Kitchen renovation timeline

We thought it would be such a simple thing. Take off the backsplash, paint the cabinets, replace the countertop, sink, and floor. Boy were we wrong!

In March we contacted Eagle Contracting in New Haven, IN because they did such a good job redoing our basement after it flooded in 2016. We didn't even think to check current reviews (we now know we should have).

The fact they couldn't start for several months was perfectly understandable. It is 2022 after all. So when they said they were going to begin August 15, we were pretty excited. Even though this was a LOT of money for us, we couldn't wait to have a new kitchen!

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. We moved everything out of our kitchen (including everything in the cupboards) by August 15 - like we were told to do - but they didn't begin work until September 19th. Then what was supposed to take "2-3 weeks" actually drug on until October 24 when they "said" they were finished. Even though they, in fact, have still not finished the job. They have sent us the bill though.

Here is a rough timeline of the kitchen remodel project saga.

• March 2022: We began discussions about remodeling our kitchen with Eagle Contracting. We were told it would be about 6 months before they could get to it.
• May 2022: We signed a contract and made a down payment to have the kitchen cupboards painted, remove old backsplash, replace sink, countertop, cabinet hardware and electrical outlets/switches, and replace the linoleum floor. We were told work would likely start sometime in August.
• August 10: Matt came and told us to empty our cupboards and everything from the kitchen and they would start work on August 15. [So all of our kitchen supplies and food were in the living room from this day forward]
  
• August 15: Matt said it would actually be Tuesday, August 16.
• August 16: We were told Ashley forgot to order the countertop and they didn't want to start work and leave us without a countertop, so they were going to delay the start for 2 weeks (even though we ended up being without a countertop for OVER A MONTH!).
• August 30-ish: We were told it would take an additional week to get the countertop done since there was a holiday on 9/5.

 - Lots of messages left for Matt (who we thought was supposed to be the project manager) and he didn't return any calls or emails (a guy named Joe ended up being project manager) -

• September 19: They FINALLY started. One guy (Alton) tore out the sink, countertop, backsplash, and started on the floor. [So we had no use of our kitchen - other than the refrigerator - from this day forward].
• It wasn't until after Alton had already tore things out that they informed us they only worked 4 days a week (Monday-Thursday).
  
• September 20: Same guy finished tearing out the old linoleum and sub-floor.
• September 21-30: Dustin started on repairing the drywall where the old backsplash was. It was approximately 18 inches by 19 feet. He was the slowest person in the world. It's possible he was doing jobs at other places along with ours, otherwise I'm not sure what he did all day.
• October 3: Al started sanding, priming, and painting the cabinets. He got done 10/6 and said he would paint the doors and drawers at the shop on 10/10
• October 10: Dustin (different from drywall Dustin) came with another guy and girl and put the sub-flooring down. He told Jane they would have it all done that day. They did not. They also blocked a doorway with the refrigerator and the hallway to our bedroom with the dishwasher - which I had to move out of the way (Alton later said they probably did it because no one likes to put down linoleum).
  
• October 11: Dustin and the girl came back and put the linoleum down, and did a terrible job. There were bubbles all over, and they didn't get done this day either even though he assured Jane he would.
• October 12: Apparently Dustin came back and finished the linoleum, and then did a terrible job on the baseboard trim. Several of the corners were cut completely backwards. And he still didn't get it all done. Plus the seams showed terrible, and he didn't cut straight lines along any edges.
  
• October 12: Marcus and Alton brought the countertop and doors and drawers. They put in all new hardware for the drawers and also installed drawers and doors. Although not a single door would close. They just set the countertop in place but didn't fasten it down. *It turns out the countertop had a rounded front, which is not what we ordered. We kept it though.
  
• October 13: I'm not sure if Marcus came in the morning or not, but whoever was there fixed the doors so they closed and cut out the sink area in the counter. Alton came back after I got home and installed the Lazy Susan, fixed some of the baseboard trim, and fastened down the countertop. He was going to hook up the sink but didn't have any silicone to seal the bottom of it, so he said he would let the plumbers do that.
  
• October 13: Apparently the handles for all the doors and drawers were the wrong size, so Joe told Jane we should just go to Menards and buy them ourselves. We did, and we thought they would take the old ones back and not charge us - we told Joe several times - but he never took them, and they charged us for them.
• This now marks 4 weeks that we haven't had a kitchen sink, stove, or dishwasher. 
• Oct. 14-16: I finally just hooked up the icemaker on the fridge. Jane and I painted the walls. 
• Oct. 17: A youngish plumber was there when I got home. He hooked up the kitchen sink and dishwasher. However, he left the sliders under the back two legs of the dishwasher, so it is crooked as heck. Also, an hour after he left, the hot water line to the sink cracked open in the basement. I called and he came back and capped it off, so the sink still doesn't work. Someone apparently came and installed all the handles on the drawers and cabinets, and TOOK THE CUTTING BOARD that's built in. 
• Oct. 18: Water line was fixed, sink hooked up, dishwasher straightened out, and paint was touched up. Someone came in the afternoon while I was running and hooked the oven back up. THE FIRST DAY WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO USE THE STOVE, DISHWASHER AND SINK SINCE 9/19. The electrician was supposed to change out switches/outlets, but did not show.
  
• Oct. 19: Someone dropped off the painted shelves for the two open cupboards, as well as a replacement cutting board made out of plywood. Electrician did not show again. All that's left is the switches/outlets, and the toe-kick along the bottom of the cabinets (to cover up the terrible job of cutting linoleum).
• Oct. 20: Toe-kick was replaced WITH THE EXACT SAME THING! It does not cover the bad edges of linoleum. Electrician did not show yet again.
• Oct. 21: We locked the door because they supposedly don't work on Fridays. Joe texted Jane that the electrician would be there late morning or early afternoon. I took an hour off work and drove home to unlock the door. Electrician still did not show again.
• Oct. 22-23: We decided to move our kitchen stuff back into our kitchen. I replaced the baseboard and quarter-round along the long wall. Jane finished touching up painting. The only things that need done are the switches/outlets replaced, and something done about toe-kick (which I will likely just fix myself).
• Oct. 24: The electrician finally changed out the light switches and outlets.
• Oct. 25: Joe (project coordinator) texted Jane and asked if we could "settle up." We decided to use their timetable and sit on it for a bit. The biggest issue I have is how the flooring looks under the cabinets, along the sliding glass door, and the door going into the garage. It's totally uneven (not cut straight) and not covered up with anything. Plus thresholds were not replaced on 2 exit doors.
  
• Oct. 28 we received the bill in the mail for full payment (without ever meeting up with Joe).

I ended up putting quarter-round trim under the cabinets to cover up the terrible edging on the linoleum. I'm still trying to figure out what to do for a threshold on the exterior door into the garage and the sliding glass door.

 Other issues:

• We were not told they only work 4 days per week until after they started the job.
• Everyone told us a different story of the order things would be done in.
• They basically didn't do anything the way they said they would (we were told they would spray the cabinets, and they did not - they were painted with brushes).
• The hinges were not what we ordered (supposed to be no-show hinges).
• The countertop was not what we ordered. It has a rounded front edge.
• The "soft-close" drawers don't work for crap.

 

All told, we could not be more disappointed with this company (Eagle Contracting in New Haven, IN - in case I've forgotten to mention it).

Sure, the kitchen looks totally different from before, and we like how it looks. As long as you don't look to closely. We don't, however, think the company was at all dependable or honest with us, and they did very shoddy work overall. I would NOT recommend them to anyone to do any type of work.

At any rate, here are the before and after pics...