Are IKEA Cabinets That Bad?
Not always but they aren’t really that cheap either.
IKEA cabinets are a value for some people in some homes but count on them being disposable cabinets. Fine for flipping a house but not something you are going to live with for decades. They do have a 25 year warranty but you can count on any breakage to be on you as let’s face it, manufacturing defects are apparent when you buy the cabinets, they are not going to suddenly appear in five years and IKEA isn’t going to be replacing that broken drawer.
This video tells a tale similar to our experiences with IKEA. They are big heavy boxes that you are expected to load yourself and you have two days to report any breakage or missing parts. So you better plan on unboxing immediately and assembling and hope you can figure out what parts go where and that they fit your kitchen. They do not have a call center, calls are routed to the nearest store where a floor salesman might be able to help.
IKEA Cabinets
- the instructions are not specific to each cabinet
- instead you get general instructions for each type of part
- there will be hundreds of parts and hardware to assemble
- little customer support once you leave the store
- Particle board and sheet metal stamped rails
- nice drawers though!
- The melamine exteriors do age and darken with time
- There are no IKEA stores near OKC or in Oklahoma
- Ikea cabinets will be more expensive in many cases
You are going to have to have some skills and patience and learn how to assemble the cabinets. Plan on watching some videos before even trying.
The holes might not always line up properly so be ready to drill a few holes when needed. You will need to trim end panels to fit and chop the trim to length. The crown molding is a nightmare to install and cannot be up tight against the ceiling, room must be left to get your hand and screwdriver on top to secure the crown molding. The toe kicks will need trimmed to width as well so a table saw is needed.
The bottom line for the average homeowner is that they are going to need some professional help to assemble and install and unless you can find someone that specializes in installing IKEA cabinets be careful, you do not want them learning on your kitchen. If you use their professional installers check their reviews before hiring them. If you are looking for an OKC cabinetmaker and need a budget priced solution to your needs we can help with our Okie cabinets. Return to Okie’s Main Page