Posted a question earlier about a new kitchen.
I was considering using Howdens as I was under the impression they were better quality than Ikea but a bit more expensive and they were better value than B&Q/Wickes/Focus etc.
From some of replies I had it would appear that a lot of people think that they are expensive and pretty rubbish quality.
Any thoughts?
I've never had a problem with them, and they certainly haven't been expensive.
Have put them in the last 4 houses and all been very good.
The carcasses come built with saves loads of time.
I've always bought White so that end panels are not needed and insides match outside.
Decent quality in my opinion, and I'll carry on using them for sure.
Just do a very quick search...
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/anyone-got-a-howdens-kitchen
Great quality. And good price. You wont go wrong with them. If you have a Benchmarx near you, I would take a look at them. The chipboard is a bit denser, and the back is solid rather than flimsy compressed board. You can get them to price match each other and eventually get them down to a real bargain. Haggling is the key.
I got Howdens oak worktops for my kitchen - really nice quality.
When Howdens and MFI were joined there was alot of cross-pollination between the two (same stuff, different product naming)
Good quality friend bought one and was very happy. Not the cheapest mind.
Ikea are pretty good for the money.
Most companies are now doing decent kitchens even Wickes and Homebase.
It's not that they are "bad" but that others have got considerably "better".
Because they are aimed at "trade", you won't get the guarantees that you will get with Ikea. (you won't with ANY of the others tbh!)
If you are buying enough from them, then the discounts can make it worthwhile BUT it comes down to how much you want to do yourself.
The Oak Breakfast Bar I got from them needed multiple coats of treatment, loads of preparation, and STILL needs more care than the 3 I got from Ikea and fitted at the same time.
Ultimately - you're not going to compete with the global buying power of the likes of Ikea and we win on price/quality because of it.
Love ours. Fitted in November and we are very happy. Comparative price to Ikea, but twice the quality.
As with any kitchen, get a good fitter. our howden's units are ok, for the money, but the appliances they supplied are terrible, they've all broken within 4 years.
I use them pretty exclusively for my jobs, prob fit about 20 a year. I find them good quality and straight forward to fit but that could be because I was an MFI Premier Installer before they went bump so most of the methods of fitting are the same.
Haggle hard if you have the account and they can do some great deals. don't believe the people that say they aren't a big player like Ikea, they sell hundreds of thousands of kitchens a year and have as much warranty as anyone else, just your contact is through whoever supplied it to you (ie fitter) rather than direct with Howdens.
Their worktop is far better in quality than B&Q, Ikea etc. and in most cases about the same price. the End panels, plinth, cornice etc is also a lot better quality.
I'd rather have unfinished natural wood to sort as I like, that way you can install it how you like with the finish you like.
Mine's a Howdens one, housing association house so my guess is they put them in because they're pretty durable? I'm certainly happy with mine, decent build quality and even came with a nice little cast iron pan stand thingy 
I do agree about the appliances though, most of the Lamona stuff is pretty crappy, mostly made by Beko and Hotpoint and not the cheapest either, I always buy from online suppliers of quality brands as the prices can't be beaten usually.
I always buy from online suppliers of quality brands
That's a good tip. Which brands do you find the best combination of quality and price (thinking SLX or XT level, in kitchen terms)?
I take it Baumatic is pretty poo. (Alivio)
No actually, Baumatic is usually pretty good, and one of the brands I use. I like Bosch stuff if it falls in the budget. Miele is the don but is def XTR Yumena or XX though!
Best thing is to look at the features rather than the 'name' on the front of it. A lot of appliances are identical rebadged models from several different brands just changing the badge and buttons. Neff/Bosch/Siemens a bit like VW/Audi/Seat etc.
Useful, thanks.
Cheers guys, esp BlazinSaddles, much more confident in what the builder is telling us
Howdens are OK, but nothing special..quality similar to B+Q (not nearly as rubish to deal with though), maybe not as good as IKEA as they use good quality drawers and hinges these days. IKEA's idiosynchrasies still would annoy me too much to have in my own kitchen.
Agree Benchmarx are a bit better quality
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