I'm sorry you are having to deal with all of these glitches. I know it is frustrating, but it sounds as though you are nearly done and you will have a beautiful kitchen to boot. Hang in there and just keep making sure they do things the way you want them. Hugs.

I'm dancing as fast as I can...

When my husband starts on his "why didn't we hire someone to do this" rant, I get online and read him posts like yours.

It just seems that no matter how careful a person is, how many times you measure and calcualte - something can still end up different than what you thought, and mistakes happen too.

Always remember - there will come a time when the dance is over. (ok, who am I kidding LOL!!!)

Cathy (who is on year 7 of a DIY project).

I totally hear you on this. In my tiny condo kitchen we decided to make it so so closed in and take down a wall to make a breakfast bar guess what the wall we wanted to take down happened to be load bearing. So now the contractor has to install a new beam in the ceiling for support which ending up costing us time and money.

Well, I'm listening with great interest. And, if I'm fully understanding your story, sounds to me like you have good reason to be doing a glitchen dance! It might also be time to take a firmer stand with these installers and cabinet makers. IMO, a positive attitudes is absolutely essential to keeping your eye on the prize. I mean, you've got to believe that when you're up to your neck in alligators, that you really will prevail in draining the swamp, right? But that doesn't mean you don't shout like heck when those alligators start to take their nips! So where the heck did these installers come from? Yes, I know -- from the cabinetmaker. Still, they sure sound like novices on this project. By any chance, did you include a scheduling clause in your contract? Is there provision for a financial penalty if the contractor doesn't meet the scheduled installation deadline, for reasons that are within his control?

Ah well, even if not, thank goodness they are at least fixing the mistakes without giving you grief about it. And, really thank goodness that you're happy with the quality of the cabs. So you're right, although the alligators are up to your neck and nipping, at least they haven't removed your head. After all, you can still say aaarghs, right? LOL!

Nice to see you here, Willis13 and with an intro post like that, I'm more willing to sign your dance card. Whatever you do, please continue to keep us posted on your project. It sounds wonderful! Most of all, please accept our >> and lots of wishes for the best of luck.

I'm sorry, but I'm laughing in complete recognition - including the floating floor.

Depending on how it was glued, you might be able to remove a section of the floor and relay with new material. Good luck today.

Hi Willis, I'm new around here too. Dry wall is being installed and spackled (sp?) today so nothing's been installed. But we redid our bathroom around 5 years ago. We used a very wellknown/reputable company who swore they only used subs they have worked with before and who they know do a great job. Well, long story short, if I wasn't around to catch a ton of mistakes these people made we'd have a ton more mistakes then we do today (ie: I couldn't catch ALL the mistakes).

My husband thinks I'm a little obsessed with this kitchen renovation. It's not that I am standing over the guys all day long, not at all. But I check everything each night. I caught 1 major mistake on the construction (the WRONG WINDOW was installed, and too high at that), which they happily fixed. Everything else so far seems to have been done correctly. We shall see!

Not to make this about me, but I'm trying to relate, and thank you for pointing out your problems. Our cabinets are to be installed sometime next week (I HOPE) and I WILL be around a lot for those 3 days to make sure it's all going in correctly as it's going in.

I hope things run a bit more smoothly for you going forward and I'll join you in the dance for support.

Oh yeah, and this morning I dumped the entire contents of my water bottle in my brief case. Didn't put the top on properly. And I don't usually even bring a water bottle! The good news is my briefcase is waterproof... good news for the car, not so good for the briefcase contents. At least it wasn't my coffee...

The nice thing about working with a bunch of handy I-can -build-my-own-house/cottage engineers is that I now think the floor fix is probably quite doable. I hope my contractor thinks the same!

bemorepanic, no apologies necessary! And hellonasty, you have to be obsessed, don't you? If my husband had been overseeing this, I shudder to think what we'd have ended up with :). I work full time, so being around has been hard, but I have been stopping by daily, and usually catching the guys there. I wish I'd been more diligent in some of my checking, but I have caught a few things that had I not got them when I did would have been far bigger issues. Good luck with your install!

Thought I'd bump this back up. How's everyone's renos going? Mine is ok... moving right along. Had to do a minor glitchen dance yesterday... part of the counter needs to be redone but it's being fixed, shouldn't set us back, and everyone involved is super helpful and apologetic. Trim work and drawer pulls are being installed as I type this. Electrician will be here on Tues to finish up the electrical work (boy do I wish he could be here today so we can move into the fridge tomorrow). I'm more than ready for this to be over. We are now 2 days into week 6 so we're doing well on time and really, we've been lucky with how it's been going. It's still stressful though!

things are finally moving again. well today anyways. For awhile the painter was the only one showing up and there was WAY more then paint left to do. I just kept calling the GC and seem to have lit a fire. or he finished another job, so I am back on the radar, who ever really knows?

Anyways, pantry shelves and vent for dryer are going in right now. Random missing tile may be laid. Not sure what else, I am just glad to have some activity back. They are nice guys, but I want my house back before school starts!

Allie

Am dancing forward generally. I'm trying out the new "zones" in my kitchen and thinking about where to locate stuff that I'm pulling out of storage boxes. Am staring at some of our mistakes and doing the dope slap but am also overjoyed that generally the space works so well. Wrote the check for the second and final installment on the cabinets this week. Am getting closer to a decision on cabinet glass and hardware and have finished choosing lights. Found a fabulous estate sale with homemade rag rugs for cheap, so I now have some padding under my heels when standing on the new oak floor, which is essential for my sore feet and back.

Oh, and have decided on a new command for the dog: "Lobby!" which means "go chew on that item over on the tile floor not the oak floor." He's getting the message, but there is one set of scuffs on the oak where he destroyed a plastic pop bottle. Stuff we use can't be new for long, can it?

How are things, Willis?

I am happy to hear you all are doing well, too. Also, am happy to report the problem with the counter has been fixed and reinstalled and looks great! Plumber comes on Monday to install appliances. Electrician on Tues. So we're almost in.

You guys are seriously scaring me, lol. We are still approx 6-7 weeks out from demo and stories like these make me lose a lot of sleep. But... you show me that there is a fix for almost everything and if you can persevere, we will muddle through somehow too.
Dh and others look at me like I am an idiot for wanting to be on site a lot of the time that they are working on the house. I intend to cut back a lot on work so I can be around with both eyes open. I intend to run errands for the crews and supply refreshments and will try to be an asset and not a P.I.T.A., but I make no guarantees, lol. This is huge for us and I have waited too long and it will cost too much to not get it how we want it. I am sure there will be issues, but I want to be there and a part of the process when the solutions get discussed. I also want to head off any issues where possible. As willis said, if you catch things early you avoid bigger problems that would have been compounded if not attended to promptly.
Good luck, and can't wait to see your pix :)

BWAA! I didn't post the last little adventure in glitchen dancing.

After the fridge episode, which was fixed quite successfully, we install the oven. Big panic day - it was a Friday, and we were moving in on Sat, so lots of activity at the house as everyone tried hard to get things finished for us. Stove gets installed. I look over and say "don't tell me". Cabinet guy looks at me with a scared look on his face and says cautiously... "what?". So I walk over to the drawers that are 90 degrees to the oven (we decided to write off the corner in favour of big drawers), and... they won't open!! Yes, we left a filler, but it wasn't enough... So they had to take out that bank of drawers and rebuild them - with the countertop installed, of course.

I seriously think my KD totally ignored my appliance specs.

So we move in with the drawers that are to take the kitchen utensils, pots and pans, and baking sheets, not there. So we ate out for a couple of weeks then went on vacation :)

Things are pretty much done now (although when we came back from vacation on Sunday the final set of drawer fronts were on, however they've taken two cabinet doors off that have been on for weeks and I have NO clue why) and I was able to unpack the final two kitchen boxes last night. That felt good!

Just some minor tweaking left - door alignment, decorative piece over vent hood, a shelf missing etc. Then it turns over to me to pick pendants, light for eat in area, and cushion fabric for banquette, to really get the place finished. Pretty things I just couldn't deal with when I was up to my earballs in the structural stuff, plus I wanted to see the finished product before choosing some of these elements.

Aren't you glad you asked? :)

Dianalo, you are definitely doing the right thing by being present. Even if you don't catch problems, if they know they'll see you at some point they may wait to confirm things, or suggest better/different ways to do things. You'll probably find you don't have to be there a lot.

Good to hear things are going well for you, Florantha and hellonasty (did your appliances go in smoother than mine??) - I've been away from this site for a couple of weeks while on vacation, so feel soooo far behind!

Allie, yes, we need our kitchens before school!!