Hope he has a case of beer on hand as well!! Please post the finished product!

Congratulations! You will love your IKEA kitchen.

My advice is to stAck everything by type- all the drawers together, the cabinet boxes, etc. I also assemble all the cabinet boxes first, then install them. After that I build the drawers and install them, very last is the doors.

Good luck! As an aside, I thought you were supposed to keep cabinets in your house, not the garage because of the temperature changes.

Oh boy. I think you are going to need a Valium chaser with that beer.

"As an aside, I thought you were supposed to keep cabinets in your house, not the garage because of the temperature changes."

Flooring yes, cabinetry not so much.

Thanks Joseph Corlett. We need to get some cabinets for the kitchenette that we're going to put in our basement and the contractor recommended we keep them in the house and not the garage.

We just paid for a company to install our suite kitchen from ikea. 100% worth it. They built it and put it in, in less than six hours.

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My garage looks looks exactly like your garage;) cheers to new kitchens!

You could pay someone to do it, but the "experience" of doing it youself will last longer than then the cabinets! Good luck..... no beer until you finish, Good luck

How exciting! Go for it and keep us posted on all the beauty unfolding before you. With a little hardwork and determination you will have an fantastic kitchen!

Following and wishing you the best. Happy DIY'ing!

Lol, looks the same in our garage! Sort your packages using the article number on the side. That way you easily find what you need.

Looks like when our kitchen was delivered- 905 pieces on the inventory list! Definitely sit down with a marker and go over your list...it took me almost an hour to sort our pallet (which was 9ft long by 3ft wide by 4ft tall!). We only found two missing pieces and they somehow delivered a door that wasn't even on our list. But it was good to know exactly what we had.

Our Ikea kitchen was installed by a local pro who only does Ikea. It was so reasonable (about 2/3 the cost of the official Ikea installers) that we decided to have him do it and we're glad we did. Took him only 4 days and we had a new kitchen!

We watched him work and he had a definite 'assembly line' going- assembled all the upper boxes first, then installed. Did all the lower boxes next and installed. Spent almost a whole day putting together and installing drawers and doors. Did our island and tall built in pantry last.

BTW, Ikea is amazing about accepting returns. We had a piece (dishwasher panel) that turned out not to work the way we were hoping (our mistake). Even though we had cut the top 2 inches off the piece, they still accepted it as a return, saving us $75! So keep all your miscut/return pieces in a pile and don't be afraid to take them back.

Good luck, you will love your Ikea kitchen- we love ours! (here's a pic of the kitchen under construction so missing the stove hood and not quite finished painting)

Anything to save a buck. Then find out too late it just isn't worth the difference. Make sure you don't strip out any screw holes or "lose" any missing parts!

Congratulations! and good luck! My garage looked the same - took me 9 hours to sort and count (then re-count) everything on my own. Luckily, I paid for installation - just doing the inventory nearly took me out, lol!! Be sure to post photos once it's all in!

If they are only going to be in the garage a short time they will be fine as long as they stay in the boxes.

I've not put together an entire cabinet, but I've not only assembled and installed drawers (in a non-Ikea cabinet, BTW, so I had to level, mark and drill the holes too) but have cut down Ikea drawers to fit an odd sized cabinet; and have assembled a few pieces of furniture.

It isn't rocket science. Take your time, keep referring to the pictures, use a system of organization, have a bowl or a bin of some kind to hold small parts while you are working, and work as a team. Don't try to force things if they don't seem to fit -- you may have it turned the wrong way or the wrong piece. After the first 2 cabs are assembled, you will wonder what you were nervous about! And, yes, it will be totally worth your time and effort.

" took me 9 hours to sort and count (then re-count) everything on my own."

I could have 5 missing cabinets, pay for them again, and still save money versus spending 9 hours.

@ideas and solutions all due respect to pros out there, many do a phenomenal job and I’m happy to pay for stuff that need that level of craftsmanship. That said, some of us might have different day jobs but we are still clever enough to use a screwdriver and leveler. IKEA kitchens are very easy to assemble (I’ve done three) and mount. Does it take longer? Yeah, for me it does, but on the flip side I save a couple bucks and I also control everything so get it the way I want.

OPINION

All good Jennifer. For professionals, the time it takes to sort, confirm, assemble, go back for missing parts, mount, true up, fill odd spaces, reorder fillers that weren't accounted for... we can have an entire kitchen demolished, framed and readied for better quality cabinets, customize to the quarter inch, and install the appliances fit to a tee.

We find that those who select IKEA over others are usually those looking to save pennies at the expense of the contractor, looking for Euro styles (hi gloss, metal or glass components) that others may not carry, or require little need for customization to fit in odd or small city-like spaces.

For those DIY-ers, I wonder how much longer it takes when they realize the walls aren't, flat, square or true?

All the best!

I think it is well worth the time diy'ing it then having to deal with the likes of the Joe's and Idea's and Non-Solutions...

I find DIY to be fun way of testing, and ultimately (thank goodness) rediscovering, how good my marriage is..

Good luck! Share progress.

I can't afford to hire myself to assemble cabinets. My hourly rate is too high. I'm a financial professional. I hire house professionals to work at their professions. Professionals make it look easy.

My husband, daughter and myself worked together to assemble her kitchen cabinets. There was not one problem with the order and not one problem with the assembly. Now knowing how fantastic these cabinets are I would gladly have done an Ikea kitchen instead of the custom cabinets I did which cost over 3 times the price!

Ikea kitchens are easy to assemble just time consuming. As with all things it’s a cost benefit calculation and each home owner comes to the correct answer for them on their own. There is no wrong way. I’m sure your kitchen will come together beautifully and I hope you post end result.

Separate all the boxes into separate piles for each item the poor guy will be assembling. Make sure you have all the parts for each item. Be sure to have all the tools required. Don't plan a party for a full month or more. Be there (with two additional friends) to be the "holders" while he puts the parts together and tightens the nuts and screws. Follow directions. Work on one piece at a time.
Good luck. Post a photo of the results.

I love the satisfaction of completing a project myself. To me, that’s priceless.

Looking forward to pics of your finished kitchen.

Get some titebond glue. Although dowels swell for some reason IKEA ones like to pull out. The glue adds the adhesion and also swells the dowels.

Most important, put down the impact driver. People use these things for everything and they have to know that some have torque capabilities of over 100FTLBS. What that means is you are expecting a cheap cast bolt or screw to handle that load. Besides that you are dealing with some type of man made board that once stripped is junk. I always question the guy or gal using one of them as how do you know what load you have without feeling it?

Use the driver to get close then put it down and use a screwdriver.

Glue, large carpenter square and a screwdriver. By the way those arent phillips they are pozi drive thats why they always strip when you try and assemble IKEA components. Get one on Amazon delivered the same day for maybe $10.

Ideas and Solutions, you make good points, but I can tell you that pros don't always meet your ideal. My cabs were "customized to the quarter inch" and the pros screwed up the installation so that they had to cut into the wall to finish installing one run which then made the counter off-- two reasons: when they redrywalled one wall, they didn't get it smooth and straight, and when they started to install that run, they started at the end cabinet with the extra fill meant to be trimmed and scribed to fit, and left too much of it.

A muffin tins works great to organize all the screws, washers, dowels, etc. Good luck and happy Diy-ing!

No glue anywhere with Ikea cabinets follow the instructions to the letter they go together very well and are very strong. They are actually kind of fun to put together after the first couple.Put all the boxes together first and install the uppers using that wonderful hanging rail that you will learn to love . Then the boxes for the bases need some figuring out so that all the rails for drawers are installed properly .The biggest thing is to make sure everything is level

I have a friend who has done this twice with great success. If I’d known about Ikea and if there had been a store within a reasonable drive, I would have replaced my old kitchen years before I did. My late husband and I would have enjoyed doing together and saving some money. As a teacher, he always had more time than money! Those are the folks who should build them and not hire pros.

Your kitchen is beautiful pippabean!

Some of us have the money for pros but also have the skills for and interest in DIY. It's a relief and a joy to live a life where you get your hands dirty. Sheesh.

We are almost finished with our IKEA kitchen. I agree 100% with wannabath's advice, and also what pippabean said about installing the rails. The rails are a godsend in older homes with out of square walls/out of level floors. I installed all the drawer slides before assembling the base cabinets, it made things so much easier. Enjoy the process. It is incredibly satisfying to see it come together.

Thank you larkspur.

barncatz - All of us, DH, DD, DS and I love construction work. It's a great contrast to our day jobs. Would I want to do this for a living? No. But getting into it in our own house is a nice change and is pretty satisfying..

P.S My daughter graduated from college in 2008 into a no-jobs economy, So she joined Americorps and worked for a couple of years full time for Habitat for Humanity. She led a crew of volunteers in framing, roofing, you name it. She eventually went back to school for a Masters in Science, and works now as as a geologist. But this Spring, she took off a week to help us build our kitchen.

I'm very grateful to her, a she was a great help to us. 3 cheers for Stephanie!

pippabean How awesome that your daughter did AmeriCorps. I have worked with many AmeriCorps members, they are terrific, and are doing great work for our country.

ps. awesome kitchen!

mabel - I'm so glad she did AmeriCorps too, she learned and grew so much during that time. I do believe national service benefits everybody, the volunteers just as much as the organizations they work for.

And thank you for the p.s. we like the new kitchen too :-)

pippabean: Love, love, love your kitchen. It looks so fresh and bright. Love the charcoal backsplash creating contrast to the white glossy cabs, the beautiful wood floor that warms it all up and all those windows letting in sunlight. Just stunning!

tomjulie : Wishing you the best for your project!

tomjulie - I hope your project is coming along smoothly. I'd love to follow your progress and see followup posts. I'm sure there will be ups and downs, just as in our remodel. Hang in there during tough times and celebrate even small accomplishments. You'll be so glad you did, when in the end it will all come together beautifully. Best wishes!

modelly - thanks so much for your kind words.

I did one 2 years ago for the in-laws senior cottage. Small. 13 cabinets total. Farm sink and peninsula. You should know tool basics and have good problem solving abilities. We spent $3700 including the quartz. Add floor and appliances. We bought during the 15% off event and got some Pax closet systems with the gift card. They have the nicest kitchen in the development! I feel good about that.

Its a good alternative if you like building things. If you dont then hire somebody. It shouldnt be controversial.