3 things to consider when looking at solid wood kitchens
When you are browsing the various solid wood kitchens for sale, they will all look great in the showroom.
However, before you part with your cash, these are three important things to be aware of.
Not all solid wood kitchens are solid wood
The doors of your kitchen might be made of solid wood, but the carcasses are often not. Many suppliers, including expensive suppliers like Tom Howley and Harvey Jones, come with high density chipboard carcasses, not solid wood carcasses.
Not that there is anything wrong with high density chipboard carcasses. In fact, many people argue that high density chipboard carcasses will last longer than solid wood carcasses. This is because high density chipboard is more thermally stable than solid wood and therefore will not expand and contract like solid wood will.
It’s also worth remembering that if you spent £100,000 on a very high-quality German kitchen, you would also get a high density chipboard carcass. No German kitchen brand offers solid wood carcasses.
Not all solid wood carcasses are solid wood
Another thing to be aware of is that even when a supplier specifically states that their carcasses are “solid”, they are often not solid wood. Instead, they are often real oak veneer, bonded onto MDF.
Again, not that there is anything wrong with having an oak veneered carcass. In fact, many people would argue that an oak veneered carcass will last longer than a solid wood carcass. Again, this is because oak veneered MDF is more thermally stable than solid wood. Therefore, it won’t expand and contract like solid wood will.
The paint finish on many solid wood kitchens is not necessarily the best quality
Spending about £4,000 extra having your kitchen hand painted does not necessarily mean you will be getting the highest quality paint finish.
In fact, arguably the opposite is true. Factory sprayed kitchens are actually more durable than hand painted kitchens and less likely to chip. This is because the paint used for factory sprayed kitchens contain special hardeners that make the paint more durable and less susceptible to chipping. Unfortunately, these hardeners are not found in the paints used for hand painting.
The other benefit of buying a factory sprayed kitchen is that you won’t have to spend about £4,000 extra to have it hand painted.
How do you find the best value solid wood kitchen suppliers in your area?
Simple, just contact us and we will tell you who they are.
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Our free service recommends the best value bespoke kitchen suppliers.
Their kitchens are comparable in quality to places like Tom Howley and Harvey Jones, but cost substantially less.
Read what our customers say about our service below:
“I had a quote for a very expensive Harvey Jones kitchen and they did the same for about a third less!”
Marguerite Mosafi, London NW11
“After visiting a number of bespoke kitchen suppliers and receiving sky high quotes, I stumbled upon Kitchenfindr’s website. Lloyd recommended two showrooms, both of which quoted me half of what the showrooms I had found quoted”
Shaf Zaman, Clapham, London