Can you believe this price..

[Zampa]

We are in the process of having a new kitchen sorted..we can only afford one from the major outlets like MFI or B&Q...but as long as they are fitted ok we should be ok..

The guy from B and Q reckons a rough rule of thumb price for having approx 4 grands worth fitted is......4 grand!

Our kitchen units will cover about 5 linear metres..L shaped

6 storage units..
Under double oven
Small dishwasher
hob
extractor
probably a built in washing machine (she says)
Sink and drainer
And worktops, cornices, plingths and the normal other stuff..

Nothing fancy or awkward..im taking out the old one and getting rid of it.

Now..4k @ £150 a day (rough guess) for fitting...tops up to just under 27 days work for one man/woman 13 days for two..

I have always beleived in paying the going rate for a good tradesperson but 4k for what I reckon is four days work (it was last time)

How much are B&Q making on the back of these fitters?

Come on ffs!!!!

 

[JohnD]

Zampa, I bet you can do just a good a job... and as it's your own house you will take more care.

 

[RF Lighting]

We had our kitchen fitted by B&K (B&Q's fitters) about 10 years ago. They did an awful job, not sure how much they charged.

I would think you will be much be better asking a couple of local joiners for a price, and I'm sure they would do a much better job.

 

[Zampa]

Zampa, I bet you can do just a good a job... and as it's your own house you will take more care.

As it happens im confident with the units..not so about the plumbing and electrics though..but dont you have to be part P registered for instalations like this?

Plus im pony when it comes to mitres etc in cornices..its times like this I wish I was a bit of an allrounder.

The only thing I wouldnt touch is the work top...no no no no!...thus no sink or hob..

The sales guy in the shop did his best to try and put the eartha kitts up us by paiting a few nightmare scenarios..we HAD to get and electrician and plumber (even though theres no gas appliances) it how difficult it would be getting them to turn up on the same day etc..plus their high prices blah de blah..

If these sort of prices were the norm for te fitters alone then fair enough..I dont mind paying people for what they want...but knowing B&Q must be creaming off a nice chunk...nah!

We know a local fitter..friend of daughters mate...will definatly be asking him for a price now.

 

[JohnD]

Electricians sneer at kitchen fitters... if you can find a good one, he will do the work for you (you need him to be a member of a self-certification scheme) and it will be easier if the units are already out of the way. You can probably save some of his time and cost by chasing for the cables and cutting out for the back-boxes.

You will want lots of sockets above the worktop, and preferably DP switches above the worktop to feed 13A unswitched sockets below for all your present and future appliances. The ring can be run 150mm above worktop height all round the kitchen (except the doorway) which is very economical in labour and materials.

Many people like to have a separate ring installed for the kitchen as it has a lot of appliances. Best practice is also to have a dedicated radial (not on the RCD) for the freezer so that your food does not melt when you are away on hols if you have an RCD trip. Other kitchen sockets do need to be on an RCD as you will be using kettles and toasters close to the taps and one day will get a water/electricity problem. For this reason it is better to have cooker controls without an integrated socket, as cookers often trip RCDs. It is a good idea to have two cooker circuits installed in case one day you decide to get a double oven and an electric hob (though gas hobs are better).

 

[Steve]

about 10 years ago, we were quoted £900 by MFI to fit our kitchen. My dad told em where to stick their quote and fitted it himself. Paid £4k for the kitchen.

 

[Adam_151]

Its a lottery whether the fitter B+Q subcontract out will be registered to self-cert elec work, its actually a lottery whether or not he'll make a complete lash up of the electrics!

You might pay B+Q lots for fitting, but they are in it for the money, and after B+Q have taken their cut, it'll be a case of 'pay peanuts get monkeys'!

 

[Zampa]

CHeers for that all..

JohnD..with the exception of the dishwasher it just literally going to be a case of our with the old and in with the new..no majoy changes to the electrics etc...no plugs or switches to move...its almost like for like.

There are greedy gits in any trade..and coming from the industry I am aware that kitchen fitters etc are certainly on a par with plumbers and sparkies price wise..which is fair enough, they need to pay for corgi reg etc and do carry a lot of very expensive tools and equipment.

Always makes me laugh when people rant about plumbers and what they charge..but dont have a clue about how much they have to lay out in order to trade..

Their tool kits come to thousands...whereas your average brickie painter plasterer wont even come to a couple of hundred.

Seems that MFI charges for fitting are in relation to the number of units..B and Q's, if the its corect what the guy said, is based on roughly the same as the price of the kitchen.

Its times like this you realise how difficult it is for mr and mrs joe public..

 

[Thermo]

get a decent local guy in. take a trip to your local howdens/joinery shop etc. they should be able to recomend some guys to you. Those places cream of a large proportion and just give a sub-contracted guy a set amount to do the job. Hes on a time frame to do the work and none of them have even seen the kitchen. Most decent sparkies or plumbers will fit in smaller jobs like that.

 

[Zampa]

get a decent local guy in. take a trip to your local howdens/joinery shop etc. they should be able to recomend some guys to you. Those places cream of a large proportion and just give a sub-contracted guy a set amount to do the job. Hes on a time frame to do the work and none of them have even seen the kitchen. Most decent sparkies or plumbers will fit in smaller jobs like that.

Cheers..

As it happens I have looked at Howdens because we get a 20% discount off there prices but they say they dont sell direct to the public..trade only.

As im no longer 'trade' I think im mullered..

Surely they aint going to turn away a good few grands worth of business?

 

[ricicle]

Might be a coincidence but some friends of ours have just got a kitchen from B+Q, not sure of the cost, but they were quoted £4K by them to fit it .

Excellent local builder/chippy - £1K

 

[Zampa]

Might be a coincidence but some friends of ours have just got a kitchen from B+Q, not sure of the cost, but they were quoted £4K by them to fit it .

Excellent local builder/chippy - £1K

Be handy if you can find out mate..

 

[Thermo]

you might want to double check with howdens. ive bought stuff in there and never even mentioned being trade.

 

[Softus]

If you get the units delivered, then book the fitters for two weeks after that, because you're going to need to unpack everything and check for damage and omissions.

This especially important if you're buying from MFI.

 

[securespark]

When I was S/E, one of my customers rang me up all worried because the surveyors who were to fit his B & Q kitchen came round and told him in no uncertain terms there was no way he could have socket outlets in his kitchen fed from two separate circuits.

It was highly dangerous and contravened the regulations, and he was told that they'd have to install one whole new circuit just for that room.