Quote:
Originally Posted by Dean2
Real question. You can buy pre-assembled, very nice cabinets made of solid wood for pretty reasonable prices many places. How much did you actually save buying the un-assembled stuff and at $30 an hour was it anywhere near worth what you saved?
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I'll be honest, I didn't spend much time looking around. I've had a number of friends and relatives that have redone kitchens, so I had an idea what they spent and what the quality was like. A few of similar sizes that were custom ordered were roughly double the cost and some looked like crap after a year of use. The only people I've talked to that did low to medium budget kitchens that would have gone with the same product again were people who went the Ikea route. I have zero complaints with mine.
I had a look at Ikea's products while I was on holidays to get a sense of what I liked, which features appealed to me and which color I wanted. The online design tool was easy to use, ordering was simple, delivery to Regina was $79 and I was able to pick it all up in one load. I spent a day assembling by myself and a day installing with help. Sure there was a day of labour there assembling, but the people I know who installed prebuilt units into old houses struggled a lot more dealing with the actual installation.
Going the Ikea route at normal price may not be a huge savings, but their frequent sales at 10 to 20% make a difference. Ikea used to have a loophole that their $40 extractor fan was considered an eligible appliance to get the 20% for buying 3 appliances, but they've caught on and it is no longer part of the deal. The value probably depends on how capable a person is with the assembly and install, having somebody who has done the work to lean on for advice.