Ouch! But how kind of you to share to prevent that for someone else.

Yikes, what a frustrating mess for you . . . I'm so sorry!
Our mistakes?
(1) dont' make plans to move a wall until you know for certain that everything inside that wall can be moved! We found two tall sets of pipes (heat minifolds) for our in-floor radiant heat in there and they couldn't be moved. Thank goodness we found that out before the cabs were ordered!
(2) changing the entire kitchen footprint and removing the existing island will expose flooring (brick) that hasn't had sealant, floor oils and 15 years of living already ground into it. It's very hard to get those areas to blend with each other!
(3) Work crews like to leave doors and windows open while they work and go in and out. That lets in cold or hot air, which causes your heating/cooling bills to go way up. It also lets in bugs, dirt, dust and mice :0 !
(4) Don't take it for granted that your GC and subs will order everything you'll need in a timely manner. Not having the right supplies when you need them = downtime for the crew = every other sub is set back, timewise = $$$ Stay on top of everything yourself. Keep a binder for all notes, order times, things you'll need, etc.

I second the warning about doors being left open. I'm in southern California so the weather isn't an issue but keeping the dogs inside is. Our Goldendoodle can open doors so we had to change the handle type and put a toddler safe knob cover on the inside of our bedroom door. We put the locking mechanism on the hall side so now she's foiled from both directions.

Lynn, and how about those Scorpions? When DD/DH moved into their new house in TX, they had a few uninvited guests with tails~they *wish* they were just mice! Do you have them where you're at?

The pest control people came out and took care of things, but these little buggers are a little more difficult to get rid of, as they don't groom themselves, like other insects. At least that was my understanding of his explaination. We were told their 'sting' is comparable to a bee sting, but who wants to take a chance?!

We live in Tx. Scorpions are commonly found in stacks of lumber so when we built our new home in 81, we had plenty of scorpions for a few YEARS, and yes, they are very hard to get rid of. I've been stung by one and can say I only WISH it had been a bee! I was laying on the floor reading to a group of small children when one made his way up my dress and, well, got me in a very private place! Not sure who screamed louder...me or the kids :o
Monica

My mistakes in the kitchen remodel...
1. I have a 54 inch high, 12 inch deep cabinet with seeded glass mullion doors to display my 12.5 inch dishes. Needless to say...they don't fit. What I learned...measure your dishes.

2. Measure everything exactly. My compactor and dishwasher (across from each other)overlap each other by 1/2 inch so they both can't open fully at the same time. I eyeballed it.

3. Make sure you have enough fillers. They are cheap enough that you should buy an extra one to save 2 weeks of waiting for another one if you need it.

We are DIY. The only mistake we made so far was to not account for a finished counter edge on either side of the range. The unfinished edge will be hidden by the range  but it was not the right way to do it and it does bug me. Lesson learned.

We also saved money using granite tiles. Next time I will find money for a slab. :-)

We renovated a very small kitchen. We used a KD who works out of an appliance shop. She kept telling us how much experience she had...20 years...you would think she knew appliances. We put in a peninsula with a sink & dishwasher. Then along the wall was the fridge. She changed our original cabinet plan, took out the lazy susan or drawers (hadn't decided which yet) to make space for a larger fridge. When we got the larger fridge into the space, the dishwasher didn't open as the fridge stuck out past the counters, too close to the dishwasher. I could understand me doing that, but a KD with 20 years experience???

OMG Monica!!! I can't even imagine! Did you get sick?

I thought they lived in the ground~never heard they were in the lumber. Since the workers stack the lumber on the ground, they probably crawl into the stacked wood. I wonder how many times some of the workers have been bitten~they're probably immune. ;o)