After all the wait, we are a bit disappointed in the granite... it seems darker than we expected, also it has a number of white crystaline patches on it that look like stains (though the granite installers said it was natural variation).
Anyhow, the granite fitting went fine.
But....
The project manager couldn't get the hot tap reconnected.... sadly KitchenKraft's plumber is on a course today, at college tomorrow, so won't be back to fix the hot tap until Wednesday!
Also we found that the worktop on the peninsular unit isn't quite wide enough (about half a cm) so the dresser unit is overhanging slightly..... to make matters worse, the way that the peninsular unit swings out to keep it level with the floor tiles (& hence not perpendicular to the wall) means that the swing will be extremely visible!
PM's solution is to replace the dresser with one 10cm narrower.... seems a bit excessive when we only need to find 5mm! ¶ 4:51 PM 0 Comments
The girl who called had a bit of difficulty in grasping the idea that our installation was sufficienty incomplete after 6 weeks as to be inappropriate for me to run through the customer service feedback questionnaire!
We will have to see what KK come up with when the granite installers arrive... after all, they have to come and remove the temporary worktops, sort out the dresser units, remove and refit the taps on the sink for the granite installation, sort out the side panel on the dresser cupboard..... install cupboard lighting in the dresser units.... the list goes on...... ¶ 9:05 AM 0 Comments
13:00 - mad dash home after leaving a meeting early at work. 13:15 - man from Whitehalls turned up to do the templates for granite worktop. All was going OK until he noted that we'd need the taps disconnecting before he could do the template. He had a go himself, but the job proved too tricky.
Onto KitchenKraft to tell them to send a plumber.
About an hour later there was no sign of a call..... called Ray who advised that the plumber was on his way. Shame it was taking so long.
EVENTUALLY the plumber arrived and managed to disconnect the taps. Despite concerns about getting the taps fitted once the granite is installed, all seemed to be OK.
The granite template went like a dream..... my concerns about how the granite would template were totally unfounded...... so WHY did Alan the fitter make such a song and dance about getting the peninsular unit lined up with the floor?????
The plumber showed initiative by suggesting that he should refit the temporary worktop.... very flexible. The only downside was that Ray was going to turn up with the tray divider... still, saved him a trip from Skelmersdale! If only these people got things right first time, it would save them SO much money!
Granite template seemed OK. They are going to cut around the taps... which will make the job more expensive! Also, looks like a big risk in getting the worktop around the sink to hold togethre in a single piece! Still, we shall see in a week or two when the granite arrives. ¶ 4:47 PM 0 Comments
The next step should then be for him to book an appointment for Whitehall to come out and make templates of the worktops. ¶ 2:29 AM 0 Comments
Today I checked with Ray to see how he had been getting on... turns out he'd got the name wrong, and so had been unable to contact Whitehalls...... though why he didn't get back to me to confirm the details I do not know..... that's another 3 days delay.
Phoned Ray with details of the phone number, web site address and granite colour and finish.
For reference, they are
www.whitehall-uk.com
tel. 01430 861 862
Finally got a message back from him to say that he'd faxed them the plans of our kitchen, and they would be getting back to arrange to crate templates. ¶ 7:59 AM 0 Comments
Phoned to find out what the plan was regarding getting granite worktops. Was told by Ray that he would be contacting the granite company to see about getting the worktop templated.
I suggested that he phone back with an update on Thursday.
5th Jan (Thursday)
Got a call from Kitchen Kraft office - the granite company are still on holiday, but they would be on the case next week. My wife took the call.... the office person said that "Prestige" (KK's usual granite supplier - who we had already determined were unable to create "antique pitted" finish) would be on the case next week....... wrong answer!! Turns out that Ray (project manager) had left a garbled message with the office to give us a call with an update!
Just for fun here are some pictures of the way the kitchen was left before Christmas...
First we have grot and grime left in the cupboards
Then we have a drawer with no front, and a pile of screws left lying around
Finall, here's a hole in the wall that the fitters didn't feel like filling in..... OK so we're going to have the walls tiled - so why did they bother plastering the wall once the old tiles were removed if it doesn't matter that the wall is a mess??
¶ 7:54 AM 0 Comments
The following entry is a retrospective of the installation from October through to the end of December 2005.
Doug Simpson visited on 10th November to carry out a final survey, prior to an installation which was booked for the week commencing 28th November. Doug identified a number of minor issues with the design, which we happy to have corrected.
Doug later contacted us to advise that he had not been able to locate a supplier for “antique pitted” Himalayan Blue granite. We advised Doug that we had seen the particular style of granite in both Magnet and Panorama, and that we believed that Magnet’s supplier was a company called
A few days later, Doug called to say that he had managed to secure a supply of our selected granite. Again, I expressed my concern over the potential for expensive mistakes, and asked that we should be shown a sample of the granite prior to ordering. I was advised that the worktop suppliers would be able to provide a sample when they came to template the worktops.
On Friday 25th November, I received a telephone call from KK's office to confirm that the fitters would be arriving on Monday to take out the old kitchen, and that I needed to have a building society cheque ready to pay on delivery of the kitchen units. Later in the day, I received a further telephone call to advise that the building works team were at my house, unable to gain entry to remove the old kitchen. Doh!
On the following Monday (28th November) the “building works” team arrived late in the afternoon to remove (as I thought) the old kitchen units. In fact, they were only there to remove the wall units and tiles – they could not remove the base units as this involved disconnecting a gas hob and sink. This was doubly annoying, as I had made arrangements to be home from work all day, and was expecting to be able to get floor tiles laid where the old base units had been during Monday evening. I realise that it is common practice not to have floor tiles laid until after the kitchen has been installed, but I was keen to have a completely clean and uniform floor laid wall-to-wall.
The next day, the fitters arrived and proceeded to remove the base units. I was given the opportunity to quickly lay my remaining floor tiles once the base units had been removed and before the new units were delivered late in the afternoon.
Installation continued on the Wednesday, with the fitters making good progress at setting out the base units and appliances. I raised some concerns over the electrical installation, as it transpired that we were going to be left with just one double socket once the installation was complete. I also noted that a redundant socket from the old kitchen was being left mid-cable behind the new units, and another cable had been extended using a chocolate-block connector wrapped in insulating tape. This, to me, looked to be lazy workmanship on the part of the fitters.
I also noted that the unit by the dining-room door was narrower than we anticipated, and was only a base unit, with no display cabinet over. We were told by the fitters to take these matters up with Ray, our project manager – as far as they were concerned, the job-sheet did not show any electrical works being required.
Ray agreed that the fitters should modify the electrical installation in order to provide adequate power outlets. He also agreed, as a goodwill gesture, to provide the dresser unit which had been omitted from the plans.
By Thursday, we were advised that our cooker would not be arriving for a further two weeks and that it would not be possible to template the granite worktops until the cooker was in place.
I noted at this point that the peninsular unit (a major feature of the kitchen design) was completely out of line with the floor tiles. We had discovered when the floor tiles were being laid that the room was not completely square, so had lined the tiles up with the end wall of the kitchen. Unfortunately, this was not the wall that the peninsular unit had been lined up to. We could also see that an additional wall-unit was required to balance out the design (and prevent a double power socket from disappearing behind a dresser unit). Other minor snags included a completely unstable carousel in a corner unit, unsecured power outlets and sinks that would not hold water.
We had a telephone conversation with the MD of Kitchen Kraft during this time, and were assured that they would get the job right, and that someone had been to Panorama Kitchens’ showroom in Prenton to determine exactly what style of granite worktop we had requested. This had now been ordered, and they were awaiting delivery.
I received a letter from KK's office requesting that I complete a customer satisfaction survey. As I was far from satisfied, and still waiting for the job to be completed, I ignored this letter. Some time later I had a telephone call from the office reminding me that I had not completed the survey, and attempting to arrange a visit for someone to deliver a complimentary bottle of wine and obtain our feedback on the installation. I pointed out that our installation was going badly, and was far from complete.
Further work on the kitchen was then halted, pending delivery of the cooker. This was scheduled for Thursday 15th December. Given that we had a number of issues with the installation, Ray arranged a site meeting with the fitters on Wednesday 14th. There was still no sign of the granite worktops at this time. I had been in touch with Ray, and had also spoken to your granite suppliers who advised that the granite had been ordered and was “waiting to be shipped from
During the site meeting the fitters first tried to say that it would be impossible to get the peninsular unit to line up with the floor tiles. I stood my ground, and argued that it was more important that the peninsular unit was parallel to the end wall of the kitchen (and hence in line with the floor tiles) than it was to be perpendicular to the side wall. After much argument, the fitters finally agreed that it COULD be fixed, but that it would take at least 2 days to achieve. Ray agreed that this work should be done. Other snags pointed out at this time included holes in the plasterwork and an unsecured (potentially unsafe) mains socket outlet which had been left hanging from the wall since the start of the job when the building team removed the wall tiles. I also pointed out that the mains socket providing power to the cooker hood and microwave was not attached to anything solid, and would need fixing to the wall.
The fitters spent the rest of the day fixing a new carousel, cornice and pelmets, leaving the peninsular unit for the next day.
On the Thursday (15th December) the fitters arrived, as usual after
On Friday 16th December, my wife and I gave up a day of our Christmas holiday to go looking at granite. We discovered that the people at Prestige Marble had no idea what “Antique Pitted” granite looked like, and were unable to supply such a finish. Clearly no-one had been to look at the samples on display in
We had a telephone conversation with Ray to express our displeasure and annoyance, and to point out that the kitchen had not been left in an acceptable state considering that we would now be living with temporary (in some instances non-existent) worktop over the Christmas holiday. To his credit, Ray came out straight away to examine the job, and to measure up new temporary worktops which he delivered the next day. However, it took a further three telephone calls to get the rubbish from the cooker installation removed, and the waste pipes to the sink made watertight.
The "building works" team came to rip out the old wall units, remove tiles and make good. This was their idea of making good a socket.When I asked the fitters if they could straighten up the socket they just laughed.... not their job. (though the fitter was supposed to be a qualified electrician).
After the socket had been left in this state for 3 weeks, I finally exploded at the project manager. He wasn't too bothered until I pointed out that it was the Kitchen Kraft building team who had left it in this state!
Also, the fitter's idea of sensible wiring was to leave the old socket in the middle of a cable behind the cupboard units...
And it wasn't until I complained that they decided that they should really fix the socket for the cooker hood to the wall rather than leave it siting on top of a cupboard....!
¶ 6:00 PM 0 Comments
We started in October 2005 by getting quotes from 3 suppliers (including KitchenKraft). We decided that we liked the KK salesman the best (and thought the units were OK) so placed an order.
Work started in late November.
Unfortunately, vital equipment (the cooker) had not arrived, so we had to make do with a loan system for 2 weeks.
The planner had not allowed for sufficient (actually ANY) power sockets.
The fitters were being pretty slapdash about various aspects of the job.
The icing on the cake came the week before Christmas when it transpired that the wrong granite worktop was on order.... not that it mattered as it hadn't arrived in the country yet.... and anyway the stonemasons did not now how to treat it to get the finish we required!
So, we ended up with temprary (mdf) worktop over Christmas.
We have yet to find out when the worktop is due.
In the meantime, I will go back and write up some blog entries to tell the sorry tale of our kitchen installation. I'll also add some pictures for good measure.
Watch this space! ¶ 5:52 PM 0 Comments
