How good are Howdens kitchens?

[glenfield2]

Our house was flooded recently and the kitchen damaged. It’s a top-end one from ‘DIY-Kitchens’ which I installed we are very impressed with.
The insurance assessor’s contractor for the repair work wants to replace it with a Howdens kitchen because that’s what all the trade uses.
I can’t say we are entirely convinced of the quality- ‘they feel rickety’ said my wife - but it’s hard to tell as they only have small showrooms with not much stuff.
Anyone got any thoughts?

 

[BravoNovember]

If I’m honest, they aren’t too bad. The kitchen units are of a decent standard, but the appliances they supply with the kitchen are a bit poo!

 

[Bingy man]

they are as good as wren or magnet , display kitchens tend to be poorly installed and of course most customers give it a push or too much like the old car buyers that would kick tyres and shake the bodywork . Most are made with at least 18 mm carcasses and 6 mm back panels . Compared to wickes I’d have howdens anytime ..

 

[deema]

I have a few in rentals, which have been in for around 10 years. All have stood up to the rigours of renting without edge delamination, blowing of the carcasass. They were all from their mid range, which I know they now only do a single quality level. I recently had a a number of fully bespoke cabinets made for a few rooms, installed these were actually cheaper than Howdens price for just the cabinets! So, id shop around.

 

[robgul]

Gosforth Handyman and The Restoration Couple on YT have both installed ready-built (not flat-pack) kitchens from the same company recently - both seemed to be very good . .. can't rememember the name of the company.

Have to say I don't like Howdens - not impressed with the products - but more so the "quote what the tradesman tells them to quote" pricing policy. Not very transaparent.

 

[eribaMotters]

We've been living with ours in a new build for 16 months. The quality looks good and I've not identified anything that is likely to break. It is a smooth matt light grey finish with built in handles and as such more susceptible to finger marks when opening. This has not caused a problem as soap and water lifts the marks better than the expensive specialist cleaners.
I have a friend in the trade who would prefer not to use them, but purely because of the way they price things is not transparent.
I would happily have another.

Coln

 

[Jones]

I would say Diy kitchens and Howdens are the same quality. Howdens are more expensive, try to oversell and have a policy of not disclosing the prices. Trade like them because they give one big quote for everything you need which you can pass on to the customer with your price for fitting, then the fitter pays a heavily discounted price.

 

[wally7]

If I’m honest, they aren’t too bad. The kitchen units are of a decent standard, but the appliances they supply with the kitchen are a bit poo!

about average but their appliances are not so good. very helpful staff to help design layout

 

[MF1000]

Our house was flooded recently and the kitchen damaged. It’s a top-end one from ‘DIY-Kitchens’ which I installed we are very impressed with.
The insurance assessor’s contractor for the repair work wants to replace it with a Howdens kitchen because that’s what all the trade uses.
I can’t say we are entirely convinced of the quality- ‘they feel rickety’ said my wife - but it’s hard to tell as they only have small showrooms with not much stuff.
Anyone got any thoughts?

If you have evidence of the original cost/spec of the kitchen fight it out with your insurance Co - you have paid premiums etc and they are required to replace like fir like etc

 

[niall Y]

I believe you still have to have a trade account with them, to buy their kitchens. There are two price lists, one showing the price for the customer, the other showing the price for the tradesman.
The profit margin when installing a kitchens is not only dependent on the installation charges but on the sale of the cabinets as well. Otherwise, as a tradesman you are only able to make profits on a fraction of your turnover, which doesn't make much sense, business-wise. However, you can still be competitive, by undercutting this price difference. Surely the very nature of any business, is that you buy at a lower price and sell at a higher one.
As for quality of the cabinets themselves, I don't see much difference between the makes. I have some Howden cabinets that have lasted about 10 years. Some of their solid doors will delaminate on the tops especially around sinks and dishwashers. Laminate worktops can also show signs of wear in the laminate, over a similar timescale.

 

[akirk]

I had Howdens in my last house - perfectly adequate...
I have just put in DIY-Kitchens in the new house - definitely a step above Howdens... even though the spec. is very similar the quality of the pre-assembled units was higher and far fewer issues to deal with...
https://diy-kitchens.com/about-diy-kitchens/price-and-quality-comparison/will give you a comparison - DIY-Kitchens reckon to be 30%+ cheaper

 

[paulrbarnard]

Gosforth Handyman and The Restoration Couple on YT have both installed ready-built (not flat-pack) kitchens from the same company recently - both seemed to be very good . .. can't rememember the name of the company.

Have to say I don't like Howdens - not impressed with the products - but more so the "quote what the tradesman tells them to quote" pricing policy. Not very transaparent.

Agreed. Their quotation and pricing is criminal.

Quality is not so bad. We have one in our house. I installed DIY-Kitchens in my daughters place and quality is similar but DIY are a far better company.

 

[Doug71]

Howdens are fine if fitted properly.

Trades like them because Howdens stock many of the parts so if for example you cut a panel too short you can just pop down to the local depot and get a replacement.

If you are the client the pricing system isn't good as it's hard to find what the kitchen actually cost. I do wonder how the pricing comparison thing works when comparing other brands to Howdens as it's only the tradesman who knows the actual cost and even that depends on their negotiating skills.

I recently supplied just a plinth from Howdens to a customer, when I invoiced them they queried if I had charged them correctly. I charged them about £30 which is more or less what it cost me, their builder had previously charged them about £60 for exactly the same thing (full RRP) when he had supplied and fitted their replacement kitchen so guess he was making 100% profit on just the supply of it all..........

 

[Ollie78]

They are decent enough and I would say slightly better than Wrens but having almost bought one for my Mums house we in the end went for DIY kitchens.
A few reasons, it was £2k cheaper (not a giant kitchen either) and they do the carcasses in the same colours as the painted doors which I think makes a lot of difference overall and means we don`t need side panels on the top cupboards.

The advantage of Howdens is they have quick turnaround and are local, to be fair to them they did offer me a bit better price when I told them I would go somewhere else but they cannot quite compete on price with DIY kitchens as they have multiple branches etc. which is fair.
In our case my Mum decided she liked some of design elements of the DIY kitchens one anyway but they will negotiate to a point.

Just to say that "because that`s what all the trade uses" is pure nonsense. Also the insurance should replace like for like if available, which it is because DIY kitchens are still in business. If the insurance provided contractor is not up to scratch just take the money and find someone you prefer.

Ollie

 

[joncooper27]

We have just fitted a large German Kitchen in our main kitchen and a smaller Howdens kitchen in our annexe.The quality of the German kitchen is far superior to the Howdens Kitchen. The build quality and material finishes are both better. The trade cost was not that different either I wish we had gone for German for both!
We looked at DIY kitchens I would say they were cheaper and better quality

 

[fezman]

I've not watched this so take it with a pinch of salt. But it might help ?

 

[ajs]

If you have evidence of the original cost/spec of the kitchen fight it out with your insurance Co - you have paid premiums etc and they are required to replace like fir like etc

Like for like does not mean identical, the insurers are entitled to choose their preferred brands, like for like is about equivalent quality and features. Some things are easy to nitpick, e.g. solid wood replaced by MDF, marble tops with laminate, but generally I would expect such things to be matched as a matter of course. More difficult is when it comes to perceptions of quality which are often highly subjective and in the insurer's eyes at least based on the Clapham Omnibus man so e.g. Oak Furnitureland is perceived as top notch stuff.

As for glenfield2's issues, exactly how is this claim being dealt with? You mention an assessor but in insurance industry jargon an assessor works on behalf and is appointed by the claimant (I wouldn't bother, they're rarely worth the fee, and that comes out of your pocket rather than the insurers). Has an actual loss adjuster been appointed or are they desk handling it based on contractor's reports? If you don't know roughly how much is the claim likely to be?

I was a desk based claims handler a few years back and did claims such as this, if it sounded like a big job I'd put an adjuster on it straight away, if not I'd get a contractor out to price it and then decide how to approach it - if it was £10k+, sounded complex or really needed someone on site to assess it for some other reason that is when I'd put the adjuster on. If it's still being desk handled there's typically a lot of room for negotiation as the handler has never seen the damage for themselves, if an adjuster is on it they are often a bit more assertive in saying this is like with like, but an argument "We alway use Howdens" would be difficult to sustain.

 

[Max Power]

.
I recently supplied just a plinth from Howdens to a customer, when I invoiced them they queried if I had charged them correctly. I charged them about £30 which is more or less what it cost me, their builder had previously charged them about £60 for exactly the same thing (full RRP) when he had supplied and fitted their replacement kitchen so guess he was making 100% profit on just the supply of it all..........

Or the builder was a business man, something you may well be wise to emulate, as the cost price product you supplied has actually lost you money by the time you factor in your running costs

 

[HOJ]

A pal of mine does insurance work, and will only use Howdens as they send their own surveyor to measure and price, and as has been said they can do local pick up if they need any "extras", anything more complicated and he cant/wont deal with it.

Can you not price up a like for like replacement, you installed the original kitchen so I would assume you may well still have the spec, and get the insurer to cover the cost?, I have to say I wouldn't let the "insurers" contractor fit it though, if they are anything like my pal!!

 

[Terry - Somerset]

We recently had the kitchen completely replaced as part of a major renovation. I was happy to put in a mid price kitchen having previously installed in another house a Homebase standard which had lasted 15 years with zero problems.

I whittled down the choice to Ikea based upon their reputation and reviews - albeit with a more limited range. However our builders insisted that Ikea did not "cut it" due mainly to the lack of a service gap behind the cabinets and suggested Howdens.

Rather than potentially alienate them by insisting on Ikea we went for their suggestion. Overall after some too and froing Howdens prices were sufficiently close to be "noise" rather than an issue.

Having bought some Ikea units for use in the garage/workshop I would compare as follows:

• Ikea were transparent on pricing, Howdens were a product of negotiations - any extras required could be expensive (eg: later utility room, front for integrated appliances etc)
• the quality of Ikea seems at least the equal of Howdens - the cabinets take little stress. Doors and worktops - time will tell but upgrades simple and relatively low cost if ever required
• Howdens have a more complete range of unit sizes - unnecessary in our case. For a simple kitchen Ikea is more than adequate and units could be modified if needed
• Howdens exploit the "extras" - eg: pull out waste bins for ~£300 vs ~£100 from other sources

Conclusion - I would not use Howdens again unless their range of unit sizes and layouts were essential to a project. In particular there are no material quality benefits and I actively dislike their lack of transparent pricing.