Who should I hire for my Ikea kitchen renovation?

So you have a few choices when it comes to who you are going to hire to install your Ikea kitchen cabinets.

And it basically comes down to about three different choices:



1. Hire Ikea directly
2. Find somebody on Kijiji
3. Hire a general contractor

And obviously another choice would be to do it yourself but we'll save that for a different article.

Hire Ikea directly

So the first one I'll cover here is the most obvious one and that would be hiring Ikea. After all they do have the most credibility; it is their cabinets, their Ikea kitchen planner and their designers that specialize in working with the Ikea planner. Why would you even consider somebody else to do the installation?

Ikea here in the Edmonton area has changed how they offer their installation service. As far as I know, they are not offering in home Design Services at this time. However you can go in to IKEA and sit down with one of Ikea's design experts and create a design.

An important thing to understand here is that the installations are not carried out by Ikea employees but rather smaller independent contractors. And in a lot of cases these small independent contractors hire an even smaller contractor to complete the work. Once Ikea and a couple of contractors take their share, the person who performs the installation ends up with only a small portion of the total amount you paid.

The positives:

• 5-year workmanship warranty.
• Reassurance of an established business to make sure your warranty will be honored.
• Knowledgeable about the product.
• Reasonably priced.

The negatives:

• Hard to get in contact with anybody. You can expect to be put on hold for long periods of time.
• IKEA designers are exclusively trained to utilize the IKEA planner and do not engage in on-site project work.
• Ikea is not a One-Stop shop. Their services are limited to cabinet and countertop installation only.
• Installers are not involved in the design process.
• You have the dubious task of managing your own order.
• You have to store the product in your home for up to 2 months while you're waiting for all the pieces to come in.
• The contractors assemble all cabinets in your home which adds 1-2 days to the time you are without a functioning kitchen.
• The subcontracted installers are usually in a hurry to get in and get out. Quality of the installation sometimes is compromised.

Find somebody on Kijiji

Now if you're really looking for the least expensive way to get an Ikea kitchen installed, finding somebody on Kijiji is a great idea. Usually these guys run some kind of a small proprietorship and don't have much in the way of overhead costs which is why they are affordable. And sometimes some of the smaller contractors that Ikea ends up hiring offer their services on Kijiji.

The positives:

• Cheap.
• May be knowledgeable about the product.
• You only have one point of contact.
• You get a personalized experience.

The negatives:

• Credibility is questionable.
• You don't have the reassurance of an established business to make sure your warranty will be honored.
• Most likely don't have the proper insurance in place.
• They don't have the resources in place to help you with other aspects of a renovation.
• They don't have experienced designers, you are on your own when it comes to design and managing the order.
• If you aren’t good at spotting con artists, you may get taken for a ride.

Hire a general contractor

This is for the people that understand the benefits of using IKEA cabinets and when planned properly with a professional can produce some extraordinary results. A general contractor will be able to help you with all aspects of your renovation.

There are contractors out there that are willing to work with Ikea cabinets and then there's contractors that truly specialize with the Ikea product. Those that specialize with Ikea are the ones that can help you maximize the benefits the most.

The positives:

• Experienced in the construction industry with an efficient process in place to minimize the time your family is without a kitchen.
• Reassurance of an established business to make sure your warranty will be honored.
• Knowledgeable about the product.
• You get a personalized experience.
• You have someone who assists you throughout the entire process, from the concept stage to the finishing touches at the end.
• A general contractor maintains a trusted list of tradespeople whom they can rely on. In case of any problems, the contractor can quickly call upon these trades to address and resolve any issues that arise.
• Getting in touch with someone should be straight forward. Most cases it is the owner you were talking to.

The negatives:

• Not the cheapest option.
• Deciding which one to choose. Making sure you're making the proper comparisons (apples to apples).

Here are a few additional things things that need to be mentioned that separates Forvana Kitchens from other general contractors in our area:

• Order management is a service that is included with our cabinet installations. All cabinets are stored, assembled, and transported from our shop to your home for installation.
• We specialize with IKEA cabinets like no other. We have a few Ikea hacks up our sleeve to deal with challenges that can occur during a kitchen remodel.
• Unlike most general contractors who subcontract everything, we do all of our carpentry items in house by Forvana Kitchens employees including cabinet installations. Our whole team is involved right from the design process. This principal ensures that quality is always maintained.

To summarize, if you don't mind putting in some hard work and you are confident in your abilities when it comes to renovations, you can save some money and hire Ikea or somebody off of Kijiji for your cabinet installation.

However if are not wanting to take a chance on a poor job being done and having it take months to do, you are best to hire an experienced general contractor. Assigning someone to oversee trades, all scopes of work, scheduling, and troubleshooting can significantly reduce stress levels. 

I hope you found this article informative and now feel more confident about determining the best course of action for you. Happy renovating!