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Old 03-12-2014, 08:23 AM
 
413 posts, read 595,724 times
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Anyone have any experience with replacing kitchen cabinets in a Levitt cape (slightly extended to 10x13) with Ikea cabinets? Respectfully not looking for debates on "Ikea cabs use MDF, not real wood, etc, etc" as I am familiar with the construction of the cabinets and benefits and drawbacks of many makes and models. The real consideration is price, style and more price (as they are having the annual 20% off sale). My concern is that the Levitt usually has terrible wall issues (not plumb, dried out sheet rock, warped studs, etc) so I fear us installing or Ikea installing will lead to unforeseen issues. In fairness any cabinet installer would have the same problems but the choice is a GC to do everything and then the costs zoom upward. Sorry for the long winded question. Does anyone in a Levitt or other older home have any experience with putting in Ikea cabinets they might share?
Thank you.
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Old 03-12-2014, 08:44 AM
 
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No direct experience with Ikea cabinets, but if you're concerned about what removing the current cabinets and installing new ones will do to the walls, what about just changing out the cabinet doors? My parents did this once in a home (mostly as a stop-gap for a few years until they could save the cash to gut-renovate the kitchen), and it was cost-effective and looked fine.
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Old 03-12-2014, 09:27 AM
 
413 posts, read 595,724 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by InfoSeeker52 View Post
No direct experience with Ikea cabinets, but if you're concerned about what removing the current cabinets and installing new ones will do to the walls, what about just changing out the cabinet doors? My parents did this once in a home (mostly as a stop-gap for a few years until they could save the cash to gut-renovate the kitchen), and it was cost-effective and looked fine.
Unfortunately the current cabs are old and warped, hanging dangerously under any stress and the base cabs are just horrible. Really old and warped and not great quality to begin with. Plan is to swap directly without moving any plumbing or electrical.
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Old 03-12-2014, 10:07 AM
 
Location: Where my bills arrive
18,975 posts, read 16,808,198 times
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If I remember correctly Ikea Cabinets "hang" off a wall mounted channel, you should be able to shim the channel to maintain a level/even run on the wall. As you mentioned regardless of brand these issues would be a concern.

I have done 3 kitchens all in older 40's-60's homes and just once I wish a wall was level. I told my wife next house you either love the kitchen or be better have the money to contract it out. I am not doing another kitchen..

Take your time it will turn out fine...
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Old 03-12-2014, 10:42 AM
 
413 posts, read 595,724 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VA Yankee View Post
If I remember correctly Ikea Cabinets "hang" off a wall mounted channel, you should be able to shim the channel to maintain a level/even run on the wall. As you mentioned regardless of brand these issues would be a concern.

I have done 3 kitchens all in older 40's-60's homes and just once I wish a wall was level. I told my wife next house you either love the kitchen or be better have the money to contract it out. I am not doing another kitchen..

Take your time it will turn out fine...

Great info. Thanks!
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Old 03-14-2014, 08:00 AM
 
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Will you be installing the cabinets yourself? I priced out Ikea cabinets, but once I factored installation costs into the price, it made more sense to go with another cabinet company. I think the real savings is when you are able to install at a low price. A couple of friends have put Ikea cabinets into their houses (one into a non-Levitt cape, but very similar layout) and it looks like and functions well for them.

Definitely use the online kitchen planner to price out your cabinetsm, factor in installation costs, and then compare against another cabinet store (even if it's only Consumers, ugh!).

And yes, you would have issues with walls, sheetrock, etc. no matter what cabinets you install. :-)
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Old 03-14-2014, 08:16 AM
 
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How much do you value your sanity?

I'm serious.

I had one wall in my kitchen that was sooooo bad, we had to knock it out, redrywall etc. before the wall cabinets could be hung.

House was built in 1950's by small LI builder.
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Old 03-14-2014, 08:41 AM
 
413 posts, read 595,724 times
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Originally Posted by ocngypz View Post
How much do you value your sanity?

I'm serious.

I had one wall in my kitchen that was sooooo bad, we had to knock it out, redrywall etc. before the wall cabinets could be hung.

House was built in 1950's by small LI builder.

Sanity? What's that? I am fairly sure I will have to (it will be best to) re-rock that wall. Not such a big deal. As for sanity though, have you tired getting prices from, meeting with, communicating with, getting expedient service with contractors these days?! They are the ones that keep driving me back towards the Ikea solution. So much less hassle. Also, while the cab costs are fairly equal, the 20% off promo from Ikea more or less pays for the Ikea installation. It's a conundrum but all in all, a luxury problem. This week, I'm just happy the heat is working.
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Old 03-14-2014, 06:16 PM
 
1,580 posts, read 1,975,793 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marigold69 View Post
Sanity? What's that? I am fairly sure I will have to (it will be best to) re-rock that wall. Not such a big deal. As for sanity though, have you tired getting prices from, meeting with, communicating with, getting expedient service with contractors these days?! They are the ones that keep driving me back towards the Ikea solution. So much less hassle. Also, while the cab costs are fairly equal, the 20% off promo from Ikea more or less pays for the Ikea installation. It's a conundrum but all in all, a luxury problem. This week, I'm just happy the heat is working.
We had a Levitt home in Stony Brook. We did the kitchen ourselves. We shimmed where needed, put in necessary trim, etc to cover spots. It turned out fine. I regret not running the heat in the walls at that time. We wound up having to re plumb entire kitchen 1 year later once pipe in floor broke. Why did he run the heat in the floors??? On a positive note, we had copper wiring. You'll be fine doing it yourself. The big issue is getting your cabinets from Ikea on time and in one piece. They're renowned for those problems. But once installed, they look great on a budget!
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