Why come to Kitchens By James Alan, What's the Process?

Have you thought about where you’re going to get your new kitchen from? What the quality of service will be when you make contact with a supplier? Are you going to get value for money? Are you going to get a quality product? Will you get a quality installation service? Can the supplier guide you through any building / alteration work? Can they sort out getting your project through building standards? The list goes on…..

We pride ourselves in being able to deal with all those issues so here we will go through the reasons why you would enlist the help and expertise of a company like ourselves. We aim to take all the hassle out of not only purchasing the new kitchen but also the installation. We organise the Fitters (In House), Plumber, Electrician, Tiler and if required painter and floor layer.

Firstly, we’ll start off with the initial contact you could make to us. This can be done in two ways. We either come out and visit you to view and survey your existing kitchen or you can initially pop into our showroom. Either way we can then have the discussion of your wants and needs for your new kitchen. That way our Designer can do an initial plan or even give you a ball park price for the works. There is no obligation on your part at this stage or any other stage until its time to order the kitchen.

Next, if your plan is to perhaps create a more open plan kitchen or even have a kitchen extension this is something we can help and deal with. We have partnered up with an Engineer and Architect who can provide the detailed drawings and specifications in order to satisfy Building Standards. We also have the knowledge and expertise ‘in house’ to carry out all that work on site. So whether it’s the demolition of walls that then need steel beams installed or indeed a full kitchen extension and renovation we can deliver that level of service.

We will also provide ball park figures for the above works and fee quotes for the professional services of the Engineer & Architect. Once those fee quotes are accepted and paid the detailed drawings by said professionals will be completed and we can then provide firm quotes for those structural or building works you require.

Our next stage would be the design stage. We take particular care and work closely with you making any adjustment to the design you wish. We have no problem making any kind of change in order to achieve your dream kitchen. We have the latest state of the art computer software that provides almost picture quality renders of what your new kitchen will look like. This makes it very easy for you to see how amazing it will be!!

Our preferred kitchen unit supplier is German Brand Schuller. They are one of the top 5 kitchen brands in Germany & Europe. Their quality is unquestionable and pricing is very competitive. You will get a quality of kitchen exceeding the vast majority of British Manufacturers at a price when on a like for like basis very similar. Schuller offer a vast array of options that make providing a kitchen to your wants and needs very easy!

So, when the design has been agreed by yourself a deposit is required. We can then programme the fit or delivery into our schedule. The deposit is also required because the Manufacturer needs paid to secure the delivery date and programme the order into the manufacture process. We typically request 50% on order, 25% in the week prior to starting on site and the remaining 25% to be paid on completion.

Delivery of the kitchen to us from Germany is currently 4-6 weeks. Schuller are very efficient at this and really don’t deviate from their confirmed delivery dates at point of order. Unless there is a late change to the design or if there is some sort of economic issue – remember COVID?

We will have programmed you in for fitting or delivery within 2 days of receiving your deposit. So as that date gets closer, we keep in touch with you with any updates or indeed just to say all is in order and start date is as planned.

When it comes to the installation, we will have asked you to clear all your goods out of all the units in readiness for us commencing works. 1^st day is always rip out day, so everybody makes a visit on first day – fitters, labourer, plumber & electrician.

Depending on how big your kitchen is and what is involved like any alterations will depend on how long it will take from start to finish. We will have given you a timescale during the design process which we always try to deliver on.

Our fitters have now fitted many, many kitchens over the years so nothing should be an issue. The guys are very accommodating, so never be frightened to ask any questions. There are no daft questions. Our fitters and us in showroom are here to make your experience as easy and painless as possible. We deal with getting the other trades in as and when we need them, so you don’t have that grief. We have a team now that work closely together, so the installation process goes as smoothly as possible.

Once installation is complete we will hoover out and clean down all the surfaces so the kitchen is ready for you to enjoy and use.

It has been known ‘believe it or not’ that some door or drawer fronts can get damaged during the works despite the trades best endeavours to prevent such occurrences. This is another benefit of having us deal with the installation. You will never have the issue of any of the trades not taking responsibility of damaging anything and then costing you extra money to have them replaced. We take responsibility of this and replace any damages at no cost to you.

I hope the above gives you a clear view of our process and clarity on why you would want to deal with us. We are always on hand to answer any questions or indeed if you’re looking for a new kitchen feel free to contact us for a showroom visit or house survey.