Browse Forums Kitchen Corner 1 Apr 22, 2008 11:26 pm Let me start this off by saying we are in a unit, we are here for max five years and then will rent it out.
The current kitchen is driving me mental with a serious lack of benchspace. Problem is, the room layout is awkward with a doorframe that would not sit flush with cabinetry (i.e. the Cabinets next to the door would have to be angled) and there is also a fire escape door. Plus the window ends below standard bench height We have had three pushy kitchen design companies come out quoting from $12-17K ($12K did not include trades or appliances I dont think) I think this is way too much! I was originally thinking of buying a second hand kitchen on ebay but due to our weird layout, I think it would be costly to customise to our space. Then thinking about flatpack, and having trawled this entire kitchen corner tonight, will be buying Australian made :o So my question is - can I do this under ten grand, including everything?? I know that rules out stone and means I probably have to have laminex doors which is fine as I prefer them as I believe them to be more long wearing, particularly if this unit is going to be a rental property. Can anyone recommend any companies in Sydney? I am going to try Readikits. How much would it be for professional installation? I read something about what are you going to do if your floor is uneven when you install? I was like, I have no idea! Would it better to just pay someone to install? Please help! Re: New kitchen under $10K, achievable? 2Apr 23, 2008 9:20 am It should be very possible to get this job in under $10K - of course there is always going to be some compromise involved if you are trying to keep a price down.
Sounds like you are might be requiring a few custom units in this floorplan - that is one of the areas where you can benefit from using a local supplier, as they are much more likely to be able to do this for you (I don't know about Readikit in paricular though). As for getting it installed, this is going to leave you less room in your budget, as the assembly and installation is about all you aren't paying for in an Australian Made flat pack...you can still come out in front though...but just as a guide, the guys I use to install our systems work at between $30 - $50 a cabinet for assembly and about $40 - $55 a cabinet for installation (including benchtop above cabinet where applicable). If you are particularly leary about the installation you might be able to find an installer who is happy to fit the units after you assemble them, which can save you about $500 - $600 straight up; and assembly is really quite easy. Gotta love those "pushy kitchen companies" - shows how "free" their free quotes are. Good Luck. Cheers, Earl Re: New kitchen under $10K, achievable? 3Apr 23, 2008 10:03 am Thanks very much for your response Earl.
I agree that assembly we could do ourselves, the installation sounds a bit scary, although I guess we could try and if we come across problems like an uneven floor we could get a pro in. We have original timber floorboards in our kitchen, so that is probably a surface that is not unusual to be uneven? Will also check out some local cabinet makers, am going to have to start asking around work colleagues. The kitchen companies I was REALLY unimpressed with, including one who I told I wouldn't be making a decision that day as I wanted to consult with my mother and he was like, where is she then? And I said she lives in Brisbane and he said well how are you supposed to consult with her then, you are just wasting my time!! :o She had been down the week before and we had discussed plans extensively so I wanted to run them by her. So unimpressed, plus he made no attempt to get the price under our budget we told them of $15K. Re: New kitchen under $10K, achievable? 5Apr 23, 2008 10:33 am If you are going to do it yourself, you might want to look at bunnings. They had some nice ones there and affordable. Not the first place I would think of when thinking kitchens but they looked quite nice. Re: New kitchen under $10K, achievable? 6Apr 23, 2008 10:36 am Hiya, we are up in Newcastle and just installed a new kitchen in our rental. Between my retired electrician father, mechanic husband and me (who was 8mths pregnant at the time!!) we had it fully installed over two weeks. Realistically we could have done it in half the time had we not had to go to work plus look after our 2yr old as well as have a new bathroom installed!! Not very good timing but that is what happens some times.
We used a local kitchen company SRD Kitchens who manufactured the kitchen to our measurements and then had it ready for us to pick-up as a flat pack. It cost us $7.5k including dishwasher / oven / cooktop / sink / mixer tap / rangehood. They have a good website too if you want to have a look ....... http://www.srdkitchens.com.au/site/index.cfm Re: New kitchen under $10K, achievable? 7Apr 23, 2008 11:30 am The trickiest part of an uneven floor would be "scribing" the kickboards, which is the process of removing some material from a board to get it to butt up flush against another surface.
lozgill Thanks very much for your response Earl. The kitchen companies I was REALLY unimpressed with, including one who I told I wouldn't be making a decision that day as I wanted to consult with my mother and he was like, where is she then? And I said she lives in Brisbane and he said well how are you supposed to consult with her then, you are just wasting my time!! Yeah I know what you mean - I got started in the kitchen industry working for one of these types of businesses and the part I hated most was the HIGH PRESSURE SALES. Bet he/she didn't tell you about that part (signing up on the spot) when they were booking an appointment with you? I hated it so much I quit and started my own business...and we are seriously no pressure...hand the client the quote and say "here is our best offer"...none of this "if you sign up today you will get 25% off as well as a free dishwasher and hot and cold running dancing girls...like yeah, he is really taking 25% off his quote... To be fair to the poor consultant, he/she is a salesman first and foremost, if he/she has any experience with kitchens it is purely incidental...and he/she will be working under a QUOTA...probably of about 3 jobs out of every 5 quotes he/she writes; which means that some verminous boss is riding the salesman hard to get sales. The consultant works on a commission of sales which means they are focussed on moving them as quickly as they can and screw any difficult design or budget details. At the end of the day the only way these people end up being even remotely competitive with their pricing vs quality of product is that they all have high volume purchase agreements with the various fabricators which allows them to buy cheaply enough to add on all their outrageous overheads (like the dancing girls) and still make a profit out of their sale. I get a lot of people making appointments with me after haveing had a bad (and very similar to yours) experience with one of the "Sign Up Today" circus. Definitely speak to a local cabinetmaker for comparative pricing. Cheers, Earl Re: New kitchen under $10K, achievable? 8Apr 23, 2008 11:49 am Strumer The trickiest part of an uneven floor would be "scribing" the kickboards, which is the process of removing some material from a board to get it to butt up flush against another surface. lozgill Thanks very much for your response Earl. The kitchen companies I was REALLY unimpressed with, including one who I told I wouldn't be making a decision that day as I wanted to consult with my mother and he was like, where is she then? And I said she lives in Brisbane and he said well how are you supposed to consult with her then, you are just wasting my time!! Yeah I know what you mean - I got started in the kitchen industry working for one of these types of businesses and the part I hated most was the HIGH PRESSURE SALES. Bet he/she didn't tell you about that part (signing up on the spot) when they were booking an appointment with you? I hated it so much I quit and started my own business...and we are seriously no pressure...hand the client the quote and say "here is our best offer"...none of this "if you sign up today you will get 25% off as well as a free dishwasher and hot and cold running dancing girls...like yeah, he is really taking 25% off his quote... To be fair to the poor consultant, he/she is a salesman first and foremost, if he/she has any experience with kitchens it is purely incidental...and he/she will be working under a QUOTA...probably of about 3 jobs out of every 5 quotes he/she writes; which means that some verminous boss is riding the salesman hard to get sales. The consultant works on a commission of sales which means they are focussed on moving them as quickly as they can and screw any difficult design or budget details. At the end of the day the only way these people end up being even remotely competitive with their pricing vs quality of product is that they all have high volume purchase agreements with the various fabricators which allows them to buy cheaply enough to add on all their outrageous overheads (like the dancing girls) and still make a profit out of their sale. I get a lot of people making appointments with me after haveing had a bad (and very similar to yours) experience with one of the "Sign Up Today" circus. Definitely speak to a local cabinetmaker for comparative pricing. Cheers, Earl Earl Thanks for that info I could not of said it better myself. I'm a local cabinetmaker and we have quite a few "Sign Up Today" type companys in Adelaide as well. Most customers here already know who they are and avoid them. We also offer no pressure quotes. Nice to know there are other companys like your doing the same as I am...well done Earl Re: New kitchen under $10K, achievable? 9Apr 23, 2008 12:01 pm Kevin Brown We also offer no pressure quotes. Nice to know there are other companys like your doing the same as I am...well done Earl Thanks for the kudos Kevin... For anyone who is remotely genuine about the product they supply and the industry in which they work in it is the only way to function. I could not wish more for a method of explaining this to the average potential customer - only problem is that if one starts sounding off about the opponants one's own credibility begins to look suspicious. Biggest problem in the kitchen industry is that the customer usually only finds out about what a bad decision they have made AFTER the contract has been signed...and given that the average kitchen is a 10 - 20 year purchase, they won't be coming to me in a hurry saying "You were right, we'll go with you next time". Cheers, Earl Re: New kitchen under $10K, achievable? 10Apr 23, 2008 6:32 pm Strumer Kevin Brown We also offer no pressure quotes. Nice to know there are other companys like your doing the same as I am...well done Earl Thanks for the kudos Kevin... For anyone who is remotely genuine about the product they supply and the industry in which they work in it is the only way to function. I could not wish more for a method of explaining this to the average potential customer - only problem is that if one starts sounding off about the opponants one's own credibility begins to look suspicious. Biggest problem in the kitchen industry is that the customer usually only finds out about what a bad decision they have made AFTER the contract has been signed...and given that the average kitchen is a 10 - 20 year purchase, they won't be coming to me in a hurry saying "You were right, we'll go with you next time". Cheers, Earl All very good points Earl Do you have a "1300 number" or phone words number? or are thinking about getting one Re: New kitchen under $10K, achievable? 11Apr 23, 2008 9:20 pm lozgill Thanks very much for your response Earl. I agree that assembly we could do ourselves, the installation sounds a bit scary, although I guess we could try and if we come across problems like an uneven floor we could get a pro in. We have original timber floorboards in our kitchen, so that is probably a surface that is not unusual to be uneven? Here's Ikea's installation guide: http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_AU/complete_kitchen_guide/kitchen_know-how/do_it_yourself/installation_1.html - not sure how accurate it is to what you'd actually need to do, but it may give you an idea of whether you'd be able to do it. Re: New kitchen under $10K, achievable? 12Apr 23, 2008 10:15 pm Something else I remembered to say about the uneveness (sp?) of the floor - our kitchen cabinets all had adjustable feet - so with a spirit level we were able to ensure that all the cabinets were straight and true to one another. The kickboards were then cut to match the floor level and cover them up from sight. Re: New kitchen under $10K, achievable? 13Apr 24, 2008 12:25 pm kyton Something else I remembered to say about the uneveness (sp?) of the floor - our kitchen cabinets all had adjustable feet - so with a spirit level we were able to ensure that all the cabinets were straight and true to one another. The kickboards were then cut to match the floor level and cover them up from sight. Thats how we do it...a long straight edge on top of the cupboards, and a digital level.. these measure to 1/10th of a degree. you need to make an application to your local council for this as they are the approval authority for driveways cheers Simeon 1 7100 Thanks for the insights, that makes perfect sense, and yeah, I will be leaning on the experience of the excavator operator entirely. 6 16326 |