Installment Plan

Installment Plan

Adhering to several basic guidelines can result in an installation that minimizes problems and maximizes success.

By Daina Manning

Every kitchen designer has a horror story like this. And, every fabricator and installer has a story about the unfortunate results of a designer's error.

Phil DeCaro, owner of Eagle Fabrication Inc., in Keyport, NJ, remembers a project where he followed the kitchen dealer's drawing of a solid surface countertop to the letter. "We make the top, we install it and the homeowner says, 'where are we supposed to sit?'" DeCaro recalls. It turns out, the countertop was supposed to include an overhang on one end to provide casual counter seating except the dealer forgot to include that part in the drawing, and no one picked up on the mistake until the very end.

Every project is a beautiful dreamscape of endless possibilities in the beginning. Then, it becomes a stunning CAD presentation to the homeowner: still perfect. It's in the installation phase where reality sets in and that's what can make or break a project.
Jennifer Gilmer, CKD, of Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath Ltd., in Chevy Chase, MD, cites a project where the clients insisted on hiring their own installer instead of using the one she recommended. "Now, all of the [cabinet] doors are warping," says Gilmer.

"[The customer] thinks there's something wrong with the [product]." But, in fact, "the cabinets were all racked when they were installed, and if the doors don't hang straight, eventually they're going to bend, because wood is pliable."

Meetings are currently underway between the designer, customer, cabinet manufacturer's rep and contractor to figure out a way to fix the damage as well as determine who will pay for the repair. "But, no matter what we do," says Gilmer, "we can't salvage the relationship."

So, how can kitchen and bath dealers and designers avoid such mishaps? Every designer has his or her own strategy.

Design/build or not?
How much control is optimum for a designer during the installation phase? Opinions vary.

"Most of what we design, we build," declares Jim Wallen, CKD, CBD, co-owner of Acorn Design Studio, in Oakland, CA. "So, we have control. Our people are trained to understand what we want in terms of installation."

Acorn's carpenters are also the firm's employees, while electric and plumbing work is subcontracted to a very short list of tradespeople.

"We try to have two strong people in each subcontractor category that we use," Wallen explains. "Sometimes it'll be based on price, sometimes it'll be based on schedule." Wallen doesn't take bids. "I don't have them compete against each other," he says. "I make a commitment to one. I tell him, 'these are my parameters, can you meet them?'"

This approach has been working well for him. "As long as [the subcontractors] keep on my projects at the level I expect and take care of the little problems that will come up for virtually anybody, they will stay in one of those two slots," he explains.

Other designers/dealers utilize subcontractors for all installation work, but monitor the process.

"I oversee the installation," says Julie Stoner, president of The Rutt Studio, in Wayne, PA. "For instance, the morning we unwrap the cabinets and start staging them, I will show up to the job site and work with the contractor." She pays another visit once the base cabinets are in and waiting for the countertop template, "just to make sure everything is visually what I had anticipated."

"We have a handful of contractors we work with, who specialize in kitchens, baths and cabinet installation," adds Gilmer. She only uses a contractor for each one's particular specialty. "Some of them only like to install cabinets, some of them [do a] complete pull and replace, some don't mind replacing windows," she notes. "Some can do room additions, some just like to do bathrooms."

Gilmer strongly recommends a particular contractor to all of her clients, who sign a separate contract with that installer. "They order the materials from us, and then we oversee the job," she elaborates.