Remodeling a kitchen is a huge undertaking and a huge process. We went to Lowes on Memorial Day weekend to look and talk to them about new kitchen cabinets and countertops. We have talked for months about this project and what we wanted.
Looked through several catalogs, watched a lot of home improvement shows and we finally figured out what we wanted. I have extended my countertop and cabinets along the sink wall and at the end I put a pantry, we wanted a built in dishwasher and I wanted an over the range microwave. I made an appointment at Lowes.
That took over 2 hours, in the end I bought cabinet and countertops. I have hickory cabinets and went with quartz countertops. Since it was Memorial Day, Lowes was having a sale on cabinets and countertops. With this purchase I got a free sink, a free base cabinet, all the hardware for cabinets free and I qualified for a 10% gift card which was $332. The countertops were on sale and the price included installation. I just had to pay for mileage for countertops. I managed to get the cabinets and countertops for around $5500.
With the gift card we bought the microwave, dishwasher and faucet for the sink. The total cost for the appliances was $800 and I paid just over $400.
When I placed the order for the kitchen on Memorial Day, I also called a local contractor. Told him that my cabinets would be here at the end of June and that I wanted to hire him to install them. He said he would do it and he charged $35 per hour. We figured that was very reasonable and we didn't have to pay mileage. He said that if he needed to go to Billings for anything he would just charge his hourly rate, no mileage. I just needed to call him when the cabinets were in.
I called him on June 21 to let him know that the cabinets would be here on June 29. Gary and I had to pick them up. Lowes would have delivered them to the house but would have charged us $250. We could do that cheaper, we have a little utility trailer and we will use that. When I called the contractor he told me that he would be out of town June 27 and would be back around the 1st of July. Just give him a call on the 1st and he would let me know when he would be here. In the meantime, Gary and I started the demolition of the old cabinets. It wasn't that hard. We left the cabinet with the range hood on it and also the base cabinets with the sink. That was dealing with electricity and plumbing and neither one of us was going to touch that.
It didn't take long to tear down and I chipped off all the old ceramic tile that I hated. Going to put something else up but not sure what I want yet. My house is in chaos, have dishes and utensils stuffed in boxes stored throughout the house. Our dining table and chairs is in the living room. I would stand in the kitchen visualizing the new look.
I called the contractor on July 1 and he was still out of town. He said he would call me on Wednesday to work on the arrangement to install and that he would have them done by the end of the week. Wednesday came and no phone call, I didn't call him on Thursday due to the holiday. I took Friday off anyway, no phone call from him on Friday morning so I called him in the afternoon to find out when he would be here to install.
I asked him when he would be here to install my cabinets, he just laughed at me said that he couldn't pinpoint a date because he was busy with other projects. That made me mad. I have been dealing with this guy for a month and he would never return a phone call. I personally think he forgets, Gary said that our kitchen project is too small for him. After his call, I then called Clayton Fortune. Clayton couldn't get to it right away, but would call me on Wednesday.
Clayton called and he started working yesterday morning. He and his son got 8 cabinets installed yesterday and Clayton is back today with Jim Kuntz to finish up. Clayton got all the upper cabinets, the pantry and one base installed. Today he is finishing up with the rest and he will get the microwave going.
First he has to fill in the floor where the old base cabinets are. Once he gets that done, then things will move quickly. This afternoon I will call the countertop people and have them come Monday for the template and hopefully it won't be long before they install. We then will need to get a plumber over for the sink and dishwasher. Clayton is recommending Adam Ketterling.
To this day I still have not received a phone call from the first contractor and I'm not going to call him. I am also not going to recommend him if anyone asks. I'm sure he does good work, but getting him to commit to do the work is a chore.
I can now see why people do their own projects at home. We never thought it would be this hard to get them installed especially when I had called.
I have been taking photos and will get them posted soon. I want to wait until everything is finished. Mom will come over today to get a sneak peak.
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