Anyone using Ikea (Or similar) kitchen cabinets in their garages?

[joey1320]

I have decided to go with a white and soft-green motif for the garage. While looking for a simple shop cart, I came across Ikea's raskog utility cart and immediately decided I wanted to incorporate it's color into my garage renovation.

Looking over their kitchen cabinets, they have extremely simple white cabinets which I can spruce up by utilizing vintage Volkswagen outer door handles as the cabinet handles. These white cabinets will also go well with the white Yukon 46" box.

I can utilize two 30"h x 24"w cabinets, along with a 15"h x 30"w cabinet to hang on the wall.

For the bottom I can bookend the 46" Yukon tool box with two 36"h x 15"w x 24"d cabinets.

This will provide me with 76" of length of top and bottom storage space for about $750, which in my opinion, will look extremely clean and modern.

I may end up using other more of the same cabinets along the garage for additional storage but the main wall will be as detailed above.

So with all that out of the way, is anyone using Ikea kitchen cabinets in their garage? If so, how are they holding up?

Here are the cabinets, toolbox and cart.

 

[u2slow]

Ikea makes it with some odd variable-density particle board. I have some in my kitchen. Fine there. Not for my garage thanks.

I currently have some old 70's cabinets in one area of my garage. I find the 1' depth difficult to fit things in. Not strong enough for bolt bins, etc. I'm trying to use them as best I can for smaller/lighter items for now. Time will tell if they get to stay.

In general I get better use from 16-24" open shelving - either buy sectioned units, or build from scratch.

 

[Blickus]

Did upper & lower cabinets & made a Formica top across the back wall of a two car garage. Worked out great. The only issue after 5 years is under a small sink. That door has absorbed some water on the bottom edge. Slightly damaged (can't see unless it's open). Easy to replace if it gets worse.

You can combine sizes to hit whatever dimension you're looking for. Fill panels for the corners if you're interested. I found their web catalog difficult to navigate. Much easier in the store to pick the base/wall frames, doors & shelves. They have a steel rail that they "hang" on. Very strong, and simple to install the frames (one man job).

All shelves are loaded with power tools, paint cans etc. No worries about their strength.

Much better than the shelving it replaced, which always looked like a catastrophe. Easy to clean, greasy fingerprints wipe right off with a bit of WD40.

 

[joey1320]

Thank you everyone for responding.

I did some googling and it seems people are utilizing the ikea cabinets same as I want and working out okay if your expectations are right to begin with.

I do have ikea bathroom cabinets and a few dressers and they are all in perfect condition after 4 years of use. Same for an island we bought over a decade ago. Seems like their quality is good, specially for the lower price.

The only issue is they are 3 hours away, so going to the store just to stroll through is not an option. I'll keep looking for references online and will update this thread, or my garage thread, if I buy them.

 

[CraigStu]

I used unfinished cabinets from HD in a previous garage. I suspect the ikea are a step up from them but not a garage/shop duty product. But, as long as you pay a little attention to how much weight you put in the drawers I suspect they will be fine. A couple of mine I overloaded a little and after a while the approximate 1/8 thick bottom panel started to sag. That was easily fixed by dropping in a piece of 1/4 inch tempered hard board. Have you looked at HD or Lowes? I have thought since then that if I were to do it again I might upgrade to their plain white in stock cabinets. It would be worth it to check them as I assume they would be closer and they have sales quite frequently.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I have decided to go with a white and soft-green motif for the garage. While looking for a simple shop cart, I came across Ikea's raskog utility cart and immediately decided I wanted to incorporate it's color into my garage renovation.

There have been several people here who are using the Raskog cart in the garage. I bought one to use in the house, they're pretty well built for the price.

 

[joey1320]

There have been several people here who are using the Raskog cart in the garage. I bought one to use in the house, they're pretty well built for the price.

Yeah I really like the functionality of it. I also like that specific green color. A pale comparison to a Hazet but not $750+

 

[engineer2]

I have the IKEA equivalent from Menards in my garage. They were in my basement for many years and I moved them to the garage. 8 foot formica countertop. They have been fine so far. MDF has good compressive strength, but that's about it. Any shelves should be 3/4" thick to minimize sagging.

 

[nadogail]

In my Workshop/Garage I have Home Depot's Mills Pride Cabinets. They were inexpensive and IMHO look good. I have added some cleats to support the heavily loaded shelves.

In my Home where the car is parked, we have the repurposed original cabinets removed when the "Builders Grade" kitchen was remodeled. The remodel cabinet vendor's installer moved and installed them for a reasonable fee.

 

[paredown]

I've worked with Ikea cabinets on a couple of kitchens. They are decent quality IMO--high density particleboard. I think the finishes are getting cheaper on the bottom end cabinets-they are (I think) just a foil type finish rather than a laminate. That said, look for used ones--deals can be had. (I have not worked with the newest line of cabinets--I worked with the previous generation which was the Akurum line...)

For uppers, they use a rail system that is pretty slick (and probably should be used, since there is not much solid wood in the cabinet backs). Bases, I think their leg systems aren't much, so you would likely do better making your own plinth. For kitchen design the hardest thing used to be the absence of much in the way of trim, and limited widths--both of which they have addressed in the new line from what I can tell. They also use good hinge hardware, and the drawer bases have Blum (or Ikea branded) equivalent sliders and soft close.

Their "wood butcher block" counter tops are very thin veneer over high density mdf--I used a piece I picked up in their markdown section for my laundry sink/counter along with some clearance cabinets. Although it is pretty thin veneer it is holding up pretty well, even around the sink.

I was eyeballing Facebook marketplace for some used Ikeas when someone down the street tossed their white melamine cabinets from the '80s--the price was right, so those are in the garage now.

 

[u2slow]

The only issue is they are 3 hours away, so going to the store just to stroll through is not an option.

I'm 3-4 hours from an ikea too - make a day of it? Their delivery charges are wack...

 

[16again]

There have been several people here who are using the Raskog cart in the garage. I bought one to use in the house, they're pretty well built for the price.

Just ordered the cart. Plan on using it in my garage for all the car detailing items. Price is certainly right.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

Wandering off just a little, my last shop I outfitted with Die-bold bank cabinetry. Put several different bench top surfaces on it around the shop, I lined 3 walls with the stuff.

Price was right, I think I may have gotten it all for free, found a bank that was remodeling branches, I think they where giving it away, they where saving labor of taking it to scrap, by giving it away ?

Made for some REALLY nice shop storage/work space.

This time around, Ive been buying new scratch and dent industrial storage/benches/steel tables/cabinets/carts ect. ( paying about $.20 on the dollar )

 

[jake28]

[mention]joey1320 [/mention] go with ikea and don’t look back. For anything less than super heavy industrial usage, the cabinets will hold up fine. Common sense applies here. I wouldn’t load up the drawers with 50 lb machine vises and my whole nut and bolt collection, but they’re fine for 80% of my garage stuff.

One trick to up the robustness is to glue the cabinets during assembly. Especially the back panels to the carcasses. For the cabinets without backs, just pin nail in an extra piece of hardboard or 1/4” ply to add shear strength.

 

[lml999]

I'm 3-4 hours from an ikea too - make a day of it? Their delivery charges are wack...

Normally you could make a day of it just in the food court!

Not sure about these days...

 

[theoldwizard1]

Ikea makes it with some odd variable-density particle board. I have some in my kitchen. Fine there. Not for my garage thanks.

Most Ikea is spliced together, short pieces of pine which is okay. Particle board is NOT OKAY !

 

[lml999]

On a related note, I'm building some bookcases in my home office, and am planning on using a couple of 26" wide Craftsman (middle) toolboxes as drawer units. I'm thinking about repainting the bright red to something a bit more subdued. Should give plenty of storage for all the **** on my desk.

They're on sale right now at $59 at Lowes...plus free shipping. Not unreasonable, if you like the industrial look...or if you need another toolbox.

I think I paid more than that for an identical used one about a year ago...but it did come with lots of moto stickers...

Doesn't everybody need another toolbox?

 

[CombatNinja]

joey1320,

I have an entire wall of IKEA kitchen cabinets in my garage running from the floor to 80" high. It replaced a bunch of those plain white MDF cabinets all the big box stores sell. If you think of IKEA cabinets as replacements for light use cabinets like found in a laundry or pantry or kitchen, they are fine and fit for purpose. They are actually a good bit stronger than the MDF white laminate **** that the previous owner had put in, the doors shut nicer, they have soft close standard, etc. Another benefit is the ability to spec pretty much exactly what you want in terms of sizing, drawers, inserts, etc. Your budget and imagination are pretty much the only limits when it comes to IKEA. Their rail mounting system is also very slick and lends itself well to a garage application where you want to hang everything so the floor is clear.
That said, they do have their drawbacks. Certainly cheaper than custom cabinetry, they are still more expensive than the ClosetMaid, Rubbermaid, etc systems that are similar in some ways. And while not as expensive as proper metal garage storage cabinets from NewAge, Uline, Gladiator, etc they are also not nearly as durable and resistant to damage from heavy objects, metal and so on. You know, garage stuff. Just know what you are buying. I use mine for light household storage and car detailing supplies, NOT for tools.

If you are going with the soft, industrial green theme, also check out their BODARP cabinets fronts. They are new and exactly what you are looking for. Might be a slight price increase from your plain white but worth a look.

 

[u2slow]

Most Ikea is spliced together, short pieces of pine which is okay. Particle board is NOT OKAY !

*Some* Ikea stuff is spliced/laminated pine. I grew up with a bunch of that furniture in the house. Nowadays, you really have to hunt for it in the mess of particle-board they sell.

 

[joey1320]

If you are going with the soft, industrial green theme, also check out their BODARP cabinets fronts. They are new and exactly what you are looking for. Might be a slight price increase from your plain white but worth a look.

Thanks everyone for the responses.

CombatNinja, thanks for the detailed reply. I'm definitely checking out the bodarp cabinetry.

I have used the "garage" cabinets from the big box stores and the comparison to my bathroom vanities from ikea is night and day. For not much more I can get the ikea cabinets which will be plenty good for my uses.

The toolbox will hold the tools and the cabinetry will be for miscellaneous stuff and light duty equipment.

Now I need to work on getting the garage ready

 

[joey1320]

The Ikea BODARP collection will be a perfect match to the cart. I'm thinking green upper cabinetry with white bottoms along with the white toolbox.

 

[jd_1138]

I wouldn't want Ikea junk in my garage. Just build custom shelving out of solid wood and connected to the wall studs. You can make them look really nice. It will last like 30 years and more.

Ikea stuff is for a house.

 

[dereksummers]

Most Ikea is spliced together, short pieces of pine which is okay. Particle board is NOT OKAY !

Twice this.
Be careful with cheap-ish Ikea cabinets, they are nothing but junk in general. The particle board stuff is among the better presswood stuff you'll ever see, but it's basically disposable. You can't move it a lot. And that's why I don't use them in my garage.

On the other hand their kitchen cabinets are very good.

 

[CombatNinja]

echoing derek summers here, IKEA kitchen cabinets are nothing like the inexpensive bookshelves and living room display cabinets they sell. To reiterate my earlier post: as long as you know what you are buying and plan to use these in a garage for light storage utility cabinets, the IKEA system is fantastic and impossible to beat for modularity and flexibility at a given price point. If you are trying to use them as industrial strength garage cabinets for tools and stacking 100+ pounds into every cabinet frame, they are not for you.

A lot of you guys hating on the IKEA cabinets are coming at this from the perspective of "everything has to be military-grade 18 gauge steel and I like to jam engine blocks in my cabinets" perspective. Some guys have a tool chest or two, a workbench and just want some premium-looking storage cabinets at a reasonable price capable of storing the trappings of everyday suburban life. Nothing wrong with that. That pretty much defines my oversized two-car garage and I am fine with that. I park $120,000+ worth of daily drivers in it and it serves as my project station on weekends. Come at me bro. All this bluster about anything less than 600 pound LISTA cabinets being **** is just so tired. It is similar to all the guys I know that buy Ford F-250 pickups and literally never do anything with the truck. Congrats, you spent $60,000 and put up with **** ergonomics and a dismal ride and terrible fuel economy all in the name of moving a refrigerator once. These are the guys that think they can wear masculinity like a costume, as though it is defined by the **** you surround yourself with. Give me a break. //end rant

 

[PassnThru]

I wouldn't want Ikea junk in my garage. Just build custom shelving out of solid wood and connected to the wall studs. You can make them look really nice. It will last like 30 years and more.

Ikea stuff is for a house.

No one is talking about shelving here - it's about closed storage for a neater look that keeps dust off of stuff. At the end of the day, the cabinets in my garage can be weaker than the cabinets in my kitchen. Why? The kitchen cabinets get more use than my garage cabinets. I would bet that's the case for most people.
For pure functionality, people should be putting metal garage cabinets in their kitchen and wood kitchen cabinets in their garage.

 

[joey1320]

No one is talking about shelving here - it's about closed storage for a neater look that keeps dust off of stuff. At the end of the day, the cabinets in my garage can be weaker than the cabinets in my kitchen. Why? The kitchen cabinets get more use than my garage cabinets. I would bet that's the case for most people.
For pure functionality, people should be putting metal garage cabinets in their kitchen and wood kitchen cabinets in their garage.

Correct!

I currently have open shelving that I built from some leftover lumber and I detest the sloppines of it all. Because of the fact I'm storing different things, the look is cluttered and busy. I want to see total cleanliness when I open the garage door.

My work toolbox has all my heavy duty stuff. My home one will have, mainly, hand tools and light duty stuff. The cabinets will be used for storing paint, nails, screws and some extra parts (Fuel pumps, carbs, distributors) for the Volkswagen. Those parts are small and I won't be stacking ten of them on one shelf.

 

[joey1320]

All this bluster about anything less than 600 pound LISTA cabinets being **** is just so tired.

Funny thing is, I work at a BMW dealership and we use LISTA cabinets and I would not want them in my garage. They don't look good. They have no visual appeal to them. I want a look that enhances my experience while in the garage working on my old cars

I mean, I'm planning on building this engine trolley which I will paint to match the ikea raskog cart. Sure, I can build a heavier duty cart/jack but I don't want to, I want this one because it looks great and will go with the design of the garage.

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[16again]

Have you placed your order yet? I ordered the cart, shipping was not bad at all. $10.00 Looking forward to getting it and setting up my car care cart.

 

[PhantomEB]

If no woodworking experience, have at it.

I ain’t regretted one bit of building all mine out of 1/2” and 3/4” plywood. My biggest worry is finding better speakers for the custom built corner units that hold my floor standing speakers up top.

 

[finn]

The problem I have with using repurposed kitchen cabinets is that first, the uppers are too shallow to fit much of what I want to store. Reasonably sized plastic bins are too deep for the doors to shut.

Second, the bottoms of the lowers are too thin to store anything with some mass without bowing severely. Mine aren’t IKEA, though.

The cabinet tops make a pretty good work surface in many instances, as long as you have another place for metal work, hammering, and beating. The smooth Formica cleans up well.

I don’t think I would do the whole shop in kitchen cabinets. A small area is ok, but something like the old Gorilla Rack Menards used to sell, with the optional steel doors and perhaps a Formica top would be better for me.

 

[joey1320]

Have you placed your order yet? I ordered the cart, shipping was not bad at all. $10.00 Looking forward to getting it and setting up my car care cart.

I have not. I plan on going to the store and getting everything at once. Currently talking with my wife about finally redoing our "master bath" so I'll probably bundle it all at once. Cool cart. Post a pic

 

[FANTM58]

I’m using JK flat pack cabinets. I am a rep for them.
Pretty decent quality. Ply-wood cabinets ..

 

[wezwells]

For the cart I would recommend setting up a Craigslist alert with the keyword if you live in a City. We've got bedside tables, watering cans, step ladders... all sorts off Craigslist for super cheap using the IKEA keyword. At these price points, it doesn't matter how long it will last.

 

[16again]

I have not. I plan on going to the store and getting everything at once. Currently talking with my wife about finally redoing our "master bath" so I'll probably bundle it all at once. Cool cart. Post a pic

Cart has arrived.

 

[Jim_No_Garage]

Just ordered the cart. Plan on using it in my garage for all the car detailing items. Price is certainly right.

I believe there is an entire sub-Reddit for pimping those carts out for crafting. Mrs No_Garage asked me to make a top for hers.

Jim

 

[joey1320]

Cart has arrived.

That looks great. I think this will be a great cart for moving around the smaller engine parts in the Beetle and Puma.

Thanks for the pics!

How do you like it so far?

 

[Norcal]

I have Ikea cabinets in my rental, the house was my mom's until she passed away in 2017, the cabinet carcasses are particle board that were made in Slovakia, doors were made in Italy, & the Blum hinges were made in the land of Adolf, & Arnold, Austria, they have held up pretty well since 2006, if they stay dry, & not treated roughly, or carelessly, they will do fine in a garage, if someone has the time, skills, tools, & space, they could build custom cabinets out of plywood, & solid wood, plywood & solid wood beats "wood product" like particle board, or MDF, but sometimes that is what has to be used.

 

[16again]

That looks great. I think this will be a great cart for moving around the smaller engine parts in the Beetle and Puma.

Thanks for the pics!

How do you like it so far?

I like it. Light weight and small. Pretty much what I expected. Holds all the car care items. Rolls around perfectly on my RaceDeck flooring.

Middle bin is just a pressure fit with the screw simply tightened into the plate. I don’t think something heavy would work on that shelf.

 

[wes73]

Have you checked out unfinished cabinets at lowes or home depot. Considerably cheaper than IKEA and likely closer to you. I have used cabinets from both for kitchen, bathrooms including a basement and basement bar. regardless of what you use, if it is a high density board for the sides, build a 2x4 pt frame laying flat to set them on to get them up away from potential water and moisture on the floor.

https://www.homedepot.com/s/unfinished%20kitchen%20cabinets?NCNI-5

https://www.lowes.com/pl/Unfinished...etry-Kitchen/1898196271?refinement=4294965482

 

[Trapps]

Like Engineer2 I used some Menard's cabinets. I use them above the bench, so not really in harms way. So far so good. I have some pics in my build tread on posts 23 & 40.