Anyone used Kitset or Proform DIY kitchens

[benandbert]

Hi.
I live in Perth and I am looking to purchase a FIY flatpack kitchen from either Kitset (Victoria), Proform (Perth), or IKEA (Perth). I have seen the reviews of IKEA in this site and have a good feel for thier product. But was wondering if anyone has installed a Proform or Kitset kitchen and could give advice on thier experience and views of the finished product as the prices between the 3 look like they are going to be fairly similar. In particular I am curious to know how people have found the standard drawer runners. Both companies have runners that are metal sided and seem a bit tinny and wobbly to me. However, Kitset's are apparently soft closing where as Proforms are standard. I am having a kitchen with quite a few drawers so have to consider the quality/cost tradeoff. Would really appreciate getting some feedback from people who have dealt with these companies. We also have quite a tight deadline so going to a cabinetmaker really isn't an option as you generally have to wait 2-3 months minimum to get tradies in Perth at the moment, Thanks, Roberta

[Master Splinter]

If your only sticking point is the drawer runners and you are time short, just chuck whatever is supplied with the kit and upgrade to Blum Metabox drawers. They are pretty much the top of the line drawer runner, and are available in standard or full extension flavours.

From memory they are about $25-30 per drawer (Bunnies price, you could do better through a proper kitchen supplies place if buying a kitchenload), don't require any fancy box making skills (drawer bottom and drawer back need to be supplied by you, but this is just standard 16mm melamine faced board cut to size with a bit of iron on edging for the top of the back piece).

http://www.blum.com.au

Hettich make something similar - the MultiTech. I haven't used them, but I would expect that they are pretty much comparable.

So if you were ordering a kit, rather than ordering the 450 wide drawer cabinet, you'd just order the 450 wide cupboard (or whatever size you were after) and nip off to the local hardware store to get the bottoms/backs cut if you don't have a circular saw handy.

[Phanoongy]

Hettich make something similar - the MultiTech. I haven't used them, but I would expect that they are pretty much comparable.

hay there i thought i would throw my little bit in, Hettich have some nice soft close drawers called the InnoTech Drawer system (http://www.hettich.com.au/295.htm) way better than the MultiTech

[Master Splinter]

Ohhh, they look nice. Might have to investigate them next time I need some drawer runners!

[benandbert]

Thanks for that bit of advice, particularly about the price of blum runners as the kitchen people were telling me it would cost an extra $50 per drawer to have the more expensive runners (either one). So maybe I'll go for the standard drawers and if they seem dodgy change them as I go. Overall all the kitchens seem pretty similar - hopefully we are up to the job of putting them together to look as good as the display.

[adventurepaul]

Ive used Proform 4 times. Great product and very reasonable price. They were about 4k less than Kitcraft for the same product. As mentioned go the Metabox drawers, very good.
Attached only 1 kit pic. my files are too big. Green one was about 7K with laminate tops and vinyl doors second was 11k with Essastone tops and vinyl doors.
Last Kit i did was delivered in 2 weeks after 1st payment. Very happy with Proform.
For the drawer runners I used standard and put in soft close dampeners for $2 each. Closes just like the $$$$ ones.
PM me if you want. Ive done a few now. And will send more pics.
Paul

[SilentButDeadly]

I've checked out both the Kitset and IKEA kitchens along with the Laminex Readikit range....in both the the Kitset and Laminex range you can specify Hettich Innotech drawers as an upgrade but for a price......upwards of $200 over and above standard.

A recent examination of the IKEA product revealed that they appear to have a very similar drawer runner to that of the Hettich Innotech and the 'premium' is closer to $50-$100 over the stock Kitset/Laminex. The IKEA drawer runners are also stamped as 'Made in Austria' which suggests that IKEA have done an OEM deal with Hettich.

Huge downside with the IKEA product is the limited range (leads to good price but poor flexibility) and the flimsiness of the pull out cupboards (the ones where the whole front panel is attached to the bottom most drawer and the rest of low fronted pul outs) since they use the same runners as the drawer system.

However, given the money being asked, the simplicity of the space we have for our new kitchen and our desire for mostly drawers rather than cupboards it looks like IKEA will be getting our custom....

[Sybarite]

A recent examination of the IKEA product revealed that they appear to have a very similar drawer runner to that of the Hettich Innotech and the 'premium' is closer to $50-$100 over the stock Kitset/Laminex. The IKEA drawer runners are also stamped as 'Made in Austria' which suggests that IKEA have done an OEM deal with Hettich.

If they are stamped "Made in Austria" it is more likely that it is Blum hardware, as Hettich is made up the road in Germany...
The upgrade to softclose price is about right for Blum as well, which points to the likelyhood that Ikea just build using proprietary Blum hardware - a lot of Blum hardware doesn't get branded.

The Blumotion soft close drawer runners are worth it if they are worth it to you.

Cheers,

Earl

[robbie1977]

We brought a Kitset kitchen and are very happy with it. The quality of the product is great, however there were a few hiccups along the way. A few wrong sized panels etc. They were always happy, helpful and apologetic and replace them quickly but could be a pain if you are in WA. From what i have heard and seen regarding ikea ,i would stay away and not worth the hassle to get the bench cut etc... I would recommend kitset but the WA thing would worry me if something goes wrong. In saying that we got a free sink and they also gave us soft closing drawers by mistake, which are great!, not that we ever mentioned that to them

[benandbert]

Thanks for the advice everyone. We have decided to go for Proform because they are reasonably priced, seem to have a good reputation and we have a specific space between two walls that IKEA furniture cannot fit into easily. I am pretty happy with the advice about the runners and feel confident that our new kitchen will be great. Mind you, we still have to install it which I am sure will not be as much fun as knocking the old one out.
Roberta