African Design Magazine March 2015 | Page 23

News kitchen company as making the sale. Ensure the company supplies a written guarantee and make sure all the companies quoting you are offering you the same guarantee period. • Is the kitchen company offering you a proper contract that protects your rights and allows you to retain 10% of the fee until you have signed off the kitchen and are they a KSA member? Dealing with a KSA member ensures you free recourse should you feel the company has not delivered the quality and service you had expected. • Watch out for the following: - Are the materials used of the same quality e.g. carcases, doors, drawer boxes, worktops, fittings and hardware – are they coming from a reputable supplier with a proper guarantee? - What are your carcasses made of and how have they been constructed? - What worktops have you been quoted on, who is supplying them, what thickness are they and where is the material coming from. Whether it is a laminate, timber, granite, solid surfacing or engineered stone the quality of the product, the way it is fabricated and the expertise of the fabricator and installer will affect your price. - What type of corner units are being installed - L-shaped, Reach-in or is the corner blanked off. - Is the edging on the carcase pre glued or hot melt? - Do the kitchen cupboards have backs and are they attached to the wall? - What is the guarantee on hardware (drawer runners, hinges etc.) and has the company quoted you extra hardware like drawer inserts and space saving devices like corner units and pull out pantries? - Are the cupboards on a base box or are plastic adjustable legs being used? - Does the company only use “A” grade or SABS approved board in the manufacture of their product? - Do the designs include the same number of drawers and cupboards and are they all the same size? - Did the company do their own measuring or design work for you from scratch or did they just copy a design you gave them? All the above will affect determine the quality and cost of your kitchen. In short if one quote is substantially less than another there is usually a good reason and you will pay the price. Remember, if the price looks too good to be true it usually is. Protect yourself by ensuring the companies that are quoting you are not compromising their quality and service to come in at a lower price and remember the only way to ensure you have recourse should something go wrong is to deal with a KSA registered kitchen company. AD KSA Gauteng [email protected]/011-781-5340 KSA KZN [email protected]/082-801-8878 KSA CT [email protected]/082-787-8806 i africandesignmagazine.com 23