We hired Blend/Build Inc. to do a very small bar reno at our home because he was recommended by the designer, Jennifer Hissa from Greater Chicago Kitchen and Bath. The scope included demo of the existing 48" lower cabinet, counter top, glass shelves and wall tile. The demo was done in December and he left a 6' x 3' section of exposed exterior wall studs and insulation. We called him and he came back out a couple of days later to install a piece of sheet rock that didn't completely fill the opening. He said he wasn't a "drywall guy" and that his drywall contractor would patch it in permanently before cabinets were installed. However, so much cold air was getting in, I was afraid the sink pipes would freeze, so I used shipping tape and caulk to limit the amount of infiltration.
His carpenter installed the cabinets in January however no one came out to fix the drywall as planned and when i asked the carpenter if the wall was patched, he said he didn't know anything about it and he is only the carpenter. He left a 1/2" gap with a wooden shim between the upper cabinets and the drywall soffit. The carpenter said we could use caulk to fill the gap and then paint it red. Yep, he said that.
The base cabinets were installed in such a way that they protruded beyond the sidewall, so he fashioned "molding" that looked like they were made by an amateur. We complained again and they sent the carpenter the following weekend and I showed him that if the cabinet was pushed back to the wall, there would be no need for molding.
The carpenter installed the brass finger pulls we purchased from Ms. Hissa and the top drawer pull hit the new granite countertop and each drawer below, hit the drawer above. The carpenter did not install a finger pull on the bottom drawer because the face was thicker and it wouldn't fit. He said it needed to be routed, but he didn't do routing.
After a couple more weeks, the electrician finally came out to install the LED lighting and he was almost 2 hours late with no phone call. My wife sent both Matt and Jennifer a text that expressing our displeasure and that was the last we heard from either of them. The walls remain unrepaired and unpainted, the drawers were never adjusted to prevent the finger pulls from hitting and the bottom drawer does not have a finger pull installed.
This is was a grossly mismanaged project. It's been more than 10 weeks since the cabinets were delivered and the demo was started in mid-December. Communication was poor, the workmanship was shoddy and there was no accountability from Matt or Jennifer. I don't think he came out to see his handiwork more than twice or to pick up a check. We are paid in full, which was a big mistake on our part.
Despite all the glowing reviews, Matt Keuck, from Blend/Build and Jennifer Hissa with Greater Chicago Kitchen and Bath made this the worst project that we've ever done. And we've renovated 6 homes over the past 40 years. This story is far from over and we will be seeking compensation for the costs we will incur for professionals to complete the job we already paid for.
R&P
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