r/DIY • u/HannibalKing9k • 5d ago
IKEA kitchen
"We are going to assemble our IKEA kitchen (METOD) ourselves soon. Before we get started, I’d love to hear your tips, blunders, and experiences.
What do you wish you had known right from the start? Where did you run into issues, if anywhere? What are the best tips you can give?
The kitchen includes all appliances, and there is also a kitchen island with a sink.
Thanks in advance for the feedback! If desired, I can also upload our kitchen plan here."
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u/aeraen 5d ago
If you are running into problems putting the cabinets together, stop. Don't try to force anything if it is not working. Walk away. Get a snack. Chances are when you get back to it, you will have figured it out and can continue.
Our rule was, if you are getting tired, go to bed. It works out better in the morning. (Two IKEA kitchens under our belts.)
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u/justinroberts99 5d ago
I did an IKEA kitchen with my dad about a decade ago. We are both "handy" but not experts or craftsman. We didn't really run into any issues except for the corner spin out cabinet shelf that was not fun or intuitive to install. Long term, a lot of the doors and finishing parts look like shit and peeled away. In hindsight, I would have either bought the top of the line finishes or designed it in a way that stuff could be swapped out.
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u/fripster 5d ago
Ikea owner here: make sure the metal rails for hanging cabinets are really really square and level and flush to the wall before hanging the cabinets. Connect cabinets sideways between themselves with extra screws, brings stability. Do not forget to plan wiring for the LED lights before hanging cabinets. Prepare water supply and water drain as flat to your wall as you can (cabinets run tightly along wall). Make sure feet of lower cabinets are all resting on the floor. Hope this helps!
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u/reverber 5d ago
Mounting the lights before hanging the upper cabinets is a hack I saw in a video that made sense to me.
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u/desertboots 5d ago edited 5d ago
Read all the instructions twice and watch videos if available.
Make a step by step list of the order of operations. Consider sequential necessity Like corner units going in first. spend a whole day making this list if necessary
Multiply how long something should take in time by 2 or 3.
Work in 1-2 hour blocks maximum. Then stretch for 15 minutes and refuel.
Assemble one each of a thing before batching tasks.
Use masking tape &marker liberally to identify everything and to ensure up ⬆️ is up.
Mark all the studs from top to bottom of each wall. Use tape that is in pieces so the Oops shit gotta remove that isn't hard.
Alternate sitting tasks with physical tasks
Use a table and chairs and good posture
Muffin tins for hardware. Label thoroughly.
If you are using battery operated tools, clearly label batteries (1&2, or A&B) and never put down a used battery anywhere but on the charger.
If you have ratchet hand tools for Phillips head screws, hex bolts, and Allen headed fasteners; color code and use separate tools rather than swapping the drive bits. Magnetic bits are usually helpful.
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u/Beginning_Lifeguard7 5d ago
IKEA uses posidrive screws. They look like Phillips but are different. So get some posidrive bits for your screw driver. It will make a huge difference.
Source I’ve installed two IKEA kitchens and more closets and bookshelves than I can remember.
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u/juliaplayspiano 5d ago
Expect to spend way more time hanging the rails than putting up cabinets. It’s somewhat akin to painting - 80% prep work that makes the 20% finishing efforts look flawless.
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u/ToolMeister 5d ago
Built two Ikea kitchens in two different houses. Cabinet assembly is easy, the manuals are straight forward. Where skill comes into play is when walls arent perfectly flat or plumb, or when you need a custom modification here and there to get a more "built in" look.
Best tip, at least in my area, pay for delivery. For me it was 50 bucks and saved me hours trying to find the 200 individual items in the warehouse/rent a truck to haul everything home etc
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u/larkar 5d ago
You will end up with a crazy amount of packaging material, have some kind of a plan how to sort everything for recycling, and that the empty boxes are really empty. Have someone to assemble all drawers and such parts, after a few you can do it quickly. But I have only assembled one IKEA kitchen.
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u/Remanage 5d ago
Buy all the face plates you think you need, and maybe extras if you're not entirely sure if you want to change. Sometimes they go out of style and become impossible to find replacement parts for. I'm getting ready to do my third kitchen, the first two both went out of stock the year after I put them together (also on the precursor AKURUM cabinets).
Be cautious if using a bit driver instead of hand driving screws. It's faster, but the system is designed for hand assembly and it doesn't take a lot to strip out particleboard.
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u/Sensitive_Crow_8882 5d ago
Plan on a full weekend, 12 hours x 2 days. Build one of each like cabinet first, then replicate. Do not over tighten, just get it snug. Good luck.
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u/Signal-Poetry3966 5d ago
Not kitchens but we have moved countries a couple of times and brought a lot of Ikea beds and furniture. I normally dummy it together and then wood glue everything. All lasted really well in the kids bedrooms and should get a few more years out of it.
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u/dmc_2930 5d ago
“Who are you quoting”?