seriously in tears...can't deal with my builder

13 years ago

my builder's KD messed up another thing on our cabinets. we just went through the whole freezer opening into a wall issue (see post further down on this page), and now i see that he left out a piece of molding that was supposed to go between the top of the cabinets & the stock filler piece that would make the cabs look like they go to the ceiling. however, the KD doesn't have it written down that that's what we were supposed to have, but i clearly remember it and my decorator is fairly sure she remembers it too. so now the stock filler piece just looks like a soffit over the cabinets instead of like an extension of the cabs. i feel like i can't complain again because my builder thinks i'm just a big pain in the ass. what do i do?

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Comments (7)

athensmomof3
13 years ago
Complain! And if your decorator remembers it too, maybe you two can gang up on them ;) Just kidding but really! I would take the road that the two of you clearly remember it, and that this is yet another example of the KD's mistake. Once, maybe, but twice???

And PLEASE remember - you are paying them! Don't worry about being a pain in the ass. If they weren't screwing everything up you wouldn't be :).

Hugs to you!
srercrcr
13 years ago
Remind him about customer satisfaction. When our cabinets were constructed the drawings showed we should have a nice deep drawer under the oven, but they put in a very shallow useless one. I complained, they said "that's just a rough estimation". I said "Good, the amount I'm going to pay is a rough estimation too". They changed it. Just remember, custom home building is like childbirth....hurts like hell, but you'll love it later.
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When I address comments like this, I do so from a legal/dispute resolution standpoint. Again, ask your builder for the moon if you really want to. However, I believe there are several factors that will likely impede your forcing him to do anything. (1) There are a lot of holes and screws inside cabinets, you are going to have to demonstrate that these are damaging while others are not. Which is going to be a struggle. Please note, this would be completely different if the holes were on the front as they will be when your new handles are installed. (2) Filled holes and touch up paint are industry standards and you are only entitled to acceptable industry standard cabinets. You are going to have a tough time overcoming that. (3) What does your contract say about him breaching? If he has a standard breach clause in the contract, likely the only thing you can demand is the return of your deposit and termination of the contract. ---- I do understand your frustration and I sympathize. However, I will caution against charging head-first into this because of internet opinions from strangers without any skin in the game.
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david_cary
13 years ago
Also - trim is cheap. Don't stress about it. You might be looking at $100 - regardless of who pays for it. You might be even less...

Cabinet makers have the option to really stick it to you for trim since you have no option at that point to match but I was always pleasantly surprised. 8 ft of heavy crown cost $50 - painted with a glaze. Not bad in my book.

We had a number of missing trim pieces that had to be reordered - and the main stress for us was whether they would get in before we moved in. They did, but it was close.

When we were building, we often went to the builder and said - I know we are being a pain in the ass but .... He was a good guy and would always reply with - "you don't know what a pain in the ass is" - and would give us some story about another couple and their particular complaint. It really helped that another couple who was building with him simultaneously was really high maintenance.

Hey - maybe you are that high maintenance client but I really get the impression that you are not. Kitchens are tough. A missing piece of trim is nothing and happens on probably most projects.

I would say that we called our builder or super 30 times during the build about something that was not as we planned it. I don't think he was slack and that was way too many - there is just things that didn't come out like we anticipated (or just communication issues) or whatever. So have you complained about 30 items yet?
creek_side
13 years ago
We had the cabinet makers back three times because of defects and/or missing pieces. Some problems were caught be their installers, some by our builder, and some by us.

Regrettably, this seems to be about par for the course.
galore2112
13 years ago
You are "seriously in tears" over a fridge that doesn't open correctly and a missing piece of trim ?!

What's so bad, difficult, pain in the ass, annoying, uncomfortable... to just TALK to your builder about something so trivial ?!

Obnoxious = someone changing paint 50 times because (s)he can't make up the mind...
jmagill_zn4
13 years ago
I understand the feeling at being overwhelmed at this point.

You have made thousands of decision and are at your breaking point. You need to step back and refocus.

You can and will get through this. After you take a breather go back to the builder and tell him this just will not be acceptable. You gave in on one thing but you will not on this.
energy_rater_la
13 years ago
stuff happens..just take a breather,
vent your frustrations and go on from here.
we all understand.
tell the builder to make it right.
I always tell folks to pick their battles,
in the end it is up to you.
But if your builder wants your satisfaction
he will get if done,
Best of luck.

seriously in tears...can't deal with my builder

Comments (7)

athensmomof3

srercrcr

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