Wow, your story sounds awful!

Ikea has a 25 year warranty on their kitchens. Can't do better than that! And you don't have to worry about them going out of business!

Carla in Sac

So sorry to hear about your cabs and countertop :( I would ask around for a local cabinet maker, maybe through your local lumber yard? I think we assume since it is a "cabinet maker" it would be big bucks but not necessarily.
Both the lumber yard and cabinet maker should be able to "steer" you towards your needs. Also, if you know of a good contractor in your area he may be able to give you an estimate, etc.
HTH

We have looked at IKEA, but they're not solid wood. I'd rather get something solid that is going to be durable. We have some IKEA furniture and it's not built to last.

I'll ask around for a cabinet maker. The lumber yard is a great idea! Thanks!

How about counter tops that are reasonably priced and easy to maintain? I don't want tile because I am not interested in cleaning the grout. We have the broken granite now, and I think one piece of it can be reused in the bathroom fortunately.

What is your budget for this? Do you you like your layout or are there any changes you would make?

If you like your existing layout, perhaps you could remove and save the granite and replace the sink with a farmhouse sink and sink base and just cut out the part that is broken (without seeing pictures not sure if this would work). At least you would be able to put more into the cabinetry.

Could we see some pictures?

As I am sure you know, there is a wide variety of cabinets and prices out there. The less expensive route is stock sizes in a stained wood with overlay doors or frameless. Inset doors in framed cabinets are more expensive as is a painted finish.

Have you investigated local companies in terms of what is carried? Is the budget $2K or is it $20K...would like to help but need more information. What part of the country are you in?

You might want to take a second look at IKEA kitchen cabinets. They are orders of magnitude better than some of the IKEA furniture lines and are very highly rated by Consumer Reports. You'll find them featured in shelter magazines in very high end kitchens as well as designer's own kitchens, which has to tell you something!

Don't take this the wrong way, but "Replacing kitchen cabinets on the cheap" is why you are in your current situation. Most cabinet makers won't buy from a lumber yard. Check into wholesale hardwood dealers in your area. They can hook you up with a local cabinet maker. As for cheap easy to clean counter top material, Laminate from wilsonart, or formica fits those needs.

I like the farm sink idea and possibly re-using your granite though. Although I tried to get granite pulled and re-used for a customer I was building a kitchen for and no one would touch it. Very little profit and high risk of breaking the stone.

Best of luck to you.

Kenneth

Our budget is closer to the $2k than $20k to be sure. Our layout is fine, although I'd like to switch the dishwasher to the other side of the sink. That wouldn't change the dimensions of the counters, though.

The granite is possibly re-usable with a farmhouse sink, but our sink is in good condition and there are issues with the granite in how it was installed around the stove as well as the sink. They just glued a little piece behind the stove rather than make a cutout, and the glued piece hasn't stayed there. The stove needs a perimeter of counter.

It's an option. We also talked about moving the one good chunk of granite into the bathroom.

I do like the frameless cabinets, so that's something to consider.

I'll try to get pictures tomorrow. DH has the digital camera and is out today.

I'm in the SF Bay Area.

trixie - I'll keep the IKEA cabinets in mind. DH is very handy and I'm sure we could assemble them ourselves. I'm just worried about how solid they'll be. We're very close to an IKEA so I'll stop by and take a look. At least we're close enough for easy replacements if that's needed!

Kenneth - you're absolutely right that we're in the current situation because we cut corners the first time. Unfortunately, the budget just doesn't grow from having made a bad decision the first time around. :( Thank you for your suggestions.

I spend all my time replacing mdf and particle board cabinets, so I'm glad someone is using it. Most folks like you that have had that product fail do not want to see it again. Even a lot of the custom cabinet makers in our area use it. I have never seen a 10 year old set of ikea cabinets, so I don't have any advice on them.

There are 3 basic water using components in most every kitchen. The sink, Dishwasher, and Ice maker are all potential water leaks. Sooner or later one of them will get you.

I did put together a set of cabinets from this place for a church project. www.rtacabi.net They were all wood and pretty easy to assemble. If you husband is handy you may do ok with them. They are not the best quality, but they are all plywood and wood. Very inexpensive as well.

Kenneth

I am your twin in some ways. We did the second go-round 5 years after we did the first install because of crappy cabinets. The cabinet company when out of business. Ours were properly installed, but that didn't mean much because they were flimsy.

From what you're describing, your cabinets may not have been well constructed and were poorly installed. Lots of companies successfully use particle board and have happy customers. In the link below, you can learn some of what you need to know so that you aren't taken for a ride again.

If you are looking at flat pack cabinets, remember you can order a sample and check it out before committing.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cabinet quality

I feel your pain. It gets the best of me when I have to "re-do" things, especially after I have done them once.

Earlier, I was typing a response and nearly hijacked your thread with a similar story. Instead, I posted a new thread about exploring your options.

There are so many options out there- I know its overwhelming. By taking your time, as well as some good advice and resources of so many great GW members, you will be thrilled with the end result (regardless of your budget).

*Twotogo has wonderful advice re: local cabinetmakers (see my thread for more details of my surprise)*

Also, Have you thought about craigslist or habitat re-store (if in your area)? While some items may not be your exact layout or color scheme, its amazing what a handy carpenter (ie your DH) and a coat of paint (or stain) can do to quality constructed and re-useable cabinets.

Best to you the second time around! Keep us updated on your decisions and progress!

-September

I've had an Ikea kitchen for over a year now in our "starter home" and I think the cabinets are great for the price--and tons tons better than what was here before. I expect they could last quite a while...there is no sign of anything coming apart. The soft close doors/drawers are fantastic. I still feel spoiled by the new kitchen, it's the nicest kitchen I've ever had and when we move I will be sad to say goodbye to it.

Because we used Ikea cabinets, we were able to afford to change window and floor plan layout in our kitchen. That, in itself, made a huge difference. We did the cabinets DIY, too, and are NOT experienced. The imperfections in our kitchen are not from the Ikea cabinets, they are from our lack of experience. Also, I don't think our kitchen has that "modern" vibe because of the door/drawer styles we chose--looks transitional to me.

Our original cabinets were entirely particle board, including the door/drawer fronts. They were thirty years old. The boxes had the particle board texture on the inside because they had merely been painted. The doors and drawers had some type of wood grain paper adhered to them. Aside from the paper peeling off all the edges of doors/drawers and the drawers (only 9 inches wide, by the way) not sliding well, they were holding up fine--the boxes were quite solid. In fact, the only thing in the original kitchen that was real wood was the toe-kicks!

We also have MDF cabinets that have held up beautifully for the 12 years we've had them. The doors and drawer fronts are laminate covered slab and look brand new. So, as others have said, I wouldn't totally give up on good quality particle board. I can imagine how upset you must be to have to replace your cabinets after only two years, no matter how inexpensive they were.

Regarding re-using the granite. It sounds like you have a slide in range. We have one at our beach house and the piece of granite in the back was glued to the wall like yours and needless to say, it fell off. My BIL nailed a piece of wood there to support it and glued it back in. It's fine now so maybe you can re-use your granite.

The only reason I didn't use the IKEA cabinets in my kitchen is because I need a lot of custom sizes. So I had those done by Scherr's.

FWIW- We had IKEA cabs in our last house and I thought they were very well made. We even rented the house out for 2 1/2 years while we traveled, and they were still in perfect condition when we returned. The toekick was the only thing that started looking a little tired (from vacuum cleaner dings) and easily replaceable. I was very impressed with the strength, durability and hinge/hardware quality. They seemed vastly superior to the similarly-priced lines in big box stores, which I didn't even consider because I wanted something that wouldn't off-gas.
I'd definitely recommend giving the IKEA cabs a second look... If you have cheap builder cabinets in there now they're probably stock sizes, so you should just be able to fit Ikea ones in their place. We did a lot of cabinets, including full-height pull-out pantry, for about $2000 in 2000.

The melamine that is covering the particle boards is pretty much plastic and protect it from moisture. You do need to protect RAW particle board edges from getting wet. I always put a bead of silicone caulk on the seams where it may get wet. If I need to replace one Ikea cabinet, it cost about $30. Ikea cabs are raised off the ground with legs, so a leak will not slowly consume the particle boards like builder's particle board cabs.