Kitchen Cabinet Remodel
DEAR TIM: My kitchen cabinet remodel job has turned into a disaster. I contracted the job through a national home-center chain who demanded I pay in advance for the entire job. There are numerous issues, and the granite top is sagging in the middle of my sink. My complaints are going unanswered. The installer will not come back, and my calls to the home center are getting me nowhere. Is it time to call an attorney? Should I sue to get my money back? What went wrong as I trusted the large national company? Andy E., Lexington, KY
DEAR ANDY: If I had a nickel for every letter and email I have received like yours, I would have my own private jet. The Better Business Bureau statistics echo this as complaints regarding home building and remodeling are always make the Top-Ten List of consumer issues. Let's put on the rubber gloves on and do an autopsy to discover what went wrong. It's important to find the cause, so this never again happens to you.
You undoubtedly had lots of anxiety going into this project as you indicated that trust was a major factor in your decision who to hire. My guess is that you did not know exactly what needed to be done on the job, so you wanted to go with a large branded company you thought would make your life easy. This, in my opinion, is a huge mistake. You always need to investigate what is involved, how things work and how to spot a pro from the get go. This way you protect your interests at all times.
It is reasonable to have to pay some money up front in rare situations. Your kitchen-remodeling job is one of them. If the cabinets you ordered were custom ones that are not normally stocked by the home center, then it is reasonable for them to request a 50 percent deposit to order the cabinets. It is reasonable for them to ask for a similar 50 percent deposit for the granite top as it will probably only fit in your kitchen. You should not forward any monies for installation labor - never. You only pay for labor once it is complete and satisfactory.
When you have the money in your possession, you have the power to get results. You can create a fair payment schedule that distributes a certain amount of money as the work progresses. If this means you have to make smaller payments every three or four days on smaller jobs, it is worth the inconvenience.
You said the home center demanded payment in full before the work progressed. I don't doubt that, but the marketplace is so competitive, it is possible you might have negotiated special terms that allowed you to make staggered payments as the work progressed. Use the economic law of supply and demand to your favor whenever possible. There are many other smaller professional remodelers who would have agreed to take your money as the job progressed.
As for calling an attorney, you can do that as a last resort. I believe you will discover that you will have to pay the attorney's fees no matter what happens. It is entirely possible you will spend thousands of dollars to get the same results as that you might do on your own by becoming the squeaky wheel that ultimately gets the grease.
Start by contacting your local Better Business Bureau to see if the national home center is obligated to enter into arbitration. Then contact the headquarters of the home center, fill out online complaint forms at their website, contact any local consumer reporters at your media outlets, visit websites where consumer complaints are lodged, etc. In other words, don't look like a doormat or otherwise you will become one.
When you decide to remodel your kitchen or any job for that matter, you can use professionals who will not demand full payment up front. They don't require this as they know the job will turn out fine, and that you will be satisfied with their work.
The key is to spell out in the contract what monies are due when. You must always hold back enough money to be able to finish the job at any point. If you give the contractor too much money, you loose your leverage. Imagine what might happen if the contractor gets injured on your job and you have to bring in another company to finish. You must always have that money needed to finish in your possession.
It is critical that you make timely payments when you say you will. This is paramount to the two-lane trust bridge between you and the contractor. You are trusting that the contractor will do great work and do it on time. The contractor trusts that you will do your part and make the correct payments on the day they are due. Remember that excuses are reasons for failure. Do not fail your contractor and he will not fail you.
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Comments:Welcome! I, Tim
Carter, don't answer questions
here. If you post a question here in the Comments Area,
perhaps another visitor will help you. You need to go to the Ask
Tim page if you want a question answered. Once there, look
closely at how many weeks behind we are. Please be patient as you use
this free service. If you have an emergency and need to talk to me,
there is an option there for you.
Brian K 24 Mar 2008, 13:11
She might have some success with an "email carpet bomb" like they talk
about on consumerist.com
gw 26 Mar 2008, 13:10
this has got to be the best advice for a homeowner to have, the national
home centers manipulate and pressure their contractor's to hire unskilled
workers and use low quality products they have imported from China and
other unknown locales and only look after their own price of stock
Jake Steele 29 May 2008, 10:42
I'm refinishing my kitchen cabinets. I was told to use a latex paint and
apply the paint with foam rollers. Well, here I am a month later trying to
figure out what I'm doing wrong. I've painted and then started over and am
about to do it all over again. The first time around I just used a sealer
and the second time around a satin paint for kitchen and bathrooms by Behr.
The problem is, when I use that gloss paint or the sealer the finish looks
horrible, you see every stroke and it looks globy and uneven. What am I
doing wrong? I've watched your demo and you use a latex paint, but I can't
really tell if yours are looking like mine are. From the demo yours look
great. PLEASE HELP!
Jake Steele
Goldy 03 Jun 2008, 18:55
Referening the kitchen install disaster, the client should make formal
written demand as to what would satisfy them to properly complete the job,
and if possible get other estimates, then cc the corporate office of the
major chain (get CEO's name), and advise the contractor what steps you'll
take if they don't do what you want. If no response, then follow up with
the emails, BBB, etc. The letter makes every thing look better, espcially
if you then go to attorney and have them write letter too! Not necessary
to sue, but a demand letter after yours, sometimes will work also.
R. Mittelstadt 13 Aug 2008, 10:26
My wife and I are interested in resurfacing our existing brick fireplace.
The brick has a course texture and has never been painted. What is the
best and easiest material to put on existing brick surface and what is the
best recommended procedure? Is covering the brick with backerboard
necessary before applying tile or cultured stone?
hmh 24 Oct 2008, 22:45
Referring to Jake Steele, am having similar problems on my kitchen
cabinets. Used oil primer, latex satin paint and was told to use roller as
well but using Tim's advice feathered the paint out with brush but still
can see marks, paint does not level out, now put on semi-gloss polyurethane
and hate the look, can see all the brush marks, too shiny too, want to know
if can put satin poly on top of gloss to see if this looks better. Anyone
any advice? Thanks.
Jenny 29 Jan 2010, 13:42
My husband and I have decided that it is time to remodel our kitchen. The
cabinets in our kitchen are starting to fall apart and plus carpet is very
inconvienent for spills. We wanted to replace our cabinets and take the
carpet out while keeping a reasonable budget. What we came to find out was
that Construction Concepts and Design were able to help us out with our
every need. They did a wonderful job and I would recommend them to anyone.
Jack 28 Jul 2010, 13:55
Actually, my wife and I looked into several of the above companies.
Granite Transformations was our answer for sure. They are pros and we had a great time working with them to get the kitchen exactly how we wanted. Which was everything THEY recommend (but my wife gets all the credit). So if you truly are looking, just check out their site. View all comments |


