Well I'm seriously disappointed by the kitchen from Midland kitchens aka Krypton Kitchens. I would not recommend buying from them. The short version of this story is that I don't think quality of the carcasses matches up to that advertised, the end panels which should match the doors was obviously substituted for a cheaper and very different alternative, and major delays should be expected.
I was looking for a handleless kitchen and Midlands kitchen did a range that looked pretty good at a very attractive price. I ordered a sample door from them which took two weeks to arrive instead of the 2-3 days as advertised. Turned out their suppliers, who they use to send the samples out directly, had caused delays. They simply resell the doors and only make the carcasses themselves, which is fine.
I confirmed the list of units and mock-up I had done and then made the order. Since the sample had taken two weeks to deliver, they said they would attempt to speed up delivery. However the delivery was confirmed for the standard 3 weeks away on a Monday. The Friday before the delivery day, I called and confirmed the Monday delivery date, since I had kitchen fitters booked for Tuesday. They didnt arrive and after chasing every day arrived on Thursday. By this time I was down £400 in deposits for booking a kitchen fitter, since each time I was given assurances then cancelled. I was offered £100 discount which I accepted however when the time came to pay, I was charged full price and was told there was no note of this offer. In the end there was a £50 discount applied
This delivery did not include the doors for the cabinets as this was what was holding up the delivery so they offered a separate delivery for the doors so they could deliver the carcasses earlier.
So on to the carcasses. This is the description on the site
White Laminate Carcasses
This 18mm thick White Laminate Carcass is made from the densest MFC on the market. Every single component is edged on all sides in thick shock absorbent PVC edging unlike most manufacturers who use a paper 0.2mm edging and do not edge every component on every side. This cabinet also comes complete with a solid back-panel unlike other manufacturers who use a thin, cheap hardboard back-panel and because of this, we can offer a lifetime guarantee on all cabinets.
I also emailed them about the thickness of the carcass backs and they confirmed that the backs and drawers were 18mm thick
However just like the other manufacturers they mention, the carcasses are not edged on all sides. In fact the top, bottom, and back edges are left unedged. When i complained about it, the answer was that the description was for an older model of carcass which didn't have the 18mm back . And with these "upgraded" units they didn't need the edging. And then offered to send me a roll of edging so I could repair anything that went wrong since I was so concerned.
Typically when shopping around for a kitchen, edging for cabinets ranges from 0.1 - 1mm. The "thick" PVC edging was 0.4mm thick. For comparison the B&Q range has edging varying from 0.2mm paper on the basic to 1mm PVC on the cooke and lewis range
The carcasses also didn't have a service gap at the back. Normally the side panels of kitchen units protrude at the back behind the back panel. This is to allow them to be secured to the wall and give access for any gas/water pipes access. The carcasses supplied didn't have this protrusion. They were supplied with "packers" which were separate bits of panel to attach to the back of the carcass to provide the space to the wall. This meant that the cabinets are freestanding or if they are fitted and secured to the wall, held by a piece of chipboard panel around 10cm wide.
The wall units also didn't have brackets or a service gap to attach to the wall. They are meant to be screwed directly to the wall. Without brackets to adjust the levelling, you have to make sure you screw in exactly level first time round.
Along with the standard units I had ordered only two units which were custom made. One was just a standard built in double oven larder unit and the other was a truly custom unit which was to house a built in dishwasher. Both were made incorrectly and had to be sent back. Once again I was promised delivery of the replacements within a day or two but then was actually confirmed for a week later.
Finally the end panel for a run of units was made of a completely different finish to the doors. While they claimed it was high gloss, the finish more closely matched the plain white interior carcasses than the gloss doors. Once again when I complained and asked for a proper replacement to match the doors, they simply said they didn't do it and offered to return and refund the end panel and considered the matter resolved. I had to find an end panel directly from the manufacturers of the doors myself. read more
