Involved In Real Estate · Channahon, IL · Member since 2014 · 9 posts · 1 vote
Hi Everyone!
So I finally took the plunge & bought a flip-in (a property to flip that I also live in while doing it). I have been doing good and tackled several smaller projects myself (paint, flooring, fixture replacement, etc.) However I am now at point where I have to take on the big one, a complete kitchen remodel. I know that is crazy for my first flip but I actually bend kitchens for years so I am comfortable with that. My concern is budget (my is significantly lower than most of my clients were). I am thinking about Ikea cabinets. I like the functionality of them but am concerned about wear & tear. Any one have some input on that? Thanks for the help in advance :-)
Rental Property Investor · Cedar Park, TX · Member since 2014 · 414 posts · 272 votes
11y
Whatever you choose, I recommend installing self-stick vinyl floor tile in the base of the cabinet under the sink. Then you have a water-resistant surface that will not swell up and look damaged when people put cleaners there or have the inevitable drain leaks.
Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2017 · 5 posts · 1 vote
9y
When I was about 18 my mother decided to reno our kitchen in the house we grew up in and used an IKEA kitchen during their %20 off sale. Ten years later with three boys boys growing up in the house (lots of wear and tear) my mother and father those cabinets are still holding up great. Never one issue. They were not installed by us they were installed by a professional contractor.
Rental Property Investor · Jersey City, NJ · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 876 votes
9y
There's so many nice all wood cabinets there's no need to put in particle crap that will disintegrate. My most recent kitchen was Fabuwood, a very high quality knockdown import. This cabinet is better quality construction than the Kraftmaid I've installed, and much cheaper.
KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF of IKEA kitchens!!! 1.5 years construction site, 10 vacation days wasted, 4 assembly appointments, 2 planning appointments, 2 surveying appointments, broken electrical appliances, countless emails and telephone calls ... Kitchen still not free of defects, zero service, zero compensation, just trouble !!!
I'm moving out of my apartment after just two years - IKEA (https://www.ikea.com/de/de/store/muenchen_eching/) still has not managed to finish the kitchen. I've lived here until the very end in a kitchen construction site with broken, blended worktops, falling out stove, gaps in the cabinets, broken electrical appliances and leaking sinks! In addition, I remain with € 300 uncompensated TV repair costs, because during assembly of the defective stove AND defective oven about 5x the fuse popped out, whereupon the TV mainboard was fried.
I was always promised compensation during the 1.5 years until I actually wanted to claim it. For example, the clerk Ms. Sandra H. (customer service IKEA Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Eching) offered the option to withdraw from the purchase contract in an email pledged for defect removal costs of € 1,400, i.e. 38% of the purchase price (‘Of course you are also free to withdraw from the complete purchase contract." Email of Sandra H. from 19.09.18). When I wanted to take this a week later, the resignation was again denied ("This is smaller (legally ‘minor’) deviation from the agreed condition, which is why your client has no right of withdrawal and regarding a purchase price reduction , we consider here a reduction of 5% of the purchase price of the kitchen for appropriate.’ Email of Sandra H. from 27.09.18). The € 1,400 costs estimated by IKEA itself for defect removal are suddenly ‘legally minor’?!?! This customer-devaluing attrition strategy from IKEA customer service is absolutely inappropriate! In the meantime I have given up even with a lawyer involved, because I have to hand over the apartment to the new tenant - I have refused the offered 91 € impairment and remain on my kitchen defects and repair costs. I did not mention many annoying details in this summary. Should anyone still want to buy an IKEA kitchen at IKEA, here is my review of the appointment / assembly process, which she/he should plan with:
11.05.2017 1.surveying appointment at home: normal
15.05.2017 1.planing apptmt at IKEA: normal
12.06.2017 1.installation apptmt at home: Planning error (measures copied incorrectly), broken kitchen appliances, broken TV, cabinet gaps, no worktop
13.06.2017 2.planing apptmt at IKEA: complete replaning due to 40cm length planing error
Rental Property Investor · Port Washington, WI · Member since 2016 · 46 posts · 63 votes
7y
Menard's has a similar line to Ikea. The box is somewhat basic, and then you can customize the door style and color. They were very sturdy to me. I only used a corner cabinet with a laminate countertop. But i stood on it, and it held up (i am not light any more). If i had to do a whole kitchen, i would definitely look at this option. Price, availability, options, sturdiness, etc check all the boxes.
Rental Property Investor · Chappaqua, NY · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 947 votes
7y
@Dannielle Hoffman what did you end up using?
I always get a kick out of reading the folks that HATE Ikea. IMO they haven’t done many Ikea kitchens. IKEA Kitchens are fine. They work well. They last. RTA are good too. I’ve done both and I have Ikea kitchens with granite approaching ten years.
No problem still look good.
Makes me wonder if there are two Ikea stores.
The one some of us goto and the one they save for the crazies
Flipper/Rehabber · Yardley, PA · Member since 2015 · 451 posts · 307 votes
7y
@John Hickey - I did IKEA kitchens in (3) rental properties. No issues with all of them but also I glued and screwed the cabinets together to make them extra strong (wood glue/construction adhesive + trim head cabinet screws in key areas).
Recently I've been using RTA cabinets because I found a place closer to me that has a very competitive price and for a few hundred more, cabinets are fully assembled ready to go, delivered inside to the kitchen build site; thus I've been using my RTA cabinet person more.
Architect · Louisville, KY · Member since 2014 · 94 posts · 47 votes
7y
We installed Ikea cabinets in our carriage house, which will be a rental when we move out of it. I love them. The toe kick is cheap, but I find everything else to be sturdy and well-made. Much nicer than the cheapo preassembled Home Depot type cabinets. We even got the least expensive flat panel doors (like $4 a door), and between my husband, myself, our dog and two daughters, they are holding up great. I plan to use them in our main house as well, but upgrading to Semi Handmade doors. You can get a really high end look with those doors. Probably not appropriate for flips and rentals though because they add up fast. We had custom cabinets made in our last home and I like the quality of the Ikea cabinets better.
Real Estate Investor · Williamson County, TX · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 961 votes
7y
@Dannielle Hoffman My 43 year old custom kitchen cabinets are particle board with solid stiles and plywood ends. I put together some ikea bedroom furniture and was impressed with the tight tolerances. I did use glue, gorilla glue because the drawer bottoms were melamine type material. The furniture was very thin pine but it held up fine for the short time we used it. Supposedly jd powers ranks ikea #1 in kitchen cabinets.
Real Estate Agent · Cupertino, CA · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
At most for apartments. In our area you get granite, new maple cabinets, kitchen, disposal etc for $7500 w/o an appliances. It can go over $150K per large kitchen as the huge slab(e.g. quartz) speaks for the flip.
Rental Property Investor · Chappaqua, NY · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 947 votes
7y
@Mike B. I do the same sometimes...if it’s a full gut Reno I use Ikea.
But if it’s juts a lipstick flip I use the RTA place. It’s about half a mile from all my rentals.
Debary, FL · Member since 2017 · 110 posts · 113 votes
7y
Tip 1: if replacing lower cabinets never use particle board. It is an unacceptable material in areas where it could be in contact with water. My particle board/formica computer desk has swollen and cracked where I lay my arms because it's that good at absorbing moisture to destroy itself.
Tip 2: if replacing lower cabinets and flooring do the flooring first and go wall-to-wall. Why? When the inevitable happens and you have a sink or dishwasher leak (you won't have a fridge leak because you should never connect water to a fridge. EVER) guess what happens in your kitchen where you saved $75 by not tiling under the cabinets? The happy water molecules seek out the lowest point and find that you have created a little 1/4" deep swimming pool for them to live in, and sitting in that little pool are your particle board cabinets ready to soak up those happy water molecules so that they can destroy themselves. So now that $75 in savings results in water-soaked rotting deformed cabinets. Had you tiled the floor completely not only wouldn't your cabinets be sitting in a pool of water but that water would have flowed into the main floor and the residents would see it and say "oh I have a water leak!"