calvini
2009-04-16 12:32:53
- #1
Hello!
Has anyone of you ever installed a LUFTIG HOO A00 (stainless steel) under a Faktum extractor hood cabinet with a height of 57 cm (FA 337), where (here’s the tricky part) further Faktum wall cabinets with a height of 92 cm are attached to this construction on both the left and right sides, so that all cabinets have a common top edge?
I tried this after the kitchen was planned exactly like this with the Ikea kitchen planner and the whole construction was also carefully checked again by an IKEA employee during the purchase. Neither the kitchen planner nor the employee pointed out any possible problems regarding this.
The kitchen planner informed me that the extractor hood must be installed at least 75 cm above the (gas) stove and both the kitchen planner and the IKEA employee pointed out that the base cabinets on the right and left should not be placed too close to the wall so that doors and drawers can still be opened.
All things I had already thought about myself and had no problems with. What I had not considered, however, was that during assembly, for some mysterious reason, a cabinet (also, according to the internet in the details) specified as 60.0 cm wide was narrower than an extractor hood specified as 59.8 cm wide.
The difference is about 1 to 2 mm, i.e. the cabinet is about 59.8 cm wide, the extractor hood about 59.95 cm. If this had been known beforehand, one could have (though not without some effort and additional work) possibly installed a 2 mm wide filler piece between the cabinet above the extractor hood and the adjacent wall cabinet and veneered it white in front. Not great, but at least straight and without a gap.
But if you rely on the specified dimensions and on the fact that you would definitely have been informed about such a possible inaccuracy beforehand and build one wall cabinet after another on the wall in an old building with walls that are not really straight and stable, you end up looking quite stupid because after recognizing the problem, there are really not many options left for correction.
So far, so bad. But what really annoys me enormously is IKEA’s handling of my complaint. First, I was told that the cabinet was also only 59.8 cm wide (I think I once read that somewhere on the website but can’t find the page anymore) and there are just tolerances and I was simply unlucky. It was no reason for a complaint.
When I objected that I did not see it that way, the manager who was finally called after repeated requests came up with such wonderful arguments as: “No one has ever complained about that before,” “You could have already seen in the furniture store that it didn’t fit, everything is assembled there,” and “There are certain tolerances, you should have informed yourself beforehand, now you have to live with it.”
I basically see two possibilities: Either the extractor hood is actually always wider than the cabinet, then it is outrageous if the kitchen planner and the IKEA employee do not point out before the purchase that the kitchen will end up crooked. And consequently certainly a reason for a complaint, although unfortunately not so easy to fix.
Or I am actually the only person in the world unlucky enough to have bought a combination of cabinet and extractor hood where the extractor hood is exceptionally wider than the cabinet. This is also a reason for a complaint, but easily fixed: Return the (exceptionally) wider extractor hood and get a normal extractor hood that is as wide as the cabinet.
Nevertheless, my complaint continued to be refused as a valid claim. When I then asked to at least be informed where I could have read beforehand that the dimensions given in the catalog and on the internet are only approximate measurements and can deviate by millimeters in both directions at any time, the manager told me that this would not be a problem and they would get back to me shortly.
Apparently, it was not that easy, because in the next call I was informed that the case was now reported to “Sweden” (huh!) and they were waiting for feedback from there. The Swedes are not quite as fast, so it could take a little while, but someone would get back to me.
In fact, I got another call the very next day. Apparently, it was about another complaint of mine: I had wanted to combine the carcass of a tall cabinet (FA 702) with the doors of another (FA 706) and explicitly said in the furniture store that I intended this because I want to position a 123 cm high refrigerator with a freezer compartment below (90 cm and 35 cm door, then 70 cm door on top).
I was then told that the carcasses have no fixed shelves (I had thought so and wanted to have the FA 702 with a shelf at a height of 125 cm) and that I could simply take the FA 706, everything would be freely combinable. Unfortunately, they forgot to mention that the 35 cm door is only 34.2 cm and the 70 cm door only 69.5 cm high – and that the hinge holes on every door have different distances from the upper/lower edge.
Consequently, nothing is freely combinable, but only the sequence given in the brochures (70 cm door at the bottom, then the 90 cm (which is actually 90 cm high) and then the 35 cm). Other combinations are of course possible but produce completely different gaps between the doors which cannot be compensated by the hinges anymore.
Annoying because I was misinformed when buying. But since the combination I planned does not appear anywhere in the brochure, I book this as my own mistake and learn from it that one can only trust the information from some employees up to the unpacking of the purchased parts at best.
I will probably fix it by putting the refrigerator higher up, then it is easy to reach. To reach the freezer compartment, not quite as tall people will need a small pedestal, but that can certainly be bought at IKEA. And at least when everything is closed, it looks neat again.
But back to the call – besides the information that this complaint of mine (70-90-35 vs. 90-35-70) would not be a reason for a complaint (surprise!) it was also mentioned that I had complained about incorrect dimensions of an extractor hood and that was also no reason for a complaint.
Since I wondered whether I had been told a tall tale about the case being reported to “Sweden,” I made it clear that I am definitely not willing to accept this handling. Then a manager came and I was able to follow some minutes of research and discussion over the mislaid receiver.
The subsequent conversation in short: The manager said that the extractor hood is probably always wider than the cabinet (that also looked like this on the pictures she had), but confirmed to me that a resulting crooked kitchen is indeed annoying. We then agreed to wait for the feedback from “Sweden” (the case was actually recorded somewhere in the computer) and that someone would get back to me.
I am now curious how this will continue and what the “Swedes” will say about the mess. What seems certain to me is that there are some information deficits and I find it very unfortunate that this is being played out on my back. I would be very happy about reports of similar (or differing) experiences and constructive suggestions on how to solve the problem with the extractor hood.
Has anyone of you ever installed a LUFTIG HOO A00 (stainless steel) under a Faktum extractor hood cabinet with a height of 57 cm (FA 337), where (here’s the tricky part) further Faktum wall cabinets with a height of 92 cm are attached to this construction on both the left and right sides, so that all cabinets have a common top edge?
I tried this after the kitchen was planned exactly like this with the Ikea kitchen planner and the whole construction was also carefully checked again by an IKEA employee during the purchase. Neither the kitchen planner nor the employee pointed out any possible problems regarding this.
The kitchen planner informed me that the extractor hood must be installed at least 75 cm above the (gas) stove and both the kitchen planner and the IKEA employee pointed out that the base cabinets on the right and left should not be placed too close to the wall so that doors and drawers can still be opened.
All things I had already thought about myself and had no problems with. What I had not considered, however, was that during assembly, for some mysterious reason, a cabinet (also, according to the internet in the details) specified as 60.0 cm wide was narrower than an extractor hood specified as 59.8 cm wide.
The difference is about 1 to 2 mm, i.e. the cabinet is about 59.8 cm wide, the extractor hood about 59.95 cm. If this had been known beforehand, one could have (though not without some effort and additional work) possibly installed a 2 mm wide filler piece between the cabinet above the extractor hood and the adjacent wall cabinet and veneered it white in front. Not great, but at least straight and without a gap.
But if you rely on the specified dimensions and on the fact that you would definitely have been informed about such a possible inaccuracy beforehand and build one wall cabinet after another on the wall in an old building with walls that are not really straight and stable, you end up looking quite stupid because after recognizing the problem, there are really not many options left for correction.
So far, so bad. But what really annoys me enormously is IKEA’s handling of my complaint. First, I was told that the cabinet was also only 59.8 cm wide (I think I once read that somewhere on the website but can’t find the page anymore) and there are just tolerances and I was simply unlucky. It was no reason for a complaint.
When I objected that I did not see it that way, the manager who was finally called after repeated requests came up with such wonderful arguments as: “No one has ever complained about that before,” “You could have already seen in the furniture store that it didn’t fit, everything is assembled there,” and “There are certain tolerances, you should have informed yourself beforehand, now you have to live with it.”
I basically see two possibilities: Either the extractor hood is actually always wider than the cabinet, then it is outrageous if the kitchen planner and the IKEA employee do not point out before the purchase that the kitchen will end up crooked. And consequently certainly a reason for a complaint, although unfortunately not so easy to fix.
Or I am actually the only person in the world unlucky enough to have bought a combination of cabinet and extractor hood where the extractor hood is exceptionally wider than the cabinet. This is also a reason for a complaint, but easily fixed: Return the (exceptionally) wider extractor hood and get a normal extractor hood that is as wide as the cabinet.
Nevertheless, my complaint continued to be refused as a valid claim. When I then asked to at least be informed where I could have read beforehand that the dimensions given in the catalog and on the internet are only approximate measurements and can deviate by millimeters in both directions at any time, the manager told me that this would not be a problem and they would get back to me shortly.
Apparently, it was not that easy, because in the next call I was informed that the case was now reported to “Sweden” (huh!) and they were waiting for feedback from there. The Swedes are not quite as fast, so it could take a little while, but someone would get back to me.
In fact, I got another call the very next day. Apparently, it was about another complaint of mine: I had wanted to combine the carcass of a tall cabinet (FA 702) with the doors of another (FA 706) and explicitly said in the furniture store that I intended this because I want to position a 123 cm high refrigerator with a freezer compartment below (90 cm and 35 cm door, then 70 cm door on top).
I was then told that the carcasses have no fixed shelves (I had thought so and wanted to have the FA 702 with a shelf at a height of 125 cm) and that I could simply take the FA 706, everything would be freely combinable. Unfortunately, they forgot to mention that the 35 cm door is only 34.2 cm and the 70 cm door only 69.5 cm high – and that the hinge holes on every door have different distances from the upper/lower edge.
Consequently, nothing is freely combinable, but only the sequence given in the brochures (70 cm door at the bottom, then the 90 cm (which is actually 90 cm high) and then the 35 cm). Other combinations are of course possible but produce completely different gaps between the doors which cannot be compensated by the hinges anymore.
Annoying because I was misinformed when buying. But since the combination I planned does not appear anywhere in the brochure, I book this as my own mistake and learn from it that one can only trust the information from some employees up to the unpacking of the purchased parts at best.
I will probably fix it by putting the refrigerator higher up, then it is easy to reach. To reach the freezer compartment, not quite as tall people will need a small pedestal, but that can certainly be bought at IKEA. And at least when everything is closed, it looks neat again.
But back to the call – besides the information that this complaint of mine (70-90-35 vs. 90-35-70) would not be a reason for a complaint (surprise!) it was also mentioned that I had complained about incorrect dimensions of an extractor hood and that was also no reason for a complaint.
Since I wondered whether I had been told a tall tale about the case being reported to “Sweden,” I made it clear that I am definitely not willing to accept this handling. Then a manager came and I was able to follow some minutes of research and discussion over the mislaid receiver.
The subsequent conversation in short: The manager said that the extractor hood is probably always wider than the cabinet (that also looked like this on the pictures she had), but confirmed to me that a resulting crooked kitchen is indeed annoying. We then agreed to wait for the feedback from “Sweden” (the case was actually recorded somewhere in the computer) and that someone would get back to me.
I am now curious how this will continue and what the “Swedes” will say about the mess. What seems certain to me is that there are some information deficits and I find it very unfortunate that this is being played out on my back. I would be very happy about reports of similar (or differing) experiences and constructive suggestions on how to solve the problem with the extractor hood.