IKEA Kitchen Countertop and Appliance Install

This is the third post in a series on the kitchen remodel of the Main House Fixer Upper here at One Hundred Acres Home. You can check out the original kitchen demolition and remodel planning post here. The second post, here, covers how to install IKEA kitchen cabinets. This post will show you the prep work needed for the countertops, the IKEA kitchen countertop I chose, and the kitchen appliances. Can’t wait to show you!

Prep Work for Countertop Install:

While the IKEA kitchen cabinet installation was a 100% DIY project, I know the limits of my DIY skillz. If I were doing concrete countertops, I would do those myself, but I want white quartz countertops for easy maintenance. Plus they look good! Installing quartz is a bigger project than I want to tackle myself, so the countertops will be professionally installed.

Countertop installation usually takes two appointments. The first appointment is a fit-up where the measurements are taken and a template for the countertops is made. The second visit is to install the countertops.

However, certain things need to be in place before the first appointment. This is the checklist I needed to address:

• Base cabinets must be permanently fixed, installed, and level within 1/8 inch on a 9 foot run.
• All end panels, finish caps, and trim pieces must be permanently installed before the countertop fit-up.
• All sinks, faucets, cooktops and stoves that shall be installed will need to be onsite at the time of the template.
• All required products, cutout information and/or product templates are to be given to the service provider a the time of the template.
• If you are purchasing a non-IKEA, under mount sink, make sure it fits inside the measurement of the cabinet. For 24 inch wide cabinet, use a 19 inch max wide sink. For 30 inch wide cabinet, use a 24.5 inch max wide sink. For a 36 inch wide cabinet, use a 31.5 inch max wide sink. **DISCLAIMER** I discovered this is not always true and was able to use an approx. 30 inch wide sink in a 30 inch wide cabinet. More on that below.
• Plumbing should not be hooked up to the sink prior to the countertop install.

I used long 4 foot and 6 foot long hand levels to check the base cabinets along with this laser level on a tripod just to be sure everything was good to go. You can see the laser hitting my hand in the photo below.

Laser Level

The powerful cross line laser easily project a red cross line at a wide angle of 110°to assist your leveling jobs, bright and clear. With high accuracy of ±1/8 of an inch at 30 Ft, the line laser enjoys lower energy consumption and longer battery lifespan, ideal for paving tiles, installing photo, door, window, or furniture carpentry, hanging wallpaper, etc.

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Laser Level, RockSeed 100 Feet Cross Line Laser with Self-Leveling, Vertical and Horizontal Line, Rotatable 360 Degree, Carrying Pouch, Battery Included (Red)

Appliance Delivery and Over-the-Range Microwave Install:

So appliances. These are simple, good-looking, and not too expensive stainless steel appliances that I bought during a Labor Day sale at Home Depot. The IKEA kitchen order was just shy of $5,000. The countertops will be around $2,500. So relatively, it didn’t make sense to spend an absorbent amount on appliances. Plus, I’m not the type that likes my refrigerator to be connected to my smart phone. No need for that. I’d rather keep it simple and have things last a long time.

Below is a photo of the delivered refrigerator and electric stove. The fridge is 36 inches wide and countertop depth, or approx. 24 inches deep, to match the cabinets. I saved some money by choosing a very simple model. Actually I did not want a water dispenser because that’s just another thing to leak and clean. Same with the fact that there is no dishwasher here. I always to dishes by hand and don’t want another thing to leak.

You can see I protected the newly installed hardwood floors with a bunch of leftover cardboard from the IKEA kitchen. That carboard will stay in place until the kitchen is finished! Word to the wise: Be really careful when moving ovens. They have little feet that can scrape or mark floors as they go. The cardboard saved my floors here.

The countertop installers told me to have the stove in place before the first appointment. So I figured it was a good time to get the over-the-range microwave installed as well. The microwave has a fan but will not vent to the roof. That’s just another permit and a hole in the roof that I didn’t want to deal with. It’s been fine with over a year use in the kitchen. I know, I need to get these blog posts out there sooner!

Here is the upper cabinet that the microwave will attach to. The microwave comes with a template that tells you where to drill holes in the bottom of the cabinet for those long screws you can see extending down and for the hole for the power supply chord. I used a Dewalt hole saw to make a clean power supply hole.

See all those wires in the upper cabinet? Those are for the IKEA cabinet lighting. The gray boxes allow the lighting to be controlled by a wireless remote! Yes, it’s fancy and really cool. I discuss this more in the previous post on the IKEA kitchen cabinets.

That white board with the metal base trim below the cabinet is a microwave bump-out filler piece from IKEA, named NYTTIG. IKEA upper cabinets are 15 inches deep. That’s deeper than the more typical 12 inch deep upper cabinets. So this bump-out block puts the microwave flush with the face of the IKEA cabinets. The microwave metal wall bracket, that comes with the microwave, gets screwed to this filler piece. Then the filler piece is screwed directly into wall studs for a very sturdy support.

I needed my husband to help install the microwave. Basically one person holds it in place while the other connects those screws from the upper cabinet to the top of the microwave after its been latched into the wall bracket.

Here is the installed microwave and the stove in place, ready for countertops! The Kraus sink faucet is also ready for reference during the countertop appointment. One of the very last pieces of finish panels I still need to place are black cover panels to cover the cabinet sides below the microwave. More on that later.

Here is a better view of the stove and microwave. Simple and classic. My level is checking the cabinets one last time (I checked this SOOOO many times lol). And you can see I am testing the placement of some base cabinet pulls *spoilers*.

52 inch Cranbrook Gloss Black Low Profile Ceiling Fan

The contemporary Cranbook fan comes with LED light integrated in an exposed hood that will keep home interior current and inspired; Measures 52 x 52 x 15.65 Inch

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Hunter Fan Company, 59259, 52 inch Cranbrook Gloss Black Low Profile Ceiling Fan with LED Light Kit and Handheld Remote

IKEA Cabinet & Countertop at Kitchen Sink:

Let’s talk about the kitchen sink. Here is the very large and opulent single bowl 30 inch wide Kraus kitchen sink in a 30 inch wide IKEA kitchen sink cabinet. I am able to use a wider sink than generally recommended here because I am not using swinging doors in the base cabinet. So I don’t need space for door hinges. Instead, I will install a stationary cover panel over the sink depth. The lower portion will be a pull-out drawer on bottom tracks. Clever yeah? I love this huge sink!

Here is a view from the top. The flanges of the sink rest directly and solidly on the cabinet walls each side. I showed this to the countertop installed and offered to built a small wood frame support for the front and back. He said this was great as it is. Again, I’ve used this kitchen for over a year now and it’s worked great. So nice that this was super easy.

Kraus KHU100-30 Kitchen Sink, 30 Inch, Stainless Steel

• INDESTRUCTIBLE CONSTRUCTION: Dent-resistant T304 stainless steel in TRU16 real 16-gauge (always 1.5mm thick) for superior strength and durability
• COMMERCIAL GRADE SATIN FINISH: Resilient and easy to clean, corrosion and rust-resistant; matches most kitchen appliances
• QUIETEST SINK: NoiseDefend soundproofing technology with non-toxic Sound Guard undercoating and extra-thick pads covering over 80% of the sink

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Kraus KHU100-26 Standart Pro 16 Gauge Undermount Single Bowl Kitchen Sink, 26 Inch, Stainless Steel

IKEA White Quartz Countertops:

Finally I was ready for the countertop installation. These are IKEA KASKER white quartz countertops installed by a contract countertop company.

Here is the undermount sink! You can see I marked centerline with the black line on the wall. Everything lines up perfectly. The center hole in the counter is for the faucet. The hole on the left is for a soap dispenser to help reduce clutter.

During the first countertop appointment, I asked if they could do a window sill for the window above the sink. Amazingly, they said yes without any extra charge. Here is a close up of the quartz edge at the window corner.

This is the inside corner of the freshly installed countertops. There is a joint that diagonally back from the corner about 2 inches and then straight back. You can hardly see it in person, let alone in the photo.

I opted for a beveled edge. They beveled the window still to match. I thought it added a cool classic touch.

Here is a full view of the new IKEA kitchen countertops! I also installed the final cover panels below the microwave so you no longer see the white of the cabinets.

It’s really looking like a kitchen now. Stay tuned for the backsplash, floating shelves, and finishing touches.