It's my take, after talking to contacts who are in the construction business, is that they are busy. People are not building, but they are renovating. It seems as there has been a shift: a year or two ago, contractors who built and renovated had little to no business -- now people are not buying new houses, but fixing up their old houses. It means that small jobs that they would have gladly taken a year or two ago are no longer desirable.

Even now, I had difficulty getting the local tile stores to give me attention in arranging my backsplash installation. Too many people are doing BIG, EXPENSIVE renovations -- I seem to be a drop in the bucket to them, although the backsplash is costing me a great deal more than I had planned. So, you aren't alone -- there is someone out there who will help you, you just need to find them.

go to the big box store (lowes, home depot) and ask to speak directly to a manager. tell him/her that you were in once before - the salesperson tried to pressure you into upgrading and you're financially uncomfortable with that and would he please walk you through the order. i bet the minute he/she finds out that he's been told this is going on, you'll be taken care of. be clear about what you want to order and i think you'll be fine.

What rjr220 said....we're having the same problem, because I want to manage the project and thus don't want to pay a general contractor to do it. About a third of the contractors we talked to were just uninterested in such a small job, and another third came out to look but never gave us bids. Of those who did, about half were way, way too expensive. Oh, well---we're just choosing from the few who are left! :) Our neighbor is a contractor, though, and reports that business is booming---and this in an area that is being hugely hit by the foreclosure crisis. (Actually, I think that may be a big part of it---several friends have bought places for pennies that have been stripped down, so they have to put new kitchens and such in too, in addition to everyone renovating because they're staying put.)

It's frustrating, but keep looking---I had to call over a dozen people to get three solid options to choose from. We had the same experience with some other work we were having done, too. Some of the contractors really are super busy and won't call till they have bandwidth to take on a new job. I also (not surprisingly) had far better luck with smaller firms/individuals than with big firms who really don't want a tiny project. Good luck!

It's good to know I'm not alone.

ebean -- they store where the guy tried to talk me into the quartz was not a big box store, but a smaller cabinet chain in my state. I have been to the big box stores but their quotes for countertops were higher than the local fabricators/small companies.

I tried to stick with companies that had references from people I know, and those seem to be the ones, so far, that only want the big jobs. I hate to just pick someone out of the phone book for this.

I didn't realize sooo many people were still doing the big remodels.

Businesses that don't want to be bothered with small jobs seems to be a fairly common problem. I would try Angie's list to find a handyman with some carpentry skills to help you with your cab. I think they're more likely to have the time to help you. Since you're taking your update in stages, look for a small business/individual for each segment as an alternative to big box stores/larger companies. I think I may have the same challenges when I start to do mine (although it will be done all at once since I'll be tearing cabs, appliances, floor, etc. out and replacing) because my kitchen isn't that big. Good luck and I hope you find a quality individual/business to help you.

I own a small kitchen cabinet showroom and I would take your business! I can give you some insight however to the problems you are facing. First of all, buying one cabinet isn't the issue. For me, the delivery is. I use a local service and for me to deliver one cabinet (up to 5) the cost is $250. A whole kitchen costs $350, but no more than $550. To add that cost to the cost of the cabinet, is usually cost-prohibitive. I fortunately, have as my business partner, a contractor with a truck who will do these smaller deliveries for me. However if it is a larger cabinet, he needs another man, who must be paid, and the problem starts again!

As far as countertops, kitchen cabinet showrooms usually do not fabricate their own tops. The way this works is, I as the owner, am charged one price, and then I am supposed to sell it to you with an upcharge. This is all well and good except I have NO control over who is making/delivering your top. When they don't show up as planned, when the seam is wrong, etc..., you, as the buyer are mad at ME, and I had no control. It is not worth the $ I could potentially make. Therefore, my practice is to give my customers MY price, thereby alleviating me of the responsibility. My customers can deal directly with the countertop people. I make it very clear. You get my price, but I am not involved. Everyone is happy! : )

That having been said, I will always help anyone with a small jobs - guide you and explain all of this so you don't feel brushed off. Good luck!

Hey kitellie49, you're not in Illinois are you? :)

Actually I was willing to pick up the cabinet myself from the second guy I got the quote from, saving me $90! I was told it would fit in the back of my minivan, so in my case, delivery wasn't the issue.

I haven't tried Angie's List yet. I used Service Master once and was really unhappy with the company so I won't trust them again. I will also try to find a local handyman as well; I think it will be hard to match my existing cabinets, unless I go for something completely different.

Thanks again.

When we needed laminate countertops for DH's darkroom, I found a company in the yellow pages that only did countertops. They were great. Maybe you could find someone like that. We had trouble finding someone to do a small marble baking counter for us last year, but finally we found a small stone supplier/fabricator that was happy to do our small job. Don't give up, just keep looking.

I have had very good luck finding skilled trades people on Angies List. Some were duds, but most weren't. I had to hire an electrician, carpenter and plumber to finish our remodel after we fired the GC and the guys who did the work were very good.

You need to get the laminate top directly from someone who does that. Most kitchen and bath stores do not have good suppliers for laminate. That industry seems to cater to builders and apt rennovators. They are not interested in small tops even as the laminate top fabricators.

You need a handy man type person to do the install remodeling type things and find a person willing to do the desk cabinet for you.

Many stores do not like the return on overhead investment for vanity sales or single cabinets like small islands. You will spend more of their time for one cabinet trying to match everything in your existing room then they will on someone elses whole kitchen.

A small local company that builds cabinets themselves out of their home or small shop is a much better source for you although you many not like the price from anyone.

My advice: Wait.

This is a burp from the home buyer tax credit. Yes, people are renovating, but a lot of them are the big bulge of people who bought because of the stupid program. Home sales have since fallen off a cliff, so many who are too important to call you back today will be facing bankruptcy in about 9 months.

Wait.

I did a MAJOR remodel and 50% of the companies I contacted did not get back to me and this was a year ago!

That being said the big contractors don't want the small jobs. Like a few others have stated a handy man may be your route. Sometimes a cabinet store may work with you - I had a vanity added to another large order so my vanity didn't double in price for single cabinet shipping. I had to pick it up and it fit in my minivan.

Marcolo, you are so right and I have seen it happen.

Take a look at the business cards posted on the bulletin board at the front of a lumber yard or similar resource. You will find a lot of local people. Be sure to ask for references and follow up on them. Also, ask friends who have discovered a good carpenter about how to reach him/her. (My dad was such a guy. As a retired carpenter foreman who kept his hand in, he didn't advertise, just waited for the phone to ring.) If you have a church congregation, you might ask pastor if there's a skilled worker who needs the job--they often know about such parishioners.

At an open house, ask realtor who did the reno work on this house. You can also just visit guys whose trucks are parked outside a project--they're the subcontractors and they might have time in their calendars even if their GC is booked or preoccupied.

These resources will usually not net you the top of the line designers and craftspeople, but you can get a decent price and a decent worker sometimes.

Thanks so much!

Over the weekend I got in touch with my daughter's friend's mom (who I also am friends with) b/c she is a realtor and I told her my problems. She told me that her husband is a general contractor! (She may have told me this once, but I completely forgot about it!) Anyway, I spoke with him for 45 minutes today and he is going to come over in a few days to get me estimates on what I want done...and he is willing to take on "smaller jobs". He does a lot of the work himself too and as a GC has discounts at the local tile store. I originally didn't want a GC but it may be what I need to get this done.

Have you tried talking to you local handyman? I’ve often found small jobs to be exactly what they’re looking for.