INSTALL your countertop YOURSELF BUT DONT HIRE THESE PEOPLE!
My kitchen designer from a company in Woburn subcontracted Boston Galaxy to do the countertop in my Cambridge condo. Its a standard countertop installation, nothing fancy. Here's how it happened. 1. They make a template and took the sink with them (already delivered) to the shop. They came back after a week with the countertop pieces. But there is a problem! THEY MADE A BIGGER SINK CUTOUT THAN the sink (although they HAD the sink with them)!! 2. After installing half of the countertop, they figured the cutout problem. So I had to go and order a similar piece from the Stone shop next day. 3. Second time they come in with the piece, they dont risk anything and want to cut the sink hole in the kitchen. Tells me that they will come at 7AM (I take time off from work to stay home for this) and SHOWS UP at 5PM (10 hours later) and then starts cutting the stone. IMAGINE THE NOISE right when the neighbors (busy Cambridge neighborhood) are back home for dinner (one has a newborn). 3. After making a huge mess (granite mud on new cabinets, floor, ceiling, window everywhere), they put the sink in tight (over-the-counter sink, screw-in) and tells me they are done (I was not watching over when when they installed the sink). 4. Last phase: the plumber comes in, sees the sink tight in place, assumes everything is done right by pros, connects all the water lines and tells us to use it 24 hours later. 5. WE START USING THE NEW KITCHEN FINALLY (all happy and excited) AND REALIZED A FEW HOURS LATER THAT WATER LEAKED INTO THE CABINET UNDERNEATH and WARPED THE NEW CABINET, Apparently, for some strange reason, these guys screwed the sink in all tight, BUT did not use anything the seal the sides of the sink where it sits on the countertop! 5. After calling the kitchen contractor, they send one guy next day to fix it. He boasts, " when I do this, it will be done right." RIGHT! Waiting for 24 hours after he does the job, we start using the water and it STILL LEAKS from one corner of the sink. 6. I call the plumber and paid out of pocket to get it fixed. BOTTOMLINE: 1 week for floor, 3 days for cabinets, 4 WEEKS for a simple countertop installation. On top of this, I had to take more than 5 days off from work to be there, the two sides of the countertop dont match completely (because they are not from the same piece of stone), they made numerous cracks on the walls moving the pieces (never sent more than 2 people to carry them), did not cover anything when they cut a sink hole in the new kitchen and made a terrible mess (took me almost a whole day to clean it all up) and I had to pay the plumber extra out of my own pocket to get their mess fixed. All in all, a terribly unprofessional amateurish job. The only thing you will get for your money is a few hundred apologies!! read more