No, not normal. However, pics would help us help you.

Well reviews are often done by the company not real people. As for this situation you might need some legal help at some stage. I do have to say 2 weeks is not even close to doing a whole kitchen remodel so IMO that should have been the first red flag.. I agree some pics posted here in comments will help us to understand the issues. Very rarely are clients the only pepole having work done by any contractors. I would need to see the contract and a lot of info for instance were all the appliances on hand , even ordering cabinets takes weeks so I am needing more info. I do not understand the issue with the island if it was aligned with the wall the floor might not be able to line up that is whay we need pics and lots of them. DO NOT start another post just use comments here .

All appliances were on site by day 2 after demolition. all cabinets were on site at that same time. the odd panel has needed replacement to damage on arrival. i will not post pix here but its 12 ft of liner wall cabinets on a single wall plus island. There’s nothing special or complicated about the space. This island is not aligned with wall, counters or floor - we told them this and they installed like that anyway.

@lomo as explained all materials were delivered on time and have been on site the entire time

And we repeat even then no 2-3 weeks time frame . If you do not want to post pics of the island and the kitchen we cannot help .

That timeline they told you should have been your first red flag. Two to three weeks was just completely unrealistic. Kitchens and baths take a very long time to complete because you're engaging literally every type of sub-contractor to finish the job: carpenters, drywall, plumbers, electricians, tile installers, counter fabricators, etc. And as much as a general contractor hopes to schedule these people concurrently, not everyone works directly for him. They have their own schedules to meet, hence the reason for gaps in the work when no one is on site. Couple that with continued COVID-related delays in product availability and you will likely be doing this remodel for 4 to 5 months or more, not 2 to 3 weeks.

That said, the design changes without your approval, the ordering errors, etc. are the hallmarks of someone who isn't staffed properly and they're running too many projects at once.

You're going to have to weigh the consequences of muddling through this until the end or firing this guy and bringing in someone to clean up the mess. I think you're too deep into this to stop at this point. I'd demand a meeting with the owner of the business, not the project manager, and bring a list of all the problems you've been experiencing and asking him how they will be fixed.

The contractor has one guy doing carpentry, cabinet install, plumbing and appliance hookup since theyre working with all existing connections. No changes to any plumbing or electrical configuration. The job is so basic it did not require any permits. The only subtrade i have seen is the granite fabricator. No walls were changed, no drywall needed to be patched. its a straight-up replace of all cabinets/counter/backsplash within the existing footprint of the old kitchen. No flooring changes either. Also, they were foolish enough to give me a contract with 2-3 week timeline written in and no clauses for delays other than acts of god, customer changes or supply delays - which, i explained, are not a major factor here

Then I would take a look at the cancellation clause of the contract you signed. Don't give him notice until you find someone to take his place.

Unfortunately its 90% paid. Cabinet installation was the last milestone and they were incredibly forceful about payment once the boxes were in. My own mistake for giving in - but they’ve breached their own contract now in so many ways. All this being said they claim they will make it right — eventually. The project manager seemed genuinely distressed at the work of his contractor

Not normal to tell someone that a kitchen remodel is going to take 2-3 weeks. That never even happened before covid and labor/material shortages.

I wouldn’t allow any work to continue until project manager and contractor meet with you to discuss and address the issues to your satisfaction. No final payment until job completed.

Something needs clarification. Everyone is saying that 2-3 weeks for installation is in and of itself a red flag and the time-line, should be 4-6 months.

I think we are talking about two different things.

This is a condo where no structural changes are being made, no plumbing or electrical changes, even the drywall is intact. (So really it's not a gut renovation, I guess)

If the OP is talking about only the removal of old cabinets and installation of new cabinets and countertops in an otherwise unchanging space, I don't think the time-line is a lie.

I have done several kitchen and bathroom renovations of this sort over the years and this time frame or less is about what it has taken for the disruption/installation part of the project. I had a couple bathrooms turn around in a week.

Of course the measuring and planning and ordering all happened over a period of months. The bath contractors would not even start work until every single item needed had been delivered.

I am working on a kitchen project right now whose time-line is currently at 18 months from when the old kitchen was removed. Lots of construction and getting to the completed empty room, and there has been a temporary kitchen.

But the actual installation of the (fully custom) cabinetry was just a matter of days each, as was painting and final electrical. It was everything leading up to this point that took a long time.

If the homeowner here is only talking about installation of product that was measured for and ordered some time ago, they should have been able to do this in the time frame or less. If the drywall is staying intact the kitchen can be measured with the existing in place and it could be removed the day before the new cabinets are delivered.

@palimpsest thank you for actually listening to what i’ve said! youre exactly right about the circumstances. There are few instances of the contractor putting in even a half day of work at any time - and their mistakes (ordering wrong counters, installing island crooked) are adding to delays. Those aren’t supply chain issues.

It's likely that your kitchen design center contractors are running multiple projects at the same time and they are going back and forth between jobs but they are not doing it in a coordinated manner, and what may be happening is that the client who yells loudest gets the most work done.

The bath that I had done in a week was done by a guy who specializes in one bathroom condos where a quick turnaround is crucial. But I was was given a spreadsheet that said who would be there when and although there were workers who were only there for an hour or two some days, there was somebody doing something for 8 hours or a little more every day. The individual workers were going between projects and doing their bit in each according to a schedule. He was a master planner and he was known for doing this, and you paid a premium for it. And he limited his scope to that one sort of project. When I moved into a house and asked him to do a bathroom, he said no.

Your contractor is probably juggling multiple worksites, and is not organized well enough to carry it off.

I used a GC who hired out subs and we did a to-the-studs reno and 90% was done in 3 weeks. The parts that weren't were subs I booked, counter and floors, and if I hadn't built in a cushion, we could've been done in 4 weeks. We had everything on site and every question had an answer before we started, I of course took months designing and sourcing materials in advance, but the builder's part was very accurate. (In fact, he finished a day early.) It all depends on the scope, the builder, the planning, etc, so it's not fair to say "any reno will take 4-6 months."

"Your contractor is probably juggling multiple worksites, and is not organized well enough to carry it off."

"Their mistakes (ordering wrong counters, installing island crooked) are adding to delays."

These are the two reasons why it is taking so long. You are thinking logically about this. It doesn't sound like that line of thinking is going to mesh with the work habits and skill level of the contractor. So in the end it doesn't matter if this is normal or what other people have experienced. It's what you've got and you have to work with it. It is totally unreasonable, but again, reason has no place in the reality of dealing with contractors like this.

Entire new homes have been built in the time it has taken my contractor to renovate my studio apartment. Alas, it is what it is.

@Ward 5 Design i initiated the project through a design/build center and the contractor is theirs

Are you only talking to the gc on the job or have you gone back to the design/build center and logged a complaint there?

I also disagree with others. We only start our jobs when all materials are on site. We show up every day. Generally we can complete a kitchen in 3 weeks. The only time that gets thrown off a little is if the countertop people are backed up or if we are waiting on inspections.

So sorry you are going through this. It definitely is not normal practice.

Have -only- dealt with the design/build center. Its their job to wrangle their contractor.

" Its their job to wrangle their contractor. "

And how is that working out for you? Maybe you need to step up and visit the design center? If you are going to not be agressive to some extent, they will continue to walk all over you.

@millworkman lol. ive had the designer and project manager in my house multiple times per week to see how badly their contractor has messed up. I made them bring the samples we ordered from when I suspected they messed up on the counters. Why would I go to the showroom - I make them come and see their mess. They just stand there and say a lot of four letter words but somehow never apologize.

Good for you for making them come to your house and deal with it in person. I might be tempted to look on google to see the time that their showrooms are the busiest and go in to the showroom then and loudly ask for a resolution to the problem so other customers can hear your experience. It might do nothing but it might also want them to do something to shut you up!

Grayson McClellan - it appears that you are advertising for Milestone electric - you've made three comments in the last hour - all of them recommending Milestone electric. The thread is from last year and the recommendation makes no sense.