Wickes Kitchen problems

I think you need to approach the fitters and ask if they could remedy your concerns in an amicable way. See what they come up with. Try not to worry too much though.

Chipboard wouldnt be my first choice to prop the legs up as its awful when it gets wet!

See what they suggest.

 

Those "shims" would always just be whatever scrap material is at hand - offcuts of timber/tile/end panels/ etc..... The gap in the floor aside (it's a separate issue), it's not a perfect job no, but not something to be overly concerned with. Eg if they had just cleaned under the units first, and the laid a bit of ply down and then added the shims if needed it would have been neater yes.

 

@Jord86 is being realistic rather than defensive. He hasn't said that's how he would do it, just that you needn't worry about it and explained why. As you've said the rest of the kitchen looks okay and no other contributor has suggested it's going to collapse imminently (and all but one of those are professionals - the other is a short sighted dog) so relax.
I and a number of other contributor on here wouldn't have left it like that - but you're not paying what we would charge.
I know this isn't easy but try to forget what you've seen and enjoy your new kitchen once the plinths and worktops have been fitted.

 

Speaking for myself I would have drawn your attention to the gap in the floor as soon as it was revealed.

The floor levels are a different matter because it must have been obvious that they were out to that extent before work even started - not to you perhaps - but any professional that surveyed the kitchen at design stage should have picked that up. The fitter is used to dealing with uneven floors - that's why legs are adjustable - so might reasonably expect that those issues have been discussed prior to his/her attendance.

Edit. Were worktop heights discussed with you and, more importantly, at what part of the kitchen were they most important to you?

 

The other reason that carcass legs are adjustable is to accommodate different statures. There isn't a standard person so a perfect height for someone petite is going to create back problems for a taller than average user. Somewhere around 900mm from f!oor surface to top of worktop is the norm but not a rule.

 

On a personal level - yes, I’d have told you. But as an independent, I’d also have made myself completely involved from the get-go, completed at least one thorough site survey, and made you fully aware of what prep was needed before the kitchen started going in. I’d also have swept up all of the junk on the floor before starting, and would also have levelled the entire floor as a matter of course.

Please be aware that the overwhelming majority of kitchens supplied by the DIY sheds are fitted by independent subcontractors - these guys are almost certainly not directly employed by Wickes themselves, and will have a whole string of other jobs piled up after this one - they need to get it done and move on which is why they’re probably creating the impression of being in a hurry. But as a paying customer, you have the right to receive a job whose quality is commensurate with the price you’re paying. Looking at your pictures - I don’t see a disaster by any stretch of the imagination as other contributors have said. If there’s any aspect of the job which concerns you - stick to your guns, be assertive (not aggressive) and get it resolved. I’d suggest Wickes themselves, as the fitters are likely to be unconnected as explained above.

But …….. a whacking great hole in a floor is really something which should have been addressed way, way before a crew shows up to fit a kitchen. Didn’t you tell them about it in advance? Did it not even enter any pre-fit discussion?

Kitchens are all about the final standard of fit & finish. If you stand back and the job looks just like it did on the brochure, then be happy. A bit of chipboard under a carcass leg isn’t an issue. I once remember looking closely at an original Chippendale cabinet worth £200k. The craftsmanship on the front and sides was incredible. The back of it looked like it had been hacked around with an axe.

 

If you only want the extra floor levelling under the carccasses it's too late really to do properly but equally it isn't required. Yours and thousands of other kitchens will be the same. If it gives peace of mind get the chipboard packers replaced by an inert material that won't soak up water in the event of a flood.

 

Terrymac also stated that packing the units up with whatever was to hand was standard, the scenario of chipboard getting wet underneath your units (as per koolpc) is extremely unlikely, being as you'd have to have a flood in your kitchen to actually cause enough damage to make a difference, also as Willyeckerslike mentioned, my posts are realistic (and factual), not defensive, being as I've been a carpenter for a number of years and this is not the first scenario I've seen where something looks a lot worse than it actually is.

You are fixating on an area of the kitchen that will never be seen, you never saw underneath it before the new kitchen was installed, and if you'd never seen it before they'd fitted the plinths you'd live in blissful ignorance of a couple of discs of chipboard propping up a base unit.

Wicked use subcontractors to fit the kitchen, that is literally all they are employed to do is to fit the kitchen, they may in your case stick a bit of latex down in prep for tiling, but they certainly won't spend their time in doing a whole floor area where part won't be seen, rightly or wrongly. Worry about the finish on the kitchen, not the bits you can't see.

 

Are your fitters still on site or have they left ?

 

The point I was making was that every kitchen fitter, on every job, will be presented with challenges they have to overcome. Smashing sections of plasterboard off stud walls and retrofitting wide horizontal studs so there’s something solid to hang wall cabinets from, carving out great chunks of carcass material to get round pipes and cables, scribing panels to wobbly walls, getting round electrical and plumbing first-fixes being in the wrong place - even changing layouts on the fly because the designer’s got it wrong. I attached a quick pic of a section of a job I finished a few weeks ago. Looks great, doesn’t it?

What’s hidden behind all that is utter, utter carnage - but carnage which will never be seen. It’s all about the final result.

Calm, calm, calm.

 

As i said earlier, just have a chat with the fitters. Lat out your concerns, in a nice manner. Most will be more than happy to explain things and even alter to make you have a worry free experience.

 

I am not a kitchen fitter but I am about to start fitting a kitchen in a room formed by an extension plus existing kitchen.

I am with Doodledoo on this and for me some of these things are important. Piles of **** under cabinets, wonky short legs on chipboard etc are all indicators of a poor fitter for me.

The legs are there specifially to support the weight and fixings intended to keep the thing upright show not be relied on to take the weight.

Chipboard scraps will be damaged by dampness.

Is the an issue that the floor has been damaged when the tiles were pulled up with the old screed giving way as the adhesive held tight.

What is the hole and what are the possible implications for damp in the floor now it is opened up.

If I were Doodledoo I would be clarifying that Wickes are responsible for all design and quality issues and contacting them with issues or later on they may say "why didn't you come to us" and Doodle may find himself on scammers TV.

In the 70s, the chef in the TV show Fawlty Towers put it very clearly.....

"What the eye don't see, the chef gets away with"

Doodledoo is paying £15,000 for his kitchen and for that he should have to be picking up these issues before the job is finished and the fitters leave. They should be doing a professional job even where the "eye don't see". That is partly why we have building regs and inspection, not that regs apply to much of this stuff.

It clearly includes notifiable work.

 

what part of the work is notifiable?