He is bullying you. He has no leg to stand on; you have a contract. He broke it. Does your contract allow for billing for extra work not previously agreed to? Does it have an exit clause for either of the parties? He has no justification to add more to your bill. He is the bad guy here, don't let him back you into a corner. Tell him your lawyer will be in contact. And get yourself a lawyer. A consultation shouldn't cost anything; a lawyer letter may be all you need to make him smarten up. I've been there. We didn't win big, but we did win a judgement in similar circumstances.

Gettingandspending, thank you- That is my sentiment as well and we are considering that option if we can’t come to an amicable resolution on our own. Joseph Cortlett, thanks for your reply as well- We have told him that exact thing and are in the process of getting estimates. He has called daily demanding his balance and added to it since then. I’m certain his side of the story is different, but I only know mine.

A design dispute involves a design. Contractors don’t design. They build what designers design. Who designed and documented the design for the project? Could they not be an intermediary here?

Celadon, I do wish that were the case. Unfortunately, we only worked with the contractor to design it.

What do your design drawings, floor plans, elevations, etc. and other documentation show was supposed to happen that did not? What level of detail did the contract have? To what commonly standards were things being done? How were both parties supposed to have an understanding of the project, and the correct expectations of what would be done? This matters a lot. Drawings and contracts are the very heart of misunderstandings. If you go to court, any judge will want to have these questions answered.What is in writing that set your expectations? Are your expectations not in writing?

Get all of your documents together and examine them.

Celadon, thank you for all those details. The design drawing with measurements, placements, etc was made by the contractor. Design elements such as fixtures, handles, and appliances were left up to us to decide on, purchase, and provide. The dispute was over something SO SILLY - Regarding a tall pantry with shorter upper doors and longer base doors- my husband wanted to have longer handles on lower doors rather than small handles on both (which is what our contractor wanted). The contractor did end up placing the long handles, but drilled the holes as if he were placing short handles leaving an uneven space between the upper and lower doors (the upper doors were nearly scraping the handles below). My husband asked for this to be fixed, but the contractor said the holes would still be noticeable so we asked for replacement doors. And that is when the dispute ensued... At that point the contractor decided to end the contract without finishing the job, although his own contract states that neither party can cancel the contract. So, since the job wasn’t complete we are trying to get estimates before we can know what to pay as his final balance. Our primary concern is the damage to the cabinets including the pantry and the 9 cabinets with dents, that they tried to paint over after we pointed them out, but are now just painted dents. This is our first home and first big project. So unfortunately, we did not write out those expectations (lesson learned). The contract does state ”provide and install new cabinets per diagram“ (referring to the design drawing) and I just thought that meant damage-free. Like you said, we are trying to document everything moving forward and getting all paperwork in order. Thank you!