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Anyone know Merillat cabinets? Experience?

kitchendetective

14 years ago

Friends are buying their first condo. The builder uses Merillat cabinets. They can order upgraded models from the builder ones, but they, too, must be Merillat. I offered to ask my GW panel of experts about Merillat experience and recommendations. Anyone have any? Thanks in advance.

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Comments (3)

jb1176
14 years ago
We have the mid grade - classics line. Builder put this in our condo also. I would have chosen the masterpiece line with drawers and solid wood if I had been given a choice. We've been in the condo for 8 years and the cabinets are holding up fine.
letter100
14 years ago
As we remodel we will remove Merillat cabinets that are original to the house, 26 years old. We are not the original owners. The cabinets are particleboard and the drawers are stapled. The lazy suzan corner cabinets have two door panels attached together. They changed shape and have not fit into the opening properly for over 10 years. The undersink cabinet was ruined about 5 years ago due to a plumbing problem (the bottom sagged and separated from the side, paper cover pilled off). Then the undercooktop cabinet bottom caved because I put too much weight on it (gallons of water). Now one of the wall cabinets bottom is separating from the side. I think the glue is drying up and no longer holding it together. Everything else seems perfect. So perfect that it took me several years to talk my husband into changing these cabinets. We will reuse them in the basement.

I assume that much have changed in cabinet materials in 26 years (particleboard, glue quality, etc.) If I wanted framed cabinets I would look at Merillat. But we decided to get frameless, which Merillat does not make.

The important question about upgrading is how long do they expect to be in this condo? How long do they want these cabinets to last? How much customizing do they want to do? Does the builder's model give them the cabinet / drawer configurations that they want? Can they just upgrade some of the cabinets, instead of all, and they would all match?

Also, consider what appliances are being built in. Appliances don't seem to last as long as good quality kitchens. In our case the slow death of the built in appliances (cooktop and oven-microwave combo) is what really got us into remodeling, not the cabinets. I would suggest they get a range and a microwave on a shelf instead of built in appliances. And no downdraft venting! If a built in dies you have to deal with making a new cutout or getting a replacement cabinet, trying to match it to other cabinets that are still in good shape, or wait 6 years until both of you are ready to rip out cabinets that are still in mostly good shape. Sorry, that's a lot more info than you asked for...
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$26K is just the price of the cabinets and I double checked the quote that it includes full overlay doors, full extension drawers, all plywood construction. The pantries and several of the base cabinets include the roll out trays. We are renovating the whole house with our GC and have already been at it for months so there’s really no going back as far as that selection. Since we’re removing a load baring wall, vaulting the ceiling and reconfiguring the layout, the cost is about $16K for labor and building materials. The counters will be around $11-13K as I want a full height backsplash and waterfall on the end of the peninsula. The kitchen project won’t be for months as cabinets are currently all 6 months out and we haven’t placed the order yet because we’ve been indecisive. I added some pics of the room the kitchen will be opening up to. We’ll be removing that whole wall between the kitchen and dining area and adding bar seating on the peninsula. We are also removing the railing and raising that “pit” to be level with the rest of the dining area so it will be much more open. The view from the dining room is out into the trees and it’s very green most of the year (this picture was from last winter when we bought the house so you don’t get the full affect). Also the whole interior of the house is painted a yellowy beige and we’re going to have it repainted to eggshell white as we feel it looks rather dingy as is. We like the green b/c we are surrounded by trees and have dark wood trim. We liked the idea of bringing some of the color inside and not adding more wood. Originally we wanted dark navy but decided the green went with the spirit of the house more. The house was built in ‘77 so not truly MCM, but has that vibe. I do like the kitchens posted above, but I’m not sure about adding more dark wood even though it would fit the house. It is something to think on though.
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tabteacher
14 years ago
My sister has had them in her house for about 12 yrs. To me they look as nice as when they were installed. She has had no problems with them. I am not sure if they had different levels back then, & if so, what hers are.

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