we worked with companies recommended by our contractor, so the billing was all done through them. we put down half when we ordered the cabinets.

when we tagged the granite, we didn't put down anything. we arranged it through the materials purchasing person of our contractor and it just showed up as a line item in our statement.

for both custom and non-custom i put down 50%. (granite and cabs) i then paid the balance of the granite to ensure we had the stone after a delay...got burned there. on both the granite and the cabs i got initially burned but because i paid with a creditcard...i got all of those funds back. to me its not so much what% you put down...but more how you pay for it to protect yourself from being burned.

We purchased Kraftmaid cabinets through HD and we paid in full for them when we ordered. We just assumed that because they weren't custom, that's how it was done in the industry.

We had a few doors come in with some imperfections and Kraftmaid and HD have been VERY helpful in getting everything resolved (this was my one worry because at that point they have ALL of our money and could have turned their backs on us).

As for granite, when I tagged my granite I didn't put anything down. The stoneyard slapped a "SOLD" sticker on the two slabs we picked and then I went through my fabricator. They require half down when we signed the contract (after the granite was picked) and before setting up an appt for templating. The balance is due the day the job is complete.

We were also Kraftmaid through Just Cabinets but we put it on their credit card - I have no issue paying in full but only if it can be on a credit card where you can dispute the charge. If it is by check or cash - NO WAY!

I put down half before via credit card and paid the balance via credit after inspecting the delivery and getting agreement to replace a few doors and shelves I wasn't happy with.

The maximum %-age can be dictated by law in some places.

According to my KD, in MD you are only required to pay a maximum of 1/3 at contract signing/ordering, 1/3 when products are delivered, and the last 1/3 at the end.

For us, this also applied to our granite. But, as we are going through EXPO for our granite...it may be different than paying the granite supplier/fabricator directly.

I'm curious to see if other Marylanders were told the same...way back then I was an innocent lamb and trusted my KD!

ni2006-so sorry you got burned.That stinks. I did too, by our cabinet maker for 15K. YIKES. It's so hard to trust anyone.

igloochic, good advice, I'll definitely be charging on credit from now on for my deposit. Thats great to know you were actually able to collect on it. What company did you use (credit card?)

msandrews, I read your post about your 15k loss. Condolences from one sucker to another!

It's been a very important life lesson for us. As much as we want to support local small businesses, we will be extremely careful about who we do business with. Also, we will pay with a credit card from now on. I, too, would like to know if we can use any old credit card? Igloo?

I have semi-custom cabs and put half down. Everything is going through my contractor. I purchased my granite outright. After reading the posts on here, I didn't trust any stone yard (although mine is trustable). They have moved my slabs and have marked them as sold. The labor I am paying for through my contractor to fabricate the slabs. My contractor was mad that I paid for the slabs myself. Stated that I wouldn't have had to pay for any of it now if I went through him. I told him I wanted specific slabs, took tons of pictures of them and didn't want them sold out from under me. End of story. I had heard too many horror ones!

We paid our cabinet shop 50% when we placed our order and we'll pay the balance when they arrive. I paid with AMEX so at least I could get points (plus AMEX is outstanding with customer disputes etc).

Good Morning!

We ordered Merillat Classic cabinets and put down a little less than 1/2, the same %age on Rev-A-Shelf accessories ordered from the same place. We also paid our GC $500 at contract signing, I guess so we don't flake out on him and cancel at the last minute.

Sorry about your troubles - I hope you are able to recoup what you lost...

Semi-custom, half down.