Ikea kitchen and buying my own appliances

[sunshinewelly]

Any kitchen fitters here

I am buying a kitchen from IKEA and ikea have arranged a fitter

IKEA have added their own appliances but I want to add my own as currys come out cheaper

Fitter says stick with ikea appliances as non ikea ones may have issues

Is there any reason why I have to use ikea appliances

For example I have found a similar intergrated fridge freezer a £100 cheaper on currys same demensions as the ikea model but fitter suggests that non ikea fridge freezers pose issues



Makes no sense to me

 

[sircerebus666]

Ask the fitter what he means by issues

 

[ktuludays]

In theory the non IKEA stuff should fit fine. From experience it's not always the case and fitter may have issues making them fit, any decent fitter can overcome these issues.

My experience is that when I'm fitting a kitchen the customer just wants it sorted and doesn't always appreciate the effort and issues required to make stuff fit. It can be a pain in the arse tbh so I can see it from fitters point of view. You're potentially creating then headaches that you just don't forsee.

 

[sircerebus666]

In theory the non IKEA stuff should fit fine. From experience it's not always the case and fitter may have issues making them fit, any decent fitter can overcome these issues.

My experience is that when I'm fitting a kitchen the customer just wants it sorted and doesn't always appreciate the effort and issues required to make stuff fit. It can be a pain in the arse tbh so I can see it from fitters point of view. You're potentially creating then headaches that you just don't forsee.

So what you are saying is that the ops fitter is trying to put her off having non IKEA appliances just because he/she might need to do a small amount of additional work to integrate them with the IKEA kitchen?

I.e he/she might have issues not the op?


Op - if that is correct then I would be telling them to install non IKEA appliances just for saying that!

 

[ktuludays]

So what you are saying is that the ops fitter is trying to put her off having non IKEA appliances just because he/she might need to do a small amount of additional work to integrate them with the IKEA kitchen?

I.e he/she might have issues not the op?


Op - if that is correct then I would be telling them to install non IKEA appliances just for saying that!

That's kinda what I'm saying, it's similar to saying fit me these Honda wheels on my audi please, they're just wheels, why can't they fit?

Not all appliances are made the same, but should be. With the IKEA stuff it'll be a fairly straightforward install. The non IKEA stuff may go in easily, they may not, if they don't then it'll take longer and potentially cost more therefore a false economy to try and save the initial purchase cost.

 

[Keithmac]

Of you are prepared to pay for any extra time then fair enough, if you expect the fitters to take a loss then thats not fair imho.

 

[sircerebus666]

That's kinda what I'm saying, it's similar to saying fit me these Honda wheels on my audi please, they're just wheels, why can't they fit?

Not all appliances are made the same, but should be. With the IKEA stuff it'll be a fairly straightforward install. The non IKEA stuff may go in easily, they may not, if they don't then it'll take longer and potentially cost more therefore a false economy to try and save the initial purchase cost.

All depends on how the kitchen is being fitted, if it is a fixed fitting cost , then it's certainly worth getting the cheaper appliances

 

[sircerebus666]

Of you are prepared to pay for any extra time then fair enough, if you expect the fitters to take a loss then thats not fair imho.

How do IKEA employ the fitters , are they in-house , externally contracted, fixed fee, what happens when there are "issues" and the job takes longer than normal, if external contractors are used who picks up the tab if there are additional costs, do IKEA swallow these costs or do they pass them onto the buyer?

 

[sunshinewelly]

Ikea arranged the fitter and gave me a fixed fee. Surely if the demensions on the appliance are the same then I don't understand why it would cause issues to install. It's a standard fridge freezer. No plumbing etc

 

[sircerebus666]

Ikea arranged the fitter and gave me a fixed fee. Surely if the demensions on the appliance are the same then I don't understand why it would cause issues to install. It's a standard fridge freezer. No plumbing etc

It wouldn't , it's basically a case of the fitter wants an easy life "just in case" , go ahead and buy the non IKEA appliances and enjoy the savings

 

[denso13]

go ahead and buy the non IKEA appliances and enjoy the savings

Agreed. Given that Ikea don't actually make appliances anyway and they are just rebranded from larger "everyday" manufactures, there is no reason at all why you can't buy your own cheaper alternatives.

https://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/help...manufacturer-information/3940-ikea-appliances

 

[Deleted member 174758]

The only thing I can say is that IKEA base units are taller than standard base units (because IKEA use shorter legs) and that extra infill strips, shelves, etc. may be necessary to accommodate non-IKEA appliances). From the fitters" perspective this is potential extra material cost together with extra work (in the case of integrated appliances which sit inside a cabinet this is certainly the case because IKEA units are taller than standard units, aren't they?). A fitter on a fixed rate install would almost certainly have to absorb this extra cost. I can't see any kitchen manufacturer/retailer taking on the extra cost or liability of installing stuff they haven't sold you - it just doesn"t make business sense

 

[denso13]

I changed a hob and oven recently on IKEA units I fitted many years ago (not my own). No problems at all, just slid the new oven in.

I've also just looked at built in fridge freezes, for example, and the IKEA branded ones are exactly the same size as a few non IKEA ones, to the mm.

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/isande-integrated-fridge-freezer-a-no-frost-white-90377809/

https://ao.com/product/rib312f4aw1-hisense-fridge-freezer-white-54249-28.aspx