IKEA Kitchens

cianr

Hi All,

Just a quick query - a search on boards about IKEA gives the impression that its fairly decent quality, is that fair to say? Looking at getting a whole kitchen (and maybe some other furniture around the house - bookshelves etc.) from IKEA. Money is a consideration at the moment. I would be looking for something of good value and decent quality - doesn't have to last an eternity.

Anyone any experience of IKEA? Particurlarly those who might have longer term experience with it. Any other comments?

Many thanks!

happydayz8

I've no kitchen experience but I bough a lot of furniture in IKEA and am very happy. Even boght the wrong thing once and the customer service was excellent. I would happily buy my kitchen in IKEA.

Trotter

Just spent a couple of hours in their kitchen department and they really do know their stuff. The only nasty surprise I got was that when I totalled up the cost of the kitchen, €3k ish, the installation cost was another 2-3k.

annieoburns

does that include plumbing in sink/d washer and electrics to cooking stuff?

guideanna

i agree their installation prices are crazy.
I got an IKEA kitchen bout 2 months ago for my apartment and made up all the units myself then got a friend who's pretty diy friendly to do the sink hob and mount the units to the walls. He charged me €350, ikea wanted over €1000 for fitting!!!
I'd recommend the units but look after the fitting yourself, get a quote from a handyman or kitchen fitter!!

casio4

my friend bought a kitchen last week and the only problem is they charge about €2,000 to install it and if you decide to install it yourself, you have to go into the shop and wait around for about 4 hours while they get all your kitchen presses etc., and scan them while you check everything is there.

cianr

That's great guys, many thanks for the feedback. I'm planning to make up the cabinets myself and get someone to install them for me. Are they difficult to make up for someone that has limited (read none) experience in DIY?

guideanna

Eh sorry casio4 but Ikea had my kitchen picked and ready at the till for me in 1hour from when the kitchen assistant processed the order for me!! I went up mid week evening time and designed, purchased and carried the whole thing home. They were out of stock on one unit so i had to go back the next week for that but there was nothing missing off my order and i didn't check it off till i got home. They only charge you for whats scanned in and i was standing there as he was scanning the stuff! Maybe i was lucky they didn't forget to pick anything in the warehouse but i had everything right down to the hinges and door handles spot on!

OP the units aren't difficult at all. Time consuming but not difficult. I was a complete novice, borrowed a drill off a friend (tho didn't actually really use it in the end coz screwdriver was easier for me).

Here's my top tips!

1. Make sure you have a van if your bringing the kitchen home yourself, I only have a 2x2 kitchen and i had 3 big trolley loads. Lucky i had a commercial jeep with me it NEVER would have all fitted in my car.

2. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS!!! It might seem very basic but after one or two cabinets you'll fly thru them!

3. When you get home make up little piles for each cabinet. You will get a list from them of what packs go to make what unit. This took me bout an hour to do but at least then i had cabinets 1-10 numbered and grouped off!

4. Be prepared to spend a lot of time opening packaging! There is some amount of packaging because for each press you'll have the unit in one box, then the door, then a big of hinges, then any side panels etc. If you had a helper who could be opening up the bits and then tidying up after you it would help.

5.Be patient. You might feel like your getting no where but i got a really fantastic kitchen for under 1000 so just keep thinking of the money your saving doing it yourself and how proud you'll be when it's done!!

casio4

guideanna wrote: »

Eh sorry casio4 but Ikea had my kitchen picked and ready at the till for me in 1hour from when the kitchen assistant processed the order for me!! I went up mid week evening time and designed, purchased and carried the whole thing home. They were out of stock on one unit so i had to go back the next week for that but there was nothing missing off my order and i didn't check it off till i got home. They only charge you for whats scanned in and i was standing there as he was scanning the stuff! Maybe i was lucky they didn't forget to pick anything in the warehouse but i had everything right down to the hinges and door handles spot on!

OP the units aren't difficult at all. Time consuming but not difficult. I was a complete novice, borrowed a drill off a friend (tho didn't actually really use it in the end coz screwdriver was easier for me).

Here's my top tips!

1. Make sure you have a van if your bringing the kitchen home yourself, I only have a 2x2 kitchen and i had 3 big trolley loads. Lucky i had a commercial jeep with me it NEVER would have all fitted in my car.

2. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS!!! It might seem very basic but after one or two cabinets you'll fly thru them!

3. When you get home make up little piles for each cabinet. You will get a list from them of what packs go to make what unit. This took me bout an hour to do but at least then i had cabinets 1-10 numbered and grouped off!

4. Be prepared to spend a lot of time opening packaging! There is some amount of packaging because for each press you'll have the unit in one box, then the door, then a big of hinges, then any side panels etc. If you had a helper who could be opening up the bits and then tidying up after you it would help.

5.Be patient. You might feel like your getting no where but i got a really fantastic kitchen for under 1000 so just keep thinking of the money your saving doing it yourself and how proud you'll be when it's done!!

sounds good there must have been some problem with my friends order, she didn't say there was but she was fairly annoyed at the 4 hour wait, however the kichen is fitted now and she couldn't be happier

Buford T Justice

I priced a kitchen in IKEA, and ended up buying a kitchen in Homebase instead.

Few reasons for this:

1) Homebase had designers who built and designed the kitchen for me. Staff knew exactly what they were doing at every step. The kitchen ranges they had were a bit nicer aesthetically than the IKEA ones, but thats a matter of personal taste. The software that IKEA have works, but is a bit basic in its abilites. Homebase was far more sophisticated

2) Free Home Delivery. On time, excellent, no damage and there was no work involved from me. I'm from Sligo, and its a day's work to get a van and drive to dublin / belfast to order buy and collect a kitchen from IKEA. That plus, you cannot reserve stock in IKEA unless you buy it online. The caveat to online, is that its home delivery only. Its a risk if you go up on any given day to buy your kitchen and they are out of stock of a particular item you will have to go back. Their stock checker is good, but is still only a guide.

3) Problems / changes to kitchen. Homebase is only up the road, and they had the little bits I needed, without having to trek back to Dublin again. Plus, their kitchen came with everything you could have possibly needed to fit the kitchen including joint glue and biscuits for the worktop.

Just my thoughts.

casio4

Fingers McGee wrote: »

I priced a kitchen in IKEA, and ended up buying a kitchen in Homebase instead.

Few reasons for this:

1) Homebase had designers who built and designed the kitchen for me. Staff knew exactly what they were doing at every step. The kitchen ranges they had were a bit nicer aesthetically than the IKEA ones, but thats a matter of personal taste. The software that IKEA have works, but is a bit basic in its abilites. Homebase was far more sophisticated

2) Free Home Delivery. On time, excellent, no damage and there was no work involved from me. I'm from Sligo, and its a day's work to get a van and drive to dublin / belfast to order buy and collect a kitchen from IKEA. That plus, you cannot reserve stock in IKEA unless you buy it online. The caveat to online, is that its home delivery only. Its a risk if you go up on any given day to buy your kitchen and they are out of stock of a particular item you will have to go back. Their stock checker is good, but is still only a guide.

3) Problems / changes to kitchen. Homebase is only up the road, and they had the little bits I needed, without having to trek back to Dublin again. Plus, their kitchen came with everything you could have possibly needed to fit the kitchen including joint glue and biscuits for the worktop.

Just my thoughts.

how much do Homebase charge to fit the kitchen?

Buford T Justice

casio4 wrote: »

how much do Homebase charge to fit the kitchen?

I didn't ask to be honest, I fitted my own kitchen. It'll only take about 15 minutes for them to do a design if you have your measurements, and they'll give you a price for fitting it too.

casio4

ok thanks:)

fraggle rocker

Sorry wrong post

fraggle rocker

DOUBLE POST

vemrob

What are people's experiences of IT kitchens from B & q

tHE vAGGABOND

Sorry to drag up and old post, but Im doing just this right now

Stunned at the gigantic IKEA install price, where I really like their kitchens. I guess I have to learn about DIY or find myself another kitchen fitter

paddy147

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

Sorry to drag up and old post, but Im doing just this right now

Stunned at the gigantic IKEA install price, where I really like their kitchens. I guess I have to learn about DIY or find myself another kitchen fitter

I dont think you will have any problems finding a carpenter/kitchen fitter to do a kitchen fitout at a very good price.

Sure most of the country is unemployed now and people are desperate for money and work.;)

part time punk

Hoping to get an IKEA kitchen at the minute. Just been quoted 2100 euro by a builder (friend of a friend) to install units, dishwasher, gas hob, electric oven, move and plumb washing machine, as well as doing wall/floor tiles. It is a lot of money but quite a lot of work involved. He'd also take away all the old crap and help with actually getting the stuff so we wouldn't need to hire a van/pay delivery fees. Wouldn't have the time or ability to do much (any?) of it myself and it gets messy once you have a separate tiler, plumber, electrician etc. Anyway does that price sound about right? Cheers

WHU

vemrob wrote: »

What are people's experiences of IT kitchens from B & q

Rubbish quality, the carcusses are shocking. Remember in time if you get bored of the kitchen and want to change the doors for a different look you need decent carcusses.
Before things went wrong with the economy I used to run my own Kitchen business, we used 18mm board for the carcusses, a lot of big companies only used 15mm. A very well known national company that everyone thinks are good value, is one who used 15mm. I met many unhappy customers of theirs, with the area around the hinges breaking away being one of the biggest problems because of the weight of the doors.

It's like bying a car, it is a lovely colour, the spray job is good but beneath, the bodywork is thin from rust and the engine is shot. But hey it looks nice and it seems good value.

jess murphy

I have recently been pricing kitchens and in fairness did find homebase to be a good/resonable price.there doesn't be much in the price between them,ikea and cash and carry(didn't price b&q,a friend had a bad experience).
we are hoping to get something fitted at the end of jan/early feb.
at the moment we think it will be either tierney kitchens or in house kitchen,both on the north side.
the reason for this is that they do 18mm carcass,soft close doors and drawers as standard and also do free fitting(i think/hope).
they both have good showrooms and tierneys are doing a great new year sale at the moment,50% off.

i would recommend getting a price from them before u make any decissions.

http://www.tierneykitchens.ie/
http://www.in-house.ie/home.php

jess

p.s. as we have not yet made a final decission we are also still open to suggestions.

paddy147

jess murphy wrote: »

I have recently been pricing kitchens and in fairness did find homebase to be a good/resonable price.there doesn't be much in the price between them,ikea and cash and carry(didn't price b&q,a friend had a bad experience).
we are hoping to get something fitted at the end of jan/early feb.
at the moment we think it will be either tierney kitchens or in house kitchen,both on the north side.
the reason for this is that they do 18mm carcass,soft close doors and drawers as standard and also do free fitting(i think/hope).
they both have good showrooms and tierneys are doing a great new year sale at the moment,50% off.

i would recommend getting a price from them before u make any decissions.

http://www.tierneykitchens.ie/
http://www.in-house.ie/home.php

jess

p.s. as we have not yet made a final decission we are also still open to suggestions.

I avoided BnQ,Homebase and also Ikea like the plague.

I went to both In House and Tierny instead for quotes.

Both originally came in the same price when we asked for a written quote,but In House gave me more free stuff and kitchen fixtures to seal the deal.;)

In House were more willing to come down on price though,when I waved the cash under their nose and they knew they had another sale,allmost.
So they actually came in cheaper in the end by 350 euro,plus the extra free kitchen fixtures.

Haggled a good deal with In House in the end for supply only and got my carpenter mate to fit the complete kitchen for a very very good cash/nixer price.He built in the boiler and also the condensor dryer too,as I wanted a clean flowing look and didnt want it to be taken away by a free standing dryer.Ke did a good job:

Kitchen is Roma in cream with fully integrated/built in appliences.D

paddy147

BnQ and Homebase use a very slim carcase,which sags badly over time and they also take 6-8 weeks to deliever the kitchen.I know 2 people who ran a muck with BnQ and made them take the kitchen back and got a full refund when they didnt see their kitchen for over 8 weeks,when they were prommised it in 4-6 weeks maximum.

Ikea are similar,they take a fair while to actually get the kitchen to you and the fact that the fitting cost is so high its actually beyond a joke and not funny in the slightest.
In most cases the fitting cost is actually more than the value of the kitchen.

BnQ and Homebase,s fitting service costs an absolute fortune,so its alot cheaper to employ a carpenter and electrician to fit it,as they will only charge a fraction of what BnW and Homebase will charge.

Theres tones of sparks and carpenters out there loooking for work,so there no problem in getting it done at a good price.

tHE vAGGABOND

Theres tones of sparks and carpenters out there loooking for work,so there no problem in getting it done at a good price.

You would think that - but I have a kitchen job which needs to be done [and I have pretty good plans, so just need someone to do it] and have had a bunch of tradesmen express interest in doing it alright...

...after that expression of interest not a single one ever contacted me again.

So yes there are plenty out there, but....

paddy147

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

You would think that - but I have a kitchen job which needs to be done [and I have pretty good plans, so just need someone to do it] and have had a bunch of tradesmen express interest in doing it alright...

...after that expression of interest not a single one ever contacted me again.

So yes there are plenty out there, but....

Tradesmen.ie and other websites like that,and your phone and email will be hopping mad with people looking to do the job for you.

Thats how I got a builder for my garage build and other jobs to be done.

I had the builder picked out with in 2 days of placing my ad,and loads of builders sending me their references and prices.

Builder started on the 4th day after the ad was placed.:D

jess murphy

That roma kitchen is the same one we are looking at but with the wood effect type work top.
we are really keen on the tiles u have in the picture,have u a name for them? or where did u get them?
we have actually gone back to in house twice and there hasn't been much movement on the price,but with tierneys we did and also got a free dish washer(slim) and the girl reckons we will get about e550 off if we wait till the new year sale.(which i seen advertised,starts on mon 13th dec)
maybe im not pushing the right buttons with in house?

jess

paddy147

jess murphy wrote: »

That roma kitchen is the same one we are looking at but with the wood effect type work top.
we are really keen on the tiles u have in the picture,have u a name for them? or where did u get them?
we have actually gone back to in house twice and there hasn't been much movement on the price,but with tierneys we did and also got a free dish washer(slim) and the girl reckons we will get about e550 off if we wait till the new year sale.(which i seen advertised,starts on mon 13th dec)
maybe im not pushing the right buttons with in house?

jess

You should try and go to the "trade counter" out at In House on the Long Mile Road and speak to the chap on the counter there.Tell him or show him the deal that Tierny is willing to do with you,and Im sure you will get somewhere with In House..;)

The tiles are 50 x 50mm tiles that my girlfriend sourced in TileStyle up beside Woodies DIY in Coolock.I also got the chrome strip too to finish it off nicely.
The tiler also applied a sealer to them,so they are watertight.

She wanted to get a nice contrast between the creem of the kitchen units and the wallnut work top,but still make the worktop "pop" as she calls it.:)


I have a spare box of tiles in the garage,so Ill dig them out tomorrow and see if theres a serial number or name on the box.

P.S-As you said yoursself,the new year sales will be on very soon,so another 2-3 weeks waiting and you will probably save a packet.

.

paddy147

Tierny Kitchen has now started their New years 50% off sale.:)

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/kitchen/1755912

pennylemon

vemrob wrote: »

What are people's experiences of IT kitchens from B & q

Last month I went and got a good few kitchen quotes. BnQ were the biggest rip off. £9700 was the quote for units and install. But the lady reassured me they have half price sales every now and again and that she would call me when this happened.

To be honest, the ikea kitchen was a far better fit, seemed to have the right unit shapes inthe right places and generally seemed like a much better kitchen design and im not even talkin about doors here. The BnQ kitchen took 2 hours to design (so tedious)

Ikea kitchen cost £2910 including appliances which is amazing value in my eye, more than 3 times less the price of BnQ

My Dad fitted his Ikea kitchen 2 yrs ago and had no bother with it. If you are completely useless at DIY, get someone to help, it takes time, not skill.

tHE vAGGABOND

Still having problems finding a trades man to fit a kitchen. Loads of expressions of interest, but when it comes to talking about doing actual work they all vanish. amazing.

Paying Ikea..double [or so] to install it and actually getting the job done sounds tempting around now

paddy147

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

Still having problems finding a trades man to fit a kitchen. Loads of expressions of interest, but when it comes to talking about doing actual work they all vanish. amazing.

Paying Ikea..double [or so] to install it and actually getting the job done sounds tempting around now

Did you do what I suggested to do?

Put an ad on a tradesmen website and get emails and quotes back??

Thats how I did and do things now.

Like I said,had a builder and chippy building my garage with in 4 days of placing the ad.

twinsdad

I can reccomend a good joiner pm and ill give you his number

tHE vAGGABOND

See IKEA Kitchens has an offer ATM, buy 3 appliances only pay for 2.

I was getting the cheapest glass hob possible. It so happens this was my 3rd appliance - so I have just traded up the most expensive glass hob [even thinking of induction], woot

Finally found someone to install this for me I think, he is coming around on Monday..

We will see what he says

tHE vAGGABOND

Got IKEA kitchen, installed 2 weeks after I paid for it.

In the end I paid Ikea to install it, since no tradesman I could find wanted to do it [*insert multiple swear words here*]. So I paid a small bit over the odds to get it put it.

I understood their pricing policy, pricing it per cabinet, so I redesigned what I got to have large presses, rather than small ones [in my original draft] - so that brought the install cost down a fair bit tbh

That said, it got done under the allocated time, and the work was utterly perfect, not a snag to be found and the place [checked by two family members who know about these things, in different ways]. The place was spotless afterwards. Old one ripped out and taken away, and new one put in, with new appliances and all.

There is a lot to be said for that, I could have maybe saved a few bob on the install, gotten a eastern european gent from an add in tesco. But then I would have "paid" in hard break chasing the fella to complete it or fix this bit or that.

I will take the small bit of extra cost for an easy life.

mimihops

To those who got the ikea kitchens a few months ago, are ye still happy with them? Are the appliances good quality?

part time punk

Didn't get the appliances or worktop from Ikea but we are very happy with their kitchen units and sink/tap. It's in a few months now, ask me again in a year or so. Hopefully still be happy with them then!

tHE vAGGABOND

+1 - Had a problem with Dishwasher a couple of months ago, and they just replaced entire machine a couple of days after reporting it [another bonus of Ikea having done install]

Side note : Its utterly crazy tbh, lady in call center said it was far cheaper and easier for Ikea to just replace dishwasher than get a plumber to fix it. Shows the state of things in modern Ireland, with lack of tradesmen [as I found, with no one to install it for me], or those that are there being less than reliable or pricing themselves out of market. So I get a new appliance, and not a plumber sent out...

mimihops

Cool, good to get a bit of feedback, thanks!

oscuro

I have been quoted 1400 to fit a rather small kitchen.I would have expected no more than 500 euro, which i consider already generous.I will definitely not avail of their services.