{State of the Kitchen} Part 4: What a Difference!

Things really started hopping on Monday. The contractor called me Friday afternoon to let me know demo would start on Monday. Sure enough, the demo guy was at the house that morning, ready to get started. He had to do it by himself, but he was very efficient and managed to get it all done before he left.
I was holding my breath as he started. With the house being 55 years old, there was no telling what he was going to find.
So far, so good. Nothing bad yet!
When he took down the cabinets over the cooktop, he said that they bolted the cabinets into the beams, which is how it should be done. WHEW! That was 1 area of concern.
The gaping hole in the ceiling may be a problem. Fingers crossed!
The sink area was another concern
Who am I kidding? It was ALL a concern! The demo guy is a firefighter who has a cabinet business on his days off. He mentioned that it was a good thing we were remodeling now...before we had a fire. The wire to the garbage disposal had just been laid over the cabinet frame (instead of a hole being drilled through the frame). The wire had frayed and had arched...there was a burnt place on the frame. That was a bit scary, but it was the worst thing he found.
Goodbye, yucky pantry!
Things are real, now!
Everything was dumped off of the back porch to be removed the next morning:
There goes the old kitchen!
Side view
True to their word, it was gone the next morning!
Looks like nothing ever happened!
The electrician/plumber came on Tuesday to get everything up to code, ready for inspection on Wednesday morning. Wednesday morning, the cabinet guy opened all of the boxes and we inspected the cabinets. At first glance, there were a couple of things that aren't up to par.
This drawer (along with another one) was chipped...supposedly during delivery)
This is the bar between the doors in a pantry cabinet. Dots are not okay.
As CH started looking closer at things, he found some things that will need to be replaced, like 12 of the doors. They should all be smooth, but some feel like they weren't sanded enough because they have rough spots. So, those will all be going back, along with the top drawer of a drawer cabinet. It had some chips in it which I didn't see before because it was still in plastic.
The cabinet guy started putting in the cabinets, which was really exciting!
Things are starting to happen!
He got 1 corner done before the inspector came to inspect the electricity:
Moving along nicely!
Except for 1 minor mistake which is easily remedied, we passed inspection!
The cabinets for the pantry were put in, but they'll have to be redone because they aren't centered. I hate it for him, but it needs to be right.
It's going to look great when it's done properly and the filler/trim is put in!
 CH also looked at the drawers in the base cabinets. The top drawers have gaps in them on one side...not good.
This was disappointing
Another disappointment was the pantry cabinet. I wanted to put my microwave in there, but the cabinet we received isn't wide enough. I don't feel comfortable with the cabinet guy trimming part of the opening to make it fit. We have a few more inches in the area where it's going to go, but I'm not sure what the next size is.
Not quite wide enough to get the microwave in
Since we have plans to extend the back wall a couple of feet but are keeping the current flooring, there's a strip of floor that is of concern (see above picture just to the left of the cabinet). We were told by the designer that the contractor would take care of that; the contractor didn't know about it. 
I'm not going to lie...this was a hard post to finish because yesterday was a rollercoaster day. I was so excited to see the cabinets going in that I was blind to the irregularities. We're paying a lot of money for this, so we want it to be as perfect as it can be. 
I don't know what I was expecting; I guess I was expecting things to go so smoothly without any crisis. The quality of the cabinets is a bit disappointing, but it is better than what we've ever had, for sure. Even with 2 new houses in our past, these are better quality.
On top of everything else, I threw my back out on Saturday & am not 100% yet, so I'm not really able to get out of the house for an extended amount of time. (Gotta stay close to the ice pack!) I realize we really just started, but I'm so ready for this to be done!

10:21 a.m. update: With the cabinets not being the quality we were told they would be, we're at a standstill. We were told the doors would be all wood (they aren't), that we would have plywood ends (they all aren't), and that there would be nails...no staples (there are staples). Next step (before the cabinet guy comes back in) is to go down and talk to the kitchen design manager at Home Depot & voice our displeasure at the quality of the cabinets.  They're Thomasville, so we expected much better quality. Yes, we're extremely disappointed because this means we're without a kitchen longer than we anticipated, but with the small fortune we're paying, it needs to be remedied.

6 comments:

  1. I almost said something when you mentioned you found just what you wanted at Home Depot. We have heard bad things about the kitchens and bathrooms at both Home Depot and Lowe's being less than the quality they lead you to believe you are getting. I hope they make it right for you. Keep us posted, please!

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  2. Well, that is a bummer, Mary. I hope it is remedied quickly. Hang in there!

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  3. So sorry about all the hassle and your back not feeling up to par. Being in the kitchen business, I know that they didn't have a QC person checking these before they left and headed your way. Such a shame for all that work and it's not what you wanted. I hope they remedy the situation to your liking. Take the time and get it right....in the long run another week or two without a kitchen is better than having low quality and not what you wanted. Sorry. Keep us updated.

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  4. It's always something in a home project, but I'd stick to my guns and get the cabinets I want. You will live with them a long time, look at them every day, and open and close those drawers and cabinets a hundred times in a week. It will happen though, and soon all of this will be just a happy memory!

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  5. Oh my, I am so sorry. Those cabinets should be perfect!! Praying that they replace and fix anything that is not up to the standards that you expected. ((Hugs))

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  6. Wow, wow, wow. What a crazy ride! I think you should stick to your guns. You're making a HUGE investment, and you should totally get what you paid for. I would definitely NOT settle for anything less than what you signed up for. Hope your back is better now.

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