[ACR_SCOUT]

Hello all,

I am in the process of figuring out what cabinets and design I want in my garage. I am seriously trying considering IKEA products because of their flexibility, multitude of designs, and apparent ease of installation as well as ready supply. I want to get the garage setup to move on to building built-ins for my wife in the house.

I know there are a lot of articles, forum comments, and discussion on the internet about the pros and cons of MDF and plywood but I don't really want to get into that discussion.

I want a storage location for those rarely used kitchen items (counter mixer, counter oven, bulk items.

I want a storage location (closet) for my motorcycle riding gear.

Cabinets over my workbench (I will build my own bench).

Cabinets/storage for miscellaneous garage stuff (fasteners, paints, tools, and such).

My simple questions are these.

Have you used IKEA cabinets; garage or otherwise?

How are they holding up after install?

How long have they been installed?

Thank you,
Fred

 

[Develin]

I learnt Carpentry in Sweden, motherland of the IKEA!

My experience with IKEA is this...

-Clients where really happy! For about two years...
-They are generally very easy to clean and they stay looking nice
-... They aren't all that strong
-... They tend to wear out quite quickly even if they still look nice and shiny
-The cabinets tend to flex a lot if any sideways pressure is exerted

Overall for what they are, they aren't bad. As for being easy to install... They are once you get used to them but it will make you want to rip your hair out sometimes. The instructions aren't always that good (if you decide to read them) and quite often there are parts missing. Customer service is good, if something is missing they'll get it straight out to you and give you a bit of compensation. Not that you want to take a trip down to IKEA again to pick it up. They are also very helpful in finding what it is that YOU want if you go in store. As you said, variety is huge, price is actually not that bad and as long as you won't use it for anything especially heavy it should be fine.

That being said, you can always strengthen it yourself when it needs it with some bracing here and there, but you'll have to be proactive, once they go... They are gone lol

 

[GBrackins]

if I were planning on installing cabinets in my garage then I'd want some that would stand up to the abuse they may receive. check and see if you have a local reclamation store, one that removes cabinets and architectural details (amongst other items) from buildings/homes that are being torn down. You can often find cabinets with many miles still left in them for a fraction of the cost of new ones.

 

[woodworkbykirk]

the others are right ikea cabinets are nothing but flash in the pan.. their terrible for long term durability and where your going to use them in a garage big mistake.. youd be better off builidng your own with shop grade plywood

 

[joecaption]

Check on Craigs List under materials. There's always cabinets listed.

 

[DexterII]

if I were planning on installing cabinets in my garage then I'd want some that would stand up to the abuse they may receive. check and see if you have a local reclamation store, one that removes cabinets and architectural details (amongst other items) from buildings/homes that are being torn down. You can often find cabinets with many miles still left in them for a fraction of the cost of new ones.

Just to expand a little on Gary's suggestion, Habitat has a lot of Restore centers that can be a great source for kitchen cabints, as well as many other items. They will typically have both used and new, the latter being special ordered and cancelled, overstocked, blemished, or whatever, and donated by local merchants.

 

[Moosbrugger]

I put Ikea cabinets in my kitchen about 10 years ago. It's not a high-use kitchen, but I haven't had any problems with them at all. The only thing I did was damage a little part of the laminate countertop edge, but that was my fault. I was pulling out the dishwasher, it caught, and I yanked it. If I were going for inexpensive, I'd get them again.

 

[MJ Force]

I built these out of plywood and MDF lite for the doors.

Yes this is my messy garage. 67 doors and drawers. Built in fridge wine-cooler and wide screen.