Welcome to the world of kitchen renovations. Yes, it seems that is not at all unusual. I was without a kitchen for an additional 3 months because of screw-ups and delays with my cabinetmaker.

@sherri1058 Wow 3 months! That's not cool! Bad cabinetmaker.

Since they ruined you slab and are getting you another, what type of material? If stone will you be present for the templating? Were you with the previous?

5 days? Seriously? That's a problem for you? This had better be your one and only venture into remodeling. 5 days is cake.

I don't have a lot of experience using installers, (our granite is being installed on Monday) so I can't say if it is normal or not. However, I doubt it.

They shouldn't have removed your old countertop until they knew they could get the new one in the next day. Measurement miscalculations? With that and the communication issues, it sounds like they are fairly un-professional.

I've been without counters for 3 months now (but getting our counters on Monday) so 5 days doesn't sound that bad. :-) But since you are only replacing the counters, I get why you are frustrated.

I agree with the others that these delays are part of a kitchen reno. I agree with the OP that the communication has been poor. But what has me worried is that they are picking a new slab for you. What is the name of the granite? Don't you want to see it? How do you know that it looks like the one you originally picked? While some granites are uniform from slab to slab, many are not, and there are many that actually vary hugely.

Millworkman's comment about being present at templating is key. You should be there. Unless the granite you have is very uniform, you should be there to check they are cutting around the parts you don't like (say, for the sink), and keeping the parts you love.

Usually they remove the old counter, template, then fabricate the counter. It took ten days from template to install for me, and I know that is typical. So I am worried that they're saying you can have a new counter in one day.

They do sound unprofessional, so I would go to the business and ask them to show me the template. Did you discuss overhang, edge profile, sink reveal, corner radius?

... rescheduled for demolition on Thur and installation on
Fri ... installation has been rescheduled for
Sunday ... said installation will be next Wednesday ...

That's exactly how my countertop replacement ran -- except you'd have to add in that they were extremely rude to me, and I had the impression it was because I'm female. Or maybe they treat everyone badly. And in the end they realized they couldn't do the backsplash at all -- and left me with just the countertops. Incidentally, this was Home Depot (never again, I'm a fast learner).

I went to a small tile shop for my backsplash. Visited the shop to choose tile, took it home to see in my own light, returned to the shop to make the arrangements. They showed up exactly as promised to lay the tile -- a second day, exactly as promised, to do the grout. Score one for the small, independent operator.

5 days? Seriously? That's a problem for you? This had better be your one and only venture into remodeling. 5 days is cake.

Rudely said. Why should the OP be willing to accept poor service?

Sophie, I'm with you: Too much TV.
Poor services is one thing, but the time line is absolutely no surprise.

Sad that the "veterns" have come to know that delays are the name of the game. Misrepresentation of time, ability, management, staff's ability/experience, presence, cost, (stop me) they've all become the norm. The "winner" is the one whose people are the closest to their prediction/promise. When did this become a game of horseshoes?

The "no call, no show" thing seems to be pretty standard - sadly. I lost track of all the days I took off work to be here for certain phases of our kitchen project only to have no one show up as promised. Very frustrating.

Once they "have you," all bets are off. I was shocked at the lack of consideration. It is a dirty little secret one must learn from experience. After you are 1/2 in, they pretty much have you by the b@ll$ and there isn't much you can do about it. If you get angry and make a big deal out of it, you run the risk that you will be slow rolled all the more. Unless you are prepared to walk, you have no power once demo begins. In the end, my project ended fine. That said, the due date was Nov 16 and the actual completion wasn't done until mid-March. And really, that was mostly because I pushed and pushed in Feb and March.

I am surprised that they offered Sunday for install. I think many contractors have watch and calendar issues. Plus the inability to use a phone for updates

Unfortunately, the construction industry is 95% flakes and trust me, it extends all the way to the hundred million dollar projects. There's a reason why a job exist with $250k salary for someone just to oversee the GC and sub on large projects.

You should be worried about the replacement slab and be there for the templating. The slab may not be the color or movement that you had originally purchased.

No call, no show, was really standard in my area. And they wonder why people were so angry… but in this era of cell phones and texting there is really no excuse for this. Just hope they actually really show up on Sunday and don't say "we are just too tired and can't do it will get to you later in the week"...- did they leave you with plywood countertops? Are you buying 2 CM or 3 CM? Was the granite you selected uniform? If not, you should be watching where they intend to make the cuts so that the interesting pieces of the material actually end up on your countertops. And yes, they are generally much ruder and less responsible to women clients.

Agree with the comments saying delays and setbacks are often to expect. Also agree with the comments suggesting you go and look at the slab and try to be present at templating. There were so many questions I didn't even think to ask our stone subcontractor, and he himself didn't volunteer any info, except for asking me what kind of an edge I want. Then the customer (me) gets unhappy, and the installer gets unhappy too, as a result. All of these could be prevented, had I known I should ask, and had he thought I might need to understand the process better.

But no, he had an assumption that a)99% people want the same and b) I look really confident, thus I know.

Yes, unfortunately I tend to look confident when I'm either extremely tired or have a high fever..)) On all the other occasions I don't look that confident, but I guess that was my (un)lucky day lol.

Communication is the key. Timeline is important-but communication is even more important than timeline.

I agree there is no reason for a rude or unprofessional attitude from the office staff, but you really need to expect unplanned delays in any renovation. Our kitchen remodel was a major one, removing 3 walls, relocating plumbing and electrical. Even with careful planning and a conscientious contractor it stretched out 8 weeks until we were back cooking in the kitchen and almost 4 months until all of the finish work was done.

@beachem, what is the name of the job that is overseeing the GC and subs? I thought the GC oversees everybody, but there's someone above him?

I used to be a construction lender and there's various titles that they use like coordinator etc.. One of my clients, a non profit, built their center and they paid $200K to a consultant for 8 months just to be there and watch everything. This was built in 2000 so that was a big chunk of change.

One of the GCs that I hired on this kitchen remodel worked part time for $100K just to oversee a new home build for a guy from out of state. He was hired based on 11 yrs of being a city structural engineer before going out in his own.

His qualifications still meant diddle as he quit my job one day after signing a contract with me because he didn't know how to deal with my city on a repiping dispute over the concrete slab.

When I built my last home, despite custom from a large builder, I had to be onsite for an hour every day to force them to fix sloppy work. In addition, I had to clean up after work every day because of all the food and trash they throw in the wall studs.

Communication is key. They should have let you know about the mistake and date change. We've had a few construction projects done in the past so we know all about delays. No call, no show is unfortunately industry norm. We've had contractors tell us they were on site working while we were sitting in the driveway with no workers on site. (out of state project). An issue with trusses delayed us for months. We are about to start an 8 week major project in our own home and plan to be on site daily. Luckily we are not moving far away.

I'm wondering why you thought it would never happen, "especially to us."

There is no reason a "demolished" kitchen countertop can't be temporarily reinstalled after templating.

^ ^ ^ ...or plywood. Get some ready, just in case of further delays. A kitchen is quite manageable for weeks with plywood counters (our experience!).