Must still be a lot friendlier down Arkansas way! Here you'll more likely to be thrown off site with, a "No English, don't know." But do take note of the builder's signs. You can cross-check them with the TARION builder's directory, though this is heavily weighted to mass builders. Lumberyards may be useful. But up here real builders only use wholesalers, who don't deal with walk-ins. My personal evaluation has long been that any infill so-called builder getting his lumber from a "big box" is clearly an amateur or diy.

The municipality where I'm building is not in that list, so maybe that is the reason why they gave me the permit and don't care if I've got the letter or not. For me is strange the term of "illegal building" if you don't have a letter. Is based on what law, code or.....what. After reading the article below looks like Tarion is quite in trouble... article https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/2017/03/28/province-stripping-tarion-of-builder-regulator-role.html

So I’m hearing a couple different things. One is being understandably annoyed in the delayed invoice. If there’s not a clear contractual statement of, “ now ( last winter) we paid you everything and you don’t have any right to more payments no matter what “, then it doesn’t seem likely you can just get builder to drop the invoice by your being annoyed. That’s where you’d have to figure out yourself, or with advice , what’s the least- worst thing, how much $$ is involved and what is “ warranty work” cost & risk. But there’s not likely a way to get your feelings soothed. The second part of your statement is your questioning & trust about whether this was a “ real” billable service or some kind of scam. Do you have any kind of evidence or sketchy invoice itself? Is it something you can discuss with builder in a kind of, hey, got your bill, can you walk me through what this was, who did what when, I don’t recall this service “. And again, have to decide what your options are, as Joseph Corlett said, if you cut yourself loose from builder. Sounds painful no matter what, but maybe survive-able. I’d also be interested in hearing how you are to construct & document your interactions going forward so that you do reach a “ final” payment & warranty status.

I agree with take a deep breath if you’ve just moved in! And have a little one to care for. Can’t do everything at once. Especially take time to put things away and figure out your storage options in each room. “ Character “ in kitchens means different things to different people and can be achieved in different ways. But most kitchens don’t do well with lots of “ decor”, but look best when they look tidy, clean, ( and easy to clean) and functional. ( Not right after fixing dinner though!) I think you have way too much stuff “ out” in the kitchen for long- term ease of care and easy on the eyes. I would start editing out things that might be better in family rooms- photos and vases and such. On surfaces, that is. This can make the difference between a kitchen what looks like a nice kitchen that you enjoy using, vs an area of dissatisfaction. Also give deep thought to what you absolutely have to have on counter. What is actually HOW you want to live and where you can store things, vs habits you fell in to but could change. Evaluate all your storage and whether you can re- invent how you do some things , to reduce clutter. This does not at all mean going completely against good time & motion , but think of changes that work AND look better. I reduced kitchen utensils by a lot, to just my very faves ( I am picky about how handles function and feel, how spatulas work, etc!) and also kept a lookout for items that worked better. I also understand arrangements have to accommodate/ protect small children— we used a magnetic knife strip on wall ; my DD couldn’t have the sharp knives in drawers for 6 years while children young. And couldn’t make best storage use of bottom cabinets for awhile! But, do think what you absolutely need on countertop & what can be in less prime storage. Anything you use only once a week or less might go elsewhere. Can you re- invent the dish drainer approach and use dishwasher plus wash, dry and put away pots & pans? This is a hard one and may be a hard “ no” , but just sayin’ , by the time you have drainer, knife block, utensils crock, etc etc you are using up all your counter space. Remember a lot of these ideas are not permanent changes; you can experiment. If you have items you don’t want to toss out but not sure how needed, you can box up & try doing without for a bit, or see if it’s not that hard to get to if used infrequently. The point of that is, after big editing, THEN you can look at more inspo pics and add your personality in either colors of items, or adding wood items, , in the actual functional pieces and some very limited “ decor”. Then you add more warmth & personality in your living spaces.