Kitchen cabinets from Lowes...good or bad idea?

[gardengirl]

Morning all,

Hubby and I are in need of a kitchen update and found ourselves at Lowe's over the weekend. We really liked what we saw, and price-wise, the cabinets are right in our budget range. Has anyone purchased cabinets and countertops, and had an install done from the Lowe's here in St. Mary's? This morning I read a bunch of online (national) reviews that had me reeling about the "big box" store cabinetry lines and the installation process. I thought I'd see if anyone local has purchased from Lowe's and what their experience was like.

Thanks!
(Wow, from coffee to beer in two minutes...it IS a Monday.)

Edited for grammar

 

[czygvtwkr]

It all depends on who Lowes contracts out to, they can contract out to one company that does a fine job or to another that doesn't. Thas is the problem with the big box stores, the good thing is you can hound them enough that they should fix it. Sears is another story though....

 

[limblips]

Morning all,

Hubby and I are in need of a kitchen update and found ourselves at Lowe's over the weekend. We really liked what we saw, and price-wise, the cabinets are right in our budget range. Has anyone purchased cabinets and countertops, and had an install done from the Lowe's here in St. Mary's? This morning I read a bunch of online (national) reviews that had me reeling about the "big box" store cabinetry lines and the installation process. I thought I'd see if anyone local has purchased from Lowe's and what they're experience was like.

Thanks!
(Wow, from coffee to beer in two minutes...it IS a Monday.)

You really need to look at more than the price. If the cabinets are cheap, the materials are probably cheap too. Cabinets are one of those things that you really need to buy the best you can possibly afford. The cheap ones tend to fall apart at the drawer fronts, the shelves tend to sag under moderate loads, and the finishes aren't usually very durable. JMHO

 

[CrystalClear]

Keep checking

Go to servicemagic.com and get at least 3 quotes.

 

[gardengirl]

We currently have cabinets from Merillat that the original homeowner put in during the construction process 10 years ago. They're your basic white laminate. (No dovetail construction, no soft-close drawers, etc.) Yet, it's still held up amazingly well.

Trust me, I'd LOVE to buy the more expensive stuff, except our budget won't let us go the distance. Both the Shenandoah line and the Prelude Diamond collection at Lowe's appear to be a step up from what we currently have.

 

[czygvtwkr]

Look for ones built from plywood and not particle board.

 

[flyingdog]

Neighbors did Lowes and they look outstanding. I agree with previous post that they are good regarding service as well.

 

[sm8]

We recently remodeled our kitchen, Hubby bought the ready to hang in the box at lowes and installed them himself. It is definitely better than what we had but there are definitely a few issues. The corners just do not quite fit together right. Maybe he should of used filler strips to build out empty spots just to even out spacing. We got the white vynyl looking ones, places that heat up like next to the stove, dishwasher and if you use a toaster on the counter the veneer (sp?) melts and peels off.

Overall it is better than what we had but they seem more like a very expensive temporary fix

 

[smibarines]

We looked at Lowe's and some other places and then bought from Dean's Lumber and saved $3k for the SAME EXACT cabinets. Lowe's is not necessarily the most inexpensive place by default.

 

[smilin]

We bought and installed Lowes Kraftmaid Maple cabinets. They look great and have lasted 6 years no problem.
Drawers are dovetailed, finish has no blemishes still good looking.
They also have deals that pop up every so often, ask the sales people.

 

[Roseinwinter]

Lowe's

Morning all,

Hubby and I are in need of a kitchen update and found ourselves at Lowe's over the weekend. We really liked what we saw, and price-wise, the cabinets are right in our budget range. Has anyone purchased cabinets and countertops, and had an install done from the Lowe's here in St. Mary's? This morning I read a bunch of online (national) reviews that had me reeling about the "big box" store cabinetry lines and the installation process. I thought I'd see if anyone local has purchased from Lowe's and what their experience was like.

Thanks!
(Wow, from coffee to beer in two minutes...it IS a Monday.)

Edited for grammar

We got our cupboards there and we love them. Steve in that department did a wonderful job designing our new kitchen! We bought our countertops at Solid Rock.

 

[nobones]

Our Kraftmaids held up real well. My brother owns his own shop and did the corean tops for me. He would not have let me put his tops on garbage.

 

[JoeR]

Morning all,

Hubby and I are in need of a kitchen update and found ourselves at Lowe's over the weekend. We really liked what we saw, and price-wise, the cabinets are right in our budget range. Has anyone purchased cabinets and countertops, and had an install done from the Lowe's here in St. Mary's? This morning I read a bunch of online (national) reviews that had me reeling about the "big box" store cabinetry lines and the installation process. I thought I'd see if anyone local has purchased from Lowe's and what their experience was like.

Thanks!
(Wow, from coffee to beer in two minutes...it IS a Monday.)

Edited for grammar

Are you looking at Lowes from a cost standpont only? Have you thought about looking at IKEA? I just finished redoing our kitchen we went with IKEA. I looked at all they had at both Lowes and Home Depot and decided I liked the construction of IKEAS cabinets. They were made out of the same material, but I thought IKEAS seemed more soild. I liked the way the boxes/frames are generic and you have different opitions for interiors. If you haven't looked into them they're like everything at IKEA. You pay for everything seperately. The actual cabinet boxes/frames are inexpensive. Most of the cost comes from your choice of doors and interiors (shelves vs. drawers). Overall cost wise I didn't see much difference. Also they have contractors who will do the work if you're not looking to DIY. I will say though they were very easy to assemble and install myself. We did buy our countertop from Lowes though. Had a great sale at the time with free undermount sink and installation that I couldn't pass up.
Here's a some pictures during install and the final product.

 

[homedepot20]

My Wife is a Kitchen / Bath Designer for Home Depot , So I say HOME DEPOT

 

[JoeR]

My Wife is a Kitchen / Bath Designer for Home Depot , So I say HOME DEPOT

I was leaning towards Home Depots cabinets at first. Unfortunatly they didn't have all the sizes I wanted in stock and weren't sure when thay would. This was last summer.

 

[spr1975wshs]

As a long time Lowe's employee, I'd say the best advice in this thread is to get at least three estimates from places where the cabinets fit both your style and size needs.

Sometimes my employer is the best bet, sometimes not. I'm not arrogant enough to say that we can help 100% of the customers out there, no one store can.

If you were in this area, I'd urge you to work with Jeff, one of our kitchen planners, he's A-One in my book.

 

[highnote]

We bought and installed Lowes Kraftmaid Maple cabinets. They look great and have lasted 6 years no problem.
Drawers are dovetailed, finish has no blemishes still good looking.
They also have deals that pop up every so often, ask the sales people.

We did the same thing, KraftMaid maple cabinets from lowes (ours are about 5 years ago). We have one place where the finish is coming off (under the dishwasher... maybe from moisture?) and the lowes rep told me to contact KraftMaid, they will probably fix it for free. I havent had time to call them yet.

We have the auto closing drawers, they sometimes need re-adjustment (won't auto close anymore) but other than that, we are fairly happy with them.

One thing I recommend is to get the best, most experiences cabinet salesperson to help you design and/or place your order (dont just take the first person available). Our salesperson incorrectly designed the cabinetry that goes around the fridge, but since we signed off on it (and didnt know better) we're stuck with it. Someone later realized that we have unsupported cabinets above our fridge (the salespeople are taught to support them by adding some sort of frame). You can't go back and add this later- so make sure it is done right! Kraft Maid will ship whatever you order, even if it is designed wrong by the salespeople at lowes. So it wouldnt hurt to get a second (or third!) opinion before you "sign on the dotted line".