Your designer needs to fix this at no cost to you. The designer is at fault because they did not communicate clearly. If possible, cancel the check or back charge the credit card until this is fixed. It not, then keep a copy of every communication you have and make sure it is dated. Do not communicate verbally. Continue to contact the designer until this is fixed. If they are a member of any professional societies, contact the society if you are unable to get this resolved.

Hi Adrienne-

I am sorry it didn't work out the way you wanted, and I don't mean to upset you more, but can you please explain to me how a few wooden shelves can cost $4,000?

Is this an exotic species of wood?

Is it a very thick piece, that is, a very thick shelf?

Not that I am excusing someone messing up, but I wonder if the angles there are not exactly 90 degrees at each corner. And then once the man started cutting, he just made it worse, so he thought he should cut it more on the other side to make it even, which made it even worse.

Like when you go to a hairdresser who doesn't know what he/she is doing.

Just for fun, if it won't make you cray-cray, do you have a triangle, you know, like from mechanical drawing class? Can you measure if the walls are square?

The other thing is, do you need fancy species of wood?

Or very thick shelves? Will you be putting textbooks on it?

And here is something else to think about which you probably don't want to hear, but it's true.

To your eye and wallet, the gap between the shelf and the wall is a yawning chasm.

The first photo looks like it.

But the second photo not so much, and in the third photo, I don't see it at all.

Of course, I barely see the big E on the Snellen chart, so forget about me.

But seriously, we are our own worst critics, and it is highly doubtful that anyone else will even notice that gap, and if they are so rude as to comment on it, please don't invite them back!

" but can you please explain to me how a few wooden shelves can cost $4,000?"

I can. $3,500.00 went into the designers pocket, $250.00 for materials and $250.00 went to the installer.

I am not a pro by any means but was wondering the same thing about the cost! I think loobab’s points are well taken. I learned a lot when I did my kitchen facelift. Unfortunately on what not to do :-). However, the flaws that bothered me so much are visible only to me until I point them out to others. It is not a good feeling to shell out so much money and have the project not live up to your expectations. For me it was a lesson learned especially on how I could have perhaps prevented some of them by asking more questions, Doing more research and in some cases having more realistic questions expectations. I can tell you one thing (at least for me) I’ve leaned to live with the imperfections and they don’t “bother” me anymore. I wish you the best.

Ugh, that must be so frustrating, I’m sorry. The designer and definitely both shelf installers should have known about scribing! You’re not wrong; it’s unacceptable. I hope they correct it for you.

I think the designer should fix it... i'm still trying to figure out why she hung shelves so low they look like benches... very narrow benches. Unless that's just the angle of the photo. Good luck, so discouraging to pay so much $$ for results you're not happy with.

When I remodeled my kitchen, I used IKEA cabinets. While they are not nearly as expensive as these shelves, my installers took great pride in getting them installed perfectly. It was almost a game with them to see how well they could get each piece to fit. The correct install makes them look even better. What I am saying is, it is on the decorator to make sure what is ordered to fit. If they are going to get something that needs to be adjusted when installed, then they need to let the client know. Keep in mind that the decorator's installer did no better. That reflects on the decorator. I am wondering - was this person a decorator or a designer? There is a difference. For those criticizing this poster, please don't. They put their trust in the decorator and spent a lot of money - yes, anything that involves wood becomes expensive. They have come to us for help, not criticism. To the poster - you have every right to get this to look like what you want and expect. It is your money after all.

While I think you should get what you paid for, I just wanted to say the gaps don’t look that bad. You are probably the only one who will ever notice it. However, for a $4k job, you should get money back.

Thank you for all the responses and suggestions... so the designer is now telling me I need to pay 450$ for the install .... and no mention of the poor outcome and plans to make things better . Any professional installer should know how to “scribe”? I’ve never heard of it, but that’s why I hired out and let them do the job .

Could they still scribe on shelves that have to fit in a nook with these posts as fasteners to the wall?

Yeah...no, the designer can pay the $450 install.

Geez, you could have gotten the same result from shelving bought from Target.

All I have to say is, I wish my husband and I were proficient in every trade, because nowadays noone takes any pride in their work unfortunately.

Yes, you can absolutely scribe shelves that will go over those fasteners. It’s just a technique for getting things to fit nicely against walls that aren’t straight/90 degrees, etc. Charging you $450 to fix their sloppy work on top of what you already paid is a terrible deal, I’m sorry.

Or wait are you saying the 450 is in addition to the 4k for what was already done or $450 to redo it? Either way, no.

Well, the first mistake was not having the fabricator of the shelves do his own measure. Anytime custom cabinetry/shelving is done, I have my cabinetmaker use my drawings/dimensions to price out the work, but I expect him/her to do a site measure and create his own shop drawings for approval. That's usually how it's done. But if the designer didn't make that clear and the fabricator was using her dimensions, it's on her, IMO.

Against the brick wall, there will be some gaps due to the texture of the stone - but smaller than what is shown here I would think. That wide gap is inexcusable.

She was right to order wider - so they can be cut to fit.

But your installer came with no saw, her installer came with no triangle. How can you fit shelves into place without figuring out how out of square the walls are first? And why did she see that when she was there measuring?

Ugh

I paid 4 k for the shelves ..believe they are called . ultrashelf .. there are 2 more that did not go into a nook therefore no problems .. so 6 shelves for 4K ... then I paid my contractor by the hour to install first time... idk how long he spent measuring and calculating but I still had to pay for his time. The designer asked me who do I want to install , my own person , her installer at 450$ or a task rabbit at approx 35$ / hr. I know better than to hire a task rabbit for the job and I have a licensed skilled contractor that works a lot for me, but when I told the designer I have someone she didn’t tell me thst she sized up, the shelves will need to be cut and make sure my person brings a saw. So when he showed up, she already wasted my time and money, because someone needed to come back another day with the proper tools. I got a hold of her when my installer was here telling me the shelves are too big and she went on and on about bc my walls were crooked, she sized up and if I had used her installer there wouldn’t be a problem. She says she sizes up then cuts on site all the time to ensure there is no gaps between the walls and give it a custom look. I said fine send your installer over, I had to wait 4 weeks for him to come, only to get uneven cut shelves that have gaps between the walls. no Follow up from her about how she is taking responsibility and offer to make this right. Only a bill for $450 to pay her installer .

She actually sent an assistant to measure. The girl was new , I don’t think she works for her anymore. All she had was a measuring tape . No stepstool or ladder, no leveler. We had no furniture at the time, so I can’t even confirm that she got correct measurements. I tried helping her hold 1 end of the tape measure, and from my memory i remember her saying it’s the same ... but I don’t trust my memory completely. i Also only saw her measure at the back wall, not the opening and middle part of the nook which now I understand you need to know in order to get the shelves in

following

Sorry to hear that. The installer should have measured the back width, then the front width and cut them at an angle to fit the space. The cost to fix or replace is the responsibility of whoever hired the the installer, the designer should replace the shelves and have them installed correctly.

I suggest to fix, you could have a small simple molding trim on each side, also running down the shelf (thickness).... and/or additionally underneath the shelf sides , to the wall too.

If you don't want that design, I'd get them replaced and installed correctly.

I need to be onsite to make sure it is done correctly. Just to oversee, as I would have been responsible in this situation.

Adrienne - I don’t know what you’re designer is thinking - expecting to be paid the $450 for this install . . . If I was her, I’d be wondering how much $$$ it was going to cost me to remedy this issue.

Sorry to hear you are having a bad all around experience.

"I got a hold of her when my installer was here telling me the shelves are too big and she went on and on about bc my walls were crooked, she sized up and if I had used her installer there wouldn’t be a problem. She says she sizes up then cuts on site all the time to ensure there is no gaps between the walls and give it a custom look." I think what is being overlooked here is that your contractor never touched the shelving and based on what she told you, the shelves should be fitting properly since 1. she ordered larger 2. you hired her installer, Go back to her and drive this home to her and take your contractor out of the conversation as he never touched them. "As best he could" doesn't fly here based on what she told you earlier with no mention of uneven walls, etc. What she told you, you felt was going to meet your expectations and it didn't.

For the future, I learned one good thing to ask any trade I work with is " What should my expectation be?" I don't know everything and usually that question answers a lot of questions and even ones I may not have thought of. And at the worse, if they don't follow through on what they told me, I can remind them! Good luck.

I agree that the designer/installer should fix this. Ultimately she messed up by not telling you the shelves were cut bigger so they could be installed properly. Then ultimately she sent her installer out to cut the shelf and do the install. That's all on her and her installer. Do you have a contract that states all work is guaranteed? So my thought is, "...if I had used her installer there wouldn’t be a problem.", then why is there a problem? Its on her to do this for free and her installer to do the work correctly the way he should have the first time.

Was there anything else that you wanted the designer to do for you besides install shelves? How much was the labor for the install and to have the solid wood cut? These things can add up especially the fee for the designer. So yes she should pay for the mistakes.

We are waiting on 1 furniture piece to ship, otherwise we are done. We paid a flat fee, but she did take a consult fee that was supposed to go towards our flat fee but I reviewed my payments and she did not credit me the money .

i paid 4 k for 6 shelves w their hardware and she is trying to get 450$ from me to pay her installer

Well, when you told her to send her installer did you have anything in a contract that said that the $4K would also cover the install? If not, then it sounds like that was on you for not verifying that you would encounter additional fees since you did take that responsibility off of her when you agreed to the $4K originally and told her you would get your own installer. If the shelves were fine, would the $450. be an issue? Or is the $450. an issue because the job was not done as promised. There are a lot of moving parts here. Has she been back to your home since the install?

Oh!

@Joseph Corlett-

Ding, Ding, Ding- You get the Houzz prize for the funniest comment of the day!

I would have no problems paying for the install if it was done correctly and didn’t look terrible. the price for the install (450$) was supposed to cover all 6 shelves ...but when my installer came he did 2 of them, the ones that did not need cutting . So technically the 4 that her installer did should be less than the 450$.

No she was not present to supervise the install , the installer and her assistent both took photos and said they would pass on to her . Assistant said they would fix this . Designer said she was not aware the back wall and brick walls were also uneven. Designer keeps saying to me everyone but me thinks the shelves came out beautiful. Totally Gaslighting me. She has not been to my home to see first hand .

i don’t think she even knew the shelves were too big, her first response when i Messaged her was they don’t do measurements to the exact so they order as close as possible and then do a shave. But the website says they cut to the closest 1/8” .

....$4000 for what? ...for a couple of pieces of lumber ...unbelievable. That’s a lot of meals. You got fooled from the get go when you agreed to pay that.

Wayyy too much money for that project 😣

This is awful. Everything about this is wrong—from the price to the outcome.

She may be gaslighting you but leave her a message ( an actual phone call if you have only been texting her) and tell her that you want her to come to your house so you and her can come to some conclusion on the shelves and you expect a call back by ( give her a deadline). By giving her a date and you don't hear from her by then, you can move on to your next step. You may want to tell her to bring the installer as he is the one that will need to take care of this and ALL of you will be on the same page rather than finger pointing going on if messages are relayed to him and the work isn't satisfactory.

And start documenting everything you can remember including dates and going forth as you may find yourself taking her to small claim court if you she doesn't resolve this and if you want to recoup some of your money.

I think you mentioned she owes you a sofa? Have you paid for that in full? Are the shelves paid in full, too?

Shirlpp posted a link to the shelves... that was the price no markups .. the other room we used shelves for hold heavy items but not this room in question. Yes .. every email and text is dated or time stamped. I have requested a refund for the 4 shelves and 75$ for 1 hour of my installers time spent that I paid out of pocket since she did not tell me my installer should bring a saw . She gave me 3 options and asked what I wanted to do for install.. her person @ 450 / a task rabbit 35$ hour or if I have my own person . It’s hard to believe that she knew the shelves needed to be cut based on the fact she suggested a tasker at 35$ an hour. I live in Los Angeles and she is a high end designer . She should know better... even I a total layman knew better than hiring someone for $35 / hr. And this was before I even knew about the sawing part .

The installer said upon Leaving the sight .. he wished it looked better .. and any type of repairing was out of his skill set 😆

You may have requested a refund but has she physically been out to your home to talk to you about the shelves and seen them for herself? You mention email and text but have you called her, left messages?

Agree with ted...I would insist that the designer come see for herself the very obvious problem. If she still doesn’t get it, you might call your state’s consumer protection bureau.

I hope you're getting a refund. I would have expected the carpenter to select materials free of knots for $4K. Also did the designer specify plain cut wood or rift cut in the design?

This seems like a rip off. Custom shelves aren’t that much, and even paying for install and someone to handle ordering shouldn’t bring the total up to $4k.

Peter go to www.ultrashelf.com, and you will see that the prices are insane. I posted an example above, the one shelf was $520.

The issue isn't the price of the shelves as the OP agreed to that price. Whether it is an insane price is debatable but that is not what she is asking here. The issue is that she has a designer that has been hands-off and an installation problem that has not met her expectations as promised.

I feel your pain, especially since you paid so much ($4k) for the material! That being said, this can be reminded with quality wood putty. It won't be 100% perfect, but keep in mind most things aren't with construction & renovation, and in the grand scheme of things it will most likely not be noticeable once filled in & stained to match with quality putty & stain. If will surely have 0% negative visual effect to the final outcome of the project.

^^^huh? There is a half inch gap. How are you going to fix that with wood putty?

Didn't see that it's 1/2 an inch wide, maybe I missed that? However challenging it's still possible. Won't be 100% perfect but a good 90%- 95% better & good enough to move on to more pressing challenges. For gaps that large slivers & peices of the material can be wedged before applying wood filler. Most every challenge in life has a simple solution if we just brain storm a bit. Whatever the cost or remedy the designer should pay.