £272.00
Two (2) 300mm wall units - £86.00
Two (2) 400mm wall units - £94.00
Two (2) 600mm wall units - £108.00
Two (2) 500mm glass dresser units - £252.00
Two (2) 500mm peninsular wall units - £234.00
One (1) Open-end wall & gallery rail set in natural pine - £39.00
Four (4) 3000mm sculptured cornice in natural pine - £204.00
Three (3) 3000mm sculptured pelmet in natural pine - £123.00
Two (2) 2750mm plinths in natural pine - £50.00
Three (3) wall end panels in natural pine - £30.00
Four (4) 3050 x 600 x 40mm marble worktops - £300.00
One (1) 1255mm peninsular frame - £20.00
One (1) peninsular support leg - £20.00
Three (3) pairs of door strap packs - £3.00
Three (3) packs of 5mm covercaps - £3.00
Three (3) pairs of 15mm glass shelves - £33.00
One (1) corner wall fillet in natural pine - £4.00
One (1) Breakfast bar back panel in natural pine - £61.99
One (1) Geneva Asterite 1.50 sink unit - £149.00
One (1) Damixa Java mono mixer tap - £71.97

Total value including Vat - £2675.96

B & Q PLC offer to repair or replace any fascia or cabinet proved to be made from defective materials or inferior workmanship for a period of twenty years.

If you find that you are able to purchase the same style and quality kitchen somewhere else at a cheaper price they will refund the difference.

They will deliver the kitchen to your home free of charge subject to a minimum of eight units being ordered.

They also operate a free planning and design service and are happy to visit your home without any obligation to purchase.

B. &. Q. PLC provide a total of twenty four (24) different styles of 15mm Highline base units, drawerline base units, wall units, appliance housing units, decorative accessories and decor
ative pelmets, cornices and plinths.

They also provide a total of twenty eight (28) different styles of 18mm items as listed above which would cost slightly more.

All these items are available in a wide range of various types of wood including pine, mahogany and oak.

The are a large number of B. &. Q. Superstore retail outlets located across the country and the following website would be very useful.

http//www.diy.co.uk

During the early part of construction of the units my wife did actually inquire whether or not the wall cabinets in particular would be safe once provisions were actually stored in them.

I did not know exactly how to take this so I did not pursue the matter, brushed it to one side and quietly told her that I was confident that they would be.

Now the units are complete I couldn’t believe it when one day whilst I was applying some finishing touches to the kitchen I heard her say that one of the wall cabinets was not big enough.

I looked around to find that she had filled one of the wall cabinets from top to bottom with all kinds of tins and packets of everything you could possibly mention. I reminded her of the earlier comment she had made about the safety of the units and suggested to her that she was probably going about things the right way to make sure that they weren’t secure or words to that effect.

I further suggested to her that it would probably be better if she shared the load between the other empty available units and she responded by telling me that her mother always used to fill the cupboards up in that very same way.

At this point my daughter walked into the room and we just looked at each other, sighed and shook our heads in disbelief.

My wife looked at us both and I do believe that she got the message as all the produce, provisions, cutlery, crockery and all the pots and pans are now evenly distributed in our new kitchen uni
ts.

I hope that the information supplied will help someone make a decision on whether or not they would wish to install a B & Q kitchen.


Best wishes,
Peter2670