| |
Get your FREE Kitchen
Quotes:
We
recommend that you use BOTH the Need
Contractor and Reliable
Remodeler
services to get the best quote for your home improvement project. Both services
are FREE.
Home
improvement loans:
Have
3 home improvement loan provider specialists battle over your business to help
get you the best deal. Complete
this brief application form. There is no charge for this service.
Get your FREE Kitchen
Quotes:
We recommend
that you use BOTH the Need
Contractor and Reliable
Remodeler
services to get the best quote for your home improvement project. Both services
are FREE.
Designing
succesful kitchens eBook:
"A
step-by-step kitchen design eBook on how to research, design and build the Kitchen
of your dreams."
CLICK HERE
to read the 'Designing
Succesful Kitchens eBook' now.
|
|
 |
|
Kitchen
Secret #17
How much should you pay for your new kicthen?
Obviously
everybody wants to spend as little as possible. Everybody also likes
to get a bargain. That’s why tried and tested
ways of offer on kitchens on sale still work.
However, most people
have also heard of the phrase ‘buy cheap, buy dear’. This of
course means that although you’re buying lovely looking brand new kitchen
furniture, it might not last for long. You therefore need to find the
fine line in-between investing enough so you receive a quality product
and paying too much for something that isn’t worth it.
You need to make
a sober, logical decision as to how much your proposed kitchen is actually
worth. The only way to accomplish that is to break everything down into
its individual component.
You need to consider
how many cabinets are in the kitchen. You need to consider what kind
of worktop is included in the kitchen furniture.
You need to be aware
of the value of the appliances that are included. Then you have to consider
the kitchen fitting costs. In the UK, the cost for fitting a kitchen
will generally fit inside the £800 to £2000 bracket.
Especially small
or large exceptions to the rule will always of course occur, but generally
these figures are a good ‘rule of thumb’.
Referring back to
Kitchen Secret number 4, the information used by the kitchen designer
does of course have to have some kind of factual base. For an average
kitchen (say 4 base cupboards and four wall units in addition to appliances)
the potential cost could vary by thousands. For such a kitchen, it’s
possible to go down to a DIY store and purchased all your furniture
for £1000, an oven, hob extractor and integrated dishwasher for £400
and then get somebody local to fit it all for you for around £600. This
£2000 expenditure might be the ideal way to go about doing things if
you’re going to be renting a flat out with the kitchen in it, living
in the property for a short period of time, or selling the property
soon.
To such people, this particular
way of fitting kitchen furniture tends to be a means of accomplishing
something else. To property developers,
the only reason that they want to fit a new kitchen is to rent to property
more easily, or sell it quicker and for a greater value. However, if
you’re going to be staying in your property for a few years, then you
need to spend more money on your kitchen. The
kitchen for your own house isn’t just an investment though. It isn’t
even mainly an investment. In this instance, without overstating it,
it’s a significant part of your life for many years to come.
You will spend hours
every week opening its doors and using its equipment. However, like
your bed it’s traditionally undervalued in the impact that under-investment
can have on it.
Do some research
into the quality of the construction. Even basic laminated worktops
can vary significantly in the method of production and materials involved.
Some can quite easily handle a boiling hot pan being place on top of
them. Some will turn a very strange colour and start to peel. Simply
find out which manufacturer makes the worktops that the kitchen furniture
company is going to supply you with and do some research on them before
you sign the contract. Decent laminated worktops will only add a couple
of hundred pounds onto the cost of your kitchen, but will benefit you
for many years to come.
Quality doors
are a rip-off in many mid-market kitchen companies.
Many mid-market
kitchen companies calculate a simple percentage of gross profit that
they are targeted to achieve for each and every kitchen. This means
that the more expensive the door, the more money that they’ll make from
selling you the same carcass that they use for every kitchen. This isn’t
fair – and you should know about it. Even with great quality doors and
a good quality carcass, a single kitchen cupboard shouldn’t cost too
much more than £200. Unfortunately, Kitchen Secrets can’t give you a
definitive amount that you should spend as a maximum on your kitchen.
But as long as you make yourself aware of the acceptable parameters
for each part of the kitchen you won’t go too far wrong.
|
|
