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Heinz the cabinet installer rolled his truck on his way over here (no injuries) so a sub was sent in. Of course it was cold, snowing and windy that day. The sub, whose name I don't think I ever heard, didn't have his table saw with him, because he didn't know he needed it. He got here at 1230 and was finished by shortly after 1430, but that was too late to get Bob the electrician in for the microwave. So Bob, Matt and Jeff came on the following day, the 13th, and got the microwave up and running. So now all that is left is to have Dave the plumber fix that sink, and for me to do the drywall patching, the painting and the tiling. January will be a good time for that, I have vacation.
I spoke to Shelley the project manager on the 13th and again on the 17th. They're a confused bunch of people at that Home Depot. She wanted to know if everything was done now, and I told her about the sink and how slowly it drains. The reason for the slow draining? There's a rubber washer or flange of some sort that isn't supposed to be there; it extends out at least 50% of the opening in the drain basket all the way around and in a couple of places it covers 100% of the opening. So if there's anything in the sink besides water, it all goes nowhere. She said she'd call Take the Plunge and get them out to fix it... I also asked about the bulge in the countertop and she said she didn't know anything about it... Then the next call was about the cabinets that were reordered to replace the damaged ones... that we used anyway. The cabinets have been sitting in a warehouse somewhere in Edmonton because I told them not to deliver them, I didn't want them in my garage for the winter with the other one that is still sitting out there. So I explained it all to her again for the fourth or fifth time and now I think she gets it. And I asked about Dave the plumber again... she said she had faxed them a workorder, but they hadn't actioned it. She'd fax them a reminder. So now it's December 21... and they still haven't come by. Good thing it isn't a leak. I have a feeling that it will be months before I'm finally though with the Home Depot. But finished I will be.
So. Monarch has "had a cancellation" and Heinz the installer can come in on December 12 to hang those two cabinets. And Bob the electrician is free later in the day to put in the microwave. So the kitchen will be useable on Christmas Day, Thank God (and lots of threats). I won't have time to do the tiling and painting until after the holidays, but that's okay.
The Kenmore guy was here yesterday and could find absolutely NO leaking from anywhere under the dishwasher. He says there's a water spot on the floor from the original leak... right under the connection for the water intake! Go figure. He thinks that David the plumber tightened the connection when he was here and rather than say, "Oh yeah, this hose was a bit loose", he blamed the machine. I'm out another $80 in unnecessary expense.
Nobody seems to have heard anything about the problem with the countertop. Ryan the assistant manager at Home Depot passed the buck and said he'd let Susan (who as far as I know actually has nothing to do with any of this other than relaying phone messages) know about this and see if she knows what's happening. Of course, we haven't heard anything from Susan... If they think it's just going to go away they are sadly mistaken.
Dennis, the countertop guy came to inspect yesterday instead of today. He's stumped as to how it got like that, with the bulge that it has where it has it. He says there should NOT be moisture penetration and he's never seen a symmetric swelling like that from moisture ever. He also said it wasn't caused by heat, so the microwave isn't at fault... I knew that! He was supposed to talk to the manager at Home Depot today and call me back, which never happened. He also said he'd talk to Belynda, the project manager at Monarch and see if she could expedite things with that cabinet. Looks doubtful, doesn't it?
Meanwhile, I can't put my car in the garage because all the stuff that should be in my cabinets is divvied up between there and the family room... where the Christmas tree is supposed to go. I'm doing a slow burn and getting an ulcer, I think. I'm gonna need antipsychotics before this is over. Oh, and I dispatched another mouse yesterday, a big fat one. Bailey isn't quite as antsy in here today as she has been so I'm hoping that was the last one. The trap is baited and waiting...
Rick spoke with the manager of the local Home Depot today. He of course took no responsibility and refused to be held accountable for this unnecessary delay. He said they have no control over Monarch Home Improvements. (I think they do... they pay them to install cabinets and countertops, and money speaks loudly, doesn't it? Seems odd that a company the size of Home Depot would have no control over their subs, and that they only have one sub doing cabinet installations in a city this size.) He also said that if we hired our own installer to hang those two cabinets and put up the crown molding and light rail that would void the warranty for the work already done. Since I don't have any kind of warranty in writing and haven't been impressed with the degree of concern I'm seeing from them, that hardly rings true. In the meantime I will be doing my Christmas entertaining in a disaster zone instead of the beautiful new kitchen that should have been done a month ago already. And it would have been completely done November 1, if the kitchen planner had just paid attention to detail and ordered the over-range cabinet in the correct size. We're tempted to take them to small claims court. May just end up there.
