This is my personal opinion and you might not like it.

You may not be able to recover for the corner-dw thing if the drawer was not on the original design. If the dealer offered to send the cabinet back, you're sunk. If the dealer only offered to permanently close the drawer, you have an arguable position that the proposed remedy was unacceptable as you were planning on that drawer. If the original floorplan showed a cabinet with a drawer, then you should pursue keeping the $500 as a settlement.

Get the customer service address of the cabinet company. The warranty is provided by the company, not the kd.

Send the company a concise description of the problems to date, a picture of the corner and the shaws sink and a copy of the dealer's threat. Explicitly state that you like the company's product (if you do), but you are pursuing a minor remedy against the dealer for their faulty workmanship in the design/installation and you don't understand why the dealer is the arbiter of the cabinet warranty.

Ask that they step in with a statement of your warranty and ask if the cabinet warranty covered the cabinet design and installation errors. CC the dealer.

First, before I tell you my opinion, they cannot remove the cabinet warranty. You can go direct to the manufacturer. And trust me, you've paid for them. The $500 holdback (which was smart, but could have been more) is for installation.
Now, a good company would have caught that mistake and sometimes "s" happens but they should stand by their work. If you agreed not to use the drawer because of the hinderance of the dw handle, you may not have the optimal negotiating power, but some sort of compensation should be in order. Remove the emotion when you are talking to them. And, again, they cannot delete the warranty on your cabinets.
As for the marble, you were smart to figure that one out ahead of time. I don't do that, but a lot of KDs do.
Anyway, stick to your guns and good luck.

Some thoughts come to mind:

1. Was the dw with the handle known to the KD from the beginning? If so, I think it is a DESIGN flaw! Doesnt't the D in KD stand for DESIGNER?
2. If the drawyer won't open because of the dw handle, how then can the KD conclude the design error is IMAGINED? The handle either blocks the opening or it doesn't.
3. Doesn't the KD have any "errors and omissions" allowance or insurance? If not, what is kitchen design to them-just a hobby? Are they so arrogant and egotistical that they think they NEVER make a mistake?
4. You hired what sounds like an expensive KD so you could avoid the very kind of design errors you speak of with your cabinet issue and your sink issue. You could have achieved these errors on your own without their expensive services. Their reason for being is to deliver an error free design without the risk of amateurish errors like you are suffering through. They are supposed to be on your team-not fighting you-especially when they do the DESIGNING. That's why they are paid the big money by YOU. Otherwise, their credentials are suspect, I think.

No one realistically expects them to never make a mistake, but how they address and resolve what should be the occasional error defines whether they are true Professionals or just overly puffed Amateurs. A true professional would resolve the problem so the finished result would reflect positively on their services. An amateur will get defensive, point fingers, make excuses, make threats, become condesceding, blame someone else, play the "technicality" card, etc.

Anyway, I think you have plenty of ammunition to fight back with. And remember, it if I understand your position correctly, you have done nothing wrong and do not need to apologize to them.

I wish you the best. BYW, who are they? Someone else may need to be warned about them?

Where did the drawer come from if it wasn't on the original design? Was it a cabinet maker's "extra"? Did you ask for one to be included there? How did you end up with it if it wasn't there and signed off on?

Unless you are using a custom cabinet maker, the warranty is provided by the manufacturer. Get the name of the manufacturer's representative for you area. Now is the time to go through him/her. Make sure there is a paper trail detailing the errors on the part of the KD. It never looks good when the rep has to get involved and this may be the motivation your KD needs to sign off on the invoice as paid in full. Make sure to document all conversations and save all paperwork. Good Luck.

Okay here are my thoughts from someone who is not familiar with the situation nor emotionally or fiscally invested.

The drawer did not exist in the bid from the kitchen designer.
The drawer was added later.
The drawer did not work.
You decided to keep the drawer and change out the dishwasher instead of removing the drawer.

I'm not seeing where you got screwed here, nor do I see a strong argument that anyone but you should pay for the dishwasher. Sorry, I know that you don't necessarily want to hear that. But really if the bid didn't include it, you okayed a design without it. It doesn't sound like the designer ever agreed to paying for a dishwasher so making $1500 purchase and just assuming they would pay for it... well, is a risky assumption.

I think you might be rightly pissed off about the sloppy sink install and counter nonsense and that is coloring your judgement on this situation. Try to separate the two issues if you can. Just because they were egregiously wrong and offensive in one situation doesn't mean they are wrong in all situations.

I have to agree with live_wire_oak, in order to give an informed opinion we'd have to know the process by which that drawer became included in your plan since it wasn't there originally. Also, are your cabs custom by that shop or were they ordered from a manufacturer?

Who do people think is going to perform the warranty work? Like in many situations the retailer is the point of first contact and they often make the claim to the manufacturer not the client. Not honoring the manufacturers warranty is not the same as voiding it. The warranty still applies but you will just have no practical means to use it.

It is unfortunate when errors occur but I am not clear why the company should be responsible for the cost of the new dishwasher. That you would even argue this makes you seem unreasonable. It is hard to evaluate what exactly happened based on the info provided but there is enough ambiguity to indicate it wasn't a malicious act on their part. Your use of language like "torture" suggests a certain amount of volatility on your part (I also don't find anything in the tone of the quote you provided from their e-mail that suggests they think you are an "idiot"). Your kitchen sounds terrific and the choice to replace the dishwasher sounds like the smart way to go. Good luck.

It seems like the KD is calling the issue an "imagined Design issue" becuase from what you say, the drawer was not included in the design that you signed off and paid for, therefore, if the drawer was not supposed to be there, there is no design issue....it seems that during the design, it was planned for that cabinet to not have a pull out drawer, which would not have resulted in it not being able to open due to the perpendicularly placed dishwasher....hince no design issue.

Although, Im not exactly sure how a drawer came on a cabinet that should not have one...but if it did, and you decided to keep it, then the blame can't be put on a design issue if the drawer was not in the original design. If you planned not to have a drawer, I dont understand why all of a sudden you are fighting to keep it. I think the KD's option of permanently closing it was the correct first step. If then, you decided that you wanted to keep the drawer, the only possible solution would be to buy a dishwasher without handles, which you should be responsible for purchasing, not the KD.

I think you are upset becuase of the countertop/Shaw sink issue, and are kind of adding this issue into the boiling pot. You have to separate the two.

And as for being upset about the extra money the KD may or may not (you dont really know for sure) made off you using their countertop company, it seems that's a part of the business. Im sure you paid a bit eixtra for the cabinetry (and any other product that the KD assisted you in selected) as part of the KD's fee. It only makes sense.

Sorry, this may not be what you want to hear, but from someone looking in, it only seems fair. That is, unless I am incorrect in assuming whether or not the drawer was in the original design and how it exactly it came on a cabinet that wasnt supposed to have.....I think we all need a bit more information than what you gave as we all are "assuming" based on the information you provided.

The warranty DOES NOT cover installation. It covers the cabinets, hinges & glides and whatever is included in your particular brand, for whatever amount of time the distributor offers: 15 year, 25 year, lifetime, whatever. Nobody but the installer is responsible for the install. Whether the price is negotiated, the balance waived, who missed what, the fact is that the KD cannot void the warranty.
You can go directly through the distributor for the warranty info., go to their website, call them... You would call a rep if there is a physical problem with your cabinets (not caused by install).
When you see "lifetime warranty" on a can of paint, they mean they will replace the paint. They don't mean they're going to come over and repaint for free, or pay for the labor. It is for the product, not the labor.

WOW.. thanks for all the responses.
Here are some of the answers. The original bid was based on another kitchen designers preliminary plans. From the time I signed on with this company with a small deposit to bind me to them making a design off my preliminary plans and to when we sent a final proof to the cabinet maker which is Mouser the dimension and design changed ALOT.. alot of adjustments were made. infact some cabinets were removed to make my workspace a bit smaller so for them to tell me that I don't need the drawer since it wasn't on the 'original' bid is silly. That drawer above the lazy half moon was there on the final plans that we signed off on that you can see attached and I even paid extra after we sent the plans to Mouser for other minor adjustments such as changing to a farm sink. Also when they claimed the drawer wasnt there at first so I dont really need it, it was because the first preliminary plans had a full lazy susan, when we changed it to the half moon we added the drawer. The plans I finally signed off on and gave the 50% deposit HAD the drawer...are they not 100% responsible to have known the dimensions of all my appliances? They had a list of old and new appliances

If the cabinet company honors the warranty who is going to come look at it and fix it if it is not my KD. My KD and installer are the same company.. and they are CKD with national awards..... who would help me. I already have an issue with one of my doors they needs to be addressed.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://s779.photobucket.com/albums/yy80/ajard/Final%20Kitchen%20Drawings/

ah, well now i will agree with you. especially as someone who's kitchen designer put my refrigerator/freezer so that the freezer doors opens up & bumps against a wall and i can't take out the drawers. but the KD said "well you signed off on it" which was infuriating!

I would amend my previous statement by saying you should mention the final plans and then say "You show the drawer in the final cabinet design that your company agreed to. Isn't figuring out how the cabinets will fit the job of a CKD? You placed a filler on the dish washer side, why isn't there a filler on the peninsula side?

BTW, the cabinet dealer almost never copes with cabinet warranty claims. The manufacturer will have an area rep who does that.

I agree with bmorepanic (Above)

Your drawings CLEARLY show the drawer. There is a 3" filler to the left of the dishwasher in order to clear the perpendicular cabinets to the left, so why didnt the KD pull that cabinet out more to acomodate the dishwasher (blind corner cabinets need to be "pulled" from the wall so that the stile that separates where the door/drawer is from the "blind" end of the cabinet shows and serves as a filler)?

As a result, the KD is totally responsible...and this is coming from a KD! There is no way that a KD should have missed this.....even if there were no dishwasher, there still should have been some type of filler.

You dont even need to know the dimension of a dishwasher to know that you need fillers for ANYTHING at a corner so the drawers/doors can open pass each other.

The KD is totally responsible!!
Good luck with the outcome!

"...well you signed off on it..." (from srg215's KD)

I'm sorry, but only someone incompetent would come back with that statement. It's the KD's responsibility to design a kitchen so all elements work. Now, if a KD had told you you needed filler and you refused it, that would be a different story.

This irritates me in so many ways...people no longer are willing to take responsibility for their actions or take enough pride in their work to do it RIGHT! If you want to be a KD, then you need to learn how to be a KD! That includes understanding the basics of how things open/close, how much room they need for movement, etc. I can understand the occasional "oops!" but then you have to own up to your mistake, take responsibility for it, and make it right. Something so many people aren't willing to do. So much fingerpointing goes on...people trying to blame someone else for their own mistake.

It's not just KDs, GCs, etc., it's all over...but it seems to be worse in these kinds of situations. I know in my job I would be told to own up to my mistake and fix it (at my company's expense) or I'd be out of a job. And if I made too many mistakes like that, I would be out of a job!

We should not be required to be KD experts and know everything...that's why we hire KDs...to catch things like this...and that's what they're being paid for!!! When we sign off on a plan, it's with the understanding that the KD knows his/her job and designed a functional plan...which in this case s/he did not!

Trying to take away functionality (or deny it's an issue) is not how you fix a problem!!!

[Why am I so irritated? I went through something similar and refused to let them continue or to pay any more $$$ (approx 1/3 the total cost) until they made it right. After a little more than a month and the intervention of a GW angel w/the KD's corporate HQ, they finally fixed the issues I had...at their cost. On top of that, I periodically see posts here where this happens...it never ends!]

Oh and as others have said, it doesn't matter what was in the first plan, it only matters what was in the final, signed off on plan. I'm sure you paid for that drawer since drawers are not free! A cabinets w/drawers costs more than one w/just shelves.

I went to Mouser, and their warranty is on their website. If your KD installed a defective cabinet, a rep from Mouser will handle it. Of course, this should have been done by your KD, but that's not the case here.
You have 2 separate issues here;
1. KD informs you that if you don't pay the balance, warranty will be voided. And:
2. You feel that they did not perform their tasks in a satisfactory manner and will keep the holdback until they can rectify the situation.
Well, Mouser has a lifetime warranty.
You need to be compensated for their errors. Now, what that compensation is, needs to be detemined. Gather all your facts, submit them in writing using only facts, remove the emotion. Your case will be clear as day.
Good luck!

My first issue at hand is that I had to replace the dw in order to use the drawer which costs more then my last payment. Is it unreasonable to withhold that last 500 dollars. Having to get a new dw that was comprible to mine was 1500 after tax and installation. It seems to me their threat for no warranty because I withhold that payment will not hold up, but I will contact Mouser. They feel loosing that drawer was an acceptable remedy....we didnt.... I am just angry that they called it imagined design error. If my marble wasnt cut they could have added the filler to clear my dw handle.. but they didnt realize the problem until very late in the process... so frustrating

Is the KD the owner of the company? If not, talk to their boss and show them the plan your KD came up with. Seems to me that KD doesn't know what they are doing and maybe their management isn't aware of it. Just because the company won awards doesn't mean all of their KDs are good.

Good luck!

Yes.. the KD is the owner and her husband is the installer. There is no one else to report to. They have been around 25 years and do all high end work...

As a kitchen designer and the owner of my kitchen and bath store in Orlando I do not see how the store can call your complaint imagined. I am amazed that other people who have comented on your post as "KD's" have used the terminoligy of a filler when they should know you do not use a filler on the blind corner cabinet that has your drawer. It is supposed to be installed away from the wall the dishwasher backs to so the drawer is far enough away from the dishwasher to open. The fact that the countertop was cut before the problem was realized has nothing to do with the countertop. The blind corner cabinets are built to be flexible in how far you "pull" it from the wall of the dishwasher. The conversation should have been to the effect of the cabinet was not pulled away from the dishwasher wall for what ever reason. Now that this is recognized a decision has to be made as to what will be done to solve this problem. Your design would have been different before the order to allow the drawer to open. The countertop of the section the blind corner cabinet would have been appox 1.5-3" longer to allow the blind corner cabinet to be "pulled" from the wall or something to the left of the blind corner cabinet would need to be 1.5-3" smaller to allow the blind corner cabinet to be installed with proper clearance. At that moment a decision should have been made to decide what needed to be changed recognizing the entire length of the counter is not to change size. What should have occured is admiting a new cabinet to the left of the blind corner cabinet 3" smaller was needed and should have been ordered. Your kitchen put on hold and installed properly. In my opinion that would have been more expensive then your dishwasher based on the price you paid for you kitchen. I just priced a kitchen out that is larger then yours and gave the customers prices of american made cabinets of $2,800 to $3,500 for cabinets. (They asked for the least expensive cabinets possible) The blind corner cabinet would have to be made again to do the job right because the filler between it and the dishwasher has put holes in the wood stile it is attached to in the blind corner cabinet. When you slide that blind corner cabinet over to its left 1.5-3" you would be up set of the the holes needing to be filled from the screws attaching the filler to it on the left side of the dishwasher.

If you have itemized prices for the cabinets find the cost of the blind corner and a cabinet to its left and you would see the retail cost to replace them is probably higher then the price of the dishwasher. The warranty for the cabinets is issued by the manufacturer normally. Paperwork from the dealer may be required to be submitted to "register the purchase" just like you have to do when you buy a new product that is computer related. You should be able to circumvent that with a complaint to the manufacturer.

It seems to me the dealer for this cabinet brands feels they can strong arm you. I would not see it that way if I was in your shoes. The designer of the cabinet layout forgot to pull the cabinet away from the wall enough to work in your design. I have done that myself once in my carrer. Complain to the better business bureau (sp?) if they do not all ready have a F rating. If they do then your complaint will not change the perception of future customers that they do not stand behind their business when something goes wrong. The BBB does not side with every customer. The purpose of the rating is to show the the business will work to solve problems instead of leave you in the dark. If the rating is already F then you know they are not concerned about it and another complaint will not have the ability to pressure them.

Call the number to the cabinet maker and talk to them and ask them if a dealer is able to deny warrantys We all know the reasonable answer but here it from the horses mouth.

I see you as lucky a different dishwasher makes things work. There would have been a cost to the dealer to fix the problem with 2 new cabinets as well. Assuming you can get the warranty I would not pay the final bill and just be happy to be done and realize you picked a company that you have learned to be dishonest and move on with life.

I can't do anything to ease your pain on this issue...but I am constantly amazed at the issues I read on this board about shoddy workmanship and design errors and then to top it off, the vendors not taking accountability and disrespecting the customer.

If we were designers and builders we would do it ourselves and have to fix any errors that are encountered.

I hope you can come to some kind of agreement, but it sounds like there is a strong intimidation factor and certainly dishonesty and no compromising will be entertained on the side of the vendor. When it is all said and done if you aren't happy, then sharing this incident with BBB, this board, etc. might help someone else not encounter a bad business exchange with this vendor. It's not about vindication, it is about good business practices.

daveinorlando thank you... I didnt know what should be done, all i knew is that a new dw without a handle would resolve the problem so that is what we did. My marble was cut the day before and we didnt have another inch on my slab to make the counters big. He used one two inch slab for my whole kitchen... we searched for a long time to find one that was big enough to fit and not have to order 2 slabs.
To the left of the blind corner cabinet is a single dw drawer ( a 2nd back up dw since I have a large family) with a drawer for storage under it..would that change what you were suggesting? and after that a regular cabinet.. this is a peninsula.
Thanks sooo much... I am trying to understand what the options were for my case here.

In retrospect the 21" cabinet should be 18-19.5" in the design phase of planning this would move the 2nd dishwasher and the blind corner cabinet further away from the main dishwasher to allow clearances for everything to open and function. It is a mistake that is easy to make as the person laying out the kitchen on computer although your drawings to me look like they were made by hand.

It is unfortunate that the mistake was not realized before the cabinets were all screwed together. I assume it was discovered when the dishwasher was installed after all the cabients were screwed together. None the less the right thing to have done would have been to order replacement cabinets and waited to install the countertop or to have done what you did with the dishwasher. Imagined design flaw is just not true. Do not let them bully you around. The warranty on a cabinet is really about its construction that it does not come unglued or the box and door disfigure through warpage. If we all knew the amount of times warranty claims happen I bet we all would be surprised how rare this occurs. Secure your warranty by conversation with the cabinet maker backed with something in writing by correspondence and then go back the the design install team that sold the cabinets and point out all the advice given from the good posts on here and pressure them with the better business beaurea (sp I hate that word!) and see if they will fly right. If the design has a mistake which it does and they wanted to eliminate the drawer then a new blind base corner cabient with full height drawer should have been ordered and installed paid for by the party who made the mistake if my idea of the better solution of reducing the 21" cabinet to allow a greater "pull" of the blind base corner cabinet with a drawer.

Trust is so hard to develop. Far to many Americans do not respect the people around them. My store struggles to survive honestly in my local market due to many people not trusting as I recently opened up 800 miles away from previous dishonest partners. It is very difficult to build that reputation of honesty. It seems the rule is your expierence and the exception is honesty. It hurts all the good guys or gals out there.

daveinorlando how do I contact you?

Bobby Aycock...I doubt Dave is around much. Bumping someone else's VERY old thread is not the way to contact someone. To contact someone, check his/her Houzz page and, if messaging is turned on, you can contact that person from that page. If it's not, then a "shout out" with the person's name in the Subject works - IF that person is frequently on Kitchens (which he is not, at least not with his 2 user names I know about) or if you get very, very lucky. First,though, check that person's "Activity" (see the Read Me thread for more information) - if s/he has no recent activity, then it's doubtful they well "hear" the shout out.

This is the latest thread that I know about from him (as DavidInDC) in May 2014.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2663571/need-help-with-farmhouse-sink-install-asap

Here's another thread that might explain some things from March 2014:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2461848/what-happened-to-daveinorlado