Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
IKO Kitchen Remodeling: The Los Angeles Owner’s Guide
If you have an IKO product in your kitchen and something has failed, you’re likely looking at a full kitchen remodeling scope rather than a simple part swap. IKO is primarily a roofing and waterproofing products manufacturer, not a cabinetry or kitchen-component brand, so when Los Angeles homeowners search for “IKO kitchen remodeling parts,” what they usually mean is water intrusion from an IKO roof or underlayment above the kitchen, or IKO waterproofing membrane behind a backsplash that has failed. Kitchen remodels in Los Angeles typically run $16,520 – $53,100 depending on cabinet line, countertop material, and how far the water or structural damage extends. Here’s what we’ve learned pulling apart failed IKO-adjacent kitchens across the LA Basin, and what it actually costs to make it right.
Most owners discover the problem the same way: a soft spot in the ceiling above the peninsula, staining behind the range hood, or grout lines that won’t stay sealed no matter how many times they’re caulked. The IKO product did its job until it didn’t, and now the kitchen below it is paying the price.
Which IKO Models This Applies To
IKO makes a broad family of roofing shingles, ice-and-water shield, and waterproofing underlayments. The products we most often deal with in a kitchen-remodel context are IKO StormShield (self-adhered membrane), IKO ArmourGard (underlayment), and IKO Marathon or Cambridge shingles that failed above the kitchen ceiling. If you have the packaging, the product code is printed on the wrapper edge. If not, you can identify IKO StormShield by its blue polyethylene top surface and the IKO logo printed at intervals. ArmourGard is a black, tarry-looking roll material with a granular surface.
One compatibility gotcha we run into often: older IKO StormShield from before 2018 used a different adhesive chemistry that doesn’t always bond cleanly to newer EPDM and TPO flashing details. If your kitchen has water damage from a roof above it, and the roofer patches only the IKO layer, the leak returns in six months because the new material won’t bond to the old membrane. We see this constantly in the San Fernando Valley. We’re an independent remodeling contractor in Los Angeles, not affiliated with IKO, so our loyalty is to the homeowner and the repair, not to any product line. We’ll tell you if a quality aftermarket membrane does the same job for less on your specific detail.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your IKO Kitchen Remodeling Is Failing
- Bubbling or peeling paint on the ceiling above the kitchen. This means moisture is trapped between the IKO membrane above and your drywall below. The membrane is still circulating water, but it’s seeping at a seam or penetration. By the time paint bubbles, the drywall above is already compromised.
- Musty smell that gets stronger when you open cabinets near the ceiling line. Water has gotten behind the cabinet crown molding or into the soffit, and the IKO waterproofing has failed at a roof-to-wall transition. The smell is mold starting in the dark space behind the cabinet boxes.
- Grout lines behind the backsplash that darken or won’t stay dry. This is a classic IKO-related failure pattern in LA: the waterproofing behind the tile was either never lapped correctly over the countertop flange or was punctured during cabinet install. The grout absorbs water, darkens, and eventually the tile starts to move.
- Laminate countertop edges swelling near the dishwasher or sink base. Water is getting under the laminate from a failed seal where the IKO membrane meets the countertop substrate. Once the particleboard core swells, the countertop is done; you can’t un-swell it.
- Soft spots in the subfloor under the dishwasher or sink. This is the one that makes us pull the whole cabinet run. If the IKO water barrier under the floor or at the wall base has failed and water has been sitting, the plywood or OSB subfloor goes first, and cabinets follow. In older Los Angeles homes with raised foundations, we’ll find joist damage too.
In the Crenshaw district and adjacent neighborhoods where Trevor grew up, water intrusion behind cabinets in 1920s bungalows is a familiar story. The original tar-based flashings and felt underlayments were never designed for fifty years of service, and when they fail, the kitchen below is the first room to show it.
Replacement Cost & What’s Included
Kitchen remodeling in Los Angeles on the Penhallow price sheet runs $16,520 – $53,100. That’s the full range covering everything from a modest galley kitchen refresh to a full gut with new cabinet runs, quartz counters, and appliance reconfiguration. Here’s how that breaks down:
- Cabinet installation: $4,720 – $15,340 depending on whether we’re resetting existing boxes or installing new KraftMaid or Wellborn cabinetry.
- Countertop installation: $2,360 – $7,670. Cambria quartz runs toward the top of that range; it carries its own lifetime warranty alongside our work.
- Backsplash installation: $945 – $2,950, including waterproofing membrane behind the tile and proper lapping at the countertop.
- Kitchen island installation: $3,540 – $11,800 when the island needs to be rebuilt or reconfigured.
What’s included: every job gets a written price before any work starts, background-checked uniformed technicians, a defined arrival window, and our 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If something fails inside that year, we come back and fix it at no charge. No service call fee, no re-inspection fee. The number we put in front of you on day one is the number on the invoice. Materials come from trade brands we trust: Cambria, Silestone, Caesarstone countertops, Kohler and Moen fixtures, KraftMaid and Wellborn cabinetry. We also stock and work around parts for Cambria and Silestone since so many Los Angeles kitchens have them.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterDIY or Call Us?
Here’s the honest split. If you suspect an IKO waterproofing or roofing product above your kitchen is the source of a problem, you can safely check for visible staining, run your hand along the ceiling for soft spots, and pull the range hood filter to see what’s above the duct. That’s about where the safe DIY work ends. Cutting into a ceiling or wall to trace water, peeling back IKO membrane at a roof-to-wall transition, or pulling cabinets to inspect a subfloor puts you in contact with live electrical, potential mold, and structural framing you’ll need to reconstruct correctly. Water intrusion work is not a weekend project; the first rule of leaks is the same in Los Angeles as anywhere: find the source before you fix the symptom. If you’re not sure what you’re looking at, call us at (213) 277-6578. A live person answers 24/7, and a written estimate costs you nothing.
FAQs
In Los Angeles’s dry climate, an IKO StormShield or ArmourGard membrane behind tile or above a ceiling typically lasts 15 to 25 years, depending on UV exposure at transitions, insulation quality, and whether the original installer lapped it correctly. The failure we see most often in LA is installer error at corners and countertop flanges, not membrane aging. If your membrane is over 20 years old and showing any of the signs above, budget for replacement during your remodel. Call (213) 277-6578 for an exact condition assessment, free.
Sometimes, yes. If the leak is isolated to a single transition and we can access it from the attic or behind a cabinet run without pulling counters, we can cut back the failed membrane, install a proper lap seal with new flashing, and test it. But if water has already reached your cabinet boxes, drywall, or subfloor, spot repair just hides the problem. We’ll tell you which situation you’re in after one inspection, and the price we quote is the price you pay. Call (213) 277-6578 to schedule a free estimate.
A full kitchen remodel in Los Angeles, from demo to final inspection, typically runs 4 to 8 weeks depending on cabinet lead times and whether we’re doing structural or floor repairs along with the kitchen work. Smaller scopes like a backsplash and countertop replacement can be done in 5 to 10 working days. We’ll give you a written schedule before we start, so you know when the crew arrives and when the job is done.
We stock quality aftermarket waterproofing membranes, flashing materials, underlayment, and the tools to test and seal them, on every truck that goes out. For IKO products specifically, we order OEM materials when the warranty or specific detail requires it, and we tell you up front which option you’re getting and why. We’re not in the business of selling you a brand; we’re in the business of making the leak stop. Call (213) 277-6578 and a real person will answer, 24/7.
What We Do When an IKO-Related Kitchen Problem Shows Up in Los Angeles
The most useful thing we can tell you, as someone with a failed IKO product and a kitchen below it, is this: we’ve been doing this long enough to know that water never travels where you expect it to. It runs along a rafter, pools in a soffit, and drips six feet away from the actual breach. Trevor Nash studied construction technology at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College and spent the better part of two decades working residential and light commercial jobs across the Basin, and he’ll tell you plainly what a job costs before he ever picks up a hammer. Give you a number first, then pick up the tools.
When you call Penhallow Remodeling Los Angeles, you get a written price before any work starts, a real arrival window, background-checked uniformed technicians, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing on every project. The Kingswell Way was established in 2004: say the price before the work. Show up in the window we gave. Leave the place cleaner than we found it. If the repair fails inside the guarantee period, we come back and fix it at no charge. That’s not a promotional line; it’s a standing fact of how we operate.
If you’ve got water in your kitchen and you think an IKO product above it is the source, call (213) 277-6578 today. A live person answers, and the estimate is free.
Written by Trevor Nash, Owner, Penhallow Remodeling Los Angeles at Penhallow Remodeling Los Angeles, serving Los Angeles and nearby areas.
