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mom270_gw

Anyone used Lowe's for kitchen design?

mom270
14 years ago

I think we're finally ready to replace our cabinets, countertop and appliances in our small kitchen. Thinking of using Lowe's for everything. Anyone care to share their good or bad experiences with Lowe's? Thanks.

Comments (61)

  • Fori
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I do think it's possible to get a great kitchen even from a mediocre Lowe's "KD". Just keep tabs on everything and run everything by the people here before you commit!

    And do the 10% off "just moved" coupons go for kitchen? If so, get one!

  • sfcitydweller
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I forgot to mention I had the worst experience with HD. HD was rude and would not even give me pricing without paying their design fee. So, I went to Lowe's and everything was FREE, plus they were so knowledgeable about their cabinet lines. Once again, I'm sure it was the specific people I dealt with at each location.

  • mountaineergirl
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    mom270 -
    You asked about the Lowe's Shenandoah cabinets. I used them for my laundry room that I just remodeled 2 months ago. I had asked Lowe's for their cheapest good cabinets (if THAT makes sense) meaning dovetail drawers, 3/4 inch shelving etc. While they are sturdy cabinets (and look nice too) there is one feature I hate. The doors are not full overlay, so you know the strip of wood that is in the middle of the cabinets? well it is attached to the left door, so you have to open the right door before you can open the left - does that make sense? It is only on the base cabs tho, not on the wall cabs. And only on the 36" base as the 24" base just has a single door. The wall cabs have the strip on the cabinet itself, not on the door. Now, if you want to put something very wide in the cabinet, its handy to have that wide opening without the wood strip getting in the way, but its a pain for me to have to open one door in order to open the other. They are nice cabinets tho, I ordered mine in "Tawney"

    If you need a pic, I can take one, but maybe you were already aware of this style.

  • jenocurley
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We ordered the Shenanddoah cabs for the same reason as mountaineergirl. We really did not want to spend a crazy lot on our remodel. We have not installed yet but the ones we have opened so far look great and if there is a problem I believe their return policy is excellent. Not that we want to go through that. One cabinet was smashed up in transit and the replacement was here in about 4 days. I think they are good enough cabinets. I got the breckenridge cherry spice. I did not go for the glaze because it cost soooo much more and I swear I could hardly see the difference between the chocolate glaze and the spice cabs in cherry.

    Even Christopher Peacock in an article I read recently said get the least expensive cabinets that will do what you need. So for under 15,000 we will have a new kitchen all DIY, huge stress and headache but still worth the savings.

    If you have an idea of what you want to go where I think lowes is fine. Just do your homework here on GW. I changed my design after I posted it here. I just cant wait to have it done : )

  • socalusa
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We actually had both Lowe's and Home Depot give us their interpretation of what we had in mind for our kitchen. They both had the KD CAD programs for whichever cabinet line we wanted.

    Both had some similar and yet different takes on the space.

    We ended up going with HD and had an excellent experience start to finish with their designer and the Thomasville cabinets were delivered as projected and with no flaws whatsoever. It's quite amazing when you think about it. The numbers (sizes) go into the computer and then several weeks later voila - there they all are in your garage - ready to install!

    I DO have to interject this caveat. My VERY patient KD said he had 25 versions on his computer before the final one was okayed, so although his very first design was spot on - he was patient while we tweaked it 24 more times.....

    I'm a HUGE "what-iffer," but we also saved close to $5,000 with his patience and great ideas.

    It might all boil down to door choice, the dollar amount and your compatibility with the designer.

    Good luck!

  • nonnyx2
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Our Lowes designer has been absolutely wonderful to work with. Professional, knowledgeable, with common sense suggestions for us, she has taken great pains to give us multiple layout designs and product information from several vendors that would benefit our life style and our wallet.
    Others who happen to learn who we are working with all have the highest praise for her expertise.
    It can be a hit and miss situation finding expert advice whether paying for it or not. We happened to have lucked out again having found this forum.

  • marcy96
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have been working with a KD at Lowe's that is terrific! She even came out to my house on her own time to look at my kitchen space. But I have really been involved in the design, even looking through her spec book for ideas. I think it all depends on the person you get and how involved you are in the design.

  • sophie_blue
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I used Lowe's kitchen design service and thought the person we got was very good. She was patient, listened to what I wanted and made suggestions on layout and materials. Like others said, it's all about the skills and experience of the person at your Lowe's. I would've had no problem placing an order with her but ended up ordering from a small custom shop. Custom guy was able to do a better job with the layout of the kichen so that there were no fillers. Lowe's designer could only configure the kitchen using the standard size cabinets, which did not exactly fit our kitchen. This is a limitation of the store not the designer.

  • emilynewhome
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We had a Lowes designer and another big box store give us bids on Kraftmaid cabinets. The door styles go under different names at different stores.

    We had our kitchen floor plan printout off the blueprints (new build)which showed the appliance and cabinet layout.

    We didn't need to change too much. We knew we wanted deep drawers, pullouts, lazy susan, desk area etc.
    The girl we worked with at Lowes, and had a better rapport with, gave us the lowest price. She was very helpful in suggestions of cabinet combinations, aesthetics and so on. Also continually gave us the cost of upgrades or changes we considered making.

    The fellow at the other store kept changing the quality of cabinets (mdf, then particle board versus plywood boxes).

    Said he couldn't go lower than Lowe's price or even meet it, because his store's policy says they have to make a certain percentage markup.

    The Lowes bid was just over $11.000, with sink cabinet free and blum undermounts and soft close drawers standard. The other store's bid was just over $13,000 for particle board boxes and no freebies.

    The Lowe's installer came out and measured the kitchen prior to placing order. He was very conscientious about checking that the wood matched. He sent back a drawer front that he felt wasn't up to standard.

    I think it depends on the individual stores and their employees, how much commission they want to make and their installers.

    By the way since we were treated so well we went with their quartz countertops too and were very pleased with price and installation.

  • kelvar
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We had a Home Depot designer get a basic design together. They were running a pretty good deal on custom cabinets at the time. The entire time she worked on it she complained and kept telling us how she is supposed to charge for the design. This was on our first run through the basic layout. No way could I work with her because as you all know, you go through many permutations of the design before finalizing. I couldn't stand the first two hours with her. Our Lowes designer - we got lucky - she did everything we needed her to do - including switching the entire plan and redesigning it to get a price between Kraftmaid and Diamond. It's not as simple as hitting a different key...the whole thing had to be redesigned with the different company stock codes. She did it happily but probably cursed me in private. It all comes down to the skill set of the designer. Some are well educated in the product and the CAD design process, others, are horrible at it. It all depends on your skill set as well. Keeping them on their toes and thinking through everything prevents misordering and mistakes. Our kitchen was over the $20,000 mark. HD lost a good sale. Lowes cashed in. I decided on going with a big box company because simply I have to rely on them still being around to support a warranty a year or several from now. Given the state of this economy, I can't bank on a small shop being there. I know that's not supportive of the local merchant, but I don't want to be left empty handed.

  • karena_2009
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The jury is still out for me. I did use Lowes for several things: kitchen design, granite, and cabinet installation. The "KD" while not a certified kitchen and bath designer had over five years at Lowes and a few years at HD. She also has taken classes towards becoming certified. I specifically bought from them for the price of the cabinets and granite. They had a deal that applied the sales tax towards the cabinet installation making the price for all three very attractive with a free sink base, $500 rebate, and 10% off the painted finish that I liked.

    I've had some issues and Lowes is working with me to resolve them. One, as ccoombs1 pointed out was a Schuler wooden hood 27 1/2 inches on the sides, which was too low and caused some serious gouging and head banging. It was a design mistake. She should have caught it, but she didn't, and obviously neither did the installer. I don't think this was done on purpose, it was an oversight in the design process.

    I paid a certified kitchen and bath designer to do my initial layout. It cost me $2,000 and while it was beautiful, she didn't listen to what I wanted and her design was impractical and would have added quite a bit more in construction costs and would have lost me valuable dining room space. I parted ways with her pretty early on.

    It is best to be involved as much as possible in all the different phases: design, installation, etc., which I was, however, there are a lot of moving parts to a kitchen.

    I do feel that I had to micromanage the Lowes installer and supposedly he had his own cabinet shop before. He pushed us off by 20 days, so this really bothered us. He was very fussy to work with despite the fact that everything was perfectly set up for him. I mean all materials were in place, everything moved out of his way, with free use of the dining room for staging the cabinets. If I were Lowes, I would fire him. He came so highly recommended by them and supposedly had high marks, but we didn't find him to be experienced and as good as we were told.

    Here are some of the issues:

    He never put in a wooden hood or ventilation liner, or farmhouse sink. He was constantly looking at the previous contractor's work and complaining instead of managing his own work. For example, the peninsula cabinets, while level are not lined up properly. The first go on installing the ventilation liner, he put it in the wrong spot and he had to patch the holes up. He never, ever coordinated with anyone else: not the previous contractor, not the granite vendor. I sent him all the specs for the appliances a head of time and he didn't bother to look at his email. So, I constantly had to feed him information on a silver platter while I expected him to take care of me as was promised by Lowes.

    The initial granite vendor was terrible. I bought my granite from them on May 1st to take advantage of the $500 rebate that Lowes was offering. The vendor was 1 1/2 hours from my home. DH and I drove up there on a Friday to look at the slabs in person. We decided on some slabs and had Lowes fax the PO that day. The company never saved the granite slabs for us. We had to drive up there again and we were treated very badly.

    As fiori said, it's really important to be on top of everything. Would I have had an easier time with one contractor managing the entire process? Perhaps yes, perhaps no. There is something to be said for going with a larger company who has the resources to rectify problems when they occur. I found that it was pretty much a full-time job managing the costs and moving parts as well as two different contractors.

    I think I'll be very happy in the end, but it's taken the whole summer, so the process has been full of fits and stops. I would be prepared to ask a lot of questions and micromanage the process,

  • dahoov2
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I know this is old but for anyone wanting to use Lowe's I will say thumbs up. You'll pay more though... but if you do what I did, you'll save some money.

    I ordered top of the line cabinets. All wood, cherry, dovetail, soft close drawers. I had two pantries with a lot of pull outs (full extension), a lazy Susan, three glass cabinets (two of which were corner cabinets), a waste can double pull out, a hidden toe kick drawer, two large pot drawers, a pull out spice rack, a bank or drawers (top had double cutlery slider), a blind cabinet, a sink cabinet with pull out sponge thingy, and I think three upper regular smaller cabinets, and lastly, one open bookcase cabinet. They did all the molding (I had fancier moldings on top and bottom) and I had end panels on two of the cabinets and one decorative fluted filler and a a couple plain fillers.

    First quote was over 23k. My kitchen is small.... so I was a little distraught at first because my entire budget was 20k. UNTIL....Until I waited for promotions.

    I knew the granite price already was 4k and I wanted convection microwave, got a revati single super large sink and a touch faucet. I ended up paying 23k in the end, but it included all this ;) 3k over budget but my kitchen rocks!

    To save money here's what you do.

    1) Get the Lowes credit card. But do some fancy financing like we did. We took out the card and saved 10% on all the cabinets. That was Lowe's. Then we paid the credit card off immediately with our savings (or use a lower interest card or loan). Don't use the card to finance it though Lowe's though because the amount of interest is high. Only do this if you have other means to pay the card off immediately within 30 days.

    2) get a military discount. If you are military, you can get that for 10% as well. You cannot use both the credit card and the military though. Either way, we were personally covered.

    3) perhaps you have a contractor who can get you a contractor discount. It's probably not good on custom items though. But you can use it for the stock items.

    4) Wait for Lowes discount offers. When we bought, they had "incentives". Lowes was offering a % in cash back. I ended up with a 1800 gift card in addition to my 1800 10% savings... JUST from Lowes! It took about 30 days to get the gift card. We used it for another project. Luckily, they did allow me to use the discount along with the credit card discount.

    5) Ask if they have an manufacturer incentives or ask them to CALL for a deal. They CAN arrange some deals. They will not tell you this. But it can be done with the sales person at the manufacturer. In addition to the two discounts I got, the manufacturer was offering a free sink base and a free trash can cabinet. In addition to that, they messed up my order on a glass cabinet and I whined and I got them to give me two extra glass doors ;) Those glass doors were about 250 each, so that's a HUGE savings!

    All in all, I think the savings was over 5k. All because I asked for discounts and savings and waited one more week to get the free sink/trash can (overlapping offers is what to ask about).

    The installation was included in that price as well as garbage disposal hook up, rerouting a heating duct, and lighting/microwave wiring and all plumbing to hook up faucet/sink.. The contractor will see what you need done and quote his price. Then they'll add that to your cabinet price.

    Here is what was not included:
    Sink (bought mine from online store and got a 700 dollar sink for 350ish, saving 50%)
    Lighting (Installation was included though) bought my unique fixture off Ebay
    Appliances (opted to buy my own micro/my others were already newer and stainless...)
    Flooring (Kept my old one as it was only 3 years old and matched nicely and in great shape)
    Faucet (another Ebay purchase. I got my top of the line touchless faucet 150 cheaper than Lowes!)
    Garbage disposal (bought my ultra quiet one at Home Depot, 20.00 cheaper than Lowes)
    moldings (had someone else come in and do that but moldings on cabinet was included in price; to save money, I painted them myself)
    Windows (I didn't need any)
    Drywall. (I didn't need any)
    Painting (we did our own sanding/painting)

    They will clean up after themselves and remove all trash. KEEP extra materials. I kept extra moldings and doors and I did projects with them that people compliment on all the time. I turned one door into a chalk board and used a piece of the fluted molding for a chalkboard ledge. I used two other cabinet doors and put glass in them and made art pieces. Lastly, I took the molding pieces extra he was throwing out and made a calendar frame. It's gorgeous!!! And it matches the kitchen exactly, as do the other pieces.

    Demo WAS included in the price originally but I negotiated the original price down to do our own demo. I never took out the sink though, needing that till the last minute. He took those out for me free. They WOULD remove your old cabinets ... but I used my circa 200 cabinets and repurposed all but three of them in the work room. Now I got a fancy workroom! I can repaint the wood later (they are currently honey oak blech) but heck, they're in a storage room so who cares! But if I sell, I'll repaint those. I put a butcher block counter on and have two pantries in there, leaving room for all the tools and paints and stuff. It's so organized and beautiful for a storage room! ;)

    The reason why I recommend Lowes above others is because Lowe's backs their work. Their contractors are licensed, insured and if they mess up, Lowe's will fix that. Many smaller companies they won't and you could end up in a nightmare!

    Good luck.

  • gabbythecat
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We almost went with Lowes. Their KD was nice and kind of good. But she didn't seem to have a place for our MW, since I didn't want it over the range (based on advice from KD books). I think her best solution was on the counter, which seemed kind of like an afterthought. Also, she could only offer framed cabinets within our price range, the wood choices were kind of boring. It would've been an okay kitchen, but nothing to brag about...fortunately, we found a local cabinet company that gave us what we were looking for, and within our price range...and we have a nice place for our MW!

  • Catharine442
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Everyone who is buying decent cabinets should get estimates from custom cabinet shops. They can usually beat the big box store price for cabinets and you may not have to change your space to fit the cabinets.

  • HomeChef59
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I agree. I have found that custom cabinets are usually competitive with the semi-custom types found at Lowe's and Home Depot. With custom, you don't have to compromise.

  • rosiebingo
    8 years ago

    We are having Lowes do our kitchen remodel. We had lots of problems and do-overs because of a inexperienced kitchen designer. Also unless you've designed kitchens yourself I think it's important to have the designer come to your house and get a feel of the kitchen. I think it's the best way to explore what will work -- and what won't. We had several "what wont's" and it has delayed and complicated the whole process.

  • mattswiger91
    8 years ago

    I am in the middle of a lowes remodeling our kitchen. I would never let them touch a thing in our house again. The contractor they used went the cheap route on anything he could, and had his toothless hillbillys do most of the work. Needless to say I will never shop at lowes again. Save yourself a headache and find a local well known contractor by friend of family that will take time to do your kitchen right.

  • _sophiewheeler
    8 years ago

    You wouldn't be in New Albany, MS by any chance? I know the jackleg ''contractor'' that they chose for that store. Other stores in the region are more fortunate in the choice of contractor.

  • scone911
    8 years ago

    I worked with a Lowe's designer a few years ago, and it was great. He had a B.A. In industrial design, and knew the cabinet lines very well. Of course, he wanted to work for Nike or Google, so Lowe's was just a pit stop for him. I've also worked with a HD designer who's quite knowledgeable. And then again, I once tried to work with an independent designer, who was an idiot. It really boils down to individual competence and intelligence, wherever you find it.

  • afaye05
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I know this is an old post by a few years, but I have to add my experience. In the middle of a Lowes kitchen project right now, today was day 1 with the installer.

    After going through the run around with HD and their pitch on cabinet refacing (that’s another story/joke, not for this post, but do yourself a favor and don’t bother), I decided to go with Lowes on my kitchen. I own a townhouse, small galley kitchen, 8x9. I wanted to replace the cabinets and appliances with install cost under 10k. I walked in day one with a hand drawn map of how the kitchen currently is set up and the measurements of each wall and cabinet. I did not want to change the layout, I have a granite countertop I wanted to reuse so measurements needed to stay the same (this was another battle where all I heard was no we won’t touch granite unless you buy from us, I can share that solution if you’re getting no’s on that too.)

    I sat down with 2 Lowes employees, one the KD and another who handles the computer work. The KD had no input regarding cabinet options, the other lady gave me all the options and asked the questions. The KD gave me a spiel about how they come to the house with the contractor to measure before we finalize plans because “too many errors in measurements occur so we do the numbers ourselves.” I had to pay $75 for the measure and that gets credited from the install cost once I sign on with Lowes contractor. So I thought everything looked good, price was where I wanted, moved forward ordered everything, started install today.

    Contractor measures the wall with the fridge and turns out Lowes had 112 inches vs the actual 108 inches. We decided to ditch the fillers since the cabinets still fit in 108. Then he goes to install the fridge, it fits perfectly snug in the space. Problem is I have a wall on the left side. I CANNOT open the left side of my fridge. Since we had planned on 112 inches, there’s was a filler on the left side of the fridge meaning it would have worked, but someone measured wrong so I’ve got a half installed kitchen with a fridge that only opens on one side. I have phone calls out to the KD to get this fixed. So much for measuring ourselves to save measurement errors.

    Another thing no one thought about in the design was the bulkhead above the cabinets, it’s 13 inches deep, working perfectly with a 12 deep wall cabinet. I bought a 24 inch deep cabinet to go over the fridge, the bulkhead only comes out 13 inches, so there’s a gap of blank space above that cabinet to the ceiling in front of where the bulkhead stops. I might be wrong but I thought a KD was there to find the things that might be odd and suggest ways to enhance, I got none of that. Now I’ve got more plaster work and painting to do this weekend to make this look like it’s supposed to be that way.

    The contractor today was more useful design wise than the KD.

    I’m going into day 2 of install tomorrow, fingers crossed my granite countertop survives and wish me luck on getting my fridge problem solved.

  • Sue B Hooven
    5 years ago

    I was the one whose post you responded to. When they did my kitchen I didn't have a problem at all. First. I measured. Then,, they measured (Lowe's designer) then they had the contractor who was going to install the stuff not only measure but look over the cabinet layout. He was SUPER fantastic. Years later now and my kitchen is still good except one thing ... the bottom molding (we added a piece on the bottom) is sagging on one side as the nails I think he used were too short. My husband just had to nail gun them himself back into place like a week ago. But other than that, everything is quality and great. The bathroom was my problem! OMG what a freaking nightmare. However, Lowes ended up paying for it, fired the contractor and the designer (she made some gross mistakes leaving me with no way to bathe for 6 weeks! and costing them in over ordering products, products that didn't fit, writing the electric up wrong. Nice girl; just not great at the job). It's a hit or miss thing with Lowes. I do like they stand by their word and you will get most justice. But it's hit or miss with the contractors. I hope your fridge gets working. That sucks. If they mess it up, they will fix it though. Just a lot of inconvenience. Let us know how it turns out.

  • afaye05
    5 years ago

    I can update, day 2 the installer came in moved the cabinets over so the fridge had space and said tell Lowes to fix it and reorder smaller cabinets by the fridge. I called Lowes and they were working the problem no one called me back though. They ordered cabinets that would fit the space and put a rush on it, but that still means 2 weeks for the new cabinets. The installer was awesome and finished what he could, got everything working so I have a mostly finished kitchen and can live. And Lowes is fixing the problem just added 2 more weeks to the project. Now keeping fingers crossed that no one wants to charge me more at the end of this.


    Rough deal on the bathroom, I’m actually working on the bathroom now. Lowes in my area though doesn’t offer bathroom remodeling so I have to contract that out. I had a guy tell me beginning of March and it’s now beginning of April and still don’t have a start date from him. So I’m trying to find a different contractor now. Good news this is my last project so hopefully I’ll be done with contractors for a long while.

  • grabbler
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    We're still in the middle of a horror story with Lowes bathroom design and installation.

    The sales rep flat-out lied to us in her promises that she made orally and even in writing.

    I wish I had read some of the many bad reviews before we signed the contract back in January. We've had problems with just about everything they've done.

    The store manager returned only one of my emails (with an email that said nothing) and he never returned any of my phone calls. Lowes corporate was no better. She never responded directly to any of our issues, just recited the company policy.

    The contractor and sub-contractors did things to accommodate their schedule, not ours. They did things like installing fixtures before they completed the wall paint, now they are charging us extra to complete the paint job around those fixtures.

    The countertop company first cut the countertops for the wrong sink, then when they re-cut them, they cut the holes too large - but installed them anyway. Now we are stuck.

    The electrician arbitrarily positioned a new electrical outlet right next to the bathtub and we're having to pay a lot of money to get it moved away. Who wants an electrical outlet within arm's length while they're taking a bath? The contractor said that the GFCI would prevent anyone from getting electrocuted in the bath, so I invited him if he was so sure to get inside the tub, fill it with water, the to immerse a clock radio in the water with him. He declined.

    Our driveway pavers were scraped by the dumpster (didn't load it onto the truck correctly but dragged it across the pavers). Their work trucks left oil stains. Their youthful helpers have banged up our walls and doors.

    The contractor will agree to fix one of the construction problems then not do it and deny he ever agreed. "Oh sure, we'll take care of that." And then when it comes time to take care of it, it's an extra charge.

    They use a "project coordinator" who is an untrained call center rep located in Indianapolis. One time the rep stopped responding to requests for updates for an entire month! We got a new rep (only after a long battle) who is slightly better - but still does no follow-up or real project coordination.

    The underlying problem is that no one is actually in charge of the project. It's a bunch of people in different departments all trying to CYA.

    NEVER do a bath or any other project through Lowes!

  • PRO
    Design Loft Bracebridge
    5 years ago

    While I'm not a fan of "Big Box" stores. incompetent designers are not limited to them. It comes down to how well the KD is trained. Years ago, after closing my own custom shop, I went to work for a big box store. The one problem I saw was that these stores see fit to "train" people to be designers. Their training program is minimal at best. Unless they come from that background beforehand, their training is not adequate to properly facilitate good, functional designs & know answers to questions every seasoned KD knows.

    Big box store employees won't see your project in person on site. If they do, it's probably because it's after the fact and you have a problem. Even then, it's probably a manager & not the KD. These stores don't allow their KD's to leave the store & go to job sites. Everyone makes mistakes. If they don't see them they won't know how to fix them or, spot them before they happen.

    When searching for a KD (Big Box or small shop), one of the many questions everyone should be asking is; "how long have you been designing & where were you trained?". You're not only investing in a product, you're investing in the KD. Get references, see their work. As someone who has 18 years of designing, years on the job rewards you with a lot of education not found in a 2 week training program. If you ask questions and the potential KD can't answer them or fumbles over them, walk away. You are investing a lot of money. Invest it wisely and do you homework before committing to anything.

  • trukia58
    5 years ago

    After 5 weeks of setting up meetings around multiple people's schedule we paid in full for a new countertop, backsplash, sink and cooktop. Yes, that is all. We paid in full on 7.4.2018. We just found out today they are excited to be installing the countertop on 10.10.2018. This has been one joke and hassle after another. Lowes does nothing, NOTHING, to help. If anything they placate only. I would never have let their contractor come in my house if I had known he is incompetent and way too busy to care about the job. He has caused delays due to his total lack of knowledge about the details, has failed to come and check the workers jobs (calling only once at 6:3pm to tell us he was too busy, were we happy? We paid for him to answer that question!). The countertop is being fabricated only 90 miles from our house, but we have now waited since 7.4.2018 for them to do just that. Vendors do not communicate with Lowes, Lowes does not communicate with vendors or CUSTOMERS. Everytime we contacted people to find out what is being done and what is being scheduled (which is always nothing) there was another name added to the list of people who were "on this". However, no one is "on this". We feel we made an epic mistake with Lowes and have no hope this project will ever come to an end. They communicate that everything is going well. Really? So why 4 months - 1/3 of the entire year to get this done? They are all paid so there is no reason for them to do this in a timely manner. However, as a customer, they have FAILED MISERABLY AND THEIR PROCESS ALLOWS THEM TO FAIL MISERABLY AND WITHOUT CONCERN FOR THE CUSTOMER. Don't buy anything you can't carry out of the store. I know we won't be buying from them ever again. We will manage our own next remodel job. Shame on everyone we have dealt with for their lies and for their lack of interest.

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    5 years ago

    I punched out a bathroom for Lowe's when the customer wouldn't let their contractor finish after 6 months. It took a half day.

  • Kim Altemose
    3 years ago

    We've been installing kitchens for Lowes for 22 years. Your cabinet specialists' knowledge vary by store but if you have questions, they are more than happy to pull out a spec book and see what can be done. As previously stated, they generally don't leave the store. The cabinet lines they carry can be customized to do just about anything you want to do in a kitchen. The important thing is that if you have your own contractor, that they be involved in the design from the very beginning. Most customers have no idea about outlets that are in the way, vents in the floor, plumbing that is outside the sink base, etc. If you don't have you're contractor involved with the design, you are truly asking for problems to come up during the process.


  • Denny Maloy
    3 years ago

    yes, we did three years ago. Cabinets great!, countertop great, but we had and under mount sink, yesterday sink over filled and excess draind into.opposite sink, but the seal on the under counter sink began leaking started and water was everywheres. Some paint was left on edges of countertop

  • Denny Maloy
    3 years ago

    this was with Lowes in Federal Way,wa.

  • Arleen Ryback
    2 years ago

    Never ever use Lowes kitchen installers. They placed and bolted down. my islands cabinets without measuring probably. Now, cannot fit dishwasher in designated space. CUSTOMER SERVIVE IS USELESS.

  • Arleen Ryback
    2 years ago

    NEVER EVER USE LOWES' INSTALLERS. MEASURED WRONG FOR ISLAND CABINETS and CANNOT FIT DISWASHER IN ALLICATED SPACE. CUSTOMER SERVICE UNRESPONSIVE AND UNCARING.
    AELEE RYBACK

  • Patti Peterson
    2 years ago

    We are so frustrated and angry with Lowes Home Improvement kitchen department in Plymouth, Minnesota. Please don't ever trust them to handle your kitchen design and installation. We are still sitting without a working kitchen for over two months now...still waiting for all the spacers and fillers the installer had to order to cover up all the mistakes in measurements. One pantry cabinet has to be moved forward 3 inches because the doors won't open all the way. The doors hit the trim on our entrance to our kitchen! Now we need a filler to cover up that 3 inch gap from the wall. That is just one of the examples of mistakes made.The cabinets are installed but because they need to be moved around with spacers and fillers, we can't have our counter top installed so we don't have a sink. Our appliances are sitting in our front hallway. We could not have Thanksgiving at our home and now we sit like this through Christmas as well. Repeated phone calls and emails trying to get action from the big shot, Marvin Ellison, have just gotten us mindless and insincere apologies, but say nothing can be expedited to get us a working kitchen. No compensation is being offered...these wrongly measured and installed cabinets are not what we ordered and paid for. AND we had to pay the total price of $20,000 before they would even go ahead with this sorry project!! Just a warning for you all. We are sickened by this whole experience. Attached are some pix of our kitchen area. We have been living like this for over two months. First picture shows a cabinet installed almost two inches from the wall. The cabinet with no finished back was not what we wanted. We requested and paid for the cabinet to have a finished back. The installers said, "oh well, your refrigerator is going to hide it". By the way, that is the cabinet that needs to be moved forward three inches so we can open the left-side doors.





  • PRO
    The Kitchen Place
    2 years ago

    The first pic installed against the wall is probably due to an out of square corner. That can happen and is not unusual. I've never seen a perfectly square room.


    But yes, your inexperienced Lowes designer made some errors at your expense. Box stores don't end up being less $ when they cause you this much aggravation. Are these KraftMaid? I bet you my price beats Lowes price. Check out your local dealers. You don't have to pay 100% upfront and you get small business owners that care about their reputation.


    Some brands are not expediting anything right now....all normal orders. :-(


    I bet you anything, you'll get some $ back.

  • Denny Maloy
    2 years ago

    we had out kitchen remodeled by lowes a number of years ago but discovered problems since. If sink overflows it doed not drain into other sink...it leaks into bottom cabinet creating a nasty mess.....because they never sealed the sink to the counter evidently. Then where they installed the area for our new fridgrrator/freezer, they didn't allow space to open the freezer to remove the ice bucket, we have to pull out the fridgr to do this.

    Would i recomend lowes.....not at this time


  • Casaundra Rosenkranz
    2 years ago

    In the midst of a kitchen disaster courtesy of Lowes. Just replacing existing cabinetry, no layout changes. They measure before they complete the design and order? This is what our installer left us yesterday. Unfortunately these lights are symmetrical and you can’t move just one as they suggest as the solution. Poor design, incredibly long lead time, damaged cabinets upon delivery, 8 months in and left with this—all after paying up front.

  • Ann Gilger
    2 years ago

    Do NOT buy from Lowe’s their manufacturer for Allan snd Roth cabinets is making yhem out of cardboard

  • GB Ryan
    11 months ago

    TL:DR- young and brown DOES NOT equal poor or cannot afford.

    We started working with Andrea and at first the experience was great. Once everything was ordered and we received the cabinet catalog we were extremely disappointed in how many cabinet types were not offered to us. There were many options like toe-kick drawers, larger drawers, and more that we would have liked but we’re never told we’re options. Remodeling our kitchen from top to bottom isn’t something we ever plan on doing again and it’s very disappointing that these options weren’t even provided to us by the designer, Andrea. When we raised concerns with the cabinet rep, Tina, she assumed that Andrea didn’t show us these options to save us money. No one asked for that and it’s clear that Lowe’s desperately needs to invest in DEI training for their employees. Being young and Asian does not mean that our preference was to skimp on any costs for a once in a lifetime project and again, that was never relayed to Andrea. Overall we’re content with our kitchen but will never use or recommend Lowe’s design services to any of our friends or colleagues.

  • PRO
    The Kitchen Place
    11 months ago

    As a KD for 40 years, keep in mind the SKU's change and are added to or discontinued all the time.And when you carry 3-6 lines of cabinetry it can be difficult to keep up with all the offerings all the time. Frankly, we are so used to our clients researching Pinterest and Houzz so much that most of them know the convenience features they want.


    Also keep in mind...that many manufacturers now offer full cabinetry spec books onlilne. It's a digital world we live in these days! In fact, so much that we don't really order many brochures nowadays.

  • stinagirl5
    10 months ago

    My Lowe’s kitchen renovation has been a disaster. It has been three months since the kitchen was demoed, and it still isn’t done. Lowes subcontracts every piece, and most of the subcontractors subcontract further. Lowe’s doesn’t manage all the subcontractors, so I have to do that. There are so many no-shows that it seems impossible to get the job done. The contractors that do come frequently try to get me to hire them directly for the service and cancel with Lowes. When I won’t, they leave the job undone. It is such a nightmare, and I will never do another project through Lowe’s again.

  • Laura Galindo
    8 months ago

    Save yourself the headache and steer clear of Lowes for kitchen installs. Trust me, you don't want to endure the nightmare I went through. Beware of Finishing Touch Installations, the contractor paid by Lowes. They operate with a crew of one person, juggling multiple jobs simultaneously, resulting in a complete disregard for customer satisfaction. Their pace is leisurely, dragging out projects to accommodate their overloaded schedule, leaving you in the lurch. Don't expect them to prioritize your needs or deliver quality work. Spare yourself the frustration and find a contractor who values professionalism and respects your time and investment.


    From the start, Dorian's lack of communication was astounding. No updates, no consideration for the schedule, nothing. And when he finally showed up, it was always late, kicking off work around 11 am and stretching well into the evening. But brace yourself, it gets worse. One of his crew members, Severino, had the audacity to unleash a barrage of curses in my own home! Can you believe the sheer unprofessionalism? Such behavior is utterly unacceptable and should never be tolerated.


    The quality of their work was nothing short of a nightmare. Sloppy craftsmanship, leaving behind torn-up walls that were never rectified. They completely neglected the final walkthrough, leaving me to handle the aftermath on my own. Weeks have gone by since they completed the job, and not a single word from them. No follow-up, no courtesy call to acknowledge the completion. It's as if they vanished, leaving me to grapple with the mess they left behind. Save yourself the frustration and disappointment. Seek out a contractor who values their customers and takes pride in their workmanship.

  • Laura Galindo
    8 months ago

    Save yourself the headache and steer clear of Lowes for kitchen installs. Trust me, you don't want to endure the nightmare I went through. Beware of Finishing Touch Installations, the contractor paid by Lowes. They operate with a crew of one person, juggling multiple jobs simultaneously, resulting in a complete disregard for customer satisfaction. Their pace is leisurely, dragging out projects to accommodate their overloaded schedule, leaving you in the lurch. Don't expect them to prioritize your needs or deliver quality work. Spare yourself the frustration and find a contractor who values professionalism and respects your time and investment.


    From the start, Dorian's lack of communication was astounding. No updates, no consideration for the schedule, nothing. And when he finally showed up, it was always late, kicking off work around 11 am and stretching well into the evening. But brace yourself, it gets worse. One of his crew members, Severino, had the audacity to unleash a barrage of curses in my own home! Can you believe the sheer unprofessionalism? Such behavior is utterly unacceptable and should never be tolerated.


    The quality of their work was nothing short of a nightmare. Sloppy craftsmanship, leaving behind torn-up walls that were never rectified. They completely neglected the final walkthrough, leaving me to handle the aftermath on my own. Weeks have gone by since they completed the job, and not a single word from them. No follow-up, no courtesy call to acknowledge the completion. It's as if they vanished, leaving me to grapple with the mess they left behind. Save yourself the frustration and disappointment. Seek out a contractor who values their customers and takes pride in their workmanship.

  • Sue Prit
    7 months ago

    Don’t really have time for details. But $50,000 spent on cabinets an island and appliances! Just talked to the executive complaint person whose standard answer was ‘I’m sorry Ma’am’ the customer is responsible for measurements.

    We went over six hours designing our kitchen and were in love with the design. Once installled nothing fit! We specifically ordered appliances that day, using model numbers, etc. Plugging those model numbers into that design which was supposed to choose the correct size cabinets. Repeat appliance that we actually purchased that day along with her cabinets to make the kitchen perfect. I am so disgusted right now by the Customer Service from the corporate headquarters. The person I spoke to was like a robot that read a standard. I’m sorry ma’am Lowes is not responsible for the measurements which came directly from their program directly from their show room floor of appliances. I just don’t get it and our kitchen does not work. The refrigerator cabinet is too small for the one that we ordered and it is the one she put in the program. The oven cabinet is incorrect. The microwave drawer cabinet is 3 inches shy of the width it needs to be. There are no spacers between the cabinets and the walls of the appliances. Therefore, you cannot open the cabinet doors without your hand basically being stuck in the handle of the cabinet. Our rings are going to bang into the wood every time we use those doors. The frame around the refrigerator cabinet overlap so that the drawers in that counter would not open. It’s a total design flaw that we had no idea was happening during the design. So now, as our appliances are being brought in to be installed, nothing fits! We’ve moved out of our house and are having to stay with relatives. Because we have no kitchen. And it looks like this is going to be a long haul to get fixed. There is no way I would recommend buying anything from Lowe’s at this point. I kept asking the gentleman what am I supposed to do with a $50 thousand dollar kitchen that I can’t use. I can’t install my appliances in that I bought from you the higher cost. We did everything right and it is not the $50,000 kitchen that was designed. It is a total disappointment. Although we loved the cabinets, stain choice, glass doors are beautiful. But the design is incorrect and there are so many flaws. And they are telling us there’s nothing they can do for us. And I paid my contractor to put them in. I’ll have to pay him to take them out. I’ll have to have a new company design them and I’m probably out another $50,000. So if anybody has had problems like this before and they can recommend a good attorney. I would appreciate knowing who you used in the Santa Maria California area. So disappointing and frustrating. And in the corporate executive offices are saying our case is closed, despite us paying so much money for our cabinets, and there’s just nothing that they can do for us. B S.

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    7 months ago

    I'll bet your lawyer can get your case reopened.


    I repaired a raised bar solid surface countertop that was damaged by a Lowe's design flaw. They failed to read and comprehend the appliance manufacturer's installation instructions which would have required they pull the cooktop cabinet forward to get the required rear clearance.


    I fixed the top, but not the fire hazard.

  • PRO
    DeWayne
    7 months ago

    Yes, the customer, or their contractor or installer, is responsible for the room measurements, if you didn't buy the measure from their installer and use their installer. The software doesn't choose the cabinets to install though. The cabinet salesperson chooses among the 10,000 different cabinet choice options, for each cabinet, and each cabinet's alterations. When the cabinet salespersons are not trained, and don't understand math, you have issue with things fitting.

  • PRO
    The Kitchen Place
    7 months ago

    Sue Prit, So sorry this happened to you. Your story is not that uncommon. In my 40 years in business, I've heard stories of this regarding box store kitchen disasters. One client brought in the contract that was 5 pages long....the homeowner had to accept all responsibility for the fit and function. I couldn't believe what I was reading. I don't know how they get away with it. If I had a contract like that, people would look at me like I was crazy. The box store wanted zero liability. In fact, I've heard from industry insiders that box stores don't want to be in the kitchen remodeling business...they know it's a huge liability with workers that don't know what they are doing. But it's a necesssary evil for them. And for some reason, consumers feel like they are so much more safe ordering through a box store because it's a big company. That is true in some ways....but it's hit or miss on the design.


    My advice for those shopping now? Find a reputable, good, longstanding kitchen dealer, pay in increments, pay your deposit with a credit card...you're much better off. These dealers have "skin in the game". If they screw up, they eat it. Not so with a lot of box stores...manufacturers will accept returns on made to order cabinets. They won't do that for dealers.


    Also FYI....If you hadn't installed the cabinets, I believe you could have more leverage. Once cabinets are installed, it's harder to ask them for a refund.


    If you paid with a card, see if you can file a dispute. I hope you can get this resolved and fixed. Are they helping you reorder the correct cabinets? They should at least offer them at cost if they won't do it for free.


    Consider putting some of the wrong unused cabinets in another room? Basement bar? Laundry? If you can't, then resell them to someone wanting to do remodel. You won't get much but it can help.

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    2 months ago

    Retailers trying to be contractors.

  • PRO
    The Kitchen Place
    2 months ago

    Joe, I love that! "Retailers trying to be contractors" LOL

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    2 months ago

    James:


    Publishing people's names and contact information on the internet is perfectly cool.


    As a business owner, right before I hit the "send" button on an email, I ask myself "How's this going to look on the interwebby?" If a business owner is too stupid to do this, they deserve everything they get.


    Furthermore, it puts pressure on contractors and vendors to settle. Pressure is good as it enhances one's position of strength. I'll take a position of strength over an arbitration clause anytime.

  • PRO
    The Kitchen Place
    2 months ago

    Sue Pritt. Wow, your story is awful. So sorry you were out so much $. I hope you can get it resolved. or at least minimize your losses by using most of the cabinets.


    The box stores don't want the hassle and they KNOW there's a million things that can go wrong and that their minimum wage, high turn over staff is going to make a lot of mistakes. It's truly sad. I've been designing kitchens for 40 years and it's not always so easy. Even I must rack my brain at times, do the math....make things function!


    I hope you can salvage MOST of your cabinets and rework it so the cabinets work.