Before pics.

Link to my first discussion about the backsplash. https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5556907/help-contractors-did-a-bad-job-with-the-backsplash-what-do-i-do

We have this in our kitchen, but it is because our ceiling is uneven (old house, kitchen is three combined rooms, didn't re-do the ceiling). Our cabinetmaker hung the cabinets level and then scribed the molding to hug the ceiling. If you look at it, it's quite noticeable where the ceiling is really out of whack (+1" over a 36" run) and you would never know in most of the kitchen, where it's less than an inch. (And no one really ever looks at it unless I point it out!) As far as whether it's their fault--if they did work on the ceiling where the soffit extension is, I would expect them to have checked it. If they didn't touch the ceiling, I wouldn't consider it their fault, but they should still have lifted it up as a concern and proposed some solutions to hide it (or to let you decide whether to adjust the ceiling).

The first thing I would check is that they hung the cabinets level in the first place, though. That should absolutely be fixed if they did not, and it might address the issue.

1. see if the cabinets are actually level

2. it's not as bad as it looks because the doors haven't been adjusted yet. The boxes look pretty close. Not perfect, but closer.

Make sure they don't leave you to adjust the doors. It's a miserable job. :P

You seem to have concluded that the cabinets are aligned incorrectly but that can't be determined by these photos. It is quite likely that the preexisting soffit is not level therefore the gap between level cabinets and the drywall overhead is not going to be even. There are some situations where the installer can fool the eye by matching existing elements which arent level but that just does not work for cabinets which must be level and plumb.

My own kitchen has an uneven gap over one run of cabinets. If we had been doing a $100K + job in a million dollar property, we would have checked level on the existing studs and shimmed as needed to get the drywall as level as you would expect in a high end job. This is a moderate price house and we were refitting an older house with reclaimed cabinets. The additional work just wasnt a good use of resources. It was a judgement call and other than cussing my partner when trying to install the uppers, we haven't been bothered by the issue.

Of course, the job could have been better but it could also have been much worse. If that $30K figure includes all work, materials and fees, it is not realistic to expect the GC to rebuild an existing soffit unless it was damaged during removal of the previous cabinets. You can certainly ask the GC if he has any thoughts to help hide the issue. Some people run a line of caulk slightly recessed from the front to help reflect light and minimize the shadows.

What tatts said. My husband is a carpenter, and a little OCD about plumb and level, but there is no way to have everything perfectly straight and even across the board when working with studs, as they are a natural material that will expand and contract over time, as well as not being perfectly straight to start with. As long as your foundation is level and your counters are level, the rest will almost always be slightly imperfect. The goal is to get it as close to perfect as possible and fool the eye into not being able to see it. If it bothers you too much, put up some trim.

All I notice is the counter edge and lack of polka dot tile meeting that edge : ) just to the right of the light switch.

I noticed you said they extended the soffit. If your cabinets are level, there isn't a reason they can't fill that gap and make it even. If the cabinet hangers are with the same builder, ask them to make it look right for you. I know if I can do this, a pro sure could.

My ex-DH was a GC, and he was big on "creating the illusion" of plumb and level in old houses. In new houses he built? He was a demon about things being that, and square.

At this point the backsplash is installed - you really can't rehang the wall cabinets & shouldn't if they are installed level. It seems like the issue is in the soffit. If this was caught before, they may have been able to add some compound to the side with the larger space and then filed in with caulk ( you can only caulk up to a certain size of gap ).

Unfortunately this is the problem with putting cabinets up to the ceiling or a soffit without using any sort of trim - it is sometimes not possible to completely "fix" something like this.

I hope you find a resolution your are happy with.

And thank you for Installing black cabinets! and a busy backsplash! Love it!!

This is why quarter round was invented.

Q..why is the kitchen in the hallway /under the stairs ?

My ceiling is uneven too I don't think its unusual.