Do not use Lowes..... Do not use Lowes as a contractor! On June 23, 2015, my life and my son’s life was turned upside down causing not only unnecessary stress to us but, causing me to incur thousands of additional dollars in costs due to the construction of the bathroom. On June 23, 2015 I initiated an agreement with Lowes to remodel a 5X7 bathroom. I paid in full $14,913.00. My son and his wife were supposed to move in to this condominium at the end of August as the bathroom was to be completed in 15 days of actual work or by the agreed upon date of August 15th. The events of the last 5 1/2 months were perpetuated by the poor and ineffective project scheduling and by the contractor hired by Lowes. However, it always seemed that Lowes had the back of the contractor and not us the customer who had paid in full the entire cost of the bathroom renovation prior to the start of the construction. The guarantee of satisfaction we signed with Lowes on June 23rd 2015 had no effect on the construction. Therefore, after deliberate consideration and consultation it is obvious that the bathroom renovation was not completed to expected and reasonable standards of satisfaction. 5 1/2 months’ later the bathroom was never completed to expected and reasonable standards of satisfaction. Examples of the extremely sloppy workmanship include: The door and door frame should have been replaced with a quality door as agreed to in initial contract. Door is damaged, poorly spray painted so its surface is like sandpaper and the frame is damaged too so that the correct hardware could not be installed. Old rusted hinges were reused with caked on paint of years of use. The threshold is not the marble one we selected and it is the wrong color. The bathroom is beiges and browns and the threshold is an orange composite material. The wall and the tile molding was never completed behind the vanity. The grout is coming out from between the tiles in the shower. Instead of re-grouting the tiles calking was use on the surface only. The ceiling has gouges in it from when the bathroom was demolished and the light fixture was removed. The vent fan does not sit flush against the wall due to a wall that is not vertical. The light switch was poorly installed and now it cannot be aligned. Due to the inexpensive door when the towel bars were connected to the door the door was hollow so they could not be anchored correctly. Other expenses we incurred were my son's 2 months’ rent in his Manhattan apartment since the timeline for the renovation changed from the end of August to the end of November. And you can’t move into an apartment that has no toilet. (Expense of $3,358.00) Also… *** You have to see the photos of the mess in the apt. Nothing was covered. Everything is covered by a layer of dust. Floors, walls, windows, all the furniture, television, bedding, couches all appliances and more. In the middle of the living room is a 4-foot pile of bathroom debris (tile, floor, wall board, ceiling, plumbing and probably asbestos & lead too. The floors were left in such a damaged condition due to the contractor's dumping the demolition refuse into the living room that we needed to scrape the damaged floors for $2,126.00. And finally the couches were discarded because the debris that covered them and it was not worth the risk to use them. Their replacement value was about $1800.00 In all we are requesting compensation in the amount of $ 22,197.00 without the cost of painting the entire apartment that is covered with dust that probably contains asbestos and lead. Photos are available if you contact me at Bschreier@aol.com.

As others have noted it depends on what your goals are for this remodel. (1) How long will you be in your current house (the one you're remodeling)? [If a short time 3 years, remodel based on YOUR needs/wants] (2) What is the goal of your remodel? What kind of kitchen are you going for? Take the "The Sweeby Test". (3) How much do you plan to DIY? If at least some DIY, how good are your DIY skills? (4) What is your budget? (5) Look a the Finished Kitchen Blog to see sample kitchens and their various elements. (6) What is important to you? (I know, the best of everything you can afford!) You've already defined your kitchen's feel (Sweeby Test). (7) Now, armed with what you want out of your kitchen, your budget, and ideas from the FKB, list your priorities for you kitchen. Some people really want a granite or soapstone counter and will compromise on cabinets or flooring or appliances. Some want solid wood doors and all-wood door boxes while others want top-of-the-line, the-best-money-can-buy appliances. What are your priorities? To consider: Cabinets: ...Do you want well-built, well-accessorized cabinets or will basic (but still solid) cabinets with only a few accessories be fine? ...What style of door do you want...modern or traditional? ...Also look, at the style of drawer fronts...if you have mostly drawers in your base cabinets then drawer fronts will be a major part of the look of your cabinets in your kitchen. ...What type of doors do you want...wood, wood-veneer, metal, MDF? ...What construction do you want in your cabinet boxes...plywood, particleboard, metal, MDF? ...Do you need/want full-extension drawers and/or pullout shelves? ...Look at drawer & pullout shelf glides...are they plastic or metal? (metal is generally stronger and lasts longer) ...How much DIY do you plan? Some cabinets, like IKEA, come ready to assemble (RTA). Most come assembled. Other elements to consider: Countertop: granite, soapstone, quartz, solid surface, wood, laminate, recycled glass or paper, etc. Flooring: wood, tile, stone, laminate, etc. Backsplash: none, partial (continuation of countertop material), tile/stone, paint, etc. Lighting: recessed, undercabinet, pendants, etc. Appliances: You can spend 5,000 plus dollars on a range or refrigerator or you can spend One thing to keep in mind is that some things will last longer than others. Generally, appliances will need to be replaced long before cabinets and countertops so yes, you might go "light" on the appliances initially or even re-use what you already have. That would leave more of your budget for higher-end cabinets, countertop, and flooring--items that you change much less often. Backsplashes can be delayed. All these things are subjective...based on your needs and wants. You will get many opinions here; read them knowing that everyone is different and everyone (1) has different goals for their kitchen and (2) has different priorities. Filter comments through the lens of your goals/needs/wants. Good luck!

some manufacturers do in fact supply slightly different models to the big box stores. Check the model number very closely and compare with the model sold elsewhere. But what is a very common practice is for only the cheaper models to be stocked in the big box stores like Lowes and Home depot. They will order non stocked models for you however. You will usually not get a very competitive price on a special order item however. I got a Toto toilet delivered free shipping using Amazon Prime in two days. . My local store quoted me a higher price and 1 week delivery time. Another thing that happens more often than you might realize is that the big box stores take on models about to be discontinued or that have been poor sellers for the manufacturer because of what proved to be an unpopular design, or some minor defect or problem and use them for promotional sales. I saw this recently in an American Standard "cadet" toilet promoted by Home depot at an unusually low price. It turn out that every toilet had glaze defects that would not effect use but nevertheless would not have passed cosmetic inspection. These were all seconds, but nowhere was the customer informed! You had to discover this on your own. Buyer beware.

Does either one have a tiny overhang of the face frame at the sides of the wall cabinets? We need a 36-inch minus a teensy bit (like 35 15/16 or so cabinet for a niche. I like the rustic wood, and if we could trim them down a fraction to scribe to the wall it would be wonderful. Lowes: This cabinet line Home Depot: This cabinet line