Impala Kitchens

[Bill E]

It becomes a vicious cycle in my opinion - I charge for design and project management separately, for the simple reason that I like to eat. As stated above, so many folks get a design then go elsewhere (me too of course) - so one way the Kitchen Companies combat it is to advertise large discounts, which are not real. Not sure who started it all, but Melbourne is extremely price sensitive - I have my own conclusions about why Melburnites are this way but they're not pretty or relevant here - Anyway, I guess it would be fair to offer clients a range of options from design through to installation but a sales-type person, working with a stitch-em-up mentality is going to go for the jugular every time and spend NO time thinking about the best answer to the client's problems etc.

When it comes to the type of clients I work with, those salespeople last about 3 minutes before displaying their gross inability to provide workable solutions for period homes....... long-winded I know, but the short answer is the discount is rubbish.

Either way, have fun!

ps. I have just bought two sets of taps, one from the UK and one from the US...... I am very excited about them - sad huh? What can I tell ya - I just love beautiful taps. Both sets in period style, both 1/4 turn ceramic handles. One for a small copper prep island sink I am installing and the other for the 3 bowl main sink. You shoulda seen me when I got the pre-rinse spray units from the US!

G'day Steve

You can buy great taps in OZ that have a warranty and carry the WATERMARK Ticks.

I am a Licensed Plumber and have recently been involved as an expert witness in a civil case where a tap failed, plug was in the sink and kitchen was flooded - Insurance company wouldn't pay up because tap was not approved, $46,000 damage included timber floor + insurance companies legal and court costs estimated to be about $8,000.

[seriph1]

A bloody nightmare for the homeowners, that could've been avoided by a few simple measures I guess..... interesting that the court ruled against them when the damage was clearly done by their negligence of leaving the plug in. Which part of the tap failed?

The taps I have bought are available here - they are just oppressively expensive. eg. I paid $100US plus postage for the TWO T+S brass pre-rinse spray units. They retail here through REECE for $1,089.00 each (no extra zero added in for effect) and the exposed breach unit from the UK was 20GBP + postage - it can be bought from one distributor in Melbourne for the princely sum of $385 Plus crank arms at $105 per pair. Both sets are sold worldwide and carry a list of approvals for UK, European and US compliance - I can live with the risk that they won't comply with Australian Standards, though I doubt we have any more stringent testing than these other countries. Finally, the only locally available taps I can source, while functionally perfect are aesthetically inappropriate for our home/renovation, otherwise I would've bought locally without hesitation (the Bastow ones, available as period taps are bloody woeful) - these purchases are result of more than 3 years research into such things. I have heard of Aussie taps getting basically blown apart internally due to ridiculous water pressures around Melbourne - not sure if this is Aust-wide but it is concerning. It's like everybody MUST have 6 million Kpa delivered to their heads when in the shower!

Just one more thing - if Australian standards for sinks and tubs included the additional waste outlets that their Euro/UK/US counterparts had, you may not have had to be called to court.

You've got me wondering now how many taps sold on eBay in Australia would actually comply - few, I imagine. Potential legal minefield and one which will never go away as the cost of gaining certification would be thousands of dollars per product. We won't see it but one day there will be worldwide standards, I guess.

have fun!

[Greg Q]

Yeah, what a joke Australian standards are for basins. They prohibit overflows because "they waste water". Like people in other counties just leave the tap running all day? :confused: ::mad:

I have a spec built house. I have had to replace all the cheap crap indian (approved) taps with Euro units sourced from overseas for 1/4 the local price. Same goes for door hardware.

[Bill_E]

Yeah, what a joke Australian standards are for basins. They prohibit overflows because "they waste water". Like people in other counties just leave the tap running all day? :confused: ::mad:

I have a spec built house. I have had to replace all the cheap crap indian (approved) taps with Euro units sourced from overseas for 1/4 the local price. Same goes for door hardware.

Haven't been here for some time BUT all taps installed in australia MUST have the WaterMark test mark to be legal, price and country of origin/manufacture is irrelevant - You can sell or buy taps and fixtures (basins, sinks, toilets and cisterns) in Australia, sometimes manufactured in countries that surprise us that they even having any plumbing at all, however such taps and fixtures often sold in local papers, markets and auction houses are NOT approved.

[Bill_E]

A bloody nightmare for the homeowners, that could've been avoided by a few simple measures I guess..... interesting that the court ruled against them when the damage was clearly done by their negligence of leaving the plug in. Which part of the tap failed?

The taps I have bought are available here - they are just oppressively expensive. eg. I paid $100US plus postage for the TWO T+S brass pre-rinse spray units. They retail here through REECE for $1,089.00 each (no extra zero added in for effect) and the exposed breach unit from the UK was 20GBP + postage - it can be bought from one distributor in Melbourne for the princely sum of $385 Plus crank arms at $105 per pair. Both sets are sold worldwide and carry a list of approvals for UK, European and US compliance - I can live with the risk that they won't comply with Australian Standards, though I doubt we have any more stringent testing than these other countries. Finally, the only locally available taps I can source, while functionally perfect are aesthetically inappropriate for our home/renovation, otherwise I would've bought locally without hesitation (the Bastow ones, available as period taps are bloody woeful) - these purchases are result of more than 3 years research into such things. I have heard of Aussie taps getting basically blown apart internally due to ridiculous water pressures around Melbourne - not sure if this is Aust-wide but it is concerning. It's like everybody MUST have 6 million Kpa delivered to their heads when in the shower!

Just one more thing - if Australian standards for sinks and tubs included the additional waste outlets that their Euro/UK/US counterparts had, you may not have had to be called to court.

You've got me wondering now how many taps sold on eBay in Australia would actually comply - few, I imagine. Potential legal minefield and one which will never go away as the cost of gaining certification would be thousands of dollars per product. We won't see it but one day there will be worldwide standards, I guess.

have fun!

Sorry for late reply haven't been here for quite a while.

It was a ceramic disc tap (single lever Mixer type) it appears that the sealed cartridge failed - Incidently the owner still wanted to repair the tap and reuse it, (Duh!!) however spares were not available.

[Bleedin Thumb]

I'm glade you have revived this thread Bill, its a good read.

My two bobs worth is design your kitchen yourself.

It takes very little research to find standard heights and widths of carcases so you can use flat packs (if you wish to DIY) and it makes you think about how you wish to use the kitchen in the most ergonomic way.

IE this is where the stove goes so I will prepare food here therefore I want utensils close, this is where I will serve up so I want plates etc close, if the sink goes here I can have the dishwasher here.

Its great fun, you can't bitch about it being not what you were after, and your not being dishonest about using some other designers labour under false pretenses which is a bloody rotten thing to do.

Happy designing!

[renomart]

Here are some kitchen design guidelines to help you when designing your own kitchen.