One Customer’s Quest to Complete His IKEA Kitchen Installation During COVID

Dogged persistence got him through this IKEA kitchen installation project!

Finding an IKEA cabinet installer is not always easy. There are a lot of factors to consider, and sometimes there are unforeseeable issues that come into play as well.Those can really impact an IKEA customer whether they are first-time kitchen remodelers or experienced DIYers.

Barry from North Port, FL, is one such IKEA customer. He had quite a quest in finding a qualified IKEA cabinet installer for the IKEA AXSTAD cabinets for his traditional-style IKEA kitchen remodel project.

“We chose IKEA AXSTAD cabinets for this project.We’re not using IKEA appliances, countertops, sinks or faucets — just the cabinets and undercounter lighting. One modern design element we’re using is cover panels underneath the upper cabinets. We also purchased an open teak shelf from Semihandmade for use in our coffee/tea station,” he says.

After using Traemand (IKEA’s corporate installation arm) for the design verification, Barry attempted to purchase his IKEA cabinets in March, 2021 and contract with Traemand to install them — just as he had done before for another project. However, Barry quickly found that 22 of the 168 IKEA items he needed were not in stock, and some, such as the wall oven/microwave cabinets, were not expected in until July.

“We also found out that Traemand doesn’t install in our zip code, which is on the south end of Sarasota county in Florida,” he says. Things became crucial because by this time, his old kitchen was already torn out and he needed another installer quickly.Plus, he says: “My main contractor is the builder who built my house and they don’t install IKEA cabinets. Searches on Houzz and Angie’s List turned up only general contractors and I was afraid I’ll get the same reluctance to do IKEA cabinets from them.”

It was then that Barry reached out to IKD for help and our team provided him with some leads from our Install Connect database of capable IKEA installers from his area.“We got some names from IKD but ended up hiring a handy man to protect our schedule, as our existing kitchen was already torn out at that point,” he says.Today, his project is now underway with an August 2021, scheduled completion date.

Let’s take a look at Barry’s installation odyssey!

IKEA Kitchen Installation Answers

According to Barry, his previous IKEA kitchen project in 2015 featured IKEA GRIMSLOV cabinets and had no supply chain issues. His IKEA experience now has been much different.

“After the original order for 146 items was made in March, it took 10 additional orders over the next six weeks to complete the remaining 22 items of the order,” he describes. “This was accomplished through a combination of click and collect, placing orders with the call center to be added to our delivery — which we had to schedule far out for May 6th —and going back to IKEA to make purchases.” This was not easy either as it required driving over two hours to Sunrise, FL since the Tampa, FL IKEA location did not have stock.“And don’t forget the 31 phone calls over the six week order-completion period,” he says.

He concludes: “We should say that the IKEA call center staff was great, as it took a lot of help to get this done; moving items from our shopping list to an order, finding stock, getting estimates for stock replenishment, etc.”

Learning Process

So, where was the learning curve with his IKEA kitchen installation? Barry says there were several.

“We learned that IKEA’s ‘Click and collect’ only works when there are more than five items in stock, and that stock in the warehouse is completely separate from stock in the stores. You have to manage across both channels,” he says.

He continues: “Another challenge was that you cannot print out your entire design from the IKEA Kitchen Planner, you only get a subset of pages which show the parts list, cabinet by cabinet. To get the overall design, Traemand sends you a Plan Verification package that shows the top and wall views with measurements. IKD would’ve probably been better in this regard. Had we known that Traemand couldn’t install in our area, we probably would not have used them for design.”

He also suggests that when delivery occurs, you need to have your own Excel spreadsheet printout, listing every part, sorted alphabetically by part number.“The IKEA output is by cabinet, and the truckers simply dump the entire load in your garage and leave. So you have to sort out whether you got everything, knowing what was supposed to be delivered by truck and how many parts there are [compared to when you pickup yourself].”

He concludes: “It took a lot of scrutinizing the design, looking up parts specifications on the IKEA and appliance Web sites, checking measurements, etc., especially with the wall oven cabinet and trying to figure out if we would be able to use it for a Bosch oven/microwave combo.”

Words of Wisdom

Barry provides additional perspective about his IKEA installation.

“The biggest inconvenience was COVID-19 and microchip-related short supply of materials, both cabinets and appliances. Our kitchen has been delayed more than a month for cabinet availability and more than three months for two appliances — the dishwasher and wall oven/microwave combo. The related inconvenience was having to constantly call IKEA and make several long trips to stores. And finally, having to find another installer in the 11th hour,” he says.

He concludes: “We have flattened all speed bumps at this point and have sight light to the finish line, but the kitchen will be partially complete in June with everything complete in August. Fortunately, we head north for the summer, so it’s not that bad.”

Learn more about how we can design your IKEA kitchen, bath, laundry room and other rooms at inspiredkitchendesign.com.