Kitchen Remodel - Great Indoors?

[ColoradoMom!!]

STAY AWAY FROM THE GREAT INDOORS!!!!!!

I used them to remodel our master bath back in 2002. WHAT A MISTAKE!

STAY AWAY STAY AWAY STAY AWAY FROM THE GREAT INDOORS!!!!!!! THEY ARE INCOMPETENT!!!

Wow - what a nightmare! I am so sorry! I think we will stay away.

I just need to price out some private contractors. I wish I was as fortunate as some of you who have a brother, or a good friend who you used.

Thanks for all the great advice - keep it coming. I had my DH read all this, and it makes him realize we really should try some private contractors.

 

[tlh0726]

We installed IKEA kitchens in 2 rental units thus far and plan on using them in a 3rd this spring. I wish I would have known about them when building our current home (I went with Aristokraft cabinets)
Installation is a breeze. The upper cabinets hang on a rail. Don't have to make sure that you are hitting studs on each cabinet.
I actually put the cabinets together myself. DH and I hang the cabinets and then I go back through and put all the doors on and drawers in.

If you are not happy with the design now, you will not be happy with the kitchen after it is installed. Make sure you include everything you want. If it cannot be done, then make them explain why it cannot be included.

 

[minniebeth]

I'm not sure if this still stands, but I'm pretty sure that The Great Indoors is owned by Sears. There have been a lot of complaints of Sear's Customer Service on this board and from many people I know personally. The Great Indoors has nice things, but do your research wisely and like others have said, you may be able to get an independant contractor to do a wonderful job for just as much or less with great results.

 

[phamy76]

I recently redid my kitchen. Took out every thing to drywall and started over.

I hired a contractor to do the work.
I paid for the supplies at Home Depot (cabinets, countertop, tiles, etc).
I used a designer there that did the design for me.
However, I didn't like their installers, so my contractor did the installations himself.

We saved a ton of money by buying it as it was on sale (cabinets were 25% off on special, counter top was 10% off, etc).
We stored it in our garage until everything arrived, and then the contractor did the install all at once.

 

[jlima]

I'm not sure if this still stands, but I'm pretty sure that The Great Indoors is owned by Sears. There have been a lot of complaints of Sear's Customer Service on this board and from many people I know personally. The Great Indoors has nice things, but do your research wisely and like others have said, you may be able to get an independant contractor to do a wonderful job for just as much or less with great results.

Yep! They are part of Sears. The re-activated an old Sears account and we charged the entire remodel and we paid the bill & closed the account again. We got $20 gift certificate for each $1k that we charged, and I used that to purchase towels & accessories. When they refunded the $$ (almost $2k) for the bathtub and a portion of the glass for the shower (another long story), I got to keep the original credits tho.

DH worked for Sears in high school & college. He absolutely didn't want to use TGI but they made it sound so simple and it ended up being an absolute nightmare. Would use a local contractor if we ever remodel anything again.

 

[jlima]

Wow - what a nightmare! I am so sorry! I think we will stay away.

I just need to price out some private contractors. I wish I was as fortunate as some of you who have a brother, or a good friend who you used.

Thanks for all the great advice - keep it coming. I had my DH read all this, and it makes him realize we really should try some private contractors.

TGI subcontracted people that I would never have used. You will have to organize everything if you use a separate plumber, tile setter, cabinets, glass contractor etc. but you are in control and not an incompetent retailer.

 

[rockymeet]

I recently remodeling my kitchen and bath room in low budget now

Thanks for your thread

what is best lowest prices of remodeling ?

Thanks

 

[jameswhite1]

I recently remodeling my kitchen and bath room in low budget now

Thanks for your thread

what is best lowest prices of remodeling ?

Thanks

Try to contact with san diego general contractors those are well know for Home Remodeling, Kitchen Remodeling, Bathroom Remodeling and so on.

 

[North of Mouse]

For those who have used Ikea: how did you find the quality of the cabinets? I always thought of Ikea as sort of "college student" budget with the quality to match...?

Our daughter just tore out and redesigned her kitchen herself (yes, she is very talented) and bought everything at IKEA. The finished look is excellent and the quality of the cabinets is great.

There is only one thing I, personally, don't care for. It has more of a, should I say, European look, instead of my idea of *warm traditional*. Sure that's not exactly how to describe them, but that's just my take

But, I was really pleasantly surprised at the quality, and finished look of her kitchen (had purchased older house). I was always like you in thinking they were just kind of *make dos* until you could afford better My only experience with them before was buying a desk for our son, and THAT was cheaply made

They were not cheap and she had to put them together - which after the first one, was not hard, just time consuming and work. Now, I would not hesitate to get IKEA cabinets, IF that was my style.

 

[jeepgirl30]

We just did a remodel project last year, not a full kitchen but wanted to throw in a couple words of caution!

It is ALWAYS more money than anticipated. I knew that going in and asked 800 questions, i should have asked 900. I honestly thought I covered everything but a few little things popped up I had not asked.

We did get granite countertops. Our cabinets were brand new when we moved in so they were still in great condition but we had ugly cheap countertops. We got a new garbage disposal and because the undermount sink was lower we had a mess with the plumbing. It ended up being $900 to fix it all. Totally unexpected. Now I am so happy we did it and am so in love with my counters and sink but at the time I was so upset because it was totally out of the budget. We did not anticipate doing the counters but once the other work was done they stuck out like a sore thumb!

Just be sure to ask for every detail so you are prepared going into it. Good luck!

 

[princess barbara]

There's an IKEA in Centennial- not too far outside metro Denver area.