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Kitchen Planning Tips |
When planning a kitchen there are a number of things that you can do that can make a big difference to the overall cost and timescale of your project. Setting off in the right direction will also help to minimise the disruption caused to you and give you peace of mind that the project is in safe hands should you be employing the services of tradesmen. Below are a few useful tips to help you to get the best out of your budget and to help to ensure that the outcome meets your expectations. Bemow are a few useful tips to help you to get the best out of your budget and to help to ensure that the outcome meets your expectations. |
Plan to save. Good planning is in my opinion the most important aspect of any project. When planning a kitchen the location of services such as gas, water and electricity can have a massive impact on both the timescale and cost of the project. If budget and disruption are going to be an issue for you, it is a good idea to try to situate the sink and appliances in there existing locations where practical. If your kitchen is being planned for you don't assume that the planner has a good understanding of the potential implications that there plan may have on your project. I have encountered at least minor problems with about 2 out of 3 of the kitchen plans that we have been asked to quote for. In most cases the planners are simply sales people who have been trained to use a piece of software that designs the layout of a kitchen. Having said this I would strongly encourage the use of these services as the software used can generate a professional plan and a 3D computer drawing showing just how your new kitchen will look. You can always get your contractor to take a good look at the plan for potential problems. |
Get the right people involved If you’re employing the services of a builder or contractor to fit your kitchen how do you avoid giving the job to Billy The Kid? There are a number of things that you can do to check out your potential fitter. If you have a plan all well and good but if not ask him if he can get you a plan. If he has accounts with kitchen suppliers he should be able to get you one drawn up free of charge. In most cases the plan itself should throw up a number of questions. So you should be wary of anyone who is only there for five minutes. This is usually a case of I’ll cross all bridges when I come to them dressed up as I’m so good I can get over anything. This is a bad way to proceed and comes back to what I said about planning. Your builder should spend some time studying the plan, looking at the location of services etc, asking you questions and looking for potential problems. |
Peace of mind & security In the six years we have been trading I have only been asked if I have insurance three times and asked to provide proof once. Make sure your tradesmen either have insurance or are covered by your contractors insurance. You could have the most skilled tradesmen in the world, but if they are willing to carry out major work in your home without insurance they are cowboys. If any services are to be altered make sure that the relevant tradesmen e.g. plumbers, electricians and gas installers have all relevant qualifications and can provide you with any necessary certification for the work carried out. This is a legal requirement and with the introduction of the Home Information Pack failure to certify the work could cause you problems should you wish to sell the house later on. More importantly your families safety should be your first consideration in a room that houses water, electricity and gas. If you ask enough questions regarding the matters discussed in this paragraph you should scare the cowboys away. They will go off to do the estimate and you will never receive it. |
The Cost It is generally excepted that you get what you pay for. I believe this is fair to say to some extent but we live in an age where marketing has become so clever that we are willing to pay more for a brand, logo, image, lifestyle or whatever you want to call it. So you should decide carefully on who will provide your kitchen. Get more than one estimate try to get three at least. You will probably find they vary considerably. Make sure that they clearly state the work to be carried out and try to ensure that all the work discussed is on the estimate. If the price looks particularly low be as careful as you would be with one that is to high. If it looks to good to be true it usually is. If you are prepared to pay a high price for added quality make sure you are getting quality. If you part with a pile of cash for quality then you should expect a pile of manufacturers guarantees. A showroom and expensive brochures implies quality it doesn’t guarantee quality so make sure you are getting what you are paying for. |