Kitchen renovation Wellington

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MikeB4

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#196328 27-May-2016 11:24

We are wanting to renovate a tired kitchen and looking for recommendations for kitchen companies in the Wellington area. Our budget is circa $20,000.

Who are some good guys and who should we avoid.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Disrespective

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#1560690 27-May-2016 13:34

Sorry I can't specifically recommend anyone but have some thoughts you might want to consider.

What do you want to do with that $20k? Does it include any fees (professional and council related)?

Fully stripped out and new cabinets?, tops?, overhead cupboards?, lighting?, plumbing? Are you going to re-use the existing appliances? Or perhaps no new carcasses, just new drawer fronts and top, with a lick of paint?

Your budget is going to be tight to do a whole lot in a kitchen to be honest. The last one I worked on cost over $70k but was a full rebuild. Whomever you talk to will need to know your scope first and foremost and can then advise you further. All the big name kitchen companies do work here in Wgtn but you might need to look at someone smaller. YMMV.

MikeB4

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#1560704 27-May-2016 13:42

It's a small U shaped kitchen. It already has a built in pantry and the only appliance that needs to be replaced is the Oven. The total length of the benches is 5.9 meters.

MikeB4

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#1560706 27-May-2016 13:44

The best way to describe the pantry is being a small room off the kitchen

networkn

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#1560710 27-May-2016 13:52

I'd put 2K aside for the oven depending on your requirements, we got a F&P which we LOVE, for $2500. I would imagine you are possibly being a little optimistic for 20k depending on what you want done and if that includes council fees etc.

It's not a huge kitchen, but man are kitchens expensive. Depends of course on what you intend to re-use. Granite benchtops are 5K to start with for example.

nocowboys.co.nz is a good way to start?

MikeB4

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#1560716 27-May-2016 14:03

We intend to move a two years so we are not looking at a dream kitchen. We had also considered reusing the existing cabinets as they are made of solid wood not custom wood and replacing the doors and the counter tops. The current cupboard doors are custom wood and are suffering from the start of the weetbix affect.

The main area that is god awful is the pantry, it could be so much better with some intelligent shelving but we have no idea what and how. The Pantry is the size of a small toilet room.

If we are not relocating services, that is plumbing and Gas I believe we don't need council consents and please correct me if I am wrong.

networkn

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#1560728 27-May-2016 14:18

MikeB4:

We intend to move a two years so we are not looking at a dream kitchen. We had also considered reusing the existing cabinets as they are made of solid wood not custom wood and replacing the doors and the counter tops. The current cupboard doors are custom wood and are suffering from the start of the weetbix affect.

The main area that is god awful is the pantry, it could be so much better with some intelligent shelving but we have no idea what and how. The Pantry is the size of a small toilet room.

If we are not relocating services, that is plumbing and Gas I believe we don't need council consents and please correct me if I am wrong.

Sounds right, sounds like you shouldn't even need 20K, but if you are doing it, in the hope it improves either the resale value of your property, or makes it more attractive and therefore faster to sell, you should probably look at a cheap makeover to make it liveabe for you for 3 years in case your plans to move don't pan out, or look at what a potential buyer wants, and work out how much to spend based on that.

trig42

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#1560755 27-May-2016 14:33

Kitset kitchens are pretty decent for your needs (we did a small kitchen, about your size, for about 5k, but was a laminate benchtop and did not include appliances. We are happy with it.

With your $20k, it would be worth getting a consultant in to look at the ways you could better utilize the space with your pantry (is it big enough to be a butlers pantry?)

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Disrespective

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#1560764 27-May-2016 14:46

You don't need consent unless you move the sink. But if you use a kitchen company you will need to pay their margin which could be anywhere from 5-15% on top of materials and sub trades.

I think you should be looking at maybe getting new door/drawer fronts made and keep the existing carcase. You could replace the bad fronts, or you could do all the fronts and get them made from MR MDF (Moisture Resistant), and factory painted so have a nice finish with PVC edge clashings that all match. You can get new melamine shelves and matching PVC edge clashing in the pantry easily enough and without a huge expense. Changing the tapware (and sink trap maybe) is also a simple way to get a nice change and modernise a kitchen. You don't have to buy German engineered stuff, but a quick look at Plumbing Plus online and they have a good range of kitchen mixers in the ~$300 range that cover all stylistic preferences. You could also look at using a Seratone or James Hardie InVibe style cementitious sheet for a splash back to give some colour without having to pay for tiles or glass.

Regardless, you might be better off going straight to a cabinet maker than a kitchen company. They will be the ones the kitchen company will hire and put their margin on top of anyway...

We've used Levin A1 Joinery, and Prestige Joinery n the past but googling shows many alternatives that might do the job just as well.

MikeB4

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#1560848 27-May-2016 16:28

Disrespective:

You don't need consent unless you move the sink. But if you use a kitchen company you will need to pay their margin which could be anywhere from 5-15% on top of materials and sub trades.

I think you should be looking at maybe getting new door/drawer fronts made and keep the existing carcase. You could replace the bad fronts, or you could do all the fronts and get them made from MR MDF (Moisture Resistant), and factory painted so have a nice finish with PVC edge clashings that all match. You can get new melamine shelves and matching PVC edge clashing in the pantry easily enough and without a huge expense. Changing the tapware (and sink trap maybe) is also a simple way to get a nice change and modernise a kitchen. You don't have to buy German engineered stuff, but a quick look at Plumbing Plus online and they have a good range of kitchen mixers in the ~$300 range that cover all stylistic preferences. You could also look at using a Seratone or James Hardie InVibe style cementitious sheet for a splash back to give some colour without having to pay for tiles or glass.

Regardless, you might be better off going straight to a cabinet maker than a kitchen company. They will be the ones the kitchen company will hire and put their margin on top of anyway...

We've used Levin A1 Joinery, and Prestige Joinery n the past but googling shows many alternatives that might do the job just as well.

Thanks heaps for that, I am going to research Joiners in our area.

lissie

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#1560870 27-May-2016 16:45

YOu can move the sink in the same room and not need a consent. We even removed a wall without one - not load-bearing.

We replaced a tired kitchen last year - it's my dream kitchen in my dream house. We used Kitchen Creations in Kapiti - very happy with them

We replaced a U-shared with a galley (ended up with more useable storage) plus a small pantry (1.8 1.5).

2.5 m x 1m all drawers on kitchen side - open shelf, glass door cabinet (added $700) on the other. Laminate top

Other side about the same length but includes freestanding stove and f/f. Stainless steel top with under-mounted sink (expensive but essential to me). The pantry includes bench space (laminate) and open shelving above and below (actually cabinet units without doors- cheaper than shelves go figure). A pull out double rubbish bin system. One basic drawer organiser - we found the internal organisers particularly the pull-out stainless ones are very expensive - much cheaper to install yourself afterwards.

All up joinery including bench tops and sink and a glass splashback and installation - about $!6k

Once we had a design I tried pricing the equivalent Kaboodle stuff from Bunnings - not nearly as efficient because they come in standard widths. - without bench tops or installation I got to $11k - before I figured it wasn't worth it

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MikeB4

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#1560886 27-May-2016 17:30

lissie:

YOu can move the sink in the same room and not need a consent. We even removed a wall without one - not load-bearing.

We replaced a tired kitchen last year - it's my dream kitchen in my dream house. We used Kitchen Creations in Kapiti - very happy with them

We replaced a U-shared with a galley (ended up with more useable storage) plus a small pantry (1.8 1.5).

2.5 m x 1m all drawers on kitchen side - open shelf, glass door cabinet (added $700) on the other. Laminate top

Other side about the same length but includes freestanding stove and f/f. Stainless steel top with under-mounted sink (expensive but essential to me). The pantry includes bench space (laminate) and open shelving above and below (actually cabinet units without doors- cheaper than shelves go figure). A pull out double rubbish bin system. One basic drawer organiser - we found the internal organisers particularly the pull-out stainless ones are very expensive - much cheaper to install yourself afterwards.

All up joinery including bench tops and sink and a glass splashback and installation - about $!6k

Once we had a design I tried pricing the equivalent Kaboodle stuff from Bunnings - not nearly as efficient because they come in standard widths. - without bench tops or installation I got to $11k - before I figured it wasn't worth it

That looks very like what ours would look like. The difference is our is a Lockwood home so no Jib to worry about. You kitchen looks fabulous and the utility room is great. Well done

lissie

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#1560898 27-May-2016 17:54

MikeB4:

That looks very like what ours would look like. The difference is our is a Lockwood home so no Jib to worry about. You kitchen looks fabulous and the utility room is great. Well done

Thanks the pantry is amazing - it works perfectly for one - the LED light under the upper cabinets was the electricians idea- really, really good light. We also installed a fan so we can run rice cookers and slow cookers in there, as well as the microwave

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Handle9

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#1560936 27-May-2016 20:23

I wouldn't discount the benefit of replacing the carcases. If you buy from a company with a CNC manufacturing plant the cost of them is quite small compared to granite or engineered stone. You get the benefit of putting drawers everywhere and soft close everything.

When we did our smallish kitchen the granite bench tops cost more than all the cabinets, including 2 x Hafele Mondo corner units. I would recommend piecing the job out if you have the skills and can be bothered to run your own subs.

mdf

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#1567459 7-Jun-2016 20:38

You can do a lot with Bunnings / Placemakers kitsets if you can visualise spaces. I had a plumber and builder install ours, but I designed it from the available components. If you read the tips (workplace triangles) and are willing to spend some time you can get really good results - it's what all that time playing tetris was for.

We've since moved and the new place has a much bigger kitchen, but is much more poorly designed. The fridge and the only cutlery draw are completely at the other end of the kitchen from the stove, so you seem to spend a lot of time walking to and fro.

But if you want someone to do it for you, Mum used Prime Interiors and they did a good job. She was shopping at the top end of the market though, not sure if they do a more down-spec offering.