Yes, his actions are ridiculous! Cabinets are expensive-I would want every cabinet removed from their box. Isn't he going to install them? If so, damage could occur during that process.

Thank you! Contractor is trying to convince my wife that we are just being difficult. I appreciate your input!! And, yes, they are going to install. That is a separate cost that we will definitely not be paying for until installation is complete.

I hope this guy isn't having financial problems - sounds like he NEEDS the money. You could be in for bigger problems.

What numbersjunkie said.

You are being prudent and protecting your investment, you are not being difficult.

You are doing a 100% incoming inspection ... and at the price of cabinets, that's not being difficult or picky.

Take each one out, look for cosmetic damages, mark it off the kitchen layout and on the order and check the measurements on the box and the cabinet.

Because if you are going to bounce something, doing it right after delivery is more effective than waiting until they are installed.

What does your contract say? Mine said that remainder was to be paid upon DELIVERY of cabinets and I paid it. Installation was paid when it was complete.

If you don't trust your contractor to make good on any problems with the cabinets (and there typically are a few), then you should have have hired him to do your work.

You need to look at your contract and see what you agreed to do.

TO ANGIOPHILIA: Contract does not specify when payment for cabinets is due. Request for payment at delivery was not even mentioned until cabinets were in my driveway. Trust is earned....so it is virtually impossible to completely trust someone before you hire them and have worked with them.

If you don't trust the guy, should never have bought anything from him to begin with. It ain't all about the cheap price. Its all about the reputation. If you didn't buy by reputation, you'll have issues no matter what. Go to any larger cabinet retailer and its 100% up front, before the order is even processed. Don't want to pay that? Next!

One thing to note, delivery and return are two seperate things. Your guy may need to pay off the cabinets before he can file for return of any cabinets with issues. Also, paying on delivery keeps him in the good while problems get worked out. He pays the company on delivery, so he is just passing this to you...

I think that the OP is correct - you cannot always know that you can trust someone that you have agreed to work with. You are usually hoping for the best. Besides the contractor should have allowed him to inspect every box before determining that the delivery was correct.

Thanks for your valuable comments Powermuffin. We ended up insisting that we be allowed to inspect each cabinet before payment and have found several problems. We will go ahead and pay the balance with the understanding that all the problems will be corrected.

You sit on some balance and all problems will be corrected, I promise. I don't care what email said what.

I would NOT do that. These guys always disappear when paid in full. Pay in full for the correct cabinets only. You'll pay for the others when they are corrected/delivered.

He accepted these without inspecting and was about to stick it to you. No need to do him any favors...

What Joseph and practigal said. Do not pay him in full for the cabinets since there are problems with some. Plus if you gave him a 70% deposit to start, he had more than enough to pay the cabinet company.

"These guys'' were the wrong guys to choose in the first place if you couldn't pay them all but a 10% holdback and trust that you'd be taken care of. And no, 70% still doesn't pay off the cabinet company and the shipping company when ordering factory cabinets. It pays for the materials for a custom shop, but if you have cabinets from a custom shop, presumably you have an address to show up to see what is being made during the process.

I would have told them to take a flying leap, myself...not helpful to the OP.. sorry.. just had to throw that in there as I totally feel for ya OP.

When it is all done and beautiful, and it will be, I promise.. grab some wine, sit back, and then post some beautiful photos for all of us.

R

We are nearing the end of our kitchen reno. The whole house reno will continue throughout the year, but the kitchen is nearly done.

The cabinets are from a custom line, rarely mentioned on this forum. However, I was assured by the KD, and our contractor, that they were a standup company. We had to put down a 20% deposit (via the contractors account), and pay the balance to the kitchen design store (not the contractor, as the OP did), before the cabinets would be released for delivery. Our contractor has worked closely with the KD in the past, and assured me any problems would be taken care of. He came highly recommended, and his work on the rest of the house has been nearly impeccable. We trust him.

As happens, there are several issues with the cabinets. These are medium dark stained, birch cabinets, and they are gorgeous! Like walnut, there is a lot of variation in the grain, which I love. However, one door...the panel on the dishwasher, isn't pleasing to my eye. The KD, and an officer with Tedd Wood, came by yesterday with a replacement panel (which is lovely), and to examine the other few issues. What remains are interior cabinet mistakes, such as, the wrong garbage setup under the prep sink. All are being resolved, as promised.

IMO, when undertaking a kitchen renovation, all three factors come into play...the contractor, the KD, and the cabinet company. My contractor is experienced, and has a good rapport with all tradespeople I've seen him interact with. He dealt with the cabinet issues directly with the KD. She came to the house to see the issues for herself, and in turn spoke with Tedd Wood.

Anyone of them could've made this an exasperating and unpleasant experience. However, since all three are reputable, and have customer satisfaction as a priority, I had no reason to distrust. Paying for the cabinets, sight unseen, was not a concern.

You are very lucky. Our contractor ordered the micro/oven combo cabinet in the wrong size and is requesting that we return the combo we purchased and go out and purchase another unit that will fit rather than replace the cabinet as it will take 4-6 weeks to get new cabinet in. I do not wish to do this so we are at a stand-off. I'd also like to add that our contractor is considered to be a reputable contractor in this area and came highly recommended. What I didn't know initially, and we have since learned, is that those recommendations came from customers who are also friends of the contractor. We had no way of knowing this at the time.