Suggestions for Purchasing Your New Kitchen
The staff of Cameo Kitchens, Inc. has written this guide to better educate consumers in important things to look for when purchasing a kitchen. These suggestions will help you find the best way to select a remodeler, understand the buying process, and steer clear of potential problems. We have all heard horror stories about incompetent or unscrupulous remodeling contractors. A bad experience may have happened to a close friend, relative, or acquaintance. These stories are very prevalent about the remodeling business today, and can even keep us from wanting to do any remodeling at all. The following is a comprehensive list of points to consider in order to develop an understanding of the level of performance a kitchen remodeling company should exhibit.
How
Many Contracts Should Be Involved
At Cameo Kitchens, Inc. our installers are on our payroll.
They work for Cameo Kitchens full time.
We take total responsibility for the whole project- both in supplying the
materials and in installing them. There
is only one number to call for any questions, and everything is under one
contract.
A new trend in kitchen remodeling is the use of sub-contractors to
install your kitchen. In this
scenario, the responsibility of the dealer ends when the materials are delivered
to your home. This makes it easy
for the dealer, but much more difficult for the consumer. Dealing with 2 (or more) separate companies can be a real
hassle. In effect, the consumer
becomes the job coordinator. This
can take a lot of time and effort, and requires a certain amount of working
knowledge of the business.
Companies who
employ their own installers have much more control over the remodeling process
and the final project. By dealing
with a company that employs installers, you will never be caught in a dispute
between the dealership and a contractor.
The classic case,
as cited in many articles about remodeling is as follows: A consumer finds a
door has warped six months after the kitchen is completed.
He calls the dealer, who says the cabinets are not installed properly and
this caused the door to warp. He
then calls the contractor who installed the cabinets and is told that the
installation is good but that the door warped because of the inexpensive
cabinets he purchased.
Companies who
employ their own installers co-ordinate the trades involved, do all the
scheduling, and make all the telephone calls.
They are paid when the kitchen is completely installed and finished, not
when the materials are dropped off at the house. Furthermore, they cover all materials and installation with
an inclusive warranty. The
advantages are obvious.
Insist
On Permits
While most kitchen dealers downplay the importance of getting permits, by
law all Northern Virginia Jurisdictions require a permit for the plumbing and
electrical portions of the work. To
agree to have a kitchen remodeled without a permit exposes you to the following
risks:
a. Since there are no inspections, a dealer can use a “jack of all trades” or someone who is not specifically a plumber or electrician, to do the plumbing and electrical work.
b. If fire or water damage should occur, your homeowner’s insurance may not be obligated to cover the damage since no permit was taken out.
c. A nosy neighbor can call the county code enforcement bureau anonymously and inquire about whether a permit has been taken out on the work being done.
d. At any time County Inspectors have the right to stop a remodeling job in progress, and demand to see work permits. If no permit can be produced, they are required to stop all work until a permit is applied for.
For your protection, we use a licensed master plumber and a licensed master electrician to do our plumbing and electrical work. We never fail to get a permit, and a county inspector inspects every job.
How
Much of a Deposit is Required?
Some of the larger building supply operations, which have a
kitchen-remodeling department, insist on 100% down when ordering a kitchen.
This leaves you with no leverage if the work is unsatisfactory.
Under no circumstances should you put down more than a one third deposit.
The next third should be paid when the cabinets are delivered to your
home, and the final third should be paid upon completion.
To pay for everything in advance puts you in the worst possible position.
Ask
to See a Contract
A buyer needs to know the difference between an “open” and a “closed” contract. An open contract is one in which the price you agree to pay is not final. This means that if the dealer missed a construction detail, you as a buyer are liable to pay for it. An example of an open contract is one designed by The National Kitchen and Bath Association. It states:
“It is understood that the price agreed upon herein does not include possible
expenses entailed in coping with hidden or unknown contingencies found
at the job site. In the event such contingencies arise and the seller is
required to furnish labor or materials or otherwise perform work not
provided for or contemplated for by the seller, the actual cost plus (%)
thereof will be paid for by the purchaser. Contingencies include but
are not limited to: inability to reuse existing water, vent, and waste pipes;
air shafts, ducts, grilles, louvers and registers; the relocation of concealed
pipes, risers, wiring or conduits, etc.”
All of these issues can be
predetermined with the kind of attention to detail and close checking we do on
every estimate.
Cameo Kitchens uses a closed contract.
Our remodeling contracts are very straightforward.
You will never be unpleasantly surprised by a “hidden contingency”
clause that can inflate the final price. If
we run into something that we did not anticipate, we pay for it, not you.
To our knowledge, we are one of very few dealers who do not have a
contingency clause in our contract.
A
Very Common Mistake
The most common mistake made by buyers is attempting to judge the quality
of a kitchen remodeler by looking at a showroom.
This probably stems from other purchases they have made such as furniture
or automobiles. While being
satisfied with the construction and appearance of the cabinets is important, it
is hardly as important as the quality of the installation, and this cannot be
determined by looking at a showroom. We
would like to submit that almost all of our competitors handle a decently
constructed cabinet. The higher end
custom cabinets are especially going to look good and give years of service,
provided professionals install them. This
is where the differences in kitchen remodelers begin to become apparent.
When our designers go to a home to take measurements and discuss a
kitchen-remodeling project with a client, we are, more often than not, told
about someone who has had a dreadful experience with kitchen remodeling.
These bad experiences always involve inferior installations, poor
scheduling, or both. It is extremely common to hear about installations taking
months and months to complete. Untrained
installers and careless scheduling are the cause of unhappiness in kitchen
remodeling.
Instead of fixating on the cabinets and other materials, a buyer is much
better served by seeking out information on a company’s reputation, character,
and skill level. Their attention to
detail and willingness to work long hours to insure their clients are
inconvenienced the least, are of the utmost importance.
The best approach to securing this information is to ask people you know
about their experiences. Most
people who have had their kitchen remodeled are willing to discuss what they
went through to get a completed kitchen. You’ll
find they’re either delighted with a good remodeler or extremely displeased
with the bad, with very few in-betweens. Without
any referrals from a friend, one must ask the dealer for names to call.
Ask
for Proof of Performance
A reputable kitchen dealer should offer to give you a list of names of
previous clients to call as a reference. If
no offer is forthcoming, ask for a list of at least six names of owners of
completed kitchens. Check the
references by going to see the kitchens or at least calling the owners on the
phone and talking about their experience. This
will help you protect yourself from a bad experience.
Ask the client if the kitchen was started on time, was finished when
promised, and whether the workmanship was acceptable.
Ask about the installers of the kitchens, make sure they are the type of
people you want to have working in your home.
For instance, check on whether the area being remodeled was cleaned up
every day, and whether the trash was removed quickly, or left in your driveway
for weeks.
The key to checking on performance is making sure the list of references
is current. Insist that the six
names you are given are kitchens that have been completed in the last 90 days so
you won’t be given names that are cherry-picked.
These six names will give you a good cross-section of current
performance.
We offer every prospect as many references as they can call, so they can
check our track record for themselves. We
are happy to offer names of current clients, any of our suppliers,
subcontractors, and even our bank to establish the soundness and reliability of
our company.
The Cost of an Estimate
It takes at least 10 to 12 hours for a designer
to measure a kitchen, design it, and make a presentation. This, combined with
the rate our business is growing, make it imperative for us to charge a fee for
estimates. Charging a fee makes it possible for our designers to spend
considerably more time with those who are truly interested.
Our fee for estimates is $250, a small sum when
compared to the time the designer has spent working on your kitchen. This fee
is credited to your contract at the time the order is placed.
The Design Fee
A design fee of $750 can be given in order to
reserve an installation date and take plans and sketches from the office before
a final agreement is reached. The design fee is credited to your contract,
along with the estimate fee, at the time it is signed. In the event that no
order is placed, the design fee is not refundable.
How
Long Should It Take?
A Cameo Kitchens installation normally takes 2 ½ to 3 weeks to complete.
Even a large kitchen with a lot of construction can usually be completed
in four weeks' time. A start date
and a completion date are written right into your contract.
In 18 years of business we have missed two starting dates- one when
several of our installers had the flu, and one when the truck from Honey Brook
Custom Cabinets could not leave Pennsylvania due to an ice storm. In an industry famous for delays and postponements, we are
proud of this record.
We install over 100 kitchens a year.
Without competitive pricing, this would not be possible.
As always, be wary of a price that is either unusually high or unusually
low.
When comparing prices, use care to examine in detail the work specified.
It is not uncommon to receive an estimate that is lower in price but that
does not include all the work that needs to be done.
With an open contract, it is easy to underbid a job and then make up for
it on the final billing.
Back
to the Contract
Our feeling is that you can’t possibly write too much in the contract. We go so far as to spell out the locations of each light switch, electrical receptacle, and under cabinet light in our work orders. We spend an enormous amount of time making sure that every detail of the job is provided for, understood, and spelled out on paper, so there are no misunderstandings. The work orders our men use as a written guide to install the kitchen are the same ones you receive are part of your contract. This goes a long way towards eliminating misunderstandings.
Read Our Article in the January 2006 Issue of The Washingtonian
