Mine came way early and I took delivery of them when they were ready. They sat in my living room/dining room until the contractor was ready to install.

I'm assuming from the way you describe this that your contractor is not a GC who is responsible for the entire project. That you've purchased cabinets on your own and the contractor you mention is just a carpenter type person who is doing the construction and installation.

In my case the GC was responsible for everything so he had to figure out how to deal with it - and he did. It all worked out just fine.

I have a contractor, but he is doing everything but the installation. I am paying the company I purchased the cabinets from to install them.

Like you, I purchased my cabinets directly from a cabinet company and my GC was not involved. My cabinets were delivered 4 months before installation and were held by the cabinet company in its warehouse until installation. The cabinet company didn't charge for the 4 months of storage or for delivering them to the house at the time of installation. During the 4 months of storage, they even had to move our cabinets to a different location because their warehouse filled up. I kept offering to pay for the storage but the cabinet company owner refused to accept payment. I thought he was a prince of a fellow at the time, but I didn't fully appreciate how great he was until I read your OP. I hope that you're able to persuade your cabinet company to store your cabinets until you are ready for installation and that they will waive the extra delivery fee. Perhaps if you offered to pay another portion of the balance due on the cabinets (say half of the remaining balance), your cabinet company may be more accomodating. That may be risky since you'd be doing so without having had the chance to examine the cabinets, but it's a suggestion that may make your cabinet company more reasonable. Good luck!

Do you have a spouse, friend, neighbor or someone else who can be there to accept delivery of your cabinets? That would be the simplest solution although make sure they don't sign anything about the condition.

APPARENTLY MY CONTRACT with them says something about this they told me, that I ahve to pay for storage and redlivery. but I have not gone back and read yet. I can put it in my garage but they said it was cost me as much to have them move it from garage to my kitchen... HA!! that is insane!!! I am going to have them put it in my diningroom since it is next to my kitchen and see if they tell me that is an additional charge to move it to kitchen!!! I will be really mad.. b/c that is where I think they would have put them the day of install anyway....I have trouble believing this is the norm.. no choice.. take it that day or not.. especially when it has not left the factory yet

When you place an order for factory made cabinets, you are slotted for production on a certain day or week at the exact time you place your order. Once your order is placed into the system, your production date is pretty set in stone. Usually there is a window of time in which the order can be delayed for later production, but this is usually just the first few weeks after the order is placed. Once your week comes up or they are made you can't stop the train. You seem to be about 2 weeks away , so it's prob. too late to change.

Sounds like your "delivery" is being handled by the factory, that's the free or rather "included" delivery. They are not really a "delivery" company as much as a common carrier or shipper. They just transport bulk goods. And once good are in motion they can't just park them somewhere on the side of the road waiting for people to be ready for them. They go to warehouses, and that has fees.

Yes it's reasonable for you to pay storage fees and delivery charges. I know it's hard to have another expense now, but a savvy cabinet designer would have already rolled these fees into the price already because customers, contractors, and jobsites are never ready when they are supposed to be. So, you would have been incurring this expense anyway with a lot of places. there are ways to avoid this expense but YOU take on some risk or control over the final timeline in exchange for saving the money.

RE: you situation, perhaps there will be a snowstorm week of and delay the truck a day or two, or a flood or.... Also, not sure you need to be present, I cannot remember the last time a client was present at the site on the day of delivery, that's what builders are for and what you are paying the cabinet firm / designer for. They meet the delivery, check to see that it' complete and in good condition and gets placed in a location condusive for their installers. I also cannot imagine that you builder already knows he's going to be two days later completing this 20 days out ??? Something doesn't square, get the lead out in the next to weeks to make up the 2 days OR, the site isn't going to be ready on the 28th either in which case this is all moot and you need the storage anyway.

I'd say take deliver on the 26th and put em in the dining room.

Is this a middleman company which will take delivery from the factory and put them directly on the truck when they arrive at their store? If so, then it would mean they'd have to move them to their storage and then onto the truck on the 28th if you wait. If this is the case, I can understand why they'd have that in their contract. But I can also understand why you wouldn't want to pay twice for delivery when you weren't consulted.

I agree with weismann, if that is a possibility. If they were going to deliver anyway when you weren't home, at least they can't expect you to have someone else sign off on the installation.

I encountered the same issue. I knew which week my cabinets were coming, but all of my sudden the designer told me which day they were being delivered. I asked to reschedule and was told it was not an option.

Then the next week my delivery was rescheduled to earlier day in that same week - obviously there was some room to move but not because of my request (not the day I asked).

The cabinets are in my garage, for the past 2 weeks, and will be there for at least another 2 weeks.

If you have a safe place to store them take the delivery, inspect for any damages/missing pieces, and know that when you are ready for install all the materials are on site.

I too bought my cabinets (instead of my contractor). I love my cabinets but not my so called KD (long story). I would call every few weeks to get an update. I would get "on schedule" but no dates. Well, he calls at 4:55 pm to say the cabinets will be delivered tomorrow at 10:00 am and I must have the rest of the cabinet payment at that time or they will not deliver. I went ballistic. He NEVER gave me a date, gave me no warning and the cabinets were going to just show up?! He said if I didn't take delivery they would be sent back to Canada and I would have to pay for a 2nd shipment. If I got adequate warning I would have made space in the garage. We were in a major house renovation and no other room in the house. Well, my KD took deliver to HIS heated garage and then he moved them to my house at his expense.

Ajard, I'm not sure why you'd need the company to come back out again and move them from garage/dining room into the kitchen for you?

The installer/s will move them one at a time into the designated space during installation. In point of fact, the installers probably need the open space in the kitchen as they prep and won't want the entire order dumped in there before they begin work. Having the delivery guys put them somewhere relatively near and handy will be entirely sufficient.

circuspeanut.. they told me if I put them in my garage , I would then incur the man hours from the installation company to move them to garage to kitchen on the day of install... they said it would take 2-3 guys about 3-4 hours to move it.. that sounds ridculous to me...my contractor felt it should only take them like 1 hour.. I am already paying them lots of money to install them. I really didnt want them in the diningroom since that will be our temporary kitchen area.. but it sounds like it might be my only option..

I guess I'm confused - who exactly is installing the cabinets? Not your GC?

No.. the company I bought the cabinets from has "installers". My GC can do it but then the company I purchased it from wont be responisble.. so I have GC doing everything except the actual inset cabinet install.