Best Before End: Oct 95 (Magnet Kitchen Furniture)

Member Name: I Like Blue

Product:	Magnet Kitchen Furniture
Date:	10/06/03 (6224 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Style, Choice, Not as daunting as it first seems

Disadvantages: Price, probably, Disruption

Strange title I know and I'll explain it later in the review, but for now you will have to excuse it as I couldn't think of anything else.

In February 2001 we bought a nice old Victorian house and started to make it our home and although the kitchen was functional it was really in need of replacing. The cooker was well past its best as were the units and cupboards but after buying the house we didn't have the funds for such a project and there were more pressing matters to sort out at that time.

Things were about to change though, for the better. Along with just about every other house in Britain the value of our home increased and before long we had nice bit of equity which we decided to borrow against to fund the refurbishment of our kitchen.

So, during the summer of 2002 we went shopping for kitchens and after quite a bit of window shopping, internet surfing and magazine browsing we decided to buy our kitchen from Magnet.

Now, before embarking on this kitchen quest I sort of thought that a fitted kitchen was a fitted kitchen no matter where you got it from, however we were soon to realise this isn't the case. Without going into names or details but some kitchens are pretty dire no matter how cheap they are and as the saying goes you get what you pay for.

Magnet have quite a vast collection of kitchens to choose from in different styles and materials, and just about covers all budget ranges. Walk into any showroom and pick up their brochure but also remember to pick up their price guide and accessories brochure as you may find them pretty useful too.

You could of course visit the website at - www.magnet.co.uk which is pretty comprehensive, easy to navigate and also gives you an idea of the styles and prices of kitchens available with photographs of just about everything.

Anyway, back to our kitchen. Just to warn you I will go through each stage of our experience of kitchen buying
and I hope you find this information helpful if you are considering buying a new kitchen, especially for the first time. Also as I may not cover everything, being a novice myself, any 'seasoned' kitchen buyers out there who read this who have advice/tips of their own then please add them in the comments section.

SELECTION

We chose Magnet because they had the kitchen style we most liked and thought would suit our home, although we did change our first choice and finally opted for the Bakersfield Timber range. What also helped our decision was that Magnet were having a summer sale at about 50% off.

Once we chose the style we wanted it was then down to 'designing' our new kitchen. Daunting as that might seem, especially to novices like us, the whole procedure was quite easy and simple to understand.

DESIGNING

The Sales Person (and Manager, as the Magnet showroom we used has a nice small operation which helps give more of a personal feel) arranged a home visit with us to get measurements and a good look at our present layout. Once that was done he was then able to transfer those measurements to his PC and soon enough, with his assistance we were designing our new kitchen.

This part of the procedure is quite fun as you are able to cycle through a variety of layouts and units adding them to your 'virtual kitchen' until you are happy with an end result.

This is one part of the kitchen buying procedure where, as a customer, you do need to assert yourself and be quite specific in what you want, what you like and what you don't like. For us the Manager was very patient and extremely helpful, removing and adding kitchen components as we desired. Once we had a final idea of what we wanted our virtual kitchen was then displayed in all its glory on screen and then we had an excellent idea of what it would look like for real.

GETTING READY

I don't know if th
is happens nationwide but in the area we live Magnet don't fit the kitchens themselves they contract the work out to specialist independent kitchen fitters. Our contracted fitters, through Magnet, arranged a home visit to check measurements etc. and arrange a start date for fitting the kitchen which obviously had to coincide with the delivery of our kitchen units.

Agreed and decided for last week in September 2002.

Our kitchen units were delivered on the date and time stated which was just a couple of days before the commencement of the work. In preparation we emptied all the old cupboards and drawers and stored the contents in another room. We now had an old empty kitchen.

TRANSFORMATION

The first job the fitters carried out was the removal of the old kitchen which was easier than expected as it mainly came away in their hands and required minimal effort and soon all that was left was an empty four-walled room.

Now our new kitchen could be installed!

The new units had to be assembled and fitted individually. They are made and delivered in 'flat-pack' form and then assembled from scratch. However, these units aren't flimsy veneered chipboard or other such matter, no, these units are solid wood and after seeing how they have to be put together I soon realised this is a job I could never have done as a complete novice. I have assembled other pieces of furniture around the house but this, this was different and definitely required expert attention.

One of the main problems they had to overcome was the floor. As the house is old there are still a few original features, one of which is our kitchen floor. It still has the original red stone tiling that we uncovered when we first moved in, and like most houses of this era the floor is a little uneven, hence the small problem to overcome of getting the units to sit correctly which was thankfully achieved. Some of the bottom panels had to
be 'shaped' to take into consideration the floors contours.

After 4 days our new kitchen was fitted and although there were 1 or 2 hiccups along the way we were extremely happy with the finished work, and the transformation was complete. Once the work was completed the Magnet Manager arranged another home visit to check the completed work and to see if we were happy and, if necessary, record any complaints etc.

FACTS AND FIGURES

The Bakersfield Timber range is quite expensive but I believe it is worth the money. We paid just over £11,000 for our kitchen which was the sale price, ordinarily it would have cost us nearly £24,000! The only thing that wasn't included in the sale price was the cooker.

The price also includes the kitchen fitters payment for their work and it wasn't until later, after we paid our money, that we learnt that we could have actually kept this part of the payment back and not paid it until we were completely happy with the finished work. This is something I would advise you should check, especially as a first time kitchen buyer, with whatever kitchen you buy or company you go with.

In addition to all the units we had our kitchen also included -

Plate Rack
Wine Rack Unit
Belfast Sink
Swan Neck Tap
Neff Fridge (Built-in)
Neff Freezer (Built-in)
Rangemaster Classic 90 Cooker (Electric)

All the drawers are solid wood too and the bottoms are strengthened in a revolutionary way (I can't properly explain how you'll have to go to a showroom and ask).

While the units are reasonably priced we found what did push the price up were all the panels needed. For every unit you have installed it requires 2 panels, either divider or end panels. The divider panels obviously are fitted between each unit and the end panels are tongue and groove which give it that stylish finish. So the more units you have the more panels you need.
r>The worktops we chose were also quite expensive. We opted for Beech worktops which we think compliment the style of the Bakersfield Timber range. Magnet offer 2 types of thickness for the solid wood worktops and they are 27mm and 45mm, we chose 27mm which is a more than adequate depth. The worktops come in standard 2m lengths I believe and are then cut to fit on top of the units making the units appear as one. When ours were fitted the kitchen fitters oiled the tops and advised us, as did Magnet, that the tops should be lightly sanded and oiled roughly every 6 months, we have learnt since that this is not the case and we have also found out a couple more things.

A company called Junckers make the solid hardwood worktops for Magnet and in particular made our Beech worktops. Since having the kitchen fitted we noticed a small problem with one of the worktops. On one end we noticed the wood had split a little and over a natural knot in the wood. We only noticed because 6 months had passed and we were preparing to sand and oil the surface as advised.

We contacted Magnet who in turn contacted Junckers who sent out one of their Reps to check our worktop. The chap who came was very apologetic and very helpful. He advised that he would get some specialist wood filler for us to rectify the problem with the split. Whilst in our kitchen though he also checked the rest of the worktops and highlighted some problems we were unaware of. The advice he gave us to remedy these matters were very helpful and you might find them useful too.

Whilst checking the worktops for other splits, the Junckers Rep checked the wood around our Belfast sink. As this is a 'wet' area he checked the wood for water absorption and stated that the acceptable range is between 8.5 and 10%. The wood around our sink registered from 12 - 15% moisture. He further explained that it was a common 'fault' with fitters, not just Magnet, that when fitting solid
wood worktops around sinks such as the Belfast type a large enough overhang is not made with a channel carved into the underside to repel water, otherwise, as in our case the wood just absorbs the water which, if left and untreated, can cause quite bad warping of the worktop surface.

He then advised us that we should oil the wood on the edges of the worktop inside the sink area as soon as possible and in the small overhang that was there to help prevent further absorption. He then advised us that in fact the worktops should be oiled more regularly than every 6 months and explained that the wooden worktops would absorb as much oil as it needed to protect it and recommended oiling the wood once a month.

On completion of our kitchen we were given 3 tins of solid hardwood oil. It is easy to use and goes onto the wood easily. After lightly sanding the surface and wiping away the residue use either a brush or cloth to liberally apply the oil. I prefer to use a cloth as it gives a more even finish whereas I think that with a brush there is a risk of bristles coming loose and getting embedded into the worktop. Once oiled the wood is touch dry after a couple of hours or so but needs a good 8 hours or so to dry properly so I oil our worktops at night so it can dry overnight.

FINALLY!

Our kitchen has been fitted for nearly a year now and we are still extremely happy with it and I would gladly recommend Magnet to anyone, just be sure in what you want and explain fully and properly to the Sales personnel what you require. If you're not sure say so and keep playing with different ideas, any sales person worth their salt will help and advise properly to help you get your 'dream' kitchen and at some of the prices that is a must as after buying a house buying a new kitchen is often the next major purchase a person/couple makes.

Oh yes! The title, you thought I forgot didn't you? Well, when the fitters were demo
lishing our old kitchen they found, in a space between the back of one of the units and a wall and normally inaccessible, a number of bags of crisps. Now, remember we bought the house in February 2001 and of these bags of crisps the latest one had a Best Before date of Jan 2000 while the oldest one was, yes you guessed it, Best Before Oct 1995!

So, what's lurking in your kitchen? Happy buying!