Someone responsible needs to be in control here. You are right that if they drilled the holes wrong, the doors need to be replaced. If they install the dish drawer wrong, they need to take responsibility. Not sure how you selected your contractors but I would be worried if I was you. Hope everything works out for you.

I would have the doors replaced too. Be explicit about that as well as your concerns about the installation of appliances to the lead contractor. Don't feel like you're being a bad guy voicing concerns, think of it as you're the boss and they are your contracted employees. You should be respectful but firm about what you want.

How heartbreaking. I agree the doors should be replaced. Even if a fix were to look reasonable today, it might not age so well, so I wouldn't chance it. Part of the high prices we pay are to cover this sort of thing, and I believe some of the insurance they carry covers it too, should they wish to file on something.

Illiteracy and lack of training with some of the workers can be a real problem, but it's hard to get away from around here. It's the GC's responsibility to absorb the associated costs of project errors, not yours. He knows things will happen and includes it in his charges.

Edit: I just saw your post with your white cabinets. For some reason, I thought you had walnut.
I'd still want the doors replaced.

This post was edited by romy718 on Mon, Nov 4, 13 at 0:01

I feel for you! It doesn't hurt o see what they can do with the repair but tell them that you have a high bar and a short time (like a few days).

My contractor for my basement kitchenette marked off the holes on blue tape for my approval before drilling. It was probably CYA on his part but worked well since he quickly realized before I did that a horizontal pull that I had planned was not going to work beside a corner cabinet, before any holes were drilled. We changed it to a vertical orientation and no one has ever noticed since it is at the end of a run.

A skilled craftsmen could plug the holes and finish the doors so that the end result is virtually undetectable. However if you are concerned about their ability to do so or how the repairs will age as opposed to the rest of the kitchen by all means express those concerns now.

With regards to the following comment "Well, if the carpenter/installer guy doesn't really read English, how is he reading the instruction manual?" I am not sure what your carpenters native language is however instruction manuals do come in other languages besides English. If the dishwasher doesn't come from the production plant with a manual in the installers native language manuals can often times be found online or you can request one from Fisher Paykel direct at 1-888-936-7872.

Good Luck!

" Are we wrong for wanting replacements?"

No. You are entitled to satisfaction, however you get there. Replacement, switching pulls, refund, whatever.

Your contractor takes a risk when he employs people. Usually they make him money. In this case it cost him. His costs of doing business are none of yours.

My cabinet maker rebuilt 3 drawer fronts - not because I asked for new ones, but because the installer wasn't happy with the way they looked. They also rebuilt 2 drawer boxes because they were the wrong height. Their mistake, their expense.

In your case, I would let them try a repair, and if you aren't completely happy, insist on new doors.

A good repair with the factory paint can be invisible, even over time. Let them try that first. If it's not inconspicuous enough for you, then move to the replacement. You generate more goodwill by allowing them to attempt their proposed solution first, with the understanding that it must pass your inspection to be considered a closed case. That can be important "bank" for issues that arise down the road.

Thank you everyone! That is a tremendous help. Good point on the different languages but I think his was an Eastern European language that I usually don't see though I can ask him about it. Most of the time instructions are also written in French, Spanish, German. But why should I have to go online and download, etc. Really, the head guy should be finding someone to translate for him or should be directing him I just get the overall impression he is just doing and going on his experience and guessing vs. reading about something that is somewhat new.

Yes, I understand about the good will but it just makes it tougher to ask for a replacement if it looks halfway decent now (but may get worse over time or void part of the warranty.)

Is there a difference between a factory seal for the glass vs. them taking out the glass and reinstalling it? If so, what is the difference?

Thanks!

" I just get the overall impression he is just doing and going on his experience and guessing vs. reading about something that is somewhat new. "

This seems to be what most of them do, rely on their experience or ability to figure things out themselves. It's very difficult to get guys to read the directions, language barrier or not. And they will also say that the directions are often wrong. Can be true but you can still read them and then figure out if there are any problems. I've also heard "they're all the same" quite a few times. Not always the case.

I agree that a lot of screw ups and failures can be simply avoided by following the manufacturer directions and specs. They just won't do it.

Don't underestimate the passage of time. That's a tough call as no one can know. Wood expands and contracts. Pigments and products can fade differently. Of course they just want to fix it and not incur the expense on their end.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Sun, Nov 3, 13 at 21:11

"Of course they just want to fix it and not incur the expense on their end."

Ditto that. I don't see any reason why you should have to wait for them to try to do a repair. If you really want to have new, undamaged, unrepaired doors, just tell them that is what you want.

Also, to reiterate what snookums said, I have never once seen any contractor or worker open an instruction manual for anything at any time. In fact, it's likely that the first thing they do when they open a box is toss the manual to the side or even into the trash. Of course, the actual instructions are often hidden within dozens of pages of useless warnings, so who can really blame them? It's like the manual writers TRY to make it look as difficult as possible.

So they fixed the doors and to be honest, I can not see where the hole was repaired. And at first I thought, well I guess we'll just live with them and try to get some sort of written guarantee from the contractor. The contractor said it was done by a kitchen cabinet person, not just any sort of paint job.

However, I looked at it again before leaving the house at night and this might be my imagination or the lighting, but it almost seems like the doors are a third of a shade darker than the cabinet frame. And then on one of the doors, higher than where the hole was it almost seems like a 2 inch swirl of a hair got stuck in the paint. However, it is not as thick as a hair (and I know I'm splitting hairs) pardon the pun and nothing is really stuck but its something that doesn't rub off. Who knows if it came like that.

Another thing happened. I had my hood delivered on Friday and the head guy ask the workers to check it before I accepted delivery. I think the same guy who drilled the wrong hole checked it but then on Monday, he told me the hood was bent in the corner. I said if you checked it why didn't you see it? He said because they didn't take it out of the box when they checked and that part was way at the bottom. There was also a little bit of a scuff on that corner of the box on the outside. And I sort of understand how the delivery truck isn't going to wait 20 min+ for them to take the whole thing out and unwrap it (it was big and bulky). But now I'm not even sure what the hood distributor is going to do. I've been giving them info via email like serial # and a photo and they want some more detail on the damage. I've asked the contractor to ask that worker to pay more attention to detail. We already had the discussion of why the shipment wasn't refused.

Also, I will now be exchanging the blower and incurring a 25% restocking fee and delivery charges or driving it an hour+ away. It's good and bad. Good that they figured out a place for the external vent that we hadn't thought of but bad that they didn't do it before we bought the inline blower. Overall, it will probably cost me less doing it externally than keeping the inline and installing it.

So the question is where do I pick and choose my battles? And I certainly want to maintain good will. This whole project is very tricky and overall, I think they've done a very good job and the kitchen looks great. I would manage the future master bath project a little more closely, now that I know I need to understand how they are doing certain things. Are they going to think I am crazy if I mention that the color of the entire doors might be less than a shade different?

The KD is supposed to give me a cost for the doors and she said she would do it at cost. She said if the doors have to be replaced after a year it would be much more costly because they would require a "color match" process

On reading the manuals, I mentioned my concern about the Fisher Paykel to the plumber and about hand tightening the Rohls w/ disposer. He said he just hooks up but he doesn't read the manuals and he will just do it the way he's done it since he hadn't had a problem. Well at least he was honest! I asked how many of the farm sink/disposers he had installed and he said 6-7 this year so I didn't argue with him. :) It's probably true most people don't have a problem and they only post when there is a problem.

At any rate, thanks for your help and for letting me vent

This post was edited by CT_Newbie on Tue, Nov 5, 13 at 22:49

I don't think you should worry about them thinking you are "crazy". They drilled holes in your cabinets that are not supposed to be there. If you are not completely satisfied, have them replace them.
The KD stating that it would be more expensive to color match & replace in the future would be enough to make me want the doors replaced now. Down the road, the expense will be all yours, as the GC will be gone.

If it were me, I'd just replace the three doors so I didn't have to worry about it. It would be nice if the contractor just stepped up and said they'd cover the cost of replacing them, but if I had to eat the cost in the interest of "maintaining good will," I guess I might be inclined to do that as well.

I'm with jellytoast. Even though you can't see where the bad holes were repaired, now you have a perceived color difference. I wouldn't push too hard before I'd just eat the cost myself. Of course, it's important that the color match.

I would do (and have done) exactly what jellytoast and linelle have recommended. The cost will be insignificant in the long run and you won't be constantly having your attention drawn to the repair.
I would have let them try the repair first, just as you did, but you shouldn't be noticing anything.
I think the hardest thing in all aspects of life is picking and choosing the battles:)

Thank you! All good input. Yes, I think those doors are getting changed one way or another, especially since I am a person who looks at the details. Much appreciated