These guys came to meet with us late in 2021 to just toss around ideas for our 1981 kitchen. First, they suggested, pick your appliances, then work around those.
. So, we did, and due to a distributor promotion, we ordered the appliances in January. By late January 2022, we had started meetings onsite with the company owners to put ideas on paper. They brought in their designer, who had excellent tools for measuring and documenting every inch of the space.
. We made a list of what "finishes" to buy. Aside from the basic cabinets and concealed lumber and hardware, we had to select and buy SO many things: Lamp fixtures, sink, tile, countertop, cabinet handles, paint colors... you name it. I think this assignment is standard.
. In February, we talked price. Having not done a new kitchen since 1981, we were unsure what to expect. Our first budget was not adequate, and Ekologe's first bid was too high. But on the second meeting in our home, we all came to agreement on the dollar amount. Jacob did point out what sort of things could end up costing extra, just to avoid surprises. We signed the contract, paid a deposit, and they drew up a timeline (which is a VERY good step, since a job like this needs to follow certain steps in order). They rely on several independent specialists for the various trades and everybody needs to stay in sync.
. In February, we ordered countertop material and tile from a local dealer they recommended (Jacob and his partner Evan accompanied us to advocate for us during the selection). These heavy items would be picked up later on. We then spent several weeks clearing out our kitchen and setting up a temporary food prep space in the guest bedroom. Cozy! Emptying cabinets of 40 years' worth of stored junk took lots of doing and decision-making, but we did empty the room.
. The first step was to be Demolition: Removing the original cabinets, countertops, backsplash, etc. This started in late March, after Jacob and the site project manager finalized the timeline. We were told a very approximate timeframe of 3 months, start to finish.
. The tradesmen (and a few women) were, for the most part, very professional and went to work as "self-starters" after checking in with us. When the project manager was unavailable, he called the night before to explain exactly who would be coming the next morning, and when. This schedule was kept quite well.
. One painter who was doing touch-up on an existing cabinet showed up at dinnertime on a Friday night, a bit out of sync, which rubbed me the wrong way. I sent him home and told him to come back during daylight. He was a part-time worker for a subcontractor of Ekologe-- not an Ekologe employee-- so I understand how the communication broke down. Otherwise, we got along well with the tradespeople.
. Anyway, I'm running out of memories. By late May, we were pretty well finished and moving pieces back in. Ekologe installed our appliances we had preordered and it all came together looking wonderful. read more