Kitchen Renovation Nightmare (lawyer, contractors, payment)

[boogityboogity]

Originally Posted by capitalhockey

Yes, we were told it was a comparable granite when we left the warehouse. This was before the project was started. Someone dropped the ball...not sure if its the warehouse or the contractor. They learned about the pricing disparity when they rung up the slab barcode...this is after measurements were taken and the cutting was about to take place.

Comparable granite or comparable price? Because they aren't necessarily the same thing.

[FCNova]

Originally Posted by spencgr

2) The contractor shouldn't pay for any part of the granite costs. While someone did drop the ball and misquote the new granite, this mistake was recognized BEFORE installation. You choose to still go with the more expensive one, because you wife loved it. You had the opportunity to select sonething else.

It wasn't recognized before the project started though. The contractor legally doesn't have to, but I think this is a situation where they should work with the customer. I think the OP's offer was reasonable(pay 1k more and contractor eats 1k). The issue is they didn't tell him this price difference before they made his kitchen unusable. If they did he could've taken his time deciding on a new cheaper granite if he wanted to. They ripped his kitchen apart then told him about it. Basically a captive customer situation which is an awful way to do business

[capitalhockey]

Granite was installed yesterday. They are now more responsive asking me about final check payment to close out.


I asked them to provide a sales receipt/price quote from the warehouse for the two different granites (original vs. 2nd choice). I am willing to absorb the full $2,000 price increase but wanted to make sure I am only paying for material cost increase. The labor should be the same for both granite. It is strange that he increase is an even round number with sales tax, etc.


They should be able to provide this to me before I make the final payment. This is not an unreasonable request.

[DMom]

Sorry to hear your experience. We are in the middle of our kitchen remodeling. We do have a large size kitchen. Apart from delay from snow storm we are very pleased with our contractor. I did research quite a few on angelist and just did not feel comfortable. Our contractor came from a referral from our friends who worked with them few years ago. These guys are class A licensed but I don't think they are listed on Angelist.

Good luck!

[LuvVA]

Originally Posted by capitalhockey

Granite was installed yesterday. They are now more responsive asking me about final check payment to close out.


I asked them to provide a sales receipt/price quote from the warehouse for the two different granites (original vs. 2nd choice). I am willing to absorb the full $2,000 price increase but wanted to make sure I am only paying for material cost increase. The labor should be the same for both granite. It is strange that he increase is an even round number with sales tax, etc.


They should be able to provide this to me before I make the final payment. This is not an unreasonable request.

I think it's a reasonable request and it makes sense to ask the contractor. I am not sure if they would oblige though because that dealing is between them and the granite company. Assuming this issue didn't happen and if you ask them to show the invoice from the granite company, they wouldn't show and disclose how much profit they made in that transaction alone.

Since there is a steep increase by $2,000 in your project cost, your request is a reasonable one.

[leavingwash]

Originally Posted by capitalhockey

Granite was installed yesterday. They are now more responsive asking me about final check payment to close out.


I asked them to provide a sales receipt/price quote from the warehouse for the two different granites (original vs. 2nd choice). I am willing to absorb the full $2,000 price increase but wanted to make sure I am only paying for material cost increase. The labor should be the same for both granite. It is strange that he increase is an even round number with sales tax, etc.


They should be able to provide this to me before I make the final payment. This is not an unreasonable request.

Absolutely I think it is reasonable that you would be shown/proven that the new granite cost the excess $2k. Further, unless everything is totally done...nothing left on the punch list, I absolutely would not given them final payment. That is my opinion. Sorry for your frustration!

[capitalhockey]

Adding insult to injury...I came home during lunch to check on progress on the backsplash and final touch-ups. The backsplash is half-way done but they are installing the wrong tile....it is not the design we selected. It was also the wrong color. The crew told me this was what they picked up in the main office with my name on it. I immediately told them to stop working on it. Took a picture and sent to the sales coordinator. I told her she ordered the wrong tile for us. She claimed she had the right order but the manufacturer sent the wrong product. She will expedite the correct one over tomorrow.


In meantime, the crew had to take out the wrong one. I told my wife the news and she went ballistic - she can't believe they got the design and color wrong after we went over it so many times with the sales coordinator. We both look forward to closing out this frustrating project today. Now it will be another day or so.

[Ghengis]

make sure you get a lien waiver before you give them a final check to protect you from any unpaid suppliers or sub-contractors coming after you because of non-payment by your contractor

[ciscopress]

Originally Posted by capitalhockey

Hi all,

My wife and I are currently in the middle of renovating our kitchen. This was a dream project that is turning into a nightmare. We did our research on Angie's list and talked to 6 vendors. We selected a mid-size company that had glowing reviews. They were not the cheapest but we were willing to play a little premium for quality product and great service that we read about from the reviews.

Any advice?

Doesn't Angie's List have a service to resolve issues like this? I would look there because Angie's List plays a MAJOR role in the business companies get from that site meaning companies normally go out of their way to satisfy Angie's List users.

[Flamingo13]

My understanding is Angie's List is now pretty much "owned" by paid businesses.