I can't visualize the cabinets and their hinges from the photo. Can you post a photo which shows more and how the hinges are attached. Are the hinges concealed, surface mounted or what?

What Virgil said. He's so smart sometimes!! :)

See above questions about location and type of hinges. I can't imagine a scenario where that just happens over time. I just looked at my 16 year old cabinets with interior hinges. Not one has those kinds of dents.

I'd also be unhappy about the apparent nail pops in the cabinets.

The hinges are kind of surface mounted. It has 2 little hooks that hold on to the outer surface of the cabinet, therefore it rubs against the cabinet door causing the dents. I do not have a picture of the hinges unfortunately :(

How am I supposed to get this fixed if the project manager insists that this is normal?I am really unhappy about it, but I hate having to constantly complain to him about how something looks, and he probably dislikes me for it as well. I am paying a lot of money for this house so I am quite disappointed in several aesthetic issues that I am seeing.

Here is another example of other issues that I have: This is the finished product of my fireplace. Look at all the gaps which wont be caulked due to being told "That is the design and that is how it looks".

Your contractor is a hack.

Caulking isn't right, either. It's a tear out b

Are these the kind of hinges you have?

Here is a picture with the cabinet door opened. I have also attached a picture that has a similar hinge. There is 2 claws that grab onto the outer-edge of the cabinet.

Can you post some shots from further away and showing the hardware?

Edited to say I think I've figured out what I'm looking at.

Unfortunately, I am not currently at the house to take more pictures :(

If this is a custom home and not a tract home, then that fireplace is a redo and you have every right to complain. That is NOT acceptable and I would suggest if he feels it's fine then he won't mind you posting his name with the picture of the fireplace all across the internet and social media.

Do you have partial inset style doors with a lip, like this?

This home is being built by AshtonWood homes. The project manager is very nice, but he is the one who told me that this is normal. I am not in direct contact with the contractors who did the job... I guess I will wait a little while before bringing it up again.

It is not a fully custom home, but I added almost $40,000 in custom upgrades to this house. The stone surround that you see there was an optional custom upgrade that I paid for.

@Sammy. That is not the hinge that I have. I posted a picture above which is very similar to what we have at the house.

No - the hinges should not mar the cabinets. The cabinet supplier needs to redo the damaged doors and install proper hinges.

Looking at the photos of the cabinets and the fireplace surround, nothing has been installed properly. It's not clear if this is a tract, semi-custom or custom home on your own property, but you need to find The Person In Charge and have a long discussion about what will be done to make the necessary corrections, and to ensure proper workmanship henceforth!

Concealed hinges should not produce damage to the cabinet in normal use, not even in abnormal use. I would guess the hinge selected for the door type and box style is the wrong hinge or installed improperly. The cabinet manufacturer should resolve the problem. To me it looks like they got this dimension wrong:

The fireplace surround may not be completed yet and just need grout. The person installing the grout, unfortunately, may need a magic wand to make it look right.

Complete hackorama from backyard CONtractors who didn’t even stay at a Holiday Inn last night. That is a do over on multiple fronts.

The person who told you the cabinet damage is normal, or that the fireplace is done correctly, knows that it isn’t. He is trying to use your lack of knowledge to con you so they don’t have to spend more time and money to do the work properly.

You let him know that it's normal when your check bounces, or you pay 90% of what is billed.

I hate people trying to BS people that crap work is "normal". Maybe "normal" for you, hack, but not for people who are decent at their job.

KA-BOOM!

I'm going to assume that 'brick work' on the fireplace is actually 12"x12" sheets of 'brick' that have been cut and glued in place. I think I've seen 4th graders do a better job.

I'd be threatening this guy with bodily harm at this point.

Well they're honest. It does speak for itself.

All that's holy...they're touting barn doors. *facepalm

Oh geez I know of them in my area. Quality work is subjective in this case.

Don't worry about the project manager not liking you or thinks you are a complainer. He won't be there after you close and you will be left looking at the things you settled for. Make them make it right

Cabinets do get banged up, but they should last longer than this!

My 1960s cabinets have no damage except due to hardware failures. Cabinets don't necessarily get banged up.

Thank you sooo much for all of your input! I am going to wait a little while before mentioning the cabinets... Something else just happened that upset me so much. They almost put in the last tile around my bathtub... and lets just say... They are about to tile and SEAL UP all of the trash underneath the bath tub!!!

I wanted to cry when I saw it!! It smells BAD because of the wet debris and sawdust that they didn't clean out. There is half a plastic bag sticking out of the concrete!! They basically smothered concrete over trash!!!! I attempted to clean out as much as I could, but I can see trash in the far end of the tub which I cannot reach!! IF they had any intentions of cleaning the dirt and trash out, they would have already done it. You can see that pile of mess on the floor is what I scraped out with a broken piece of wood.

I am absolutely speechless. I sent a pretty mean email and I want to be there to see them clean that all up before they close off the tub completely!

Could someone also take a look at the pictures of the pipe and the bathtub support.. They have put spare bricks from my house under the tub. Is that normal? The concrete around the pipe looks like someone grabbed the concrete with their bare hands and threw it onto the ground...

I hope you guys could stick around to tell me "yay or nay" with other issues that I may have with this new home build. I want to pick and choose my battles since there are a number of issues and I don't want to constantly be complaining to him over every little thing.

You need to hire a new project manager and fire the old one!!!! What you're getting is 'not' right by any measure.

Your complaints need to be in a spreadsheet format, with dates, responses, promises, excuses, all set forth, keeping the GC constantly updated with your list. Don't you dare pay for work that has to be redone. You can direct the management of that company to this website. Is this a tract house?

Take lots of photos of the work being done, as long as they let you on the job site. At least you have that.

Ask the project manager one very simple question: would you like photos of the cabinet, the fireplace, the tub, etc. to be featured on your company"s website as examples of the quality that speaks for itself? Follow up with: What do you think the owners of this company would think about this workmanship (or lack of)?

This will be your house and is your money. Do not accept this shoddy workmanship. I assume there are models to visit. Go back to the models and look carefully at the cabinets, the fireplaces, etc. Take pictures. Compare those photos to what is in your house and show them to the manager.

You're not getting help from the project manager. It's time to speak with his/her boss. I understand picking and choosing battles, but those that are the loudest often are heard.

A final thought on the tub. Make sure they keep that area accessible for the future. The tile guys forgot that when our house was build. Our builder fixed it quickly and without question. There is a small section of tile that can be removed. It's not evident unless one knows where it is and looks for it. That is the kind of quality that one should expect.

You’ve got a tract build, with the usual suspects tract built quality. Right down the line. You are right that you need to pick your battles as to which unacceptable hack is worse.

Maybe get your money back and build custom. This house will never be the level of build that you expect it to be. You are going to need to change your expectations, or change your address.

If you are going in there - sweep up, get a small portable shop vac and suck out the debris. The subs simply are not going to do it. Same with the plastic bag, just cut it off and move on. I swear they'd concrete in their grandmother if she was moving too slowly.

Using whatever materials are found in site to build up the tub is normal. (sadly) but that cement probably is a fire stop and should be done better. And it would have taken about 1 additional minute to do it right.

You are going to have to pick your battles.

And just remember, when you focus in on one thing, it's 100% of that one thing. And if it's a 50% crappy job, that's huge. In the overall enjoyment of your house, that one thing is probably 1% of the house, so suddenly 50% of 1% is a little easier to deal with - realizing that it's not going to drive you insane.

I am not saying to give up - just take a deep breath and pick your battles. Having an issues sheet, and revisiting it and asking for resolution is a good way to ensure that it's getting focus and that you've clearly communicated your concerns. The kitchen cabinets would annoy me longer term - those little dents have broken the finish. As would the fireplace. If I needed to, I'd sweep / vacuum under the tub and even grab some fire rated caulk or cement or hydraulic cement and do it myself - but that's just me.

What Sophie said. I'm actually surprised they're allowing you to be on site as they build as most tract builders don't allow that.

Agree with Janni about doing it yourself. I'm building a completely custom home and some subs just don't care. On Saturday, the tile guys grouted my bathroom floors and because the floors were still wet, they didn't put the ram board down figuring they'd wait until Monday or Tuesday, since no one needed to go into that bathroom.

Well Monday, one of the handymen from the company building my house, decided that would be a good day to tape and drop the ceiling over the tub. (That was known beforehand). You would think on a brand new marble floor, he would at least put down a drop cloth? Nope. Came in with his ladder and dropped spackle all over the floor. Came in with the dirt on his shoes, etc. Then he "forgot" to cut the hole where the can light over the tub was.

My point being, if my custom build using their own people couldn't keep the place clean and do things the right way, don't expect a tract builder to do so.

tnx8, I totally get your frustration. :-(

My husband and I have had 2 tract/production homes built -- one in 2004 (DR Horton) and one in 2017 (Gehan) -- and unfortunately, this kind of stuff is just par for the course. With the first house, we were more upset at all of the issues (we were only 23 years old, with no help/experience from our folks), but with the second house, it's different.

Even though the 2017 house is nearly double the cost of the 2004 house, we didn't factor that in *at all.* We know that all of these issues are the nature of building a tract house, regardless of how much is paid for it. It's rotten, but it's just the way it is. :-(

We basically went into this build with the idea that we'd learn more about homebuilding, and do a lot of repairs/replacements ourselves (we need to repair a brand-new, never-used bathtub; redo some brick mortar; recaulk a zillion things; replace carpet; remud drywall where they forgot to put some; repaint every single painted surface, etc.). We figure if the subcontractors couldn't get it right the first time, we aren't going to trust them to do it right the second time. Our 60-day Fix It List is very, very short. The only items we insisted that they fix before closing were safety related (electrical and air conditioning).

I have to keep telling myself, "What I am settling for now, in terms of quality, I will not have to settle for when we build custom. That is the luxury of building custom."

Building a tract home is basically, in my mind, almost like buying a pre-owned home, except you get the benefit of selecting your lot (I *had* to have minimal Western exposure, public spaces facing South, and bedrooms facing North), your floorplan (most homes have too much separation between master and kids' rooms for me), and a few of the pretty things (I hated 99% of the kitchens, and couldn't stand the lack of brick on all sides, of the houses I saw).

Those are some serious advantages. :-) And there are even more serious advantages to doing semi-custom and fully custom.

Also, I would be more concerned about how they waterproofed things like your showers, than about dirt under the tub. Did they properly waterproof?

Well, I will say this. We have lived in 2 tract homes. Neither looked like that! And when we found things wrong, they fixed it. In this day of Yelp, Nextdoor and even this Gardenweb, they are really going to have to fix those things, or risk losing a lot of business.

Did they properly waterproof?

Probably not. I just assume that tract builders don't properly waterproof -- and haven't for at least a few decades -- and that future repairs/remodeling will be necessary. *shrug*

You guys are right and there isn't much else that I can do about the dirt under the tub other than trying to clean it myself. I just spoke to the project manager and he said that cleaners will be out next week to clean the site. I told him that I want him to let me know as soon as the cleaners are done so I can take a look before they seal it all up. I did ask him how could I feel happy about the work that is done when half a trash bag was cemented in too? How do we know that they didn't cement in more trash? He said "well that is something we really won't be able to tell".

I think I will bring up the fire place and the cabinets. I checked all of my cabinets in my cheap apartment and there are absolutely no dents. I will let you guys know how it goes. They broke one of the cabinet doors a few weeks ago and it has yet been replaced. I am not sure what is taking them so long! I am very worried that all these issues may cause a delay, and I don't want to be homeless for Christmas as my closing date is in mid December.

I have to say the house does look amazing on the outside, and I have had a lot of foot traffic in my home from potential buyers who love it and want to build the same after seeing my home.

Thank you for all of your responses. This community at least helps me feel like I am not alone! I really appreciate it!

Here is something more positive; a picture of the kitchen from yesterday. They finally installed the light fixtures.

I am not sure what is taking them so long! I am very worried that all
these issues may cause a delay, and I don't want to be homeless for
Christmas as my closing date is in mid December.

It took forever to get folks back to the jobsite, too, for my house, and I think it's just because they're booked solid. My particular builder insists on tossing up a house in 4 months (from "sure let's buy one" signing to closing, which actually works out to only 2.5-3 months of building), so once the subs "complete" a house, they move straight on to the next one.

In my experience, your closing probably won't be delayed much, if at all. Mine was actually moved a few times, but only by a matter of days, and with very little advanced notice. Almost everything noted on the 3rd-party inspection was NOT addressed prior to closing; the builder simply had us sign a form that said, "here's what we're gonna do for you immediately in the next week or so; everything else waits for your 60-day repairs," and we closed 2 days later.

All of that to say, expect things to not be done. You will probably have various contractors in and out of your house for the first week or two after you close.

Edited to add: Also expect things to be filthy. Utterly filthy. Both of the tract homes we built had "cleaning crews" (Molly Maids they were not), and I still spent the first 2 days after move-in cleaning every horizontal surface I could reach without a ladder. ;-) I think when they say, "clean," they mean, "dude with a broom." Maybe a few wet disposable shop towels, for the hard floors, if you're lucky.

Gorgeous kitchen, txn8. Look carefully at all your hinges. There are ways to adjust those hinges. I'm not an expert! But when I installed some cabinet doors, I watched helpful youtube videos about how to adjust the hinges to raise/lower the door, align it, etc. Perhaps your hinges just need adjusting.

As for the fireplace, that deserves making a big stink about, but as I said before, create your list of issues and carry it with you, and let the written words speak for you. Don't be afraid to speak up, you have every right.

If you have foot traffic with folks "touring" your house as potential clients, I would put painters tape conspicuously on the things that need to be fixed so that they see them too. ;-)

Hinges should never mark or put a dent on the door faces... that's not right. Keep a long, detailed spreadsheet with pictures. Call it your punch list, and keep detailed record of how the punch list is addressed.

I have owned 2 tract and 2 custom homes. The build quality on the tract homes was absolutely fine. Both tract homes were upscale neighborhoods when constructed--standards have just risen since then. They were originally doctor/lawyer/superintendent type neighborhoods.

The oldest tract home had a terrible layout for the washer and dryer. It was built in the early 50s, so even having hookups at all was super fancy. In retrofits (slab house), the washer and dryer were most often put in the buffer room off the garage or even in the garage. Because it was built with a washer and dryer, though, the washer was next to the fridge and the dryer next to the outer wall! Pretty common for a few years.

The custom homes were both weird. There's no other word for it. I fixed one weird one and cleared $50k for my trouble. The other I'm living in now. :). My current one was designed as a collaboration between an architect and an engineer. And it had a kitchen that was custom down to the last bit and was done by a professional high end interior designer and therefore was terrible and completely unusable as originally conceived. It was all fancy stainless steel appliances back in 1965, too. I think the original counters were, of all things, varnished wood. Just appallingly impractical in every way. But they apparently only used the stove for TV dinners, so it worked.