Kitchen Remedial Items and How To Avoid Them

What are Kitchen Remedial Items?

The term 'remedial' in kitchen industry terms simply refers to any item(s) which may be required to either:

• Remedy/cure an unexpected situation
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• Complete a kitchen Installation

Common remedial items can include:

• Taller plinths – to allow for the floor being so uneven, taller plinths can be scribed to the floor contour giving a better finish and hiding the issue of the uneven floor
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• Additional panels - to box in sections of pipe or fill gaps to the ceiling
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• Deeper panels/worktop lengths – due to walls being out of square and standard sized end panels being supplied at exact unit depth
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• Additional fillers – if room dimensions were not accurate during planning, you may require larger fillers
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• Replacement doors/fasicas – potentially due to damages during installation or delivery
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• Hinge limiters – for doors that open very close to walls or adjacent units (usually required with a filler of less than 30mm). Hinge limiters stop the door at around 86°, so the door and/or handle does not collide with the adjacent wall or other doors/panels/carcase sides.
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How to Avoid Needing Remedial Items on Your Kitchen Installation?

At German Kitchen Specialist, our unique design process follows certain essential steps to help prevent the need for remedial items wherever possible.

With made-to-order kitchens (like in our German collections) that come with a lead time, remedials can also take some time to arrive, causing annoying delays to the completion of your kitchen installation. With customer satisfaction in mind, our internal process has been refined over many years to help avoid these delays.

Certain things however cannot be avoided or foreseen, and in these instances a remedial item will always be required. With over 25 years experience of dealing with kitchen installations, we've definitely learnt a thing or two and if you follow the below simple steps, you can avoid the most common pitfalls in this regard too:

• Measure, measure and measure again
  
  ‍This may seem obvious but believe us when we say, mis-measurement is the most common (and easily avoidable) cause of remedial items. This can also be quite costly, depending on the planning situation and the number of items it takes to rectify the mistake.
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• Do a final check measure before ordering
  
  When the final design is complete, check those room dimensions again one last time. It's only a 5 minute task to check measure at most, but could save you both time and money.
  
  Check the level of your walls both horizontally and vertically with a Spirit level of 1200mm or longer, ideally 1800mm. The purpose of this is to see if standard panels will be ok. If your wall tilts forward or backward you may require deeper panels, but they cost extra so you don’t want to overpay by increasing everything unnecessarily.
  
  When measuring your room note things such as boxings, soil pipes, nibs on walls, sloped ceiling sections for staircases, beams etc. All of the above can cause clashes with doors and without the designer knowing about these obstacles they can’t plan around them.
  
  Supply pictures of your existing room to your designer from the beginning, this way they can spot obstacles and ensure they design a kitchen that works in your space without the need for additional remedial items.
  
  Mark your proposed design out using masking tape on your floor and check the space around units, islands. Consider the fridge and dishwasher positions and check the access if the fridge door was open or dishwasher door fully down during loading. These simple things can avoid the need for adjusting and cutting units down on site and the need for remedial doors and panels to suit the reduced size.
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• Take care during installation and delivery
  
  Damages are easily avoided if proper care is taken when handling and installing your kitchen. Remove the doors from the units when the carcases & worktops are being installed to keep them safe, and only remove any protective film when the entire job is finished and the space has been fully cleaned.
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• Thoroughly vet the dealership you're considering purchasing from
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  Checking what planning measures have been taken by your designer to avoid potential installation issues is a great way to vet the knowledge and reliability of your chosen dealership.
  
  We've also seen quotes from other vendors with essential installation items removed in order to lower the cost, so always get a second opinion from a reputable dealership before you proceed with a purchase.
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At GKS we offer a check measure service to ensure all sizes are correct prior to any items being manufactured (this service starts at £250 depending on your location and availability), if you are interested please get in touch and we can arrange a survey date for you.

I hope you found this article useful, if you have any questions regarding the material please get in touch and we will be happy to discuss your specific situation and requirements. Please also note our remedial shop will soon open offering limited Schüller and Nobilia remedial items from our own UK STOCK, available on 3 day delivery service.

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