Thanks for all the comments. The LA is DC based. I am near Harrisburg, outside of his normal service area (CL ad ran in Baltimore and was picked up as a "nearby" area to us). He has a guy who is Baltimore based who might be interested in the work, but his interest will be higher if we do more of the project at once rather than phased since that would be a ride for him too. That doesn't perfectly match my fund from cash reserves approach, but the HELOC rate is real low and my employment is stable. The LA would help administer the project, but I believe only if we contract him to do the construction documents vs the concept doc's. Which is a % for the construction docs, plus hourly for the administration (where he might not be local to supervise easily). We re-did the basement in the old house and we juggled contractors which wasn't a ton of fun. I guess I did it for cost savings, but it was certainly work. We (my wife in particular) are organized and capable, but there is always the knowledge gap to deal with. I don't think we'd do it for a neighbor though. The cash benefit is nice, but we'd need the future dividends of the work done right and the improvements being ours, at least for our period of ownership. I prefer the materials LA is proposing. A part of me wonders if it over improves the property to the neighborhood, if the neighbors are all using pavers or blocks. We hope to be in the house ten more years, but it won't be our last place. I expect to take a financial loss on these improvements. But I do expect the improvements to make our place sell faster. The people my wife knows in the expensive neighborhood would definitely let us see their yards. I just don't if the people she knows have done anything. I can find out. I'll ask the LA if he cares if I post the design concept on the net if anyone wants to see what we are working towards.

I agree you have to be careful, as creek_side said. Our Lowes KD was top knotch, informative, helpful and very professional. He spent a ton of time working out every little detail and advised me in things I never would have thought of. He also said he would only let one installer do my kitchen. He admitted that it can be a crapshoot if you just go with comes up on the computer when the order is put in. He kept putting in my order until the right installer came up. And that installer was incredible. I found out he was the top installer and had the highest satisfaction surveyed. It was obvious in his craftsmanship, professionalism and attention to detail, even to the point of doing custom detail work. If you are not comfortable with the people you are working with, you probably won't get what you want. It's the same with big-box or custom cabinetmaker. Do your homework. My GC was blown away when he saw the install, at the quality of the cabinets as well as the quality of installation. He kept asking "Lowe's?"

We've DIY'd cabinets twice and been glad we did. I will say that age is a factor. It was easier the first time in 2011, less easy last fall, and I don't know that I'd be up for it in another couple of years, so it's a good thing we have no plans to move. You know in HGTV shows where they're doing a kitchen and some guy swings the upper cabinet into place like it was fairly light? I don't know what kind of cheap cabinets those are, but the ones we used took two of us to move - they're heavy! (No, the shelves were not in when we put them up.) The first time we did it, we found this piece of equipment at a rental place and it helped enormously. I think it was intended to hold up hold up large, old-syle TVs while they were attached to a wall. It was invaluable in getting the cabinets in place and aligned in three planes before attaching to the wall. The second time around we searched all over two counties for something that would do the job, but no luck. For these newer cabinets we had to use a ledger board nailed to the wall plus me standing on a ladder balancing it to get everything aligned. It works, but it's a lot more work. For the short cabinet over the refrigerator we conscripted the tile guy who was working on the fireplace to help hold it up while DH screwed because that was beyond my height and strength - I helped lift and hold, but I couldn't do it by myself. I like the lifter. Another big issue with DIY is knowing that despite what some "professionals" tell homeowners, walls, floors, and ceilings are rarely level, at 90º or otherwise ready to use as is. In the first house there was one wall stud with the crown towards the kitchen while all the others on that wall faced away from the kitchen. It was located right behind where the drill is in the photo above. This means that to get the cabinets level as you continue down the wall, there need to be shims. In this case lots of shims. The new house has better (not perfect) walls, but the floors are wonky. In this case we had to shim under the lowers, which was tricky ("lift a little, more, OK now a bit up in the back"). In both houses the cabinets were level in three planes by the time we were done and the granite went on without a hitch. Tall pantries are also a challenge just because they weigh so much and it's difficult to get them upright in the room and slid back against the wall.

So just for removal and installation your price seems high to me. However, what kind of guarantee are you getting on the quartz? That is the one unknown here because if they are willing to accept the risk of breakage during removal and reinstallation that is worth some money. My quote for installation for 27 cabinets in one property was much less than that. I ended up doing it myself but wanted to be sure it was worth my time. Anyone experienced with installing traditional cabinets is overqualified to install IKEA cabinets. It is much much easier than doing traditional cabinets. It really is a great install system. So I would not worry too much about your cabinet guy not having experience with IKEA specifically. I personally find IKEA's trim system leaves a bit to be desired and a pro will help solve that issue.