Model Kitchen

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spmanger

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Aug 7, 2013
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Hi All, I'm new to the forum. Found info very useful.

We just purchased a condo in Los Corales and want to remodel the kitchen, other than IKEA, what options are there? Very leary of particle board due to the humidity. Does any have an suggestions on stores, cabinet makers, and how much it would cost? Many thanks.
 
caribmike

caribmike

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Jul 9, 2009
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Good one!

Would like to know too, not only for kitchen but for desks (custom made?) too. The lamination on all our 4 IKEA desks starts to peel off (where the arms rest and sweat gets under the laminate over time I suppose...). Absolutely not recommended for use here!
 
AlterEgo

AlterEgo

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Hire a carpenter, there are many in DR. We had our kitchen totally redone from the floor up, in andiroba and caoba, a lot of cabinets, for $144,000 pesos completely installed. For a similar set-up in NJ, with oak instead of mahogany, we spent $10,000 just for the cabinets without installation.
 
AlterEgo

AlterEgo

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spmanger said:
Love to pictures of your kitchen.
Click to expand...

Here are some photos of the kitchen when it was almost done.

CIMG1126.jpgCIMG1127.jpgCIMG1120.jpgCIMG1121.jpgGEDC0047.jpg
 
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DR_Bound

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Aug 18, 2013
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Very nice cabinets, AlterEgo, thank you for sharing the photos. Do you live in DR full time? Did you manage the design and installation on-site, or were you remote? We are wondering how to coordinate the design, demo of old kitchen, installation. Any recommendations? Would you do anything differently the next time? One of the compelling features of IKEA products is all of the space-efficient features of the hardware. Did your cabinet maker include any such features (ie; lazy Susan, pull-out shelves, etc)? Thank you.
 
AlterEgo

AlterEgo

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DR_Bound said:
Very nice cabinets, AlterEgo, thank you for sharing the photos. Do you live in DR full time? Did you manage the design and installation on-site, or were you remote? We are wondering how to coordinate the design, demo of old kitchen, installation. Any recommendations? Would you do anything differently the next time? One of the compelling features of IKEA products is all of the space-efficient features of the hardware. Did your cabinet maker include any such features (ie; lazy Susan, pull-out shelves, etc)? Thank you.
Click to expand...

We've had the house for several decades, but have never lived there year round because we were both still working. Mr. AE retired in May, so now we'll probably spend 6 months a year there. We were there the entire time this was done, we had one crew demolish the old kitchen, then brought in the carpenter, the electrician, the ceramic floor guy, etc. [We actually rented an apartment in Santo Domingo from DR1 Rentals for a month of it, hard to live with no kitchen]. The carpenter came and measured everything, then came back with several very professional drawings for us to choose from. There were no added features, to be honest I didn't ask. We shipped down the pull-out shelves, etc. ourself using a door-to-door mundanza shipping company [we packed them inside a portable dishwasher], and they're still uninstalled, maybe next trip :) I do miss the lazy susan in the corner cabinets though.
 
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Chirimoya

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There's an upscale kitchen shop in Punta Cana Village, across the large plaza behind Wendy's.
 
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DR_Bound

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Thank you, AE. We are just getting started on this adventure. So much to learn and think about. Are you in the PC area? Perhaps not if you stayed in Santo Domingo. Aside from cabinet design and layout, I am concerned about electrical. Solid masonry walls are not conducive to easy electrical changes. Any nuggets of knowledge you can share with your experience in that area?
 
AlterEgo

AlterEgo

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No, DR_Bound, we are not in PC, if we were I would recommend a carpenter or two to you.

I know less than nothing about electric, but I'm sure someone else here can guide you. Ours was a bit of a different circumstance too, because it was a new addition/expansion to the house and so we had access to new block construction to run the wiring. That was great for me, because I wanted a LOT of outlets. Never too many of those in a kitchen.
 
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DR_Bound

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Thank you, AE. Anyone else have any recommendations or key learnings in dealing with electrical matters? Our panel is located in the kitchen with four breakers for the entire unit. None of them are labeled. Our unit was built in 1996, so I have some concerns about integrity. How difficult is it to bring electrical up to code in this environment? Is anyone aware of a specific forum that deals with home improvement matters? Or is this it?
 
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spmanger

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Aug 7, 2013
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Very nice pictures, thank you for sharing. You have been also corresponding with my husband (DR_Bound), no Hlywud, I am not spammer.

How does one around and find a carpenter (our Spanish is limited), any referrals you can give.
 
AlterEgo

AlterEgo

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If your Spanish is limited, I think it might be better to deal with the business that Chirimoya has recommended in post #11. Dealing directly with Dominican carpenters may be too difficult, as things may be lost in the translation. [Unless you have a very trusted friend who is bi-lingual who can translate for you and read over all the paperwork. I stress 'very', because some will cost you more money because they'll get a 'kickback' from the carpenter]

And whoever you use - do NOT pay them in full until every last nail and knob is in place. If you do, they will never come back. Be sure to get references too, especially if it's an individual.
 
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dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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i only have one tip for you: arrange your electrics accordingly to the level of the power you receive. if you have lots of blackouts or even short but daily ones and you need inversor then have some sockets work with street power only and others with inversor. for instance in our kitchen only two sockets work with inversor: fridge (connected 24/7) and another socket that may support some of the appliances for a short period of time (mixer, breadmaker in dough program and so on).
heavy stuff like microwave, espresso machine and toaster are plugged to street power. it is especially useful if you are going to have many guests coming from civilized countries who do not understand our power issues :)
 
DR_Guy

DR_Guy

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Feb 17, 2010
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Actually, the electrical is pretty easy to move. just get a saw, cut a new line in the block, chisel out, install tubing, wires, and box and then panete with cement. Hard to tell there was ever an f'up. :)
 
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