Now that we had decided this was a DIY project, we got busy picking out our cabinets and finalizing our flooring. We decided that we would, in fact, do all of the flooring on the first floor now. It would take us over the funds given us by the insurance company, but in the long run it would be the right decision for resale value. We had already decided on the Tobacco Road hand scraped flooring from Lumber Liquidators so I went online and placed the order only to find out it was back ordered. It would be at least three weeks before the floors were shipped. 
As part of this decision to do it ourselves, we decided to loose one of the upper cabinets no one can reach anyway. We would replace the current cabinet with built in range hood for a stainless steel range hood that would set off the cabinetry and add visual interest to the kitchen. I found it on one of the big box store websites, but ordered it online for a discount because I was unable to find the ventless conversion kit on the site; and no one from customer support would answer the phone. After 30 minutes on hold, I hung up and purchased the exact same one with conversion kit from another online site for less money. Who says customer service doesn't matter?
Focus now turned to selecting cabinets and of course counter tops. We visited a local showroom and found a KraftMaid cabinet that we liked. It was a raised panel door that was more in the craftsman style and a dark finish called Kaffe that would offset the teak flooring and make it all pop! We decided that we should get a second estimate, so I got an appointment with the designer at Home Depot. Our designer Randy was absolutely a pleasure to work with. He guided us through the process and actually listened to what we wanted. We selected the same cabinet door style and color and then proceeded to layout the kitchen with a bump out here, and a pantry there until we had created a great floor plan. Randy printed out the cabinet inventory, which included the total cost of the cabinetry and my heart sunk! It was almost the same amount as the total cost for floors and cabinets installed by the creep that tried to extort us! As I sat there in sheer frustration, Randy informed us that the price did not yet include the special incentives that were currently going on. He typed here, and clicked there until a price showed up that was much more tolerable.
We then focused on counter tops. We definitely wanted a granite product. The counter tops were priced by the graded scale of the stone with A being the least expensive, B being the next higher, and so on. We saw a stone we liked in a B scale and in a D scale. Randy quickly did some math on the back of the papers he had printed and indicated would could get the D scale slab for around $4K. It was now time to go off and figure out what we were going to do. We had to find a way to trim some of the cost off of the cabinets to get as close to our budget as possible. I went through the parts list, line by line. We decided that we could loose the glass doors on the butler's pantry (this was previously a desk that was never used between the kitchen and family room). We also could loose the fake door panels that would be attached to the back of the peninsula. Just taking out these couple of items would save a couple thousand dollars. This was great because it had cost us nearly twenty-five hundred dollars to go with all plywood construction on the cabinets. This quality wouldn't be seen, but it sure would pay off in durability.
We had until the following Wednesday to take advantage of all of the pricing discounts so I made an appointment with Randy to finalize our plan. We sat down with Randy and removed the items I identified. We then found that we were less than $100 below what we needed to spend to get to the next level of discount, which was a $500 difference in discount. My wife, found a slide out set of shelves for one of the base cabinets, and viola $500 in additional savings! When Randy printed out the updated parts list, included the counter tops and applied all of the discounts, we were at a total price that was only $1,000 less than what the insurance had finally given us for the entire project. It was disheartening to realize that we were not going to get cabinets, counters, and flooring for what the insurance had given us, but we also realized that we were investing in better quality products that in the long run would pay off.
We took the plunge and ordered the cabinets. Randy indicated that it would take 5 weeks for the cabinets to be manufactured and that KraftMaid would contact us with a delivery date. We would need to schedule the granite company to come measure once the cabinets were set, and then we would get to go out and select the slab for our counters.
So here we are 2 and 1/2 months into it waiting on flooring and cabinets, and already into this for several thousand dollars over what the insurance has provided us. Yes, it is an upgrade, and yes, it still hurts!
Oh yea, I forgot to mention the Bank. The insurance company issued us a check for the amount the adjuster had given plus the cost to replace the Formica. The check was made out to both the bank and me. I signed the check and off to the bank I went to deposit the check (keep in mind this was before I spent nearly all of the amount on cabinets). I got to the teller window and was informed that I would have to talk to the bank manager. It seems that since the bank had a vested interest in my home (they hold the mortgage), and the fact that the check was for an amount greater than $10,000 they had a policy that they would hold the check hostage, I mean hold it in escrow and pay only upon the satisfaction of specific criteria
- I had to sign an agreement to the terms (like you have a choice...either agree or they won't sign the check)
- I had to supply the estimate from the licensed contractor (no contractor, now what?)
- I had to provide the contractors W-9 number (again no contractor)
- I had to have progress inspections done by the bank, oh and I had to pay for it out of the insurance money or pay it directly
Once I satisfied all of these criteria they would issue a progress check (middle and end of job) not to me, but to the licensed contractor. Wow this is what it is like to be totally messed over! I was dumbfounded, and very upset. Why didn't my insurance company prepare me for this? How was I supposed to know the bank would do this. I had already ordered my floors and needed to get the cabinets ordered immediately or face loosing thousands in discounts. I called the loss claim office of the bank, which manages the program and waited for them to answer. No answer...it just rang...and rang...and rang. I hung up the phone and dialed back. This time a very pleasant woman answered the phone and asked how she could help me. I wish I could remember her name, but she was so very nice and helpful, and I would like to thank her. I presented my case to her and let her know that I wasn't using a general contractor because the difference between what the insurance was paying and what it was going to cost us was too significant. I further told her that I would be installing both the flooring and cabinets myself with the help of a gentleman from my church who is a contractor. She assured me that this would be no problem at all and that I just would need to get the inspection at the end for them to issue the balance of the funds directly to me. No problem! So off to Home Depot we went.
So now that we had cabinets and flooring ordered focus could turn to the backsplash. What would we do? Would we keep it painted or go with a tumbled tile? What would look good behind the new chimney we would install? After a trip back to Home Depot and some web research, we decided on a stacked stone backdrop to the chimney and some tumbled tile. We purchased the tile at the store, and I found what appeared to be a stacked stone mosaic on the website. I ordered it, but when it arrived it was anything but stacked stone. It was a faux stacked stone 12 X 12 tile that looked awful, so back to the store it went. We have since decided to go with a Centurion faux dry stacked stone that will look awesome with the counters and cabinets. It will take some work as the walls have to be prepped with backer board, metal lath, and a scratch coat, but it will be so worth it. We have also decided to use this same stone to surround the fireplace wall to tie the two together visually as if they were there from the time the home was built. |
| The Concept |
I think we have a plan...and now we wait! More to come...BC
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