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Kitchen

Kitchen Update

February 7, 2019 by Elizabeth Drake

So, another update on the kitchen.

The contractor got my letter and attempted to remedy. Poorly.

He actually made things worse. Such as this lovely job he did to “fix” my window.

WindowFrame

Yes, he literally cut off a chunk of the window and slammed it over the hole. And yes, he put it in upside down to attempt to cover his mistake. Yes, he over-stained it. Three days later, it was still tacky. Yes, he damaged the wall around it and got stain on the window sill itself.

He argued with me that there was nothing wrong with the floor or it was my fault that the pieces didn’t properly attach to each other.

Then fate smiled.

I went to our maintenance person who has been overseeing a $20M renovation on my company’s building asking for guidance. He introduced me to our buyer’s agent who represents us with our contractor. This person is an expert in all things construction at the commercial level, so a higher standard than residential. He oversees contractors for companies to make sure they do good work and live up to their contracts.

He took one look at the pictures at was angry because this contractor gave them all a bad name. He read the letter I sent and agreed to come over and talk to the contractor on my behalf. He said it would be a fifteen minute conversation.

Once he got to our home, he was even more appalled at the shoddy workmanship. Stuff I hadn’t noticed, but he said was amateurish at best.

He waited for the contractor then pointed out issue after issue to the contractor, telling the contractor that the work was unacceptable and not up to industry standards. When the contractor argued, he stated industry standard .

At the end, we agreed to pay the sub contractors as they were still owed. We agreed we’d bring in a separate contractor to fix the issues then we would pay the original contractor the difference between his final payment and what we had to pay the sub contractors and the contractor who was going to fix the issues.

The original contractor was furious and stormed out of our home.

Turns out we were lucky as we were obligated to allow him to try to fix his mistakes, even if he continued to make them worse.

We have brought in a new contractor highly recommended to try to fix the mess. They can’t even quote on it as there is so much wrong, and the more they dig into the workmanship, the more they find. We’ll be paying time and materials. My gut is telling me we’ll be paying as much or more to fix it as we were supposed to pay to have it done in the first place.

Not much to be done about it at this point.

My one prayer is that I never hear back from the original contractor. I don’t ever want to see him again. I worry he is going to come after me and try to take me to court for his final payment as he clearly saw nothing wrong with his work. Even at the end, he couldn’t figure out why we were upset and clearly felt wronged.

As a note to anyone considering it, NEVER REMODEL YOUR KITCHEN!

Filed Under: Home Update, Uncategorized Tagged With: contractor, fix, Home Improvement, Home Renovation, Kitchen, remodel, sub-contractor, workmanship

Kitchen Remodel: The Abusive Relationship

January 17, 2019 by Elizabeth Drake

I have not talked much about my kitchen remodel. Not here on the blog, not to family, not to friends.

What started out as the most exciting thing, turned into a disaster. An expensive disaster. One that has cost more than either of our cars.

KitchenRemodel

If you remember, our first contractor disappeared. But, at least he had the grace to disappear without stealing our money or causing us lasting emotional harm.

I can’t say that about the second.

Yes, he showed up. But, after only a few days, we quickly learned what’s like to live with an abusive relationship. To constantly be on pins-and-needles as you wait for what sets him off next.

But you have to be so careful. This person has access to your house, your home, and you have signed a contract to trust them with the single most important room in your home.

So, when he tells you over and over again how much he hates your cabinets, how difficult they are (cabinets he specifically quoted a certain dollar amount over and above because they were difficult – so you’re paying for them), you listen, apologize, and tell him over and over you can’t return them as they were custom ordered.

When he tells you your kitchen designer doesn’t know how to design a kitchen, you plaster on a smile, nod, and promise you’ll work with the contractor along with the designer on the next job.

When he damages a door on your very expensive cabinet, but demands you go get the replacement and he’ll pay for it, you do whatever you must to get the door.

CycleofAbuse
Cycle of Abuse by Lenore E. Walker. We lived with this for over three months.

It’s a never ending cycle, and there is always something else he’s angry about and takes it out on you, the one paying him. But he has access to your house, so you shut up and take it. There is never a moment of peace, because even when he isn’t angry, you’re waiting for the next time he is.

Still, through it all, when you get home from work, you see a kitchen forming in the winter darkness. You sneak in with flashlights, as all of your lights were torn out when the kitchen was gutted, so happy for any progress.

Yes, the contractor told you 4-6 weeks. By the time it’s “done”, it’ll be over 14 weeks. He only works 2 hours a day, by the way, from 9am to 11am. He has other jobs, you know. He also doesn’t text or like phone calls. So if you want to talk to him, or he needs to talk to you, either you or your spouse have to coordinate to go in late to work so you can meet with him at 9am.

But progress is happening.

Then, you finally get electricity two weeks before Christmas.

And see your kitchen.

And see this:

10-C5
11-A2
23-D6
23-D6
11-A2
10-C5

You nudge the kick plates on your new counters, and they fall off. So you investigate, and you realize none are attached properly.

06-A6
06-A3

 

The more you look, the more you find. It takes 121 pictures to document it all.

Sucking in a breath, you stare at the second most expensive thing you’ve ever bought in your life and fight back the tears. It looks like you and your husband did it, not a professional you paid more to do it than you spent on your first new car.

You are mortified. You don’t want to step foot in the kitchen and see all the mistakes. You’re losing even more sleep as you now have to confront the abuser in the relationship, but this is your kitchen.

So you and your spouse go into work late again a few days before the Christmas holiday to talk to him about it.

He says he’ll fix it.

Christmas comes and goes.

It’s the new year. Still not fixed.

It’s still not done (the pictures taken above were taken after his “last day”), even though he says his last day is Thursday.

You discuss with the contractor doing a final walk-through on Friday after he’s “done”, and you and your spouse arrange to take off of work on Friday to go through the three page outstanding items list of issues you’ve found.

When you get home on Thursday, he’s left his final bill on the counter along with your garage door opener and a note saying, “Thanks for the work.”

You wonder if that means he’s not coming on Friday. Your fear is confirmed when he texts you (so he can text!) saying he won’t be there, he’s starting on another job on Friday. Then follows with the threat that if you don’t pay him, he’ll put a lien on your house.

Because anyone that does good work follows their bill with a threat about payment on the same day they deliver the bill. Yes, that was sarcasm.

Interestingly enough, if he’d have done a good job, I’d have been overjoyed to pay him and have my new kitchen.

I’d also have told the three people I know who are thinking about doing their kitchen all about him. Oh, I’ll still them all about him…

The good news: the abusive relationship is over.

I have notified him he has two weeks to remedy everything on the list and provided him with detailed pictures of the issues. If he doesn’t fix them by the date listed, I notified he will be in breach of contract and I will find another contractor to finish the job and deduct it from his final payment.

I am forced, by law, to give him the right to remedy. But, he will no longer be allowed in my home on his terms. He will be forced to give me the days and hours during which he will remedy, and I have to agree to them. No more 9am to 11am until he “gets it done”. My husband and I will both be here while he is so there is no “he said, she said” nonsense.

I don’t know if he’ll show. I don’t know what he’ll say when he receives the certified letter warning him about being in breech of contract.

He can, of course, try to put a lien on our house. I’ve researched it a bit, but he never gave us notice of his right to file a lien in the original contract or within 10 days subsequent to starting work. The law in my state says he must, but it’s doubtful that will protect us overmuch.

I hope it doesn’t get to legal action, but it might. Still, I am not sure how the courts could find this complete. I have freaking holes in my window and floors. My kick plates fall off. My trim is cracked, or not stained, or not attached to the wall. It goes on and on.

But, you never know, and it would be an additional expense. I haven’t yet researched if I can make him pay my legal fees if he loses.

I bought him and each of his crew a case of beer for Christmas, but that relationship is over.

I am still eating poorly and losing sleep because I don’t like confrontation or the unknown, but I will not be bullied anymore.

The cycle of abuse ends now.

Filed Under: Home Update Tagged With: abusive relationship, cabinets, contractor, disaster, emotional harm, Home Improvement, home project, Home Renovation, Kitchen, remodel

Something Had to Give

December 6, 2018 by Elizabeth Drake

I have not been nearly as attentive on this site as I would like.

stressed

Work has been insanely busy.

My kitchen still isn’t done. Not being able to use a stove, sink or dishwasher adds a whole new level of stress, especially as we’ve been without them for over thirteen weeks. There has also been an insane amount of stress dealing with contractors. Like when they put our island in crooked, or when they put the cabinets in at the wrong height.

This all hit after a delay in Seducing the Ice Queen because of some vision issues between myself and the cover artist.

Something had to give.

First, it was presence on social media.

Then it was sleep, because I wasn’t doing that anyway with the stress.

Then it was this blog.

Then it was the writing itself.

StruggleIsReal

On a side note, I am lucky in so many other ways.

I am healthy. My family is doing well. We are all safe and together. With the California wildfires still in my thoughts, Sandyhook, and the like, I’m reminded I do have a lot to be grateful for.

And yes, I am slowly getting back into writing. My creativity has taken a beating, but I’m developing some new characters that may make an appearance in future books. Even if they don’t, the exercise of creating them is helping to bring back some of the joy and alleviate some of the stress.

As long as you all aren’t too mad at me for being a bit absent, the worst thing that may come of this is a delay in releasing Knight of Valor.

Well, if you exclude the mess that is my kitchen!

Filed Under: Stress Tagged With: Blessings, contractors, Day Job, Kitchen, Stress, Stress kills creativity

Still Not Going Well

October 25, 2018 by Elizabeth Drake

This week was supposed to mark the end of our kitchen remodel.

MasterPlan

Only, it hasn’t yet begun. As a matter of fact, we’re still waiting for contractors to actually get back to us with quotes.

Several said they were going to come out and quote the job, but they never actually came. Others simply said they weren’t interested. The job was too small, they wanted us to buy the materials through them, etc.

Earlier this month, a tornado touched down about 35 minutes from where we live. Lots of work to rebuild.

Then there was the torrential rains that caused a lot of flooding damage. Lots of work to fix that as well.

I can’t back out of the project without taking a huge loss – to the tune of 25% of the cost of the materials I would have to return. So, I am stuck doing the project.

KitchenRemodel

On a brighter note, a few days ago three contractors actually came when they said they would to take a look and give us a quote.

I don’t have any quotes yet, but there is hope.

Filed Under: Home Update Tagged With: contractor, Kitchen, Not according to plan, Not going as planned, remodel

Yep, Everything is Fine

September 6, 2018 by Elizabeth Drake

Totally fine.

Remember that kitchen remodel I was dreading? Well, it didn’t happen. Why, you ask? Because the contractor never showed up, and he won’t return our calls or texts.

Yeah. I have an empty kitchen and a house full of materials for a remodel we now have to start over with finding a contractor to do.

Everythingisfine

Deep breath.

It means by the time they start, I won’t have a kitchen for Thanksgiving or Christmas. After waiting months for it to even start. With a torn apart kitchen in the meantime.

*Deep Breath*

I am struggling with this, especially with two small children. I’m having trouble sleeping, and my eating habits are not doing well. I’m also about to start busy season at work.

*Grabs paper bag*  *breaths deeply*

Yeah, things are going fine. Perfectly fine.

 

Filed Under: Home Update Tagged With: Kitchen, remodel, Stress, Stress kills creativity, Update

I Made a Mistake.

August 28, 2018 by Elizabeth Drake

It’s called a kitchen remodel.

If I could go back to April and tell myself what I know now so I would avoid this additional stress. So I’d never start this project.

We hired a designer thinking that would help. And while it has, it’s still stressful. Very stressful.

First, our budget is completely blown. At this point, we are literally double what we’d planned. And construction hasn’t yet started. Yes, I did some research ahead of time. You know me. I even made a detailed list of what I thought needed doing and the cost of each. I thought I was estimating high. I was so wrong. So very wrong.

budgetblown.png

Second, they lost six of our cabinets. SIX. How do you lose six cabinets?!? It appears as if an entire pallet walked out of the warehouse. They are still searching for it. We’re considering putting up wanted ads.

Third, I was wrong about the start date. I thought we were setting it after the cabinets arrived… Which led to a frantic rush to get the rest of the materials purchased.

None of which are coming in on time.

Agggggh!

perfectlycalm

Why yes, I am a little stressed.

But I’m still writing.

Filed Under: Stress Tagged With: Home Improvement, home project, Home Renovation, Kitchen, Stress, Stress kills creativity, Stressed

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