ᐅ Excessive Costs for the Kitchen?!

hampshire schrieb:

I see the dilemma as you do and also don’t have an answer. To really help structurally, we need to reach a broader consensus on sharing. Just reinventing the wheel can’t be the solution.
What each of us contributes individually is good, yet it’s always just a drop in the ocean. In a few years, we will want and need to discuss this differently.

Almost 30 years ago, as a young teenager during the great famine in Zimbabwe, I stood on the back of a truck with an NGO distributing bags of rice flour to villagers. I remember it as if it were yesterday — how the people looked at me. There I was on the loading platform, about 14 years old, and below were people suffering from real hunger. They looked at me as if I were a god. Not that I felt like one. But I could physically feel that these people believed I was saving their lives. Which, in the broadest sense, I was.
During my 10-day stay, I lived with the brother of Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister. A huge estate with a pool and three Great Danes as guard dogs.

We wanted to take a “trip” to neighboring Mozambique but were stopped at the border by militia armed with Kalashnikovs wearing flip-flops. Even the NGO’s managing director found that too risky.

What I want to express is this: I have never, ever, in my entire life experienced more extreme poverty or greater contrasts than back then. That experience shaped me.

Yes, we can all contribute our small part for the better. I try to do so every day within my means.
But the real problems of this world will not change unless those in control actively take action.
Africa, for example, remains a forgotten continent.

Please forgive my sentimentality here. But this entire discussion reminded me of those experiences.

Tarnari schrieb:

Almost 30 years ago, as a young teenager during the severe famine in Zimbabwe, I stood on a truck with an NGO distributing bags of rice flour to villagers. I still remember it like it was yesterday: me up on the truck bed at about 14 years old, and the people below truly starving. They looked at me as if I were a god—not that I felt like one. But I could physically feel that these people believed I was saving their lives, which, in a broad sense, I was.
I stayed during the 10-day trip with the brother of Zimbabwe’s finance minister—an enormous property with a swimming pool and three Great Danes as guard dogs.

We wanted to take a “trip” to neighboring Mozambique but were stopped at the border by militia armed with Kalashnikovs wearing flip-flops. Even the managing director of the NGO found that too risky.

What I want to express is this: never, ever in my life have I witnessed more extreme hardship or greater contrasts than back then. That experience shaped me.

Yes, we can all contribute our small part to make things better. I try to do this within my own means every day. But the real problems in this world won’t change unless those in power take active steps.
Africa, for example, is a forgotten continent.

Please forgive my sentimentality here, but this whole discussion reminded me of these experiences.

Thank you, @Tarnari, that is by no means sentimental and, in my opinion, just as important here as the 85th discussion about the heat pump settings.
It also clearly shows the vast difference between having personally experienced something versus having only heard, read, or seen about it. You can hardly explain feelings to someone else.
Too often it is written that -THEY- do things this or that way, but this usually comes from one’s own closed circle of thought.
This has nothing directly to do with kitchens or house building, but our lives within those homes are always connected to the bigger picture, which certainly doesn’t end at our own garden gate.
As our wise language expert Günther Öttinger once said: “Everything hangs together.”
Thank you, @Tarnari!

So, I think it was in this thread where we discussed IKEA kitchens from Poland.
I went there with my Volvo on Friday. I had the carcasses delivered from IKEA Germany because, first, there is little potential for savings (to my knowledge, they are also produced in Germany), and second, the material is too bulky.
However, the drawer fronts, door fronts, and fittings are still 20-30% cheaper in Poland (despite the weak euro).
I ended up spending the entire Saturday installing just one cabinet door (the one with the integrated refrigerator). Either the refrigerator door wouldn’t close properly, or the cabinet door stayed open. In the end, I managed to make it work by cutting a part of the refrigerator’s mounting bracket. However, I’m starting to doubt whether doing the entire self-assembly was such a good idea.

This is what the Volvo looked like...

Nicely lowered...

Tolentino schrieb:

So, I think it was in this thread where we discussed IKEA kitchens from Poland.
On Friday, I went there with my Volvo. I had the carcasses (cabinet boxes) delivered from IKEA Germany because, firstly, there was little savings potential (as far as I know, they are also produced in Germany) and secondly, too much material.
However, the drawer and door fronts, as well as the fittings, are still 20-30% cheaper in Poland (despite the weak euro).
I then spent the entire Saturday just installing one cabinet door (the one with the integrated refrigerator). Either the refrigerator door wouldn’t close properly, or the cabinet door stayed open. In the end, I managed by cutting into a refrigerator mounting bracket. Still, I am starting to doubt whether doing the entire installation myself was such a good idea.

This is how the Volvo looked...

Nicely lowered...

Oh dear, that’s almost like a rocket launcher through the windshield and neck. I’m glad everything turned out okay, but despite the saving, you really should have gone for a van.

All the best!

I'm not sure if it's that simple to drive a rental car to Poland. Most companies initially exclude that option. It probably requires additional insurance.

I had ratchet straps with me, and yes, I probably could have used them. But I was too lazy in the end. So not greed, but laziness. Also a deadly sin, right?

Oh, one more thing about the savings: For the parts I bought now, I would have paid 3,875 EUR in Germany without delivery. In Poland, 2,088 EUR. So after deducting all costs (currency conversion, fuel, wear and tear): a saving of 1,658 EUR. Yes, there probably would have been a van rental for 150 EUR included as well...