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August 2, 2009

Kitchen Renovation Work Question

I am trying to update my (circa 70s) kitchen to help with potential resale value. Due to odd cabinet sizes, it appears that I am going to have to have custom work done--can't buy the sizes I need from stock :( Also looking to replace the counters with granite or man-made quartz surface.

I have three places from Service Magic and am going to have the usual suspects (Sears, HD, Lowes) give me estimates. Anyone have any advice/warnings/recommendations?

Also, to save money, I want to do a stainless back-splash myself. I saw a reference to go to the Bowery for that, but no one mentioned any specific places--do I just go door-to-door there or can someone recommend a place that can provide specific cut-size with holes for outlets, too?

Thanks!

Posted by MattNYC at 12:42 AM | Comments (8)
Categories: Renovation

Comments

I had a terrible experience with Lowe's in Brooklyn two years ago. While the cabinet order went as expected, they lost the order for the matching trims and molding TWICE, delaying the completion of our final kitchen by several months. (And sent us parts of someone elses's kitchen cabinets by mistake) Their installers were not the most skilled, but eventually the job did get done at the price I expected.

I also had a terrible experience with a fancy Long Island custom kitchen & tub works company who sent goons to install our stone countertop. They did not template the actual size, so they used a stone grinder inside the place (occupied at the time) to trim it down to fit and covered EVERYTHING with stonedust. When I complained to the owner about the mess they had made, the crew called me a whore. it gets better. They also mis-cut the length, and glued a 4" piece of countertop on to the end and tried to tell me the joint line was "natural veining" in the stone.

My best kitchen experience so far has been with IKEA cabinets (ordered on-line, and confirmed by phone with helpful IKEA reps) and installed by a good handyman + plumber for final hook-up. Our handyman made filler pieces out of baseboard material to close the gaps between the standard cab size and the wall.

Good luck with your reno!

Posted by: vicki_vale at August 2, 2009 6:45 PM

I got my new custom cabinets from Scherr's and I love them. Great quality, easy to assemble and very affordable - even my contractor was impressed

scherrs.com

Good luck

Posted by: cobblehillcat at August 2, 2009 10:15 PM

There are several shops along the bowery by Prince, Spring, and Kenmare that fabricate stainless products for restaurants. Try going there door-to-door as you have suggested.

Steve
www.thetinkerswagon.com

Posted by: thetinkerswagon at August 2, 2009 11:09 PM


Definitely get the cabinets at Ikea. For the same money, they'll look much better than those other places.

A decent carpenter can fabricate Ikea cabinet sizes that aren't in stock by using the matching boards they sell. Or, if your kitchen has a strange angle, the back of the cabinet can be cut to fit. I'd use a style with a flat "no design" door, since re-sizing doors is tricky (we've done it successfully though).

Then again, if you really need a lot of custom cabinets, get prices from some of those Chinese cabinet places in Brooklyn. They're just as cheap as Home Depot, but much faster and easier to work with.

Posted by: IronBalls at August 3, 2009 8:40 AM



If you are looking for work to be done in your home or property, We can work with you on whatever you would like repaired , built or fixed. just give me a call Steven 646-996-9627 , here is a link to some of our work.

http://s1002.photobucket.com/albums/af146/steven2667/

Have a great day.

Posted by: steven2667 at August 3, 2009 9:38 AM

I have heard lots of good things about Scherrs as well. I plan to use them. I haven't had any direct experience with them - I have only ordered some door samples, and they were very nice about that. More info on scherrs can be found by searching gardenweb.com

For the stainless steel, Martha Stewart recommends a place in Chinatown called General Sheet Metal Works in this article:

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/15-years-of-the-best-decorating-and-home-sources

Posted by: Frudo at August 3, 2009 9:43 AM

I had a great experience with Marty from 5 Star Kitchens. Although they're in Long Island, Marty comes to your place to measure and brings cabinet samples. He then follows up with a 3D rendering. I found their prices better than HD or Lowe's; I had ruled out Ikea because adding the cost of assembly to the installation (as well as the frustration factor) didn't offer any savings to me. And Marty had a lot of good ideas on maximizing the storage within the space.

I went with Medallion cabinets, with solid cherry doors and I'm really happy. (I did get the handles from Ikea though. Order online to ensure they have the quantity you need.)

Marty: 516-872-2700/917-498-2305
http://fivestarkitchens.com

Posted by: BKRed at August 3, 2009 10:27 AM

Am I the only one who thinks granite and quartz countertops look totally dated? It's the first thing I would rip out of a kitchen.

Posted by: Deda at August 3, 2009 10:42 AM

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