# IKEA kitchens service void



## Woodmonkey (4 Jan 2016)

Swmbo has decreed that we are to replace our kitchen with one from IKEA (in fairness they do look nice and don't think I could make one for cheaper once I've factored in time off work)
I've read that unlike most they don't have a service void behind, has anyone fitted one like this and has it caused any difficulties? Mostly wondering about the waste pipes from dishwasher and washing machine which won't be adj to the sink, if they run underneath will there be enough of a gradient?


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## MCB (4 Jan 2016)

I bought some kitchen cupboards from Howden

Once I convinced them that I was “Trade”, they amazed me with the discount off listed price in catalogue - it was something like 70% OFF!

You may care to visit their showroom if there's one local for you.

MC Black


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## blackrodd (4 Jan 2016)

Just carefully use hole cutters for the pipework, and as the external brown pipe is usually installed at a minimum fall of 1 in 80, so just give it 1 in 80, or a good slope inside the cabintry, it will look good when fitted nice and tidy.
Rodders


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## Steve1066 (4 Jan 2016)

There not bad kitchens as flat packs go, but be warned they have a habit of not sending all bit out, and it takes week to get the missing bits.
Try Howden or Magants much better service.


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## chippy1970 (4 Jan 2016)

I've fitted a few ikea kitchens. They're OK , hinges are usually Blum but in general you get what you pay for they're cheap.

Howdens are a bit more solid and if fitted well can look good.

Magnet used to be good years ago but they're not all that now.

If you can spend a bit more I can highly recommend crown imperial or omega.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk


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## woodenstx (4 Jan 2016)

When I had the chippy round to fit our worktops (this was pre manning up to woodworking), he said that the wickes one we had was good quality but Ikea are good too, the only thing you need to do is order the deeper worktop so you can create the service void and hide the pipework behind the cabinets.


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## GLFaria (4 Jan 2016)

blackrodd":7wymt379 said:


> Just carefully use hole cutters for the pipework, and as the external brown pipe is usually installed at a minimum fall of 1 in 80, so just give it 1 in 80, or a good slope inside the cabintry, it will look good when fitted nice and tidy.
> Rodders


As Blackrod says, "inside the cabinetry" - which may at times be annoying. It's not just the waste of space, it is also that if you also use that cabinet to store things you must be careful not to displace the pipes.

As a side note, I would label IKEA's kitchens as plain "utilitarian" - meaning they are not intended to look like luxury items, which they are not, they do the job they are intended for, no less, no more. That said, in 2010 I have outfitted two kitchens with them, both are still fine. One of them (the one with the wooden tops) is used only about three months in the year as a summer residence, the other one has been in everyday use (permanent residence) for three years with no problem.

Incidentally, I do not recommend the laminated wooden countertops - they must be oiled beforehand, they require care in use (no spilling of cleansing hemicals or boiling water, please...) and periodical maintenance, and at least in ours the individual slabs seem to have cupped somewhat, as the tops feels distinctly "wavy" when one rubs his hand over them.

In the end, it mostly depends on the kind of kitchen you are looking after.

G.


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## MCB (4 Jan 2016)

Is it possible to still buy FORMICA worktops?

MCB


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## Woodmonkey (4 Jan 2016)

Thanks for the replies. Although the suggestions of other places to source the kitchen may be good ones, once the light of my life has made her mind up it's far easier to accept it and move on, so ikea it is.
I think running the pipes inside will work, as they will go through a corner cabinet with the pull-out gubbins so will prob have a bit of dead space at the back anyway. (And the ikea cabs are deeper than normal anyway b precisely because of the lack of the void). Pulling them forward to create a void would work too, but the kitchen is small and narrow and don't want the worktops to be any wider.


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## MCB (4 Jan 2016)

I bought some Ikea cabinets a few years ago. When I wanted another to match, they had discontinued that range so we had to build one from scratch. 

So you may want to buy spares now while they are available!

MCB


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## Woodmonkey (4 Jan 2016)

I will probably not be in this house for more than 4 or 5 years so will take my chances!


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## inkyblue (4 Jan 2016)

@MCB. Yes, formica worktops are still going, they are sold under the brand name Axiom.


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## Jacob (4 Jan 2016)

No probs with IKEA kitchen recently installed (mostly by Doug). If you are desperate to hide pipes they can go under (if there's enough gradient) or you could fit back panels in your own routered slots. But the extra space is worth having on the useful side rather than having an empty void. If in the cupboard the pipes are out of sight, at the back, low down in the part most difficult to reach, so don't get in the way of anything much
The kit and the service was excellent. A small set of screws missing from the extractor was the only issue.
Cheaper than Howdens and non of that 70% off dubious bo88locks, the price was exactly as per catalogue. We got fed up with "special offers" from Howdens and a lot of their kit gets bad reviews.

Yes you can still get Formica it never went away. We did our own tops from 5' x 12' 18mm ply (doubled up around the edges) plus Formica. Cheaper than most of the alternatives and a good deal of design freedom


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## Max Power (4 Jan 2016)

IKEA the Ratners of the kitchen trade


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## shed9 (4 Jan 2016)

Max Power":3hv0alba said:


> IKEA the Ratners of the kitchen trade



How is that a relevant analogy? Did I miss something in regards to Ikea's business strategy?


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## davin (4 Jan 2016)

I have fitted dozens of Ikea kitchens, (as well as help make and install handmade £30 k + kitchens.)
For the money I think Ikea are great value. If you don't buy the handles or worktops from Ikea most people would never know where it came from. Saying that the worktops are great value. 
If you buy an Ikea sink, you will have to buy the waste kit just for the rectangular overflow and throw the rest away, as you will discover.
Just don't buy B and Q.


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## biskit (5 Jan 2016)

I've fitted a few Ikea kitchens, I got the customer to get everything, usually had to go back a few times and change parts etc.
I think we had to bring the back panel in a bit to get pipes hidden behind. Usually got worktops from somewhere else.


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## Max Power (5 Jan 2016)

shed9":1uekddoi said:


> Max Power":1uekddoi said:
> 
> 
> > IKEA the Ratners of the kitchen trade
> ...




The relevance is they're both cr*p , but of course IKEA arnt foolish enough to publicly admit it :shock:


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## No skills (5 Jan 2016)

How long is Ratners product guarantee?


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## davin (5 Jan 2016)

Well that's another good thing about Ikea, their returns policy is great, never had any issues. Unlike B and Q who's kitchen designers (!) try and sell you loads of bits you don't need/


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## Woodmonkey (5 Jan 2016)

Max Power":igh51rkc said:


> shed9":igh51rkc said:
> 
> 
> > Max Power":igh51rkc said:
> ...



Do you have experience of IKEA kitchens Max? I only ask as the overall experience of most people I've spoken to, inducing those on here seem to be positive.


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## MCB (5 Jan 2016)

davin":297f711w said:


> Well that's another good thing about Ikea, their returns policy is great, never had any issues. Unlike B and Q who's kitchen designers (!) try and sell you loads of bits you don't need/



I bought some Aluminium handles to fit to a wardrobe that was bought by my parents in the late 40s (It's “utility”, if anybody can remember what that means!).

The instructions indicated that one should drill 5mm holes and I was horrified to find that the machine screws provided were M4 so the handles fitted badly.

I wrote to IKEA and, after discussion, they offered to replace the entire wardrobe. Since it would be impossible to get anything nowadays of the same quality (certainly NOT from Ikea!) I told them that I would make do with M4 screws and penny washers. But the customer service was exemplary.

I hope they have now changed the instructions!

MC


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## Mark-numbers (5 Jan 2016)

Ikea kitchens are excellent, with regards to the void, if you do what I did, run lengths of 2 x 2 Level around the perimeter of where the units are going. With the top edge of the 2 x 2 being level with the top edge of the carcases - makes it very easy to level up the carcases then.

Then make your only worktop using a chipboard door blank, and laminate of your choice.

Very effective, easy to do and gives you more work surface.


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## Doug B (5 Jan 2016)

Jacob's was the first IKEA kitchen I'd fitted & overall I was quite impressed with it, the range is a little limited in the widths of cupboards available but on the whole they are well thought out.

That said I'm not overly impressed with their kitchen planners, perhaps if you want to come out of retirement Jacob you could give them some pointers as yours went together fine, unfortunately I can't say the same of the one I started this week.

The 2 asterisked measurements in the photo add up to 2060mm distance from wall to back door, the planner decided that some how a 880 corner unit, 600 cooker & 600 cupboard would fit in,they've even put a plant on end panel on the end of this run which means the total overhang of the would be nearly 40mm








If you look carefully you can see the plan even shows a slight overhang ](*,) ](*,)


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## novocaine (6 Jan 2016)

for my sins I was an IKEA worker in my decent history, planned a few kitchens and never had any complaints, not that it really makes any difference now. 
they have changed the stuff the sell (about 2 years ago now) and I haven't fitted one of the new ones yet, I believe they have used the same manufacturer (insider knowledge) and the quality is still the same as the old units which is good. the facings are a bit thin at times and I've chipped a few carcass panels before now (normally out of site though) so be careful and build them on the box if you can, this stands with howdens units too though (and wickes and B&Q too) 
the lack of service void isn't a major issue if you can move your pipework, all mine is below the cabinet height now. a few minutes with a jigsaw around sockets is a good trick too.

as for them not delivering everything, I wouldn't know, I've always gone to store and picked it all up, once in a renault clio, which was fun, never had a pack with parts missing and I've fitted 10 or so of them over the years.


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## Splitwagon (8 Jan 2016)

Didn't think my first post would be about Ikea....

When we moved house about 16 years ago, we decided to 'splash out' on an Ikea kitchen (we were poor, we thought Ikea was upmarket). It was a bit risky as we did not know anyone who had one. We did the floor (laminate), tiling (fancy handmade things), and all the base units, cupboards and plumbing, lighting ourselves. The fancy sink unit, tap, oven and hob did not come from Ikea, but the fridge did (it is a Whirlpool really).

To answer the OP question, I was able to run the washing machine and dishwasher feeds at the back of the cupboards, and there was a void big enough behind a stacked drawer unit. I ran all the wastes under the cupboards (in the kick space) and never had a problem. The sink traps and waste hung down in the sink cupboard, I think that is normal.

The point is that kitchen is still in use, and we still get compliments on how modern and smart it looks - because it does. All the fancy corner cupboard and larder pullouts, and the waste sorting bins all work as well as they did 15 years before. One of the cupboard doors delaminated slightly after about 14 years in service (it's right next to the oven), we went to Ikea and bought an identical one to replace it, no problem - it matched perfectly. I was amazed they still stocked the design.

The reason I bothered to change the door was we recently decided to buy a new house (I needed more workshop space) and rent out our old one, and I thought a new door would be in order. I mention this because the rental agent thought the whole kitchen was new (I admit we had paid for a professional deep clean!).

If there is one thing I would never ever do again is lay a laminate floor in a kitchen - it's a really bad idea!

In our new house, an Ikea kitchen will be fitted in our utility area, I hope it lasts as long!

Simon C
~~~~~~


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## Woodmonkey (8 Jan 2016)

Simon - we were thinking about laminate, why not?


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## petermillard (8 Jan 2016)

Woodmonkey":3n2dk8fw said:


> Simon - we were thinking about laminate, why not?


I'd be interested in the answer too - we've had the same laminate flooring in our kitchen (IKEA, as it happens) for about 16 years without any issues at all, and I've fitted a few in customers' kitchens over the years as well, no problems.

Cheers, Pete


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## Splitwagon (9 Jan 2016)

Why is laminate a bad idea in a kitchen...?

1) Our washing machine had a big leak, and an upstairs shower tray too, both depositing a substantial amount of water that found its way _under_ the kitchen laminate. It dried out by emerging from every joint in the laminate and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. It left each joint slightly puffed up, ruining the look and get slightly worse with every clean. I know the answer is to ensure water never gets underneath, but the risks are harder to control in a kitchen. You may be able to get water resistant laminate now, but I would still be wary.

2) I dropped a 2-ton trolley jack in the middle of the floor and it punched a hole the size of a 50 pence piece in the middle of a board. Because the laminate floor is tongue and groove all round it was impossible to fix without removing at least half the floor and remains there to this day. I know this is not normal use for a kitchen, but who's normal?

Ps the whole of the ground floor of that house was laminate, no problems at all in 16 years.

Pps the whole of the ground floor in my new house is real wood or ceramic, I had not thought about that until just now. It's the real wood that made me buy a nice saw, which brought me here....


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## joiner_sim (9 Jan 2016)

Get an IKEA Family card. If you mess up during assembly, fitting or even transporting home.... the family card offers free insurance and you can simply take the whole thing or just a single part back and start again. Not sure if this applies to actually fitting kitchens out, but certainly applies to everything else in their store.


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## joiner_sim (9 Jan 2016)

Oh..... and also free tea on weekdays!


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