Home DIY

My toddler spent a little bit of time splashing in the kitchen sink this afternoon. This evening I noticed that cabinet door under the sink is water damaged. We installed this kitchen a couple of weeks ago :(

I don't want to spend the next ten years being precious about splashes in the kitchen so I think the only option is to replace all the cabinet doors and drawers to something more robust.

I have some questions:

1. Has anyone had experience trying to get IKEA to replace stuff under warranty? How hard was it?
   
2. What materials should I be looking at to have much more water resistant kitchen cabinets? (The old 70s kitchen we ripped out never showed any sign of water damage from two years of toddler sink mayhem before).
   

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Definitely take it up with Ikea. That is ridiculous! It’s a kitchen cabinet ffs.

that’s horrendous

It’s a kitchen cabinet ffs.

Exactly. Doesn’t inspire confidence for long term durability - and perfectly reasonable grounds for a return/exchange imo.

fluoresecent

Oh dear.

I'm sure they wouldn't want pictures like that to be seen too widely. Who would buy a kitchen from them knowing it doesn't withstand a bit of water.

It's definitely a replacement but it might just be a dodgy panel - I wouldn't expect the rest of them in your kitchen to react like that to a bit of water - otherwise IKEA would be spending a lot of time and effort constantly replacing water damaged panels.

Maybe they are usually relying on the glue in that joint to repel any water and maybe the paint to keep it out a bit. Not to use waterproof MDF seems a strange corner to cut for a big company, surely the price difference is not that massive.

Maybe I should test the other panels....

To be honest it's just crappy fibreboard. If this has happened after just a couple of weeks I don't have much faith in the kitchen being durable in the long term, especially with a toddler, so I'd want a refund on all the doors and replace them with something better.

What materials should I be looking at for long term durability? Just solid wood?

Thanks for all the other responses. We'd been living with a crap kitchen for ages before this, have really limited time for DiY (work, lockdown, parenting etc) so this is a waste of time I'd rather not have right now.

Solid wood with ply panels is a very durable option. Ply panels are a little more difficult to get a smooth finish on though. Wood does not come easy or cheap these days though, it's not really that easy to choose. A properly made waterproof Mdf door should be very durable. There are lots of options depending on budget. Flat panels are the cheap durable option of course.

They have a policy where if it gets damaged during shipping or assembly they replace it no worries. I'd imagine they'll just ship a replacement without quibbling. I got a replacement for a unit that arrived damaged, the only hassle was waiting I a queue for the online customer support chat. When ingot through they didn't even want evidence of the damage. Definitely ask.

This is helpful, I'll take a look tomorrow

While we're on the subject of kitchens, it's been perhaps 24 hours without a question about my kitchen floor so I reckon it's time to wade in again :)

I'm thinking forward a bit, and considering options for remedial works. I am bracing myself for decent trades to be extremely busy for the rest of 2020 (many have already said as much).

If I install my cabinets and worktops but don't fix them to the walls, then dismantle them in - say - February to have a new floor fitted, is that going to be more or less of a horrible pain than living without a kitchen from now until then?

Realistically only I can answer this, so I'm just writing it here to help myself acknowledge that those may be the options. It's also a good distraction from wanting to bang my head against the (newly plastered) wall.

There has been quite a lot of mention of Plykea in this thread over a few years. You might not be ready for that level of hip though :)

Oh yes, I don't think they'd quibble about replacing one door. It's just that I'd rather replace all the doors with something better quality now so I'd be asking for a refund on around £200 worth of doors, all but one of which aren't damaged. Anyway, I'll get in touch with them tomorrow.

I might be wrong about this but is it even possible to buy the IKEA carcasses without doors? I told myself that after trying to navigate the website with a vague idea of maybe getting some plykea in the future. I may well just have misunderstood.

Ha, I did look at them a while back but I'm not a 40k kitchen sort of person. However, I could be persuaded if they're bomb/toddler proof....

Yes, you can get the IKEA carcasses without the doors. It's easier to figure it out if you can a paper copy of their catalogue rather than trying to navigate the website.

Gotcha.

YMMV but I recently returned ~£500 of IKEA stuff and then nipped into the main store to buy a couple of extra bits. Returning was quick and easy. Buying was hellish with all the queuing, basically a normal IKEA trip turned up to 11. But yeah, the returns process was no drama (in Edinburgh)

Cool, good to know for next time.

@Cupcakes are you in Edinburgh or have I got it wrong?

I know a very very good flooring guy in Airdrie who has done work for me close to Glasgow. Edinburgh might be too far but I can pass on his number.

Yes, and yes please!

Superb. Thank you!

Angle grinder