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Why is it so hard to get anything done right?

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So the "craftsman" that's installing our new kitchen cabinets has been here today. I just got to see the fruits of his labor...

Turns out that this rocket scientist has put one of the end cabinets - i.e. one that has the sides finished - in the middle of the run. That means that when he gets to the end, he'll be SOL because the one that should be there isn't.

Bad luck you might say? Well the one he's installed is a sink base. It looks nothing like any of the other cabinets in the run, as it doesn't have a drawer, and the plans clearly show it at the end.

He can't swap it out and install it correctly because he drilled into the stiles to install it, and the holes will show.

On top of that I tried the shelves in the cabinets we had finished with glass doors. The holes for the mounts are 1/2" out of line, so the shelves slope like a drunken sailor.

We waited 5 weeks for these cabinets. I won't even say how much this fiasco is costing, but it isn't cheap. To say that I'm a little mad is understating it. One of the dogs is cowering in the corner because I've been shouting for the last 10 minutes.

Why oh why is it so difficult to get someone to do a good job any more? I care less about what it costs than it be done right, so it isn't that I cheapened out...

I'm going off to get a cold beer. It might calm me down.
 
Alana - I've a friend who just went through the same thing...cabinet shop was back in their house this week redoing $12,000 worth of 'custom' cabinets....their German Shepherd came down & stayed in my garage the whole time...I told friend's wife she had hurt his feelings yelling at the owner of the cabinet shop...hehehehe
 
Ouch. Sorry to hear of troubles like that, but such is life with some contractors.

I had my asphalt driveway resurfaced, and while they did a good job on the driveway itself, the tasks following that were terrible. They left my garage doors standing wide open (living next to a high school, I might add), they dumped some chunks of the old driveway into a trench where I was repairing some foundation on my garage, and lost the screws to reattach the gutter extensions, and left empty sports drink bottles lying around or stuck in convenient places in my garage (but not the trash can). So, after some choice words to myself, I called the company the next morning and cheerfully told them what a great job they did on the driveway, and asked when I could expect them to complete the job. The lady was a little puzzled, so when I rattled off the list of what they left undone, she was astounded they didn't dispose of the old driveway properly. I reminded her the contract did say to haul off the remnants of the old driveway, and not to dump it in my yard, so when they complete the job I'll be happy to send the remaining half of the payment. They were out the next day, removed all the trash and old asphalt, fixed the gutters, and I got a very apologetic letter from the owner. :smile:
 
Alan-

It happens everywhere.

A friend asked me to punch list his brand new, custom,
$750,000. home . Builder was quite upset when I
showed up since he wanted to go to settlement the
next day.

He almost had a cow when I handed him my list.

Glass inset kitchen cabinet doors that were so out
of square they would never close. Off level shelves.
Teak bedroom doors so poorly constructed the builder
offered to paint them!! I said "replace them".

Two months later the punch list items were completed.

All you can do is INSIST it be ripped out and done properly.

d
 
I'm still mad, so forgive me if I rant for a while.

The thing that grieves me here is that we didn't accept the lowest quote. We bought $32000 of semi-custom cherry and maple cabinets, so I wanted someone supposedly competant to put this stuff in.

This guy came recommended by the kitchen & bath place that sold me the cabinets. He isn't doing me a favor on the install either - $1400 a day for 3 days purely for installation (no electrics, no plumbing, I provide those) isn't chump change.

I'd better stop. I'm gonna pop a fuse. I don't know why I'm so angry other than perhaps the deflated expectations. I had everyone else lined up - granite guy, tiler, electrician, plumber. Now the whole thing is going to have to get put on hold because of this stupid stupid mistake...
 
It is a real pain to be your own contractor and try to coordinate all the phases, but then you also get to select your own installers as well. I just finished redoing my study. I had to wait 6 weeks for the exterior door to come in and be installed, but the work was marvelous. Not the lowest bid by any means, but we have already hired them to order and install the custom blinds on the windows too. The hardwood installer we found was also excellent, competent, and efficient. He even fixed a number errors caused by the drywaller/woodwork guy and did not charge extra. He will get more work here.

Meanwhile, others who worked on the addition 5 years ago have never been brought back to work on the house in any capacity. It is just sad when you think you have someone good, and they let your down big time.

Pet the dog for me, and drive a few miles in a LBC, then have a drink and relax.
 
This is the exact reason my wife & I installed the cabinets and the appliances, plumbing, electrical, flooring, tape & spackle, paint................oh but wait I'm still doing it...6 years later.
BUT IT'S RIGHT!
Good luck with your carpenter. I hope he does right by you and covers the expense out of his pocket.
 
Sorry to hear your plight...

Take digital photos of the mess, just in case. How can anyone mess up a base cabinet with a finished edge?? Even a noob numbers/measures them and then double checks everything to the plan.

I do most of my work myself, including plumbing/tile/electrical. I've only ever done one kitchen and that was enough. :smile:
 
Sheesh! I installed my kitchen cabnets myself {It doesn`t take a brain surgeon}. And for $1,400.00 a day! This guy would have to be GOD of cabnet installation for me to pay that much.
NOT only would I insist he or {the Co. he works} for eat the cost of a new cabnet for the one he messed up and a new one for the end run, also I would refuse to pay for the labor to remove and replace the mess. I would camly infor him or his boss that for the money i`m paying him/them he/they WILL make things right and to my SATISFACTOIN or face my lawyer In court!
 
$1,400 a day? Is that for a Master fine wood worker
and two helpers to custom build the cabinets from
solid wood stock at your home?

If just to do an install of cabinets made elsewhere,
you are getting ripped off badly.

Almost as bad as the idiot Tinster paying $600 in
advance to have a throw out bearing installed onto
a cross shaft fork! And then the mechanic never
installed the bearing.

Take photos, take charge,

d
 
Altho' I try to do all my own house repair (including the new kitchen a few years ago), I figured I could never resurface my 300' gravel driveway, and sure couldn't afford an asphalt job.

I was lucky to find a young guy trying to start a business. He had worked for about 10 years for another landscaping/driveway guy, and was now branching out on his own.

I got several estimates from different contractors, but this guy seemed to know his stuff, had a good reputation, had a step-by-step job proposal for me, allowed me to choose references, and (very important to me) was business-like and intelligent. Wore clean jeans, izod shirt, clean cut, and drove a *nice* recent year pickup. Other guys looked like slobs, leaned against their truck or car, had empty pop and beer cans in the back, and seemed to "dare" me to ask questions.

The guy and his partner arranged to tear out the old driveway, remove the large rocks, being careful not to "leave souvenirs behind". Re-graded the entire length, added a new parking area, and carefully spread about 100T of 3/4 inch gravel. Then rolled it all smooth. I am *very* pleased with the result. Whole thing (labor and materials) ran $2000.

But that sure seems to be a rarity. The school districts I've visited in the last 20 years seem to concentrate on teaching select facts, memorization, and how to pass tests. Critical thinking, responsibility, values and honesty are just winked at, as the students get their new iphones, gold jewelry, and credit cards.

That is very sad. And bodes ill for our future.

Tom
PS - here's my spiffy new driveway!
 
ladys and gents, all this is what gives my line of work a bad name, unless the kitchen is the size of a football field $1400.00 is far too much, one to two days and its done, for an average size kitchen i usually charge $1200.00 period and that includes a helper,the nucklehead that installed the wrong cabinet would be forced to "eat" it in one fashion or another and never be allowed to re-enter the job, never ever give all the money up front i ask 50% up front then 25% when the owner and i agree that the job is 75% completted and the 25% ballance when the client agrees the job is satifactory. those have allways been my terms and never had a problem this contract protects the customer as well as it does me people have often offered to give me all the money up front my question to them is "so what happens to your money if on my way home i get into a bad accedent" they rethink the offer, all this is part of the reason i dont advertise all my work is through reccomendations this gives the client a reasonable feeling of confidence and saves me from under going the "third degree" about who i am, if i live in town, have i ever done this type work before,ever been convicted of a felony, how many toes do you have on your right foot, etc. the other side of the coin is that over the years within 2 minutes i know if im going to have a problem with a customer there are certain "tells" that a good business person understands i.e if their working with a "designer" most of you would have to meet some of these people to understand, look there are bad property owners as well as bad mechanic but thats no reason to gouge, if a guote sounds like too much money it generally is, always ask and conferm with two refs. before hiring anyone,take time to look at the contractor previous work, i know it can be a pain but believe me youll be glad youve done it,and bring in at least two even better three people to give you prices,get every detail in writting, and oh ya i know of one of you folks out there that would have gotten a very good job for the cost of round trip air fare and one decent tarpon run. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/devilgrin.gif
 
Ok guys. You are forgetting a couple of things.

First, I live in Westchester, so it's expensive to get tradesmen - not quite Greenwich, but not far off. Two guys for 3 days @1400pd isn't totally out of line. Don't ask what a plumber costs. There's a reason I want the kid to go to trade school...

Second, all the quotes I got were in line with one another - to within $100 a day.

Third, this guy came recommended.

Fourth, he gets nothing until the job is finished. No material costs, so no upfront money.

I just spoke to him, and he's going to square it away. You'll notice I'm slightly less angry this morning...
 
As always with contractors- money talks.

You've got his money until you are happy with
his finished product.

He is now listening to you talk.(or rant)

d
 
It's true. Me mum lives in Chappaqua NY and prices for anything are off the scale. If you don't live in NY it is hard to grasp the speed at which we move and costs associated with living here. Some days I just can't take it and would love to bail. Other days I'm happy.
 
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