Oh no! I'm so sorry! I've heard of this happening before. Shocking that such a big mistake could be made. I hope, if you decide to settle on the maple for your kitchen, you'll get a discount at the very least. Good luck!

Beech is a lovely wood.
If it could be stained to match the color you want, I wouldn't think twice.

Really, if this is the worst thing that happens to you during your renovation? You're pretty lucky. Reserve "horrible" for them tiling your kitchen with the wrong tile or grout. With them chipping your stone or slicing the crap out of your drywall and trying to cover it up.

Perspective!

Just go see what he's got for you.
Take a breath. :)

Sorry this happened cook but I can promise you it will work out one way or another. Thankfully, your cab guy owned up to his mistake and is willing to rectify it. He did not abscond with your money, ruin your granite, or any other horror story I've read about on this forum over the years. Maple and beech are similar in hardness. I would ask him to bring a cabinet to your home to see it in your lighting along with the samples of your other materials. If you rather go to his shop to see the cabs then ask to bring one home yourself. You will want to view it where it will live.

Well, shocking, yes, but this may not be a disaster. Maple is an excellent wood for cabinets. If you had chosen beech to use in its natural state, then it would be a big problem. Since you've chosen a chocolate brown stain, you may not even be able to tell the difference, and I don't perceive a quality difference. Am I wrong? You'll need to have a look at the graining, or lack thereof, and see if you find that acceptable. Let us know what you think when you take a look. I predict you'll love what they've done when you get over the initial shock.

With a stain that dark I don't think you will be able to tell all that much difference. Perhaps in side to side comparison, but not viewing one instead of the other.

Um...shouldn't substantial discount be in there somewhere? I agree that you might like them, but even if you do, you're saving him a lot taking them. He should save you some in return.

I don't know anything about beech, but be sure you talk to him about the info below that I got from houzz about maple. You may want to do a search for more info before talking with your carpenter.

"Maple is a nearly non-porous wood and it can't absorb dark stains very easily. Dark-stained maple tends to look blotchy � it's a characteristic of the wood, not the stain.

All woods change color with time, and maple tends to grow more yellow with age. That's another characteristic to be aware of."

Anne

I didn't realize that beech could be stained that dark since it's a light/hard wood and difficult to be stained in dark colors. Maybe it wouldn't make very much difference? I could be wrong maybe there are different types of beech....interesting! I used to work for a company that had a line of chairs in beech wood and they couldn't be purchased in the darker stains as it just wouldn't take the darker colors. They would have to paint the chairs first in a dark paint and then basically a faux wood finish to get the desired color.

Maple and beech are very similar, and with a dark stain or dark tinted poly I doubt most people coukd tell the difference even when comparing side by side!

FWIW, our kitchen cabinets are chocolate-stained maple from Thomasville. I would not say the stain is 100% consistent throughout the entirety of the cabinets, but we actually appreciate the subtle striations. I wouldn't call it blotchy; the stain just seems to have some depth. Anyways, from what I understand, Kraftmaid no longer stains maple cabinets in their darker stains because those very striations that I like so much in my cabinets are apparently offensive to some people.

When we were deciding upon the wood and corresponding stain color, our cabinet guy did make up samples with the same dark brown stain on oak, maple and beech. The maple was the smoothest grain of the three. If he had used oak, it would be a definite do-over. And I could see a difference between the maple and beech, especially in bright natural light. We have a lot of windows, french doors, etc in the kitchen/great room area so the whole natural light thing matters.

Remodelfla, you're right. He didn't abscond with our money! I live in a small, very rural area and we have a mechanical contracting business, so we see this cabinet guy (and his employees) regularly around the area. That almost makes it worse, is some ways. I don't want to feel guilty for costing him money if the maple doesn't work! But yet, he made the mistake....just like we have ALL made mistakes.

And pillog, you think like my husband! He's thinking "substantial discount" also! Maybe I can make up for some of our "over budget" items that we've splurged on!

And CEFreeman, they didn't tile the kitchen with the wrong tile (not yet anyway) but they have messed up the stone and slashed through the drywall. Those problems were all fixed without costing $15,000 like this cabinet screwup.

I don't know - is it me? Is it because I'm reading the Steve Jobs biography? What can you say about a field of endeavor - I'm talking about contracting - whose work is judged by the standard, "Well, it could have been worse."

We did the smallest remodel of our kitchen and there were problems in EVERY stage - the granite, plumbing, cabinet making (ONE custom cabinet!), island top fabrication, range hood installation - except one: the tile guy showed up on time and his work was straight and plumb. And I wanted to kiss his hands, like this was some kind of miracle.

My contractor came well-recommended. He had some personal issues during the course of the job - this did not go on years, mind you, but two months (was supposed to take two weeks!). I am not heartless or without compassion - but with every mistake, I was told, "Oh, you won't notice it," or "Oh, what difference does it make," or, "Oh, just put it in perspective."

I think all of that is valuable advice. But how about, "Take some pride in your work. Do it right. Focus."

Sorry to vent - but to cook4, I say either get the cabinets that you contracted for or pay less. I wish I had.

Since Maple is such a commonly used material, hopefully he'll be able to sell these in another job.

Remember, I'm in the House of Good Enough For Now, which I'm slowly, slowly rebuilding to what will be the tune of 1000s. I believe I have now had another contractor (I view my STBX as a contractor now) bail on me with $800 of my $$ for materials. I'm not one to feel for contractors.

Pride is something seldom found, these days. Like your guy, it sounds like it's found in one-man-craftsmen.

Discount is one thing, but going for "substantial" is another. What is substantial? That 4-letter F word? Free?

I agree compensation could be in line, but how about he makes it right first? What exactly is he costing but time. Two weeks, you say. I know that's valuable, but give him credit for his integrity. What if he did a few of the cabinets for ... free? Since you know what he is putting out of his pocket (I know, his fault), are you asking him for $$?

Sorry. I have the awful character flaw of seeing the other side of situations.

Don't settle. But be reasonable, right?

(Sorry about your stone! One thing or another, isn't it?)

Eugenie---great post! We do seem to hold contractors to a lower standard...is it because they essentially have us over a barrel because most of us dont have the skills/time to do the work ourselves? Imagine a doctor saying "just put it in perspective" if he screwed up your operation. I am a detail-oriented person and noticed everything when they remodeled the master bath and I made them do a few things over. In my job in the administrative offices of a large school system, I give the best customer service I can--that means returning emails and calls promptly, and rectifying problems to the satisfaction of my "customer." I expect the same when I go out into the world whether I'm at the grocery store, dealing with contractors, at the doctor, what have you. It's not rocket science!

I do admire the integrity of this cabinetmaker (seems rare these days). It sounds like he will do the right thing and take the necessary actions to satisfy his customer, which will lead to other jobs when the OP recommends him to others ( a point a lot of people/contractors don't get....be honest, do a good job and your business will flourish.

Thank you, joaniepoanie - it's nice to know I'm not alone. Sometimes I feel like the only harda*s on GW - and I don't even think I'm such a harda*s.

Like you, I'm detail-oriented and conscientious in my job. In my kitchen, I noticed when things that should be straight, like countertops, were on a slant, and I wasn't happy when my contractor said I should just 'get used to' the numerous mistakes, both large and small, that could so easily have been avoided if he and his subs had used a tape measure or a level or anticipated problems in advance. When I get careless, I get a lousy outcome, too.

Sometimes I think these guys would do a better job if we weren't so forgiving. Sure, I make mistakes. One of them was being WAY too easy-going at the beginning of the job. By the end, I was all business.

When I brought in my own plumber, after numerous tries to get my water pressure right, and the contractor said to me, 'That's not fair," I put my hands on my hips and said, "Not fair to WHOM!"

If the contractor says, "What difference does it make?", I say, "It makes a 25% difference in the amount I was going to pay you to do it right."

OK, the cabinet issue is resolved! And sometimes things seem to happen for a reason. I took my beech with brown stain sample with me and found the cabinet shop out in the boonies. The cabinet guy looked at the sample he gave me two months ago and said "That's brown." No kidding, it's the beech/maple thing we're concerned about.

He shows me the samples that he has been fervently working on since our phone call yesterday and they are black! Somewhere along the way, he thought I wanted black kitchen cabinets, rather than brown! (This guy's an awesome craftsman, but obviously not too good on the organizational/listening part of running a business!)

So once, I pounded it into his head that I wanted brown, just like the beech sample in my hand,we tweaked about 5 samples of maple until we had the correct color of stain.

I didn't go for any additional discount because to be honest, I don't know if I could tell the difference between the beech and maple samples once they are in my house. I'm sure a professional would be able to tell the difference, but I sure couldn't.

I'm glad you didn't ask for a discount. You can't tell the difference once it's stained, and the maple wood most probably cost the cabinet maker more than the beech would have. So he already paid for his mistake. Plus he was honest about it. You got a better wood for your cabinetry at the same price, and your project wasn't delayed. What more could you ask for? Congratulations on handling this so well.

Cook...glad it all worked out....you will have beautiful cabinets!

Eugenie.....I'm not a contractor, but even I know to use a level. With the bath remodel,I came home to find the limestone window sill slanted by 1/2 inch...very visibly noticeable...made them do it over. Original builder did not center toilet under window by about 4" and it always looked off...asked them to move it over and center it...they move it only 2".....still looks off...made them do it over. Again, not rocket science!

Weedmeister.....great comeback!

I'm so glad it worked out!
I was very confident you'd end up with something nice, and probably exactly as you wanted it.
Imagine if he'd brought them to you black! [LOL] I'd have loved to have been a fly on that wall.

I agree with the sloppiness -- and why are we supposed to say it's OK when it's NOT!
I warn the few people I've hired that I'm anal. They know my story w/ my STBX and what they're fixing. I make it extremely clear, in English and Spanish, that I want things the way *I* want them, done once, done right, and done well. And I pay. Ironically, I'm not unreasonable. I just want what I want.

Only once have I had to use the words I resented from my parents growing up: "Because I said so."

My STBX would say I have the keenest sense of level and plumb he's ever encountered. My barn windows are 300 feet from the house. I could see the shutters weren't right. When I went out there to measure, they were 3/8th in off. Ironically, I have trouble with a tape measure.

I digress.
Good job.
Will you post pics?
Christine

I have stained maple cabinets. The stain is very even & beautiful. I love them!

Cook4?
What's the status on your cabs? Installation yet?
I am looking forward to seeing how they've come out.
Christine

My kitchen work isn't finished, and there is one issue that rankles me. My GC told me I'd "love" puck lights under the cabs, as do all his clients. Before he started work I told him over the phone that I was considering fluorescents instead. He dismissively said they were more expensive and changed the subject. I guess I expected to revisit the type of UCL before they went in. Suddenly I had low-voltage wiring and 5 xenon puck lights. The pucks gave off harsh shadows, slightly heated the shelf where I keep my chocolate chips and when on resulted in horrible radio interference. After a few days, I told him I wanted them changed. He got pissy, then called me back to apologize and the wiring and lights were changed. I went out and bought new lights myself and he charged me extra to replace the wiring.

My KD is furious about me paying extra. But I'm choosing to bide my time. There's still work that needs to be done that I want done right and not under a cloud of resentment. I still owe him money. When everything else is done to my satisfaction, we'll discuss the pucks. Depending on how I feel, I'm even prepared to let the $260 extra go by the wayside. While it irritates me, I need to put it into perspective.