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I have never remodeled a kitchen before. I Just sat down today with a kitchen designer who is an authorized dealer for Kraftmaid. Should be getting an estimate this friday. Then I just started reading horror stories about kraftmaids quality going down online! Does anyone have kraftmaid cabinets? Any problems with quality? If not Kraftmaid what other companies should I look into?
Kitchen size 10 x 13
budget $7000 to $8500
NYC/Northen NJ
I have never remodeled a kitchen before. I Just sat down today with a kitchen designer who is an authorized dealer for Kraftmaid. Should be getting an estimate this friday. Then I just started reading horror stories about kraftmaids quality going down online! Does anyone have kraftmaid cabinets? Any problems with quality? If not Kraftmaid what other companies should I look into?
Kitchen size 10 x 13
budget $7000 to $8500
NYC/Northen NJ
I know Kraftmaid very intimately. It's part of the Masco cabinet group. Masco is the largest home improvement product manufacturer on earth. They own 90% of the world market in faucets. Merillat Cabinets which is my baby and part of this group is the oldest and largest cabinet company on earth.
I carry all the Masco brands and despite your suspicion that I speak with a biased tongue, I am not. Nothing about Kraftmaid is going down hill. The finish is almost 2nd to none. I only know 2 cabinet lines with a better finish. One is Woodmode and the other Merillat Masterpiece. And guess who makes Masterpiece? Yes Kraftmaid. And Woodmode is out of most everyones budget.
Since most Kraftmaid dealers are Home Junkpo I'm suspicious you may have been had by one of those Cabinet Salespeople. Yes that is all they are for both big box stores, just Cabinet Salespeople. They ARE NOT Kitchen Designers. None of them. They were Cashiers or floor people who were promoted to Special Sales, then given a 3 day class on how to design for profit, not maximum function and use of space. You the consumer watch your kitchen come alive on the PC and have no idea what you are missing out on....because they do not know about them to tell you.
Not to mention that the big orange who only wants your little green are rip offs charging full list price or MSRP. That is thievery. Let the uneducated consumer be damned is their theory.
Kraftmaid is quite pricey. Getting a kitchen your size for $7000 in Kraftmaid is a toughy. Why not go with another brand like Merillat or Quality. You will get more for your money. Sure Kraftmaid has 300 door selections and colors and Merillat only have 70 but but much less money. Why put all your money into the name. Rather put it into functional options like pull out trays, pull out trash bins, soft close drawers.......these items will make your life easier. Now that is money well spent.
Don't worry about quality built so much. Don't get carried away on that road. Any cabinet (except China made) is just a wooden box. Same damn wooden box. All the money is in the face frame, door and drawer face. In fact 80% of a cabinet cost, any cabinet is all in the face. The 20% balance includes the entire box carcass, sides, bottom, shelves, back. Some like to brag they make their boxes from 3/4" thick material. I say what are you holding up a 3 story house or a slab of granite? What a waste of material and the consumers money.
Kraftmaid has 33 price levels and each one of them have over 100 options and upgrades. Unless you fell in love with a specific color or door style I recommend looking around at other brands. In the end you will get the lifetime warranty on Kraftmaid which is awesome but I feel most of us don't live in any home during our lives long enough to need this. All the other cabinet manufacturers who offer 25 year warranties are just as great.
Thank you so much for your input! I have read your other posts and you are very generous with your time and expertise!!
I actually went to a private kitchen design not HD or Lows. I did not want to deal with big box stores.
I am definitely going to look at Merillat. In your experience did you get any cabs from kraftmaid delivered with damage on them? I dont understand how so many people get kraftmaid and complain about the quality control(bad staining, poor assembly etc..) But then again the people complaining ordered the cabs from HD or Lowes. Does kraftmaid make a different line for the big box vs smaller independent shops?
Also how much would a basic Merillat kitchen cabinet cost (my kitchen is 10 x 13) so I can have an idea to price compare.
They ARE NOT Kitchen Designers. None of them. They were Cashiers or floor people who were promoted to Special Sales, then given a 3 day class on how to design for profit, not maximum function and use of space. You the consumer watch your kitchen come alive on the PC and have no idea what you are missing out on....because they do not know about them to tell you.
Desertsun I have to disagree. I know a kitchen designer that lost a job in a small showroom due the the downturn in the economy. So I personally know at least one kitchen designer that works for Home Depot and I'm sure there are more.
I really see no point in trash taking Home Depot or any other company for the mater. Just let your products and design stand on there own.
Installing Kraftmaid (from HD) as I speak. The contractors and I are very happy with the quality so far. My Kitchen is 10 x 13 with a penninsula. We ended up upgrading to all-plywood and upgraded pull-outs, upgraded lazy susan. We paid $9100 including tax and delivery. It would have been in the low $7000's without those upgrades (plywood ends instead of boxes, pull-outs with cheaper glides and stapled, plastic lazy susan).
I went to a private designer who sold KM and she could not come close to HD's price in Jan. with some extra discounts they were offering.
So this is what we got:
Base
24 in angle
12 in cookie-sheet cabinet
36 in base with pull-outs
36 in sink
15 in trash
18 in 4 drawer
36 in lazy susan corner
36 x 12 bookshelf
36 x 93 in pantry with pullouts
Wall
18 x 93 shelves
12 x 93 shelves
30 x 24 (over stove for OTR micro)
24 x 93 corner angle
30 x 93 shelves
panel for fridge side
36 x 24 deep over fridge
To add: One of the reasons I ended up going with Kraftmaid was color...I looked at several other brands and the colors were too limited. My KD was very savvy from HD. I had my contractor come along for the actual ordering to make sure we got all the little things, but she had it under control. He ended up ordering a can of stain so he could make a few custom things - which was a great idea.
We have Kraftmade cabinets and I think they are of excellent quality. They are only a year & a half old.
Thanks KellyCrash,
I think kraftmade is the way I think I'll go. Though I might also check out Merillat to see how they look.
I've been doing research and almost every brand has a few bad cabinets out there.
Did you go big box or independent for your cabs? Any suggested add ons I should consider? I am thinking partial overlay cause it is a little cheaper, should I go full overlay?
Check out an Aristokraft dealer in your area. They have a line called Wolf. The colors/glazes are limited but IF you happen to love one they have..it's an amazing deal. They are all wood construction with dovetail drawers and self/soft closing hinges..standard..not an upgrade. I went with the maple heritage with cocoa glazing. It's a full overlay. I also added a lazy susan and several pullouts. All for $5k. I had a couple of quality control issues but they were handled quickly. I will try to find our camera (just moved in and haven't unpacked everything) and post a pic. Quality is not quite as good as KM but still great at half the price.
Installing Kraftmaid (from HD) as I speak. The contractors and I are very happy with the quality so far. My Kitchen is 10 x 13 with a penninsula. We ended up upgrading to all-plywood and upgraded pull-outs, upgraded lazy susan. We paid $9100 including tax and delivery. It would have been in the low $7000's without those upgrades (plywood ends instead of boxes, pull-outs with cheaper glides and stapled, plastic lazy susan).
I went to a private designer who sold KM and she could not come close to HD's price in Jan. with some extra discounts they were offering.
So this is what we got:
Base
24 in angle
12 in cookie-sheet cabinet
36 in base with pull-outs
36 in sink
15 in trash
18 in 4 drawer
36 in lazy susan corner
36 x 12 bookshelf
36 x 93 in pantry with pullouts
Wall
18 x 93 shelves
12 x 93 shelves
30 x 24 (over stove for OTR micro)
24 x 93 corner angle
30 x 93 shelves
panel for fridge side
36 x 24 deep over fridge
finish panels, scribe, moulding
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Suzeo99,
You have the same dimensions as my kitchen with the pennisula!! At least now I can somewhat have an idea of how much it would cost.
Wow I cant believe HD came in lower priced than independent! I thought HD list full MSRP. and independents gives discounts.
Would love to see pics when you are finished!
How long did it take to get your cabs? My kd said lead time is about 4 weeks to max 6 weeks. Is this standard? Also my KD is not charging for her designing expertise will she add to the cost of the cabs to compensate?(I 'm thinking yes) I am not changing the layout of my kitchen at all.
Thanks!
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