Is it worth the extra??

sinsin | Posted in General Discussion on June 1, 2009 12:54pm

We are re-doing the kitchen in my son’s house – new window already installed, new flooring will be installed and new cupboards. The kitchen is 10 x 9 and will have cabinets on two walls, approximately 19 feet of cupboards. We have priced IKEA and yesterday got a quote from HD. The installed price from IKEA is in the 7,000 range with HD coming in at about 12,000 plus. Are we missing something in the comparison, have we not been asking enough questions? The HD pricing appears to be way way out of line. We will be installing a vent over the kitchen stove and we asked HD what the price would be to punch a hole in the wall – – the answer $1,000. Even though it’s a brick exterior this seems extremely high. Regardless of which supplier we use, the stove vent will be installed by ourselves for probably less than $150.

Replies

KenHill3 | Jun 01, 2009 01:05am | #1
What cabinet line is HD using in the quote.

If you're putting in the vent, what no do the whole kitchen yourself? :o)
Piffin | Jun 01, 2009 01:07am | #2
HD IS very high.

At request of a customer this winter I got quotes for cabs from four places. HD was highest.

And they don't handle any nontypical very well - like making a hole thru. They don't know either if they'd neeed to open it up and do a header if there is a stud in the way.

And there is often nothing more time consuming than a range hood, for what it is worth, IMO

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junkhound | Jun 01, 2009 01:26am | #3
Click on your own name, fill in your profile.

Heck, if I was retired and bored, I'd punch the hole for you for $200.

Probably somebody here may be hungry enought to give you a better bid, and much high quality at the same time.

ICEY cabinets are likely all vinyl on particle board?

If you are in St. Paul, Frenchy may want a part time gig.

BTW, do your bids include appliances?
bluegoat | Jun 01, 2009 01:46am | #4
It really depends on what materials are spec'd from each place.

The ikea counter tops often do not have a backsplash and are much easier to install, no scribing required. The default kick for ikea cabinets is based on 4 metal legs with a front attachment, most other cabinets have full wood kicks.

Depending on what cabinets you selected the ikea ones are likely to be cheaper than any line you find at hd. Are your upper cabinets going all the way to the ceiling? Do you have crown molding in one quote and not in the other? Does the spacing for your cabinets match the standard cabinets widths or is HD quoting in a custom cabinet for a smaller space where as ikea is just going to use spacers and waste the space.

Drilling through brick - I expect you require a 6" - and having a nice hole that does destroy the bricks around it requires a 6" diamond core bit and drilling rig. The cheapest way to get the hole done is to bash out the bricks leaving a very rough opening. $1000 seems a little steep but they likely sub it out to a coring company which charge $400 and add some extra in to cover organizing the sub. Either way you'll need to patch the brick mortar and caulk the vent.

Lots of possible differences but the biggest is likely material.
83858 | Jun 01, 2009 03:40am | #5
For years I had been making custom cabinets and beat HD's installed price all the time.
qtsam2 | Jun 01, 2009 04:49am | #6
I can tell you that HD's installed anything is priced high. What is the break down of labor vs. materials? The reason I ask is that HD's install part usually is way high as opposed to the materials although they are high as well. Either way at those prices I would be willing to bet you get some custom cabinets installed close to if not beating that price.