Self Assembly of B & Q Kitchen - Advice needed

[sidewinder79]

I've decied to install a new kitchen in my flat as my current kitchen is a throw back from the 70's and not in a cool retro way!

I went to B&Q to get a quote for what is a pretty basic kitchen and they quoted me £800 for the units and £2700 for the installation.

Looking at the breakdown, they were charging me £300 for gas surveys and £100's of pounds for other services that I didn't need considering the simplicity of the job...so i wondered if I could install it myself.

Now, there is no wiring to be done, no relocating of gas/electric points and no appliances to be installed. What I'm doing is merely putting in an L shaped kitchen consisting of about 10 floor units, a new worktop and new sink.

I may get someone to fit the worktop and sink but for the assembly of the units and presumably, shoving them against the wall is something I could do myself. Can anyone advise whether this would be possible for a regular person to do. I'm anticipating that building units is much like assembling a wardrobe from Ikea so please advise whether this is somewhat true before I go ahead and make a purchase.

This way I can save the extra money to do other home improvements that are urgently needed.

Many thanks

 

[^neo^]

If you know how to use a screwdriver to put them together, and a drill and spirit level to fix them back, you shouldn't have any problems.
I would advise getting the worktops and sink fited by a pro though.

Have a look at Ikea stuff too, very good quality for the money and simple to stick together

 

[Steve69the69Gas]

If you get your kitchen from Howdens- the units come pre-assembled= easy.
Just the fixing back and door & draw fronts to put on.

Hth

 

[sidewinder79]

Thanks very much for your replies. It's been very useful and I now feel confident about fitting the kitchen myself. I want to get the floor redone so can spend the £1000 I'd spend on a kitchen fitter on the flooring.

I will check out the ikea kitchens, (do they assemble like other ikea products?) and I checked out howdens but it says they only sell to trade professionals.

 

[^neo^]

Ikea ones are simple to put together yourself, just time consuming. Probably around 45 minutes each if you need the instructions.
Once you have the first couple done, you'll fly through them!

 

[sidewinder79]

Thanks everyone, I'm def gonna go ahead with this and if it all goes wrong, then I'll get someone in. Ikea is prob the way forward but not sure of their prices.

Thanks for saving me a lot of money!!!

 

[^neo^]

Thanks everyone, I'm def gonna go ahead with this and if it all goes wrong, then I'll get someone in. Ikea is prob the way forward but not sure of their prices.

Thanks for saving me a lot of money!!!

Prices are pretty good for what you get, and have a little program online where you can design your kitchen etc to see what looks right

 

[Bilioustrumpstaine]

Have a look at Wickes and Magnet.

Howdens maybe trade only but if you are getting your worktop fitted by a pro why not chance your luck and pop into your local depot and ask if they can recommend a local fitter/chippy to assist you and see if they would supply you the kitchen.

Ikea may be good for kitchens but if you need to change a unit or there are parts missing are they close enough to you that it won't cause a drama going back to their store.

I had to change a damaged item at Ikea and not only did I have to make a 60 mile round trip I had to queue for 45 mins to get the item swapped.

 

[Alison556]

Is there not also the problem of the space at the back of Ikea units for services? I'm sure I remember somebody here saying that the service void at the back of the units was too narrow for our pipework and some modifcation was required.

 

[Master of None]

There is no service space behind ikea units, but they can be modified to accomodate pipes where required. The advantage of this is you get the maximum storage when there are no services to hide.