You're thinking it looks perfect.I hate coy.

Are they supposed to be slab?

I think your kids are cute :) And your cabinets look beautiful. If there is an issue, you will have to point it out to me, I don't see one.

Okay, in picture #3, they have shaker style drawers on the left.

In ALL the other top drawers, not only are they flat style, but they are a slight different color... just those.

Now, if they had done all flat I could be like, "hrm.. guess that is the style".. I would be irked because I asked for them all to be shaker and the paperwork says all are shaker.. but all but two?

Next.. that sink.. there are no supports for the sink in that sink cabinet, sorry.. not a great picture. The cabinet guy said the Plumber will install the sink. I am like, "is the plumber a cabinetry person? Because they are going to need to be to install that sink like this:

There is not a single thing to support it in there. To me, that is the cabinetry person AND.. I am not sure it will even fit, looking into the cabinet.

Next, we have under cabinet lighting.. rather than moving the outlet before they installed the cabinet on the left side of the stove, they installed the cabinet and then cut a HOLE in the open shelf and punched the wire into the cabinet...

How the heck do you patch that and make it look natural?

I just verified the options on the plan and it stated :Doors - framed Shaker" hence why it is annoying.

R

I'm confused. It looks like all the drawer fronts are the same to me (shaker on bottom two drawers and flat on the top drawer.) I don't see any difference between left drawers vs right. Actually the left drawers I see have no drawers, and I'm assuming that is not the final product. :-)

Are you saying that you thought all the top drawers would be shaker style? They seem a little short to have the stiles/rails, and it is probably a special order thing. Did you have elevation drawings that showed those drawer details?

I didn't notice at first, but after you pointed it out, I do see now that the color of the flat panel drawers is a little different (more green?) than the rest of the cabinetry.

They are beautiful cabinets otherwise.

Look at this picture. The top drawers on the left side are shaker, i.e. framed doors.

Not the three on the front of the picture... the two to the left.

Yes, they are all beautiful.. heh.. but the 2 different ones look odd when the others are all flat and a different shade.

Then the hole in the shelf.. that is just plain dumb.

R

aahh I see, yes.. they would not be able to add a shaker frame to those.

Perhaps they ALL should be flat then.. hrm..

Okay, the color shade may also be an issue with lighting, so best to hold off on that as well till we get light.

R

It's pretty common to have the top, shallow drawers as slab, even with
the deeper 5-piece drawers. There might not be space for the hardware
otherwise.

The outlet cover in your open shelf is bad (and not in a
Michael Jackson way). Also, I hate to add to your sorrow, but I'd want
the stain on the inside of the open shelves to be applied vertically,
rather than horizontally. It might not matter to you, but I think it
should match the 'grain' on the exposed sides of the cabinets. I just
checked my cookbook shelves--the brush strokes are vertical--maybe just
my slight OCD-ness.

I'd check with the plumber, and ask if he/she
will be installing a 2x4 cradle for the sink--I installed one in a
re-worked sink cabinet, to support my stainless steel apron sink.

Very pretty cabinets!

Yea, their heads may explode if I asked them to redo the stain.. lol

I am warming up to everything but the shelves :P

Thanks guys!

Yea, I saw that too, Joseph. Will address it with them as you are right, we noticed the drawers really do need pulls and that corner is going to be a pain.

Here you go.

Oh, nice Joseph! Thanks.. good call!

The first first thing that I noticed was that the slab drawers are a different color than the 5-piece drawers. It's hard to tell from a photo but it looks like the 5-piece drawers and the lower cabinet doors are more blue than the upper cabinets. The slab drawers actually look like they match the uppers.

I would want all the top drawers to be consistent. If you asked for 5-piece then they should redo all the slab drawers otherwise change the two odd ones to slab. I don't think you will have trouble putting your hardware on the top drawers if they are 5 piece. But it sure looks like you will have some clearance issues in that corner.

Cant believe they cut a hole in that shelf cabinet for the electric. That's a definite do over.

Good luck getting everything corrected.

We have a similar sink and the cabinet maker took it to his shop to make the cabinet. We still had a slight issue so the final product has molding under the sink because the reveal wasn't quite right. The cabinet has this shelf for the sink to sit on - when I questioned the support he jumped up and down on it.

• Inexperienced finisher created a poor quality faux finish.
• Questionable construction.
• Inaccessible blind corner because of the drawers.
• clearance issue at corner.
• No light rail.
• 1970's round shelves.
• The need for hinge restrictor clips on all of your corner uppers.
• The need to slap a straight edge on the sink.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the two 5pc top drawers look like they may be taller than the slab ones, like in a 10-10-10 set up vs. 6-12-12. If that is the case, then that is why they are 5pc on top. If a drawer is 6in tall or less, there will be a slab front as the default because of hardware and also it would just look silly as a 5pc. Unless you do custom and have the rails made more narrow.

When our cabinets were installed, we ended up with all slab top drawers and five-piece lowers, despite my specifically mentioning not wanting any slab drawers (KD error). A couple of our top drawer fronts measure 5-1/2"h, and we were able to do 5-pc w/ those (1-3/4" rails). No problems fitting our hardware (sorry for the odd perspective):

When cabinets are first installed, there may well be problems/mistakes. Make a list and email it to your kitchen guy and adk him to respond before anymore work is done. BTW, I think Shaker drawers look more balanced with the top drawer done as a slab.

Try your hardware on the drawers before you start worrying about the drawers not clearing--it looks to me as if there is extra space in the corners.

BTW, I love your '1970s' round shelves. And brdrl, I fall in love again every time I see your kitchen. :)

My top drawers are a littel less than 5" and are 5-piece drawers. No problem installing hardware. Some people prefer slab drawers, some prefer 5-piece drawers.

If you prefer the 5 piece top drawer, then switch out the slab. They should all be consistent, no doubt. But I think the slab looks nice too. Should be an easy fix.

Not sure what to say about the hole for electrical- I figured that was intentional. Bummer.

Well, I prefer the 5-piece, but since I already gave my 30-day notice to the apartment.. lol.. I am okay with the slab :P

Sophie - Agree on all the aspects, albeit it was my idea to add the shelves due to the fact I did not want the stove vent to feel claustrophobic.

I warned them about the corner drawers. Thanks to Joseph, I have alternatives I can look at that are pretty pricey, but cool so will look at them anyway :P

@Anglo - They are growing on me. I think SOME of the 'issues' add uniqueness and character, just don't want too much character.. lol

I am going to wait till we get better light in the kitchen to make a decision on the paint. MY first impression were they were different color too, but I inspected them closer and it may just be the sunlight doing that, so we will see. It WILL be on our hit list before we close, in case it is actually different after we get light.

@Sophie - can you explain this part? "Inexperienced finisher created a poor quality faux finish."

I am not offended in the slightest, just not sure what part you are referring to.

Thanks guys. We will re-evaluate this and any changes that are needed will be made. I am with you.. there should be something to set the sink on in that cabinet.. but, I will let it all play out. In the end, I guarantee it will get done right. I do not care if we have to sit in a hotel for a month.. heh. I know the builder will hold them to the fire.

R

When you get it in the light, you'll see the same thing. I can see the drag marks showing through in the finish, texturally. That means several things. The base coat wasn't sanded enough to make it smooth, and the glaze was the wrong consistency, and the clear coat isn't enough mils. It should all be smooth as glass, even with a strié effect. I'm assuming the strié is intentional? Rather than a poorly wiped glaze, which should not be directional. What products and final clear coat did they use? Exactly? You need to know, for durability.

I'm not thrilled with the D quality finish here. (F- if strié wasn't intended.) You liking a distressed look has given them a pass on sloppy results that shouldn't have happened. Couple that with the F level design in the corners, from someone who should understand clearances, and the C level construction. You got another backyard faux custom job from someone who self applied the label, but really doesn't understand how to actually do what he says. I don't think it will fall apart, but until you get info about what products were used on it, I'd hazard a guess it may all peel off.

Yea, what you say makes sense. Not sure what the options are at this point. When dealing with a 1-man pony show and deadlines, I'd hazard a guess it is what it is.

While not a huge deal to me, it makes me wonder on the quality of the work and how well it will 'weather'.

I told my wife she has to handle the kitchen at this point. I have pretty much worn myself out with pointing out problems and it is time for her to carry the torch. We may close as is, but all of this stuff will be on the list of things we expect to have resolved at some point.

Thanks for the honesty, btw. I guess we got what we paid for.

R

Well, this is interesting.. I was talking to the builder over the phone and we both realized. The drawers are not a different color (top ones). The top drawers are the same color as the upper cabinets... it's the BOTTOM drawers and the bottom cabinets that are different, almost blue-ish.

Unreal.. lol

R

There's a definite difference in color does not matter what light ! They are absolutely different and yes you are correct the bottoms are different and look like they were manufactured that way . To me it looks like he tried and failed to do a match with the bottom for the uppers and those mismatched drawers. The multidirectional streaky mess on the shelves of the uppers would drive me bonkers . That should not be accepted . I understand time constraints but if you let this one pony guy get away with this it's a dis service to you , him , and future clients . Plus Russ you deserve the best ! I really like the color of the bottoms .

PS I can't even comment on the ridiculous cut out hole , good grief is this his first job? I don't think even a novice would do that , okay sorry apparently I can comment lol.

I just noticed something else , on picture 5 showing the lovely cut out what is all that spotting on the underside of the shelf ? Can be seen in picture 4 as well , under the shelf paint spotted .

I hear ya. I like the upper colors more than the lowers.. heh.

The builder is looking into it. She could not believe they turned out like this either.

Either way, so long as they get fixed, I am fine.

R

I agree, we already told them so long as it is in writing, we have no problem closing.

It will get fixed.

We got a reply from the GC (understand the builder lady that runs the place is always super nice but this guy is tough to deal with).. he told me:

"the reason some drawers are not shaker is that they are
not as deep as the other drawers so the frame would only leave about an 1"
of wood in the middle....."

So my answer was to send them a reply with the beautiful picture up above supplied by Romy that showed the sides of the Shaker being the same as the lower drawers but the top and bottom being less width.

I let them know we understood we would get Shaker style and we prefer that. I also sent a text letting them know we were going to stick to our guns on this issue.

He also said he will talk to the cabinet maker and "see if we can correct". We will let that sit there as they will either correct or replace. There is ZERO chance of us approving those cabinets in that condition.

The other aspects they already plan to resolve.

Russ

Math is not this cabinetmaker's friend in this instance. You can't just pop in a filler here n' there and still have all the cabinets fit in a particular run. Somethings got to give, and it's the size of a cabinet, meaning the cabinet and drawers installed are wrong.

I posted the insert pulls as a joke. You may like them and it may solve your problem short term, but I promise that the people who buy your house someday are going to want drawer pulls and are going to be really unhappy when you disclose that they can't have them.

Here's another drawer pull option with no routing involved. I know that it's not ideal but it may help..

http://m.ebay.com/itm/322260767716

I feel for you Russ.

I'm not one who usually gets their hackles up, but you need to tell them to stop working until this is resolved.

He's going to get counters in and say he will fix something that would probably be better replaced. Once he's got you by the (fill in the blank) it will never be resolved to your satisfaction.

Oh, you are right. They are doing the floors, but the counters will not go in until this is resolved, I agree totally.

Do not even let them template until the clearance issues are resolved. That could change the measurements, and start it's own set of headaches. You can't close without a kitchen counter in place, so that is leverage in your favor. I don't know what you paid for that kitchen, but right now, I'd just about say that the materials cost of 7-8K would be all that I'd pay. There was no actual skilled craftsman taking those raw materials and turning them into custom furniture quality casework. Faux custom hack all the way.

Thanks Sophie.. lol. I was telling my wife about you this morning on the way to work.

I agree, the quality is not there at all.

Now, I DO take into consideration that if we had bought a house vs building, we would probably have crappy stock cabinets, but, at the very least colors should match, doors should line up, holes should not be present, shaker means shaker.. i.e. I had to tell them the top drawers CAN and should have been done in shaker style as that is what we paid for. I doubt this is a 35-50k job though, so I should not expect perfection, but there should be a level standard of quality.

The direction of the paint is not a huge issue with me, but will be part of what we discuss as well.

My problem is being down a foot so just getting TO the dang kitchen to handle all of this during daylight is tough, so a slow process.

Anyways, thanks for all your great insight. I im'd them and told them we are drawing a line in the sand and expect to get what we paid for, period. I do not care if I have to move out of the apartment and stay in a dang hotel for a month, so be it. We are going to get what we paid for. It may not be near as nice of a paint job as one might get from a $50k dollar job, but it will be good acceptable quality, and meet the promises made when we agreed to all of this two years ago.

I may sound grumpy.. but I really do appreciate all the input. Thanks guys.

R

Russ:

The thing you have to remember here is, missing a filler is the most rookie of rookie mistakes. This is done on someone's second or third job, tops. Why? Because once you do it and have to remake cabinets, you never do it again. This is very telling of whom you are dealing.

Oh, I hear ya Joseph, I do bud. I am not in any way taking your comments lightly. I am trying to get past the "it is really messed up and we can agree it needs to be fixed" and then sit down and come up with a list of what ALL needs to be fixed.

I have to then weigh that with the delay time and the things I will and can or won't and can't live with.

Right now, the builder is in scramble mode. The sub-contractors jacked up the floors.. caused a large delay and they had to eat 10k for new flooring. Now, the cabinets.. the only real upgrades in this house and the builder KNOWS the most important aspect of the house is jacked up. I am letting that sink in and see what they come back with. Then, we will all sit down and decide what is to be fixed and how.

When we do that, I will be taking all my notes of ya'lls great advice and trying to get it correlated with the pictures as proof so I can speak to it better.

Every major thing in this house keeps getting messed up. Like I told my wife, we knew we were taking a risk that the color could be something we did not like. What we did NOT agree to take a risk on is that it would be TWO colors.. heh.

Thanks for everything, again, btw.

Russ

it sounds like you have the right attitude Russ. Just take it in stride and get it corrected to your satisfaction, not anyone else's. Good luck!

Pic 6. Left, bigger drawers: Are the upright stiles wider than on the other drawers?