Manhattan Kitchen Renovation

I've undertaken a renovation of the kitchen in my apartment and thought I'd share some of the trials and tribulations. As you can see, I have a classic sprawling Manhattan kitchen totaling about 50 square feet (please temper your envy).

Design Points

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• Demo & Haul Away
  
• Removal and haul away of two overhead cabinets and bottom cabinet with sink
  
• Cabinet Installation
  
• Basic installation of cabinetry, molding, and accessories
  
• Backsplash
  
• Installation of 3"x6" marble tile backsplash on south wall above counter/appliances and on walls adjacent to stove and sink (approximately 20 sq. ft total)
  
• Electrical
  
• Relocation of outlets on south wall (above appliances)
  
• Installation of overhead/mounted microwave with new fuse panel breaker
  
• Installation of 18" dishwasher with new fuse panel breaker
  
• Installation of can lighting in south wall sophet (replace single light with two can lights)
  
• Relocation of outlets on north wall
  
• Plumbing
  
• Move sink to far right of south wall (under window)
  
• Tie dishwasher into sink waste lines
  
• Move gas stove to left side of south wall.
  
• Dry Wall
  
• Patch and paint where necessary
  

''* NOTE: Current design calls for cabinets/appliances on south wall to come forward 4" to create space for plumbing tie-ins behind dishwasher and sink. 4" ledge will need to be built behind cabinets/appliances.

Contractor List

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• Kitchen Remodeling New York - Called on 3/18 and got voicemail, did not leave voicemail.
  
• A&R Woodworking - received bid, price was good but bid did not meet professionalism/quality expectations.
  
• Gaudioso Contracting - selected contractor
  

Pre Renovation Pre Renovation Pre Renovation Pre Renovation Renovation Materials Renovation Rendering Renovation Rendering

Timeline

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Getting Started
To begin, I got a couple of quotes on refinishing the floor. There was a cheap white linoleum in the kitchen area and I found that it was the same hardwood in the rest of the apartment under the linoleum.

It was taking a while to get the quotes on refinishing the floor, so I decided to take this piece of the project on myself and I am nearly complete. When the quotes did come in on refinishing the floor, they both came back around $850. While it has taken me quite a bit of time, it is nice that I've cut down my total project cost.


Home Depot Kitchen Department
Next I went to the Home Depot kitchen department and started the process with them. I have been to Home Depot a few times over the last year while considering the renovation and I found a lot of variance between the individual staff in the department.

I found a guy that I liked because he seemed willing to be a true "general contractor" and manage all of the pieces of the project. Other staff I spoke with were telling me that the granite countertop is too small and I'd have to take care of this myself or the flooring department is separate and I'd have to go down and talk to someone in that department separately. The guy I'm working said he would coordinate it all and so I decided to pay the $100 to have someone come out and take all of the measurements (this price goes towards the cost of the project if you proceed).

3/6/09 - Worked with Home Depot consultant and received first renderings of renovation (see images above)

3/15/09 - Received obnoxious bid from Home Depot's installer. Not sure what an appropriate price would be, but I can't believe it would be this much. I have decided to use Service Magic and get some additional quotes for comparison.

3/18/09 - Went into Home Depot today to look at counters and backsplash materials and try to finalize my selections.

3/18/09 - Spoke with Adam (718-456-6885) and received estimate from A&R Woodworking

3/19/09 - sent email to HD designer asking him to provide a total invoice on materials because I had found much more reasonable quotes from other installers.

4/1/09 - received 1-page proposal requested from Gaudioso Construction. Proposal was professional, succinct, and clear.

4/2/09 received a call from Home Depot designer indicating he never heard back from me. I indicated that I sent him an email on 3/19 and never heard back, so I sourced the materials through the installer I selected. He said he never received an email and upon further investigation, I found that he was correct. I had saved the email to my drafts folder because my mail server was down at that moment on 3/19 and I forgot to send it later. (The Thunderbird email client needs an outbox folder! .. but I won't get into that now)

4/3/09 - emailed my Co-Op the one-page proposal from Gaudioso Contracting and rendering photos of the completed project.

4/5/09 - I received a response from my Co-Op saying the proposal looked good and that they just needed an insurance document listing my Co-Op.

4/6/09 - Gaudioso came over to measure, I selected three cabinets to view samples of, and submitted a $1,200 deposit.

4/16/09 - Gaudioso came over with Aristokraft Cabinetry samples. From the photos, I was most interested in the Sutherland, Landen, and Wentworth cabinet styles and to a lesser degree Eastland, Kincaid, Grayson. When the contractor visited, I learned that some of the styles were interested in were not raised panel but rather flat panel, which was hard to tell from the online photos. I ended up choosing the Radford cabinet style with a Rouge finish.

4/16/09 - I received a call today from Gaudioso Contracting asking if someone else could come over on Monday, 4/20.

4/20/09 - Gaudioso informed me today that the cabinets had been changed to Yorktowne Cabinetry Maple Cambridget, Roselle finish, because Aristokraft did not have glass doors in 12" height. Cabients ordered.

4/24/09, Friday - I requested project work schedule from Gaudioso Construction (date work will begin and end) email.

4/27/09, Monday - Received response on schedule. Cabinets are not due in until May 19th, tentatively. Once confirmed, the install will be scheduled, "which will most likely be that same week." (? - May 19 is a Tuesday, the week before Memorial Day)

5/14/09, Thursday - Had not heard from contractor and May 19 was just a few days away so I emailed to ask the status. I received a response indicating "We have no confirmed date at this time. I will notify you of the delivery date as soon as possible."

5/27/09, Wednesday - Had not heard from contractor and emailed them to communicate my disappointment with the way the project was going. Received call from Contractor Administrator asking if the Foreman could do a walk-thru tomorrow and I let her know that I was at JFK about to get on a flight and would not return until Monday evening. She scheduled the walk-thru for 9am Tuesday, 6/2.

6/1/09, Monday - Administrator called me and asked what the phone number for the CoOp was and if I had received some kind of paperwork from them. I told her that I didn't have the number since I was in the concourse of SFO and I told her the name of the managing agent so she could look up the managing agent address and phone number on Google Maps.

6/2/09, Tuesday - Foreman came by today at 9:30am for a walk-thru and to review the plans for the renovation. Said he and his crew would begin tomorrow and asked what the construction hours were- whether they could start at 8am or 9am. I called the Contractor's administrator and asked if the CoOp agent had said anything about construction hours when she spoke with him and he had not. I told the foreman that I don't imagine an 8am start time would cause any problems and he said they would arrive around 8 and at least begin getting set up.

6/3/09, Wednesday: Construction Day 1 - The Foreman and two crew members arrived at 8:45 and began hauling up tools and materials. I provided them a building key and door code in case they needed access when I was not here. They worked quickly with the initial demo and removal of existing cabinetry and getting the 1/2" concrete pad with embeded/damaged tile removed. They next cut the wall open to expose the gas, water, and waste lines and they redirected the gas line for the new location on the left side. The last item of the day was to install a new "fiber" type board on top of the sub-floor where the concrete pad was and laid new large tiles. This is exactly what I wanted in the first place but was told that it wasn't worth putting new tile for a new cabinet base. The Foreman said we should and he had some large glazed tiles in his truck that were perfect. They spaced and set the tiles and left for the day to let them set/dry.

Old Cabinets And Concrete Pad Removed Exposed Kitchen Plumbing New Tile Installed For Appliances And Cabinet Base

6/4/09, Thursday: Construction Day 2 - Crew arrived at about 10am this morning and hauled all of the cabinets up to my unit (a five floor walk-up that I get more attitude and looks about from delivery people and contractors that I care to receive). I mentioned to the guys that I'd like them to put some steel wool in the space between the floorboards and the dry wall before everything is installed and I wasn't sure they understood what I was asking for. Regarding the steel wool, its a preventative measure for rodents as apparently if mice (or less likely and much worse- rats) get up to my apartment, apparently they will eat the steel wool and it kills them. I learned this from a knowledgeable guy working at Home Depot and I've seen steel wool behind dry wall before and did not know what it was for. When I returned from a short trip to work from the corner coffee shop for an hour or so, the guy showed me the spaces at the bottom of the kitchen walls where he had not only put steel wool in but also patched the spaces to bring the dry wall all the way down to the floorboards. I was impressed that he responded to my request so quickly and did more than I even asked.

Open Wall For Plumbing Work New Tile Floor Wiring For New Light Fixture On North Wall

6/5/09, Friday: Construction Day 3 - The Contractor Admin Assistant called today and She asked me what I had purchased for the sink faucet and sink. I told her that my understanding was that the sink was going to be handled by them and I had not purchased the faucet yet because I was looking for some guidance from them (could I purchase any faucet I wanted or were there constraints?). She said I could get any faucet I wanted and she just needed to know if it was a 1-hole or 3-hole faucet to let the granite people know. She also said they would order the sink and it would be 12" because that's all the room I had available after the stove and dishwasher were in place.

South Wall Top Cabinets North Wall Bottom Cabinet

6/4/09, Monday - The Foreman called me this morning and said a family emergency came up and that they wouldn't make it to work on my kitchen today. I told him that was fine and he said they would be back tomorrow. On Monday evening, I went down to Home Depot to purchase the kitchen sink faucet. I was in the kitchen design center and found it difficult to identify a faucet but I asked a guy tonight and found that there is an entire aisle for kitchen faucets that is not in the design center. I was looking for a 1-hole fuacet (rather than a 3-hole) and I wanted brushed steel and an integrated spray nozzle that I could pull out from the main faucet. I ended up finding the Kohler R10433-RS faucet that seemed to meet my needs. It was on the high end of prices at $200-some odd dollars, but it wasn't on the outrageous side with some $300 and $400 faucets you could order. There were some American Standard and Glacier Bay faucets that were much less, but I figure this is one of the things you purchase that its worth it to spend a little more up front and have a quality product. I'm spending a lot of the kitchen and I'd hate to be unhappy with the kitchen faucet because I wanted to save $75 or $100.

6/9/09, Tuesday: Construction Day 4 - Something had been troubling me for a few days since I last spoke with the Contractor Admin Assistant. She mentioned a 12" sink in my kitchen saying that was all the room available after the stove and dishwasher was installed. The thing that troubled me was that I have a 54.5" space, a 20" stove, and an 18" dishwasher. That leaves more than 16" so I wasn't sure why she was talking about a 12" space.

When the Gaudioso crew arrived, I asked them about this and they said that the plan was to put a 3" spacer next to the stove. I had specifically explained to the Gaudioso designer that I needed the stove flush against the wall to give me the maximum space for the sink and he had agreed.

South Wall Dishwasher And Bottom Cabinet South Wall Dishwasher And Bottom Cabinet North Wall Cabinets

6/15/06, Monday: Granite Template - The foreman and the granite guy showed up today at about 10:00am to do the template for the granite. The granite guy didn't have any of the drawings that were presumably sent to him for the design and he didn't seem sure about what we were trying to do. The foreman went out of his way to create cardboard cutouts and illustrate the design. I asked the granite guy when it would be installed and he said 2 weeks. I made a frustrated sound and the foreman began backpedaling that 2 weeks was the maximum and it would probably be before that. Nonetheless, I was told the template would be done last Wednesday and it would be 1 week to install the granite.

While the foreman was here, he asked about tile behind the north wall cabinet again and I said that we were skipping it. However, when we discussed the backsplash on the south wall, he indicated the they were not putting backsplash on the "right hand" wall next to the sink- only in the back. I was not aware of that as the designer and I discussed backsplash tile on that wall. The foreman has told me the previous week that he would put a stainless steel sheet on the left wall next to the stove instead of tile due to its proximity to the stove burners and I was fine with that. After they left I realized however, with no tile on the left or right wall, I realized I have way more marble backsplash tile than I need and I changed my mind on the backsplash behind the cabinet on the north wall. In all likelihood I will not get a refund for half the tile, so I am going to email Gaudioso and let them know I would like backsplash tile on the north wall.

We seemed to have it all straightened out with multiple cardboard cutouts on top of the cabinets and they both left. After they left, I found hot glue in various places on the new cabinets, some of which took a little effort to remove and I figured it was best to get it off immediately. Another problem exposed itself after they left. I saw a brown paper-wrapped package in the top drawer of the exposed cabinet drawer after they left with my name written on it. I didn't know what it was but since it had by name on it, I felt comfortable opening it up. What I found inside was the glass for the doors of the top row of cabinets on both the north and south walls. When I was finalizing the design with the contractor I indicated that I wanted frosted glass and I also mentioned it to the foreman last week when he was asking me about which cabinets had glass. Regardless of the two discussions, the glass that was left was tinted but in no way frosted. I'll have to email Guadioso tomorrow and tell them that the glass left on my counter is not what we designed for the top cabinets.

6/23/09, Tuesday - I had not heard from Gaudioso regarding the granite installation and the maximum two weeks I was told was approaching (Friday). I sent an email asking when the granite would be installed and the rest of the work completed and I received a response that it was scheduled for Tuesday, June 30th. I explained that this was beyond the maximum two weeks I was told and installation on June 30th and two subsequent days of work would cause problems with my schedule. Considering I was looking for this project to be completed by Memorial Day when I retained Gaudioso's services and that it was significantly delayed, that they work with their fabricator to get the granite installed this week.

6/25/09, Thursday - Christina from Gaudioso called at 6pm on Thursday night and said they would not do the granite this week and that it was scheduled for Tuesday, 6/30.

6/30/09, Tuesday - I was out of town when the granite was installed and returned late Tuesday. The angle on granite that runs against the north wall across the bend in the wall was cut too short. They forced the corner of the granite into the drywall into the corner, which still left a gap between the granite and the wall that gets bigger as you get to the end of the granite on both sides. This doesn't look great and I am concerned about how the silicone seal in the gap will hold up over time- I hope I do not have to have the seal re-done every few years.

7/1/09, Wednesday - No one from Gausioso was at my apartment at 11am so I called Christina and asked what was going on. She informed me that they chose to work on another project today and wouldn't do any work on my kitchen. I explained again how this project was 6 weeks overdue and that it was very important that it be done by June 26th and asked her what I was supposed to do about the position they have put me in. She said all she can do is say she's sorry and that they'll work on my kitchen tomorrow.

7/4/09, Friday - Gaudioso "finished" the job at 6pm on Friday night before Independence Day. They were going to leave without completely hooking up the dishwasher and stove, but they were reminded to do this. After messing with the stove for a while, they said there was something wrong with the unit and gas was getting to the unit but it wasn't going through.

7/6/09, Monday - I called the service phone number for Avanti, the stove manufacturer, at 9am and they said a local service technician would call me back within 24 hours to schedule an appointment.

7/8/09, Wednesday - I had not heard from anyone regarding the stove, so I called the Avanti service number again. When I told them it had been almost three full days since I was told I would get a call back in 24 hours, they got snippy with me and said it usually takes 2-3 days. I explained to them that they set the 24 hour expectation when I called on Monday, and it was not I who made up this turnaround time. I received a call 30 minutes after I hung up with Avanti and they scheduled a repairman to visit on 7/13. I told them that any time on 7/13 would be fine except 9:30-10:30.

7/13/09, Monday - I received a call from the Avanti repair people at 9:30 and they said they would arrive at 10am. I was not home but one of the Gaudioso guys was in the apartment so he let the Avanti repair guy up to look at the stove and I returned at 10:30am as the Avanti guy was preparing to leave. The repairman who handles Avanti service calls looked at the stove and said that Gaudioso Contracting had improperly installed the stove and damaged some parts. I called Christina at Gaudioso and asked the Avanti repairman to explain it directly to her.

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