Lowes GC Services
same topic of kitchen reno – has anyone used Lowes (in bklyn) to do the entire kitchen (cabinets, tiling, plumbing, electrical, minor wall work, etc.)? in the process of doing research for a new kitchen, i dropped by there today and had an interesting convo with the rep. i’m starting to lean toward kraftmaid cabinets…
same topic of kitchen reno – has anyone used Lowes (in bklyn) to do the entire kitchen (cabinets, tiling, plumbing, electrical, minor wall work, etc.)?
in the process of doing research for a new kitchen, i dropped by there today and had an interesting convo with the rep. i’m starting to lean toward kraftmaid cabinets over ikea.
But don’t hire Lowe’s to do it even if you buy your cabinets there. Google all the lawsuits and nightmare stories around the country about these big stores doing kitchen installations.
Think about what you’re paying the contractor and if you want to pay that fee again in 5-10 years or 25 years. If people can do the cabinet installation themselves and aren’t moving electric or plumbing they may as well get Ikea if they’re on a tight budget and see the kitchen as a temp one until they install the dream kitchen someday. But if you have to hire somebody to do the installation, it’s so expensive in NYC to hire a contractor to install a kitchen I would never install cabinets that won’t hold up well for at least 20 years.
Kraftmaid is significantly more expensive than Ikea cabinets, is it not? I’m going to be shopping for cabinets soon so it might be another case of you get what you pay for? If they are the same price, its pretty much a no brainer, no?
I posted previously on this. We installed an IKEA kitchen recently, and the products were very flimsy. We’ve also installed Kraftmaid, and the cabinets were very sturdy and came ready to install.
As someone with a custom millwork background, who had never installed cabinets made by anyone other than myself, I was actually surprised by the good sturdy quality of the Kraftmaid cabinets.
IKEA provides a metal rail to hang uppers off of, but the backs of the cabinets are 1/8″ cardboard meets pressboard. Kraftmaid cabinets include solid wood nailing strips, a standard in custom millwork – very sturdy. IKEA legs are pop in plastic, and even the instructions show the legs failing if you tip them over too hard, whereas Kraftmaid has full toekicks, a standard in custom millwork. They come glued, screwed and stapled, ready to install.
Also, IKEA is now selling countertops that are not appropriate for kitchens such as solid oak (good for flooring, not good for food particles – buyer beware). Very heavy countertops went onto the Kraftmaid cabinets, and I was never worried that the cabinets would become crippled by weight or wear and tear.
I know there was a lot of fanfare for IKEA previously, but I infer that came from homeowners looking for a deal. I’m not sure of the price difference, but over time your better investment is a better product. And as I mentioned previously, the labor cost of putting together IKEA cabinets shifts to the better materials.
http://www.masterbuildernyc.com
I used Kraftmaid at Lowes and have been happy with the product. Very sturdy, with lots of options. They are running all kinds of deals and upgrades at Lowes. Look for the 0% financing for 12 months (or ask the manager). I found the kitchen designers on 9th street helpful,friendly and super patient, with no upsell pressure. See Acima or Rafael.
The final delivered order had 1 or 2 small missing things, but Lowes corrected them.
Note: I ordered an expensive custom pantry from Lowes (Kraftmaid), that was too big to fit through my front door. Lowes took back the custom pantry and gave a full refund without any penalty or restock fee. Thats good service! I can send pic if you list your email.
Go with the Kraftmaid cabinets. Real quality product.
Steve