Ls Kitchen Specialist

We hired Lee in the Spring of 2016 to help us with a major kitchen facelift. Our home was built almost a century ago; and for about the last three decades we had been living with refaced cupboards, a white laminated particle board counter, a dishwasher on wheels and not enough electrical outlets.

This time, we wanted to go professional; and that’s why we brought in Lee. He worked closely with us to draw up a design that eliminated some dead space and turned a 1960s-vintage broom closet into a multi-drawer pantry. Lee also advised us on what kind of drawers to go with and on how to squeeze in a small wine rack beside our new induction stove. Not to mention the countertop lighting and the LED ceiling lights that provide full-room brightness for when you really need it.

Once we had agreed on the layout, Lee sent along a detailed shopping list that made our visits to Ikea straightforward and efficient. Soon after the boxes had been laid out in our living and dining rooms, Lee showed up and piled everything so as to spread the weight and carve out a passageway through the rooms.

For the actual renovations, Lee sub-contracted to tradespeople he works with regularly. He installed the drywall himself, along with a co-worker. Afterwards, the tapers showed up and did a marvellous job hiding all of the joints and getting the walls ready for painting. Lee also brought in his electrician for a long overdue upgrade of the countertop outlets; and later he sent along his plumber to install the new sink and faucet and connect our first-ever built in dishwasher. It was the same for the backsplash. We did the shopping; Lee’s tile person did a great job making it look good.

When you open up walls in an old house, you have to brace yourself for surprises. We discovered that our kitchen window needed an inside lintel to prevent bricks from falling. As well, we had to put in steel supports along the bottom of an old chimney base. For this work and for some other framing, we hired a separate contractor. We had no difficulty coordinating their work with Lee's.

The cost figure in this review was for the entire renovation. That included the framing, spray foam insulation, new appliances, a quartz countertop, a higher-end sink and faucet and backsplash tiles. We did save some money by doing the takedown and painting ourselves and by preserving our cork-tiled floor. We also installed ceiling sound insulation ourselves.

So, after a very busy summer, we are now enjoying our up-to-date and attractive new kitchen. We are most satisfied with the work Lee did to help up plan the changes and make our project a success. If you’re considering an Ikea kitchen, we strongly suggest that you call Lee Sanchez.