OV9

My approach was to buy a house at the top of my price range that was horrible, but with a large driveway, and live in building site for the next ten years because we had no money.

Who needs a kitchen when there’s restaurants and BBQs

Sundayjumper wrote: Wed Jul 01, 2020 9:50 pm

Rich B wrote: Wed Jul 01, 2020 9:31 pm If you have £15mill to buy it, you have another mill to change the decor.

That’s along the lines of the advice my BiL received when last moving house; that whatever you buy you should budget another 20% to refit the kitchen. Kitchens are the most willy-waving part of the house so even if it’s all brand new you need to rip it all out to prove that you have MUCH better taste than the last people. Even if you don’t.

Bonkers isnt it? A quick look on ebay brings up hundreds of brand new, unsued kitchens that have clearly been taken out by new owners after purchasing, for fraction of what they cost new.

Absolute madness. Unless we're DIW - we've lived with a kitchen for 8yrs that's just about hanging together, until such time as we were ready (££) to get it sorted as other areas of the house were more in need. Even when we started doing the place up, many friends couldn't understand why we were doing bathrooms and bedrooms before the kitchen - the logic of doing the areas where you get yourself clean and sleep is fairly clear I'd have thought, as long as the kitchen is actually useable?!

Meh, it’s not that much to refit a kitchen (certainly not 20% of a house value these days!) and you can completely transform the way a whole house works if you’re clever!

However, If you’re happy with the layout why change, and even then, then doors and worktops can achieve the same result. Every house/person is different!

Even 10% is a lot to some of us!

Swervin_Mervin wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2020 11:01 am Even 10% is a lot to some of us!

Absolutely - mine was definitely <5% of the purchase cost of either house I’ve done (though houses are More expensive in the south, and kitchens probably cost broadly the same all over.)

And TBF, the kitchen element of ours is more likely to be c5% - the rest is the entire strip and refurb of the space, and that's before we find out what's required for the extension.

I don't think I can even imagine spending 20% on the actual kitchen itself!

Swervin_Mervin wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2020 11:17 am I don't think I can even imagine spending 20% on the actual kitchen itself!

Neither can I, but BiL is in an entirely different financial bracket than I am !

Mito Man wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2020 10:42 am Who needs a kitchen when there’s restaurants and BBQs

Who needs a job when there's a rich daddy to indulge every whim ?

Rich B wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2020 10:52 am Meh, it’s not that much to refit a kitchen (certainly not 20% of a house value these days!) and you can completely transform the way a whole house works if you’re clever!

However, If you’re happy with the layout why change, and even then, then doors and worktops can achieve the same result. Every house/person is different!

We're thinking of replacing the fronts on ours as the plastic finish is failing. Glue failing and cracks in the finish. Can you recommend anyone? Loads of companies out there, but no idea about who is good. Can fit it myself, but may want them to measure.

It’s the sort of thing you see coming up on Facebook marketplace locally. No idea if there’s any national companies though.

Rich B wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2020 12:08 pm It’s the sort of thing you see coming up on Facebook marketplace locally. No idea if there’s any national companies though.

Ok. I'll dig around some more.

DeskJockey wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2020 12:06 pmWe're thinking of replacing the fronts on ours as the plastic finish is failing. Glue failing and cracks in the finish. Can you recommend anyone? Loads of companies out there, but no idea about who is good. Can fit it myself, but may want them to measure.

Unless it was a bespoke kitchen in the first place (or *really* old) they're probably standard sizes, multiples of 100mm. B&Q & Wickes are usually good if you want to look & feel stuff.

Sundayjumper wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2020 12:15 pm

DeskJockey wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2020 12:06 pmWe're thinking of replacing the fronts on ours as the plastic finish is failing. Glue failing and cracks in the finish. Can you recommend anyone? Loads of companies out there, but no idea about who is good. Can fit it myself, but may want them to measure.

Unless it was a bespoke kitchen in the first place (or *really* old) they're probably standard sizes, multiples of 100mm. B&Q & Wickes are usually good if you want to look & feel stuff.

It isn't bespoke (can't imagine PO spent anymore than he absolutely needed to), but when we measured previously it wasn't quite standard size fronts. Will see.

DeskJockey wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2020 12:18 pm

Sundayjumper wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2020 12:15 pm

DeskJockey wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2020 12:06 pmWe're thinking of replacing the fronts on ours as the plastic finish is failing. Glue failing and cracks in the finish. Can you recommend anyone? Loads of companies out there, but no idea about who is good. Can fit it myself, but may want them to measure.

Unless it was a bespoke kitchen in the first place (or *really* old) they're probably standard sizes, multiples of 100mm. B&Q & Wickes are usually good if you want to look & feel stuff.

It isn't bespoke (can't imagine PO spent anymore than he absolutely needed to), but when we measured previously it wasn't quite standard size fronts. Will see.

Wasn't Ikea was it? They have a habit of donig things slightly out from std.

If a house came with a new kitchen - or bathroom for that matter - that wasn’t completely hideous or non functional I wouldn’t rip it out for the sake of doing it my way, I’d spend the money elsewhere and do the kitchen when it actually needed doing.

I do know people who would rip a perfectly good and new whole kitchen out because they didn’t like the cupboard doors, the tiles or the paint on the walls. Daft things like “I can’t stand white sparkly work tops, they must be dark and sparkly” or “I hate wooden cupboard doors, I must have them finished in flat gloss”. That sort of daft thing. They are also the sort of people who must decorate a different room each year and nothing in the house is older than five years.

Swervin_Mervin wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2020 12:20 pm

DeskJockey wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2020 12:18 pm

Sundayjumper wrote: Fri Jul 03, 2020 12:15 pm

Unless it was a bespoke kitchen in the first place (or *really* old) they're probably standard sizes, multiples of 100mm. B&Q & Wickes are usually good if you want to look & feel stuff.

It isn't bespoke (can't imagine PO spent anymore than he absolutely needed to), but when we measured previously it wasn't quite standard size fronts. Will see.

Wasn't Ikea was it? They have a habit of donig things slightly out from std.

So far we've found no identifying marks anywhere. It doesn't look like IKEA, but who knows!

Just measure the bloody things !!

Don’t be so sensible!