Can It Be True? Are The Cabinets Installed?

Well, no, the cabinets are not installed. But they are being put in as I type!

I went down to the property Sunday morning, thinking I would see at least some stuff installed, based on a couple phone calls I had with Joe on Wednesday and Friday. When I got there, the old cabinets were still in the driveway and there was nothing inside. Hmm. Quite the disappointment. I also noticed that one of the water lines in the master bathroom (which was disconnected when the old cabinets were removed) was dripping, so there was a small puddle on the floor. Joe had left some big moving pads on the carpet to protect it, so I pulled those over to soak up the water. The water line to the house was turned off, so I'm not sure why it was dripping.

Since I was there, I also replaced a thermostat cover that got lost somewhere along the way. This cover, the little circular beige piece of plastic that goes around the dial on a round thermostat, is probably the most expensive piece of plastic I've ever bought. They aren't sold separately, so I had to buy a whole new thermostat in order to get that piece. The cheapest one, a thermostat that only controls a heater, was $30.

So this morning I called Joe and got a status report. He was at the house and was busy installing the cabinets. He's got the dishwasher and stove back in place, with the cabinet corner units in. He mentioned the dripping water (which I did not bring up) and said one of "my guys" must have turned the water on. I told him he is the last guy I'm waiting on and no one else has been in the house. So he kinda took it in stride (realizing it must have been his error) and said there was "more water than he liked" in the bathroom, but he's cleaning it up. I know it wasn't flooded or anything, so I'm not too concerned. It just has to dry before he installs the bathroom cabinets. He said he should be done with everything tomorrow and that if I wanted to come by and check it out, I could. He suggested coming either late today or early tomorrow, since most of the stuff will be in by then. I think tomorrow he will mostly be doing plumbing work.

He mentioned something about the cabinet doors not being done, so he had to get them from somewhere else. I think this is crap because he told me he had the doors in his possession about a week ago (or he was lying then), but at this point, I don't care. I won't be using this guy again and the things are finally being installed. Joe did mention that I would be very pleased with the cabinets. He upgraded me from the standard white laminate ones I ordered to oak. I think when he originally quoted the job, oak cabinets were $400 more.

So I think I'll be swinging by the house tomorrow sometime. I'm not sure if I will go in the morning or wait until the end of the day, when he's done.

Just got a call from him asking how I wanted the vanity counters. In the original configuration, the vanity counter only extended around the sink and did not extend over the toilet. Since he was asking, I told him I wanted it extended over the toilet in both bathrooms. He said no problem.

The extra month or two that this job has taken is going to really kill my annualized ROI number, but hopefully, it'll still be decent.