Ayone using Lowe's for a kitchen remodel?

Question

Hello,

I wanted to know whether you guys would work with Lowe's for a kitchen remodel or not.

The advantage is I can use my Lowe's card to pay for it and will have 24 months no interest, which is the only reason I am considering them.

I have already worked out the design of the kitchen cabinets with their sales person, but it seems a bit expensive for the quality and also I am not sure this design for the cabinets is what will work best to increase the value of this home (in preparation for future sale, possibly)

The cabinet's brand is the least expensive "essential" by Allen Roth and there will be some granite on the counters.

I have already worked with Lowe's on other things needed for the house and it seems that they are always messing something up. It can be small or big, but there is always some type of issue, so I am hesitant to jump on this big purchase with them.

Any insight on the "essential" Allen Roth line they sell and any experience or heard of someone else who had a horrible experience getting cabinets and granite from Lowe's?

(I could post pictures of the proposed design if you have time to suggest some anything that would help with the usability or value of the kitchen design proposed. I am no expert and I feel a little lost in this, not knowing what should work best for this situation)

Thanks a lot for reading this.

Pat L. · Answer

Lowes delivered the cabinets packed in boxes & my wife & I installed them. On most back to the stud installs I use OSB instead of drywall over studs. That allows me to fasten the cabinets anywhere without searching for studs & for attaching extra strengthening runs for granite counter tops. We have a small local granite company that do all our kitchens & we get great pricing. I regret not installing it on a couple of kitchens we did but they still commanded high rents after the rehabs.

I have a couple of guys that tear out the old bathrooms & kitchens to the studs for me. Most are beyond reclamation other than for a garage or barn. In fact the Lakehouse had a very small original kitchen (7x7) & the original 5 cabinets were old Amish Oak so we re-used them elsewhere.

Your layout is functional & reminds me of the one we did recently on a recent rehab (pics below). Granite was $1700 installed & the cabinets were the cheaper model from Faircrest ($3200). All had soft close but OSB rather than plywood sides. We used the same Faircrest cabinets in another rehab & that home sold in 3 days $16,000 over asking.

When I use granite I reinforce all the upper rim framing of the base cabinets to carry the extra weight & I especially strengthen the lazy Susan upper frame integrity as the granite can eventually weigh it down so much it can stop the door rotating.

Good luck...

Mark Benincase · Answer

I agree, be careful using the subcontractors that Lowes provides for the additional reason that Lowes gets a cut of every deal increasing the cost of a renovation. Lowes quoted me $27k for a kitchen for which they would provide all the materials and contractors, I found my own contractor and had it done for $19k, materials and labor.

Steve Stanley · Answer

Thank you for replying guys.

Evan, do you think that Christmas is a good time to lock in deals with Lowe's?

They quoted me 20% off on cabinets for their Allen Roth "Essential" line which is the most economical, but may be just what I need. No bells and whistles. Shaker style white.

Or is there a better time of year to get the deals you mention like 40%? I can definitely wait a bit if there is a history of better deals during certain times of the year with them on Kitchen cabinets.

I understand there may be better, cheaper, etc but the flexibility of financing this over 2 yrs at 0 apr is very appealing to me for a big expense like this at this moment.

Thanks again

Carl C. · Answer

If you are thinking about using Lowes for the install, I'd think twice. It's one thing to use them for materials but large box stores contract out any work they do to subs and you'll have a hell of a time dealing with them if you ever have a problem. In my experience, it never works out well.

Evan Polaski · Answer

@Steve Stanley it has been a while, but I have used them in the past. Last time was before my wife and I started flipping, so around 2014. I have ordered 3 kitchens from them in the past. I believe all were the diamond line. Overwhelmingly, they were fine. Cabinet quality was good. The last kitchen had a few issues with wrong products, a couple damaged cabinets, etc. But first two were great.

We were fortunate enough to be able to wait for deals, where cabinets are 40% off, or something of the like. Since then we have found less expensive local distributor options for our flips and rentals. I will mention the quality, particularly the finish, does not appear to be quite as robust as Diamond through Lowes, but has held up well.

I will mention that you can typically find better pricing on counters outside of Lowes. Again, we use local suppliers now, often with no real showroom, but those came from other flippers in our network. If you are going laminate, Lowes has some great options, but solid surface stone/corian/quartz can typically be found cheaper from local shops.

Steve Stanley · Answer

@Pat L.

That looks nice!

So you had no issues with Lowe's completing your cabinets etc.

I would be also buying either granite or marble depending on the final budget.

Need to figure out if I want to pay them to remove everything or have them remove and just leave the cabinets in my garage so I can sell them.

Would their granite be good too? They say it is sealed for life?

I am sure the wife knows what works for the kitchen with regards to layouts etc. I am struggling a little, but this is what they have designed so far. It is not a big kitchen, but this seems to be a good layout. Thoughts. ?

Thanks for replying!!

Pat L. · Answer

Done quite a few with Lowes, my wife handles the design & deals with the 'associates' that I have no time for. One literally sent my wife an email apologizing for being a 'b_tch that day'. I just make it fit & most of the time I pick up damaged cabinets very cheap & then buy the odd extras to finish it. Below are pics of white Caspian we completed for $981 in cabinets (wife keeps the books so its dead on). They are soft close & good quality. Basic cheap rental formica counter top but we now get $975 for that unit, before the rehab it rented for $675. I put the fridge in the old broom closet.

We also went with Lowes on our Lakehouse kitchen (Diamond brand) to get a specific color. By chance I had already picked up an $1100 Special Order Return base cabinet, that was the exact color for $250 so it was easy. Cabinet cost was about $5k+ but we built the island & we installed everything ourselves except the leathered marble counter tops. The best thing about the Lakehouse was NO upper cabinets just windows.

We also do our own back splashes.

Lakehouse kitchen ...

Here is that $1100 blind corner base cabinet showing the pull out shelving...

Alecia Loveless · Answer

@Steve Stanley Hi. I’m curious too as I have a somewhat complicated counter situation that my contractor can’t handle and I was considering Lowe’s too. It’s about 16’ long and has two tiers and back splashes in one area and then is pretty standard in the others but will likely require custom cuts.

Sorry I can’t respond to your specific question but hope to hear responses from BP members with advice.

Thanks!

Sorry I can’t respond to your specific question but hope to hear responses from BP members with advice.

Thanks!

Ayone using Lowe's for a kitchen remodel?

Ayone using Lowe's for a kitchen remodel?

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