Replies

1. 
   jackplane | Mar 06, 2008 02:09am | #1

   not a whole kitchen, but banks of cabinets...their joinery method is okay, cam screws etc., the base cabs should come with levellers, adjustable, and a toekick to give a clean look...but it is what it is.

   Expert since 10 am.

1. 
   hubcap | Mar 06, 2008 02:42am | #3

   Kinda what I figured. The customer seems married to them so that may be what we do. I don't see it (this is a 500k house not a dorm room)" but whadda i know." (blatantly stolen from mike smith- so sue me or summthin)No Tag

1. 
   RichMast | Mar 06, 2008 03:26am | #8

   Did a kitchen around 5 yrs ago. Kind of what Jeff and jackplane said.  Unless you are going to take some extra pains to skin or put undercab light or trim, you will see the ugly (finished, but ugly) bottom of the uppers. Otherwise, all still look fine last I checked; just a tip....Hope this helps.  Rich

2. 
   JeffBuck | Mar 06, 2008 02:42am | #2

   I did one against my better judgement years and years ago.

    

   boxes went together just like their #### furniture.

   and I was underwhelmed by their finishes.

   and everything just felt cheap.

    

   so ... in the end ... the customers got what they paid for.

   a #### kitchen.

    

   but ... they were thrilled ...

   I coulda got them a decent set of cab's in the same price range.

    

   so far as I know ... those crappy cab's are still hanging on the wall.

   that house is now one of their rental properties.

    

   push comes to shove ... you'll live.

   I'd charge hourly for the assembly.

   but a little bit of your soul will die ...

    

   Jeff

       Buck Construction

    Artistry In Carpentry

        Pittsburgh Pa

1. 
   hubcap | Mar 06, 2008 02:45am | #4

   Your putting them in Pablo- I'm just another dumbbass general- but I do pay timely and won't ask you to plumb anythingNo Tag

1. 
   JeffBuck | Mar 06, 2008 02:54am | #7

   I'll require assistance that day!

    

   crying and moaning always feels better when someone else is trapped listening.

   schedule box building for a Fri afternoon .... just add beer.

    

   Jeff

        Buck Construction

    Artistry In Carpentry

        Pittsburgh Pa

1. 
   hubcap | Mar 06, 2008 03:31am | #9

   itsa date- now leave me alonei gotta go to loews and get some grout haze remover and finish scrubbing all this freakin slate you let me put inwhat were you thinking Tonto?
   cheese and rice this sucks!No Tag

1. 
   JeffBuck | Mar 06, 2008 03:43am | #10

   I was thinking you'd be neater when U grouted!

    

   Jeff    Buck Construction

    Artistry In Carpentry

        Pittsburgh Pa

2. 
   Dogmeat12 | Mar 06, 2008 03:49am | #11

   cheese and rice this sucks!

   I had a fellow working for me for awhile whose favorite saying was "cheese and crackers this sucks"

3. 
   DougU | Mar 06, 2008 03:55am | #12

   Thats his brother!

4. 
   hubcap | Mar 06, 2008 06:00am | #23

   I have no clue why that popped out of my head but" what the hay"No Tag

2. 
   junkhound | Mar 06, 2008 03:57am | #13

   Agree with your comments 100%.

   caveat:  I only went into the local IKEA (pronounced icky) store once when it first opened about 10 years ago as it was right across the street from where I worked.

   One look at all the vinyl pasted onto particle board and the formaldahyde smell and never went back in.... the store does generate a big sales tax revenue for the local politicians to spend though....  

   customers must all be - (repubs or dems?) - take your pick. 

3. 
   ruffmike | Mar 06, 2008 02:49am | #5

   We put ours in coming up on 4 years ago. We are happy with it. We did not use their countertops. I also used their cabinets and wood countertops in my baths and everything is holding up good.

    If you do go with them, make sure the order is right. Takes forever to get replacement pieces. They go together easy, liked the upper cabinet muonting bar. Of course you get what you pay for, its not high end stuff.

    Just snapped some pics-

                               Mike

       Trust in God, but row away from the rocks.

1. 
   hubcap | Mar 06, 2008 02:52am | #6

   thanks mike- they look prettyNo Tag

4. 
   hemisauce | Mar 06, 2008 04:11am | #14

   I did one about 5 years ago.  If they still have the same plastic legs on the base cabinets be careful sliding them around, they are very week.  also the kicks clip to the legs and are cheap and don't line up well.  If it were my kitchen I'd go with something else.

5. 
   JeffBuck | Mar 06, 2008 04:30am | #15

   just had an ID'er ....

    

   look up Neff ...

   and PoggenPohl.

    

    

   yer millionaire hippies may take a liking to the PoggenPohl.

   you'd make a nice chunk on the markup.

   I could arrange the sale from the dealer here in Pgh if need be.

    

   Jeff

       Buck Construction

    Artistry In Carpentry

        Pittsburgh Pa

1. 
   hubcap | Mar 06, 2008 04:47am | #16

   Not much in the way of Ikea lovers- me tooWife loves it- i think it is cheap junk- they market it well.thanks for your responses.No Tag

2. 
   hubcap | Mar 06, 2008 06:03am | #24

   I will pass it along and you can have the mark up. I would just pisss it away on cheap wimmen and expensive wine.No Tag

6. 
   dovetail97128 | Mar 06, 2008 04:58am | #17

   Lots of assembly time. I spent one entire 8 hr. day just assembling drawers.

   Fair sized kitchen , storage counter with base cabinets maybe 17', two baths.

   An appalling amount of cardboard and plastic packing material to deal with. Filled a full sized pick up and 4'x 7' trailer with flattened cardboard cartons for recycle.
   Careful of edges, easily chipped, I wouldn't use the plastic legs again , instead I would build a base.

   Triple check the order, many outlets have sales on "in stock" items and then don't restock that color/style etc.

   No better or worse then anybody else's inexpensive cabinets.

   Doors, drawers and drawer hardware are the best part of the order in terms of quality .

   They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.

   
1. 
   hubcap | Mar 06, 2008 05:06am | #18

   Thanks
   More important now
   Who did your concrete floors- they look sweet and homeowner wants the same- I only have a couple of options here and would like to pick someones brain to get it rightNo Tag

1. 
   dovetail97128 | Mar 06, 2008 05:49am | #22

   A local flat work concrete contractor so unless you want to pay for travel for him and his crew I don't think his name is going to help you . Colored concrete, stamped concrete are his thing. No power troweling at all on that slab. I paid steep , but other then 2 pretty minor problems I was quite satisfied. Temperatures were in the high 80's the day of the pour with a wicked hot wind blowing . Finnish is a commercial floor floor finish , needs redoing every few years. That I can get the name of the product for you if you want.
   They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.

1. 
   hubcap | Mar 06, 2008 06:07am | #25

   Oregon......................................................Ohio
   I bet I can find someone closer maybethanks for your inputNo Tag

1. 
   dovetail97128 | Mar 06, 2008 06:12am | #26

   ;-) yea that what I was thinking. Colored concrete and specialty concrete is big around here so it wasn't too hard for me to find my guy. Might check your local batch plants for leads.
   They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.

7. 
   shelternerd | Mar 06, 2008 05:07am | #19

   I did it for my own house about five years ago. Don't care much for the plastic legs but the drawers are metal boxes with integrated full extension slides and have been great and I can't knock the versatility or price. We don't have any wall cabs, just drawer bases all around and I found them to be easy to work with but a bit of a pain dealing with the remote company and mail order. Some 30" drawer bases I ordered came in as 36's and the return process was ludicrous. I don't beleive they ever did credit my credit card for the returns and I got tired of hassling them about it and just gave up (I was getting married at the time and got the CO a week before the wedding so some things just had to slide)

   The quality has been fine for my needs and has stood up well (except those silly legs, the toe kick gets knocked off by the vacuum cleaner and I think I've screwed them in permanently in all but two locations, throw away the legs and set them on site built toe-kick platforms.)

   I don't recommend them for my paying customers only out of fear about their incompetence messing with my schedule.

   ------------------

   "You cannot work hard enough to make up for a sloppy estimate."

1. 
   hubcap | Mar 06, 2008 05:30am | #20

   so are you saying the boxes are good enuff but build in extra time for the stuff they missor go another direction cause it will be less painful?Again the customers think these things are the cats meow...No Tag

1. 
   hubcap | Mar 06, 2008 05:33am | #21

   Sorry I am getting tired and maybe not making sense-
   ha - Buck will tell you I never make senseyour last line of your post prompted the question...No Tag

2. 
   shelternerd | Mar 06, 2008 08:32am | #27

   the boxes are good enuff but build in extra time for the stuff they missExactlyIf the customer likes it go for it but with a schedule disclaimer and order plenty early and open the boxes to confirm you got what you ordered when they arrive a few weeks before the install to give time to fix mistakes and shortages.------------------

   "You cannot work hard enough to make up for a sloppy estimate."

8. 
   JasonG | Mar 06, 2008 03:53pm | #28

   I put an Ikea Akurum kitchen (Stat Applad) in my house in March 2007. I love it! They were easy to assemble and install, I liked the leveling legs, the scan styling, the cabinets features, etc. The cabinets, counters (butcher block), sink cost about $4500. I hadn't considered Ikea initially, but when I realized the "look" I wanted could come from Ikea, I liked what I saw.

   It has held up very well and I like some of the features better than those available from the more traditional cabinet sources. It has also held up well to the abuse of my kids. It still looks new.

   I know a lot of people here hate the cabinets and consider them cheap. Even if the kitchen only lasts for 5 years, I can still replace it 2 more times before I approach the estimate for installing a traditional semi-custom kitchen ($15900). So, it was either replace the kitchen with my 2007 tax refund or get a 15 year mortgage for semi-custom. The choice was obvious for me.

   Furthermore, if I get sick of the color or wood choice, I can very simply replace the drawer fronts and doors for about $900.

   Also, I was able to do the job myself, according to my schedule. This was especially important a year ago when I couldn't find anyone who'd consider my "small" job. At the time, there was still a lot of bigger jobs to be had at the McMansion developments.

   Assembly is not difficult. Though I have worked in woodworking and have my own shop, it is not necessary. Some basic skills and tools are all that are needed (afterall, these were originally designed for apartment dwellers in Europe without an abundance of skill). I spent a day assembling the cabinet boxes, and then about 6 hours hanging and leveling them.

   Custom cabinetry has its place. But considering my budget and needs it did not have a place in my house. These are good basic cabinets at a reasonable price. If you kitchen footprint can accommodate the standard sizes and you simply want a functional kitchen, then they are a good choice. Obviously, if you want a scan-style kitchen, then Ikea would be a good starting point. If you don't like that style . . . you probably won't like the kitchens.

   Jason

1. 
   ravz | Mar 06, 2008 05:36pm | #31

   well put, all my scentiments, less typing for me :)

9. 
   BryanSayer | Mar 06, 2008 05:29pm | #29

   This is second hand, but one thing I have heard is to use glue and staples for securing the backs, rather than the nails Ikea supplies.

   Just passing on what I heard.

1. 
   JeffBuck | Mar 07, 2008 02:10am | #33

   good tip.

    

   that goes without saying for any and all Ikea stuff.

   Jeff    Buck Construction

    Artistry In Carpentry

        Pittsburgh Pa

10. 
    kate | Mar 06, 2008 05:35pm | #30

    I did - about 10 years ago - It went well.  I'm a DIY, not a gifted cabinetmaker, & it was pretty smooth, once I got used to the wordless instructions!

    Everything lined up perfectly, all the hardware was there, etc.  Kitchen is still there, still looks good -

11. 
    Kennonon | Mar 06, 2008 11:56pm | #32

    I put an Ikea kitchen in my house.

    It went in easy. 

    I have my own prejudices against particle board furniture, but for kitchen cabinets that won't move, it seems to me to be a near perfect match. Still I was a bit squeamish about the lightweight cabinet backs, but this has not been an issue at all.

    I love the high-gloss cabinet doors, & slow close drawers.

    I'm a fan.