Kitchen Remodel – Part 4

In Kitchen Remodel Part 3, we removed the popcorn texture from the ceiling and put up the beadboard. We were ready for the next steps: cabinets, countertops, and tile. This post will tell the story of our first time acting as our own contractor and the coordination needed to get these installed.

Cabinets

We started with the cabinets. We wanted custom cabinets, rather than getting them from a box store, because of the changes we were making in the kitchen. Friends of ours had recently redone their kitchen and recommended the company that made their cabinets. We liked their cabinets, and after reviewing the company’s website, we contacted them to come out for an estimate. The salesman came out to do the measuring on May 23^rd. We visited the showroom on May 27^th to select our wood and door style and signed the contract and made our down payment on June 1^st.

Granite Counter Tops

We also wanted granite counter tops and needed to hire a company to make and install them. We started looking at countertops immediately. We received estimates from a box store and from an individual we selected with great Angie’s List ratings. We liked him because he also had a plumber that worked with him and we got a great price on the new kitchen sink. We hired his company and signed the contract on June 9^th. That was also the day I heard from the cabinet company that our cabinets would be finished and ready to install on July 1^st. I notified the Granite Guy, and he scheduled the template for July 5th.

Cabinet Painter

We wanted the cabinets professionally painted so we needed to hire a painter now that we had a date for the cabinet install. We contacted a painter through Angie’s List and he was already booked to the end of July. I had received a couple of names from the cabinet company and I attempted to contact them. The first one never got back with me, so I reached out to the second. He said to let him know when the cabinets were installed so that he could come for an estimate. He said he would block that time for our job.

Constant Contact

We continued to work on the kitchen, getting it ready for the cabinet install. We contacted our salesman on June 15^th to check on the install date and verify the installation was only one day. I let him know that we were getting our granite template and painter scheduled. We were on the schedule for the 1^st of July.

Andy contacted him again on the 21^st to be sure the plumbing for the sink would be okay for the cabinet install. He sent a picture and was told it was fine. I reached out to him again on the 28^th to confirm the install date of July 1^st since I had the granite template scheduled for the 5th. He replied on the 29^th that he would have to check on it, and on the 30^th, he let us know there was a delay and they would NOT be installed the next day.

Install Date Moved

We were both surprised and disappointed. Our salesman had replied to us using a forwarded email from the company owner. The owner wrote that there was no way and to check with the shop foreman because “the big jobs were kicking their ass.” Our salesman indicated that the shop foreman said maybe delivery next Wednesday (which would have been 7/6) and maybe install next Friday (7/8). He also let us know the shop was working on cabinets for million dollar homes and they would also be working over the holiday weekend.

Re-scheduled

As I said, we were surprised and disappointed. We were also confused regarding the lack of communication. I knew getting mad at the salesman and going off on him would not make our cabinets suddenly appear.

I replied to his email, asking if he would have contacted us if I had not reached out on the 28^th to confirm our delivery. I told him we understood that dates change, but that we needed to be kept informed due to scheduling the template and the painters.

I contacted the installer that was scheduled for the 5^th to do the template and told him I would let him know ASAP regarding a new date. The same with the painter. Both of these gentlemen were understanding.

Cabinets Arrive

The cabinet company called me at 3:30 pm on July 8 and said the cabinets were being delivered. Within 30 minutes, they were there. When they called, we started moving remaining things from the kitchen.

We didn’t get the stove and refrigerator out before they arrived. We did get the oven out before the install. However, we couldn’t move the refrigerator over the threshold into the living room, so it remained in the kitchen throughout the process.

The cabinet installer arrived on the 12^th. It was a busy day because we also had an air conditioner repairman there at the same time. And I was still working full time from my home office. It was also noisy, but the cabinets were 99% finished by the time he left. He returned the next day to install the crown molding.

We were not able to get the original painter and I had to search again. Rather than continue to put off the counters, we had the template made on the 13^th and the counters were installed on the 19^th. If we had tried to get the cabinets painted first, the counters would have been pushed back to August.

Replacing Sliding Patio Doors

Since we had the weekend of the 16th available, we removed the old sliding glass patio doors and installed new French doors.

The only thing I will say about that experience is that expandable foam is NOT Andy’s friend!

Painter Hired – Cabinets Painted!

We were able to locate a painter and he came to do the estimate on the 19^th, while the counters were being installed! He was able to start on the 23^rd and finished on the 26^th.

7/26/16 – Counters done, sink and dishwasher installed and cabinets painted

The back splash tile and grout were completed on July 31^st and the cabinet hardware added on August 1^st.  We still had the beam to install and some touch up to do, but we no longer had workers coming to the house and were on our own to finish up.

I shared this story so others could learn from our experience with this type of remodeling. It was definitely a learning experience for us.