2 July 2020

What Joinery should I use to do my new kitchen?

| ACT Roo
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What Joinery should I use to do my new kitchen?

[ED – Bonus points for concision]

If you’re also thinking about renovating your kitchen, check out our recently updated article on the best kitchen renovation companies in Canberra.

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I realise that this is an older post but I wanted to relay my experiences for anyone who is still looking for kitchen renovation recommendations.
I recently had a complete kitchen renovation. After “shopping” around, I decided to go with a smaller company as I felt that with the larger companies I was just an “address” not a real person who had ideas of my own. I went with Brad from Purr-fect Kitchens 0409986436. Brad provided me with a free quote as well as giving me some good design ideas to visually maximise my kitchen and also improve its serviceability. From some photos cut from magazines, etc. he was able to incorporate my ideas into a beautiful kitchen with made to measure cabinets, some glass, stone bench tops and glass splash backs. His quality to detail is exceptional, good time frame and good price, though I will state he is not the cheapest.
I could not be happier with the end result and highly recommend him for any kitchen and cabinetry needs including laundry renovations and wardrobe installations.

Do NOT use Prestige Kitchens Wollongong Street Fyshwick (or their Sydney owners – Prestige Australia). Worst renovation experience of my life. Ended up sacking them. Then they had the hide to claim I breached contract and tried to charge me the total kitchen contract value, despite me not having a kitchen, eight months after they ripped the old one out. The little they did was cr@p quality, the manager had no clue about design or project management and his arrogance was breathtaking. I believe he’s been sacked now, but too little too late.

I know of at least two other people in the same boat.

Having said that, Ambience Kitchens repaired the damage Prestige did and finished the job in record tiome and very well. Mick Jopritsma is the owner and is a great bloke.

Holden Caulfield10:23 am 23 Aug 10

bugmenot said :

For us, with Benchmarc being over budget… It was their quote that was over budget by $9K. This was around 50% over their allocated budget.

The budget was stipulated to them probably 3 or 4 times. Their design was different to others though, but it was obvious that they did not want the job.

In fact, on our first visit to them, he very proudly stated that most of the kitchens they do were $30Kish and over. That’s all fine and good, but if you can’t work to a budget, then it’s meaningless at the end of the day.

I guess he was politely trying to tell you that he wasn’t interested on the job after hearing your estimated budget. Based on what we’re reading here you still insisted on seeking a quote and, it seems, by doing so you finally got the hint.

I dare say if he was more blunt the ultimate outcome would have been the same, only you would have been more offended.

Like any industries there are a variety of suppliers out there catering to a number of budgets. Some will charge a premium over others and customers are free to judge if they consider there is value in any such premium.

I would recommend crown kitchens and joinery.

With my first house I got the kitchen through them and could not have been happier.

They stuck to the budget i set and were professional in every aspect, from the design through to the installation.

I am currently getting the kitchen done in my new house and they were able to give me some great ideas I had not even thought about.

I would highly recommend them to anyone who needs a kitchen or any joinery needs.

I have recommended them to my friends, family and co-workers and about 8 others I know of have gone with them and could not be happier with their work either.

Well, given we are still having issues with our joiner, I have decided to name them here.

Prestige Joinery in Fyshwick.

They have been on site numerous times and still we do not have a completed kitchen. It has been over 2 months since the first day of installation began.

We have been recommending people avoid them now. At this point, I am not even certain that we are ever going to have a completed kitchen from them. Fortunately, we have withheld the last payment until completion (as stated in the contract). Doesn’t mean that they haven’t had the nerve to ask for it though!

The thing for us is that they came recommended from friends…

Anybody see Grand Designs on ABC last night?
That was a well built kitchen.

screaming banshee5:55 pm 23 Jul 09

That’s a bit clearer bugmenot, at first it seemed as though you had been hit with a large bill you did not expect.

I will say that they came highly recommended and I was very happy with their work. The pricing was a bit of a shock at first being greater than some other quotes but the quality of their work combined with the recommendations sold us. They did make it clear that if we wanted a cheap kitchen we should go elsewhere. Having suffered a cheaply built kitchen previously I can say that you do indeed get what you pay for and I’m very happy with the end result.

barking toad5:44 pm 23 Jul 09

wood

For us, with Benchmarc being over budget… It was their quote that was over budget by $9K. This was around 50% over their allocated budget.

The budget was stipulated to them probably 3 or 4 times. Their design was different to others though, but it was obvious that they did not want the job.

In fact, on our first visit to them, he very proudly stated that most of the kitchens they do were $30Kish and over. That’s all fine and good, but if you can’t work to a budget, then it’s meaningless at the end of the day.

flag_elation_fanatic4:45 pm 23 Jul 09

Hi Paperboy

The quote from the flashy showroom was fro $13500 with a free dishwasher if I signed the same day (not an attraction really since I didn’t plan on a dishwasher). The same kitchen came in at just on $10000 from Kitchens Direct.

V twin venom4:18 pm 23 Jul 09

Paperboy asked,
“I know they’re all quite different, but what sort of total prices are we talking about, with savings of $3,500 and being $9k over budget?”

Mine was the better part of $20k but its fairly large.

Capital Veneering are a great company.
I would offer to do a quote, but we are flat strapped for the next couple of months. Capital is the company my husband works for.

screaming banshee3:20 pm 23 Jul 09

bugmenot said :

We avoided Benchmarc when they clearly displayed that they were unable to work to a budget (over budget by ~$9K).

How can they be over budget, didn’t you get a quoted price?

Mike Bessenger1:53 pm 23 Jul 09

DIY if you want a job done to your standards

I know they’re all quite different, but what sort of total prices are we talking about, with savings of $3,500 and being $9k over budget?

flag_elation_fanatic1:42 pm 23 Jul 09

I recently used Kitchens Direct. The quote was $3500 less than the place with the nice showroom and pushy staff. What I got was proper quality joinery. When the measure was done it was discovered I would be better off with 800mm high cupboards rather than the standard 720mm. Not a problem because they make all their own cabinets from scratch. They also use proper timber bases, rather than the plastic legsand kickboards that most of the showroom pushers use.

After several months use every cupboard door and drawer is still perfectly aligned, and the whole kitchen still feels as solid as a rock. Whereas one of my neighbours had a similar kitchen installed by one of the big advertisers and already they’ve had to put silastic in a gap that has developed in the bench and their cupboard doors don’t have the same solid feel that mine do.

I’m sure there are dozens of similar joineries around Canberra. Rule of thumb for me is if they have just a showroom they probably buy in the flatpack kitchens whereas a business with the machinery out the back will almost certainly be making what they can on-site.

Inline Kitchens and Joinery in Mitchell
Steve: Contact Details
Ph:0409 913 517.

Awesome job!

Have a chat to Marshall Constructions – http://marshallconstructions.com.au/ they’ve got their own joinery in Queanbeyan for doing kitchens and other cabinetry work.

I’ll add the disclaimer that I’ve just photographed a bunch of this company’s kitchens, and what struck me was apart from being very nice and well-finished kitchens (which in itself, isn’t that remarkable) every homeowner mentioned how pleased they were with the communication and professionalism of both the owner and his joinery guys.

Pioneer Kitchens & Joinery (02) 6260 1407
24 Raws Crs, Hume

We avoided Benchmarc when they clearly displayed that they were unable to work to a budget (over budget by ~$9K).

We are currently having a kitchen installed by another joiner in Canberra. I will not mention their name at this stage as they are still trying to resolve a few issues and I believe that one of the largest differences between places is how they deal with issues (you will always have some issue/problem that needs addressing).

One thing that I would say is find out where the cabinetry and painting takes place. Our kitchen ended up being made & painted in Sydney, then transported to Canberra. We had some issues that appeared to be due to the transportation, which may not be a problem with a significantly shorter trip. Also helps with the turnaround time for fixing problems.

I’ll submit another post when we’ve finished up and have made a decision on whether we are happy or not.

V twin venom12:40 pm 23 Jul 09

I recently completed a kitchen reno using Knebel. I will never use them again.

Their cabinetry is very good but thats about where it ends.

They were reluctant to vary the design that they came up with and it took a lot of my own work in order to marry the design with the distictive appliances that we wanted to use.

Every trade was a subcontractor and the Knebel project mangement that was supposed to bring it all together was poor. The plumbers had to come back three times in order to reach an acceptable level of finish for their work. The tiler was terrible, he had to come back four times and in the end we abandoned the feature tiles because he was not prepared to take the time or did not have the skill to do the job properly. In my opinion it should have been the project co-ordinators that hassled the trades until the work was suitable, not me chasing the co-ordinator.

Sorry ACT Roo, you asked who was good, not who was bad.

Summary, go with someone who will take care of the little details and who is willing to LISTEN when it comes to your design. Also of importance, get good advice on the finishes you use. eg. Gloss laminate looks great but will scratch easily. Composite stone bench tops are durable but make a hell of a clatter when you put things down on it.

Good luck

Have a crack at it yourself, I did, good fun, time and patience is all it takes, worth while if you are prepared to learn and give it a try.

Douglas Joinery

Holden Caulfield said :

Ikea.

Don’t forget the allen keys!

Holden Caulfield11:31 am 23 Jul 09

Ikea.

I’ve just recently (last month) had a kitchen installed by About Kitchens in Hume.

Very, very happy with the result and also the way in which they handled the small issues you find with any project. Nothing has been too much trouble for them. Price was very reasonable too.

A classic through dovetail is beautiful and very strong, and wil add a touch of class to your new kitchen.

screaming banshee10:41 am 23 Jul 09

Benchmarc

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