[Closed] DIY Kitchens, anything to watch out for?

All the stuff we got seem great, and the fitter had no complaints. Only issues encountered were due to either me having never planned a kitchen before or miscommunication with the fitter.

I did have to last minute change worktop sizes which they said I'd have to wait 6-8 weeks for but I just returned their worktops and bought from worktopexpress.co.uk instead. DIY kitchens then took bloody ages to acknowledge return of the worktops, but they did in the end and refunded, so not the end of the world.

Like you, I've seen them recommended on here, so the dear wife and I are going to visit the showroom  over the weekend. (we're only about 10 miles away)

We've got a design and a quote from Howden's, we're just wondering whether DIY Kitchens will be better / cheaper

Sorry, this doesn't help you. 🤔

make sure to get a pull out larder:

https://www.diy-kitchens.com/kitchen-units/tall/pull-out-larder/1970mm-high/

we've got a 500mm one I think and it has absolutely everything in there.

My mates got one - looks great and feels solid. I'll be doing mine next

You won't get the kitchen you ordered in one delivery, complete and undamaged.

I used them 3.5yrs ago and they were great.

I re-used them 6mths ago and it was terrible. It took 5 or 6 deliveries to get my complete order undamaged. The first delivery was completely the wrong kitchen and I only realised after fitting all the base units (it was the right colour and shaker style but not the kitchen we ordered). They were good and sent some of their fitters to sort stuff out but they were saying multiple deliveries was the norm.  I think they've just grown too fast and haven't been able to keep up with demand.

You can't ring them when things go wrong, you have to raise a ticket and expect a day turnaround before you get a response.

The quality of the kitchen is great...it just took 6 weeks to get everything and so if you have a fitter lined up it could be problematic (thankfully I fitted ours and so it was just annoying waiting for units or doors).

Just for some comparison:

DIY kitchens phone number:

01977 608418

My order came in 1 delivery exactly when they said it would.

I have used them twice and they were brilliant both times. Quality is very good and no issues with delivery.

The only thing to keep in mind is you cant just pop down to howdens if you mess up a cut or change your mind on something. I'd order a few feet extra of the kickboard/plynth to account for any issues.

Just for some comparison:

DIY kitchens phone number:

01977 608418

And if you phone it they will tell you to log a ticket....even if they've delivered the wrong kitchen entirely.

No issues with our delivery. They checked the order once we'd made it and pointed out a couple of places we had made a mistake/ ordered the wrong thing.

No complaints

All good then. Nearly.  I thought that I would order well in advance to make sure everything has arrived before the fitter starts.

Seen this the other day, I believe plans are available online so you can make your own!

I'd happily use them again, ours is great. I'd also second the pullout larder recommendation, and the pan drawers are great. I think the extra (£25?) for the glass sides looks great too.

a couple of errors or missed out parts were sorted after a short wait, but I was fitting myself so could soak up the delay.

I would happily recommend them, quality is good (22mm thick doors, decent quality hardware) and selection available is excellent.

Took a day off work waiting in for delivery which eventually arrived at 2145 hrs. Everything was present and in good condition though

Used them 2.5 years ago, kitchen is fantastic quality no signs of wear, all arrived in one delivery when they said it would, fitted the kitchen myself and had a company come in to do granite work tops so didn't use diy kitchens for that.

when it come around to us moving I'll definitely look at using them again.

hope that helps.

Ours has had about 3 years of abuse and has held up well barring a corner pull out that seems to be sagging. That could easily be fixed though and is the insert at fault rather than what they built.

One thing to note is that the bigger stuff is sent unglued so you can dismantle to get it in. We didn't realise and sent a corner unit back when we didn't need to, the drivers seemed unaware of this. Plus it was god knows what time of night when they arrived. Think we returned something that was scratched but that wasn't an issue. But that aside everything has been fine.

My wife is a kitchen fitter and finds some people who use Howdens a little dishonest.. They, as a matter of routine, add £500 to every kitchen quote and pay it to the fitter.. Not good. Mrs T now tries to avoid them because of it

They are good but you’ll likely have problems with the delivery of items from every fitter I’ve spoken to. I’ve used howdens twice and they weren’t a lot better in honesty but my howdens is half a mile away, rectifying things is easy enough but you’re still paying a fitter to drive around which is annoying.

They all said really good kitchens but one made a point of saying the paint matts down more than you think it would (they do say this anyway) and all said the ones they fitted had problems with the right bits coming etc, and other issues which you can’t just resolve, especially if your a sole fitter all booked up with a week to put a kitchen in.

I think it’s in the name, DIY kitchens, if you’re putting it in yourself perfect and I’d definitely use them if I was or if I was closer. I took a 2 hour drive up to the showroom and it was really nice quality stuff, easily as good as the solid wood fronted howdens kitchen I’ve just put in. If you’re paying a fitter and you’ve got a local howdens, I’d be using them. They’ll price match anyway.

Yep, anecdotes of deliveries 3yrs ago are great...but they aren't the reality of recent deliveries.

As I said previously...I think they've grown massively, especially after the Which recommendation of best kitchen supplier and are struggling with the demand.

I like ours.  Installed just over a year ago - all good so fare.  Advice? Yeah, go for the Gold (?) delivery unless you/your friend/family are really strong or you're just ordering standard/small units.

and have the doors pre-hung, well worth the extra money.

and have the doors pre-hung, well worth the extra money.

You don't get the choice anymore.  All pre-drilled and pre-hung at no extra cost (well, they'll have built it in I guess).

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Yep, anecdotes of deliveries 3yrs ago are great…but they aren’t the reality of recent deliveries.

Likewise anecdotes from one person

It's not though,its:

- my last experience

- the experience of the 3 DIY fitters who came to my house and regularly fit DIY Kitchens for a living

- "every fitter" nickdavies has spoken to

I wish the OP better luck than I had. The quality of the kitchens is great.

We ended up going with Howdens.

And Kinda wish we hadn't..

Nowt wrong with the Kitchen itself- its ace, but the designer was 600mm out in her design, so it kinda messed up the utility room plans somewhat.

Good job our Chippy is spot on, and re-worked it.

Still not 100% happy as Howdens have yet to respond to our issues.

Yep, anecdotes of deliveries 3yrs ago are great…but they aren’t the reality of recent deliveries.

Ours was May this year, it was fine.

we waited a few weeks for a few items that had been missed, but nothing that delayed the install or made the kitchen unusable while we waited.

i found their online ticket based system fine to use tbh

would use them again - although I dearly hope not to have to, only reason I’d do another kitchen anyvtine soon is if we moved house & I *really* hate moving house!

Ours was also May this year, maybe May was a good month for them?

... it was fine.

we waited a few weeks for a few items that had been missed

Worked for you, like it did for me, as we fitted ourselves.  It wouldn't have worked out so well for you if you'd used a fitter and it won't for the OP's fitters.

Right, I'm going to order it a few weeks early and get the fitter to double check that it's all arrived.  How about that for a plan?

That’s the best way, but make sure you’ve got to somewhere to store it, you’d be amazed how much space it takes up. Also be mindful of storing oak worktops etc, I got a special offer on mine so had them 6 weeks early, worktops were ok as I took religious care of them but the upstands warped slightly.