We decided a few years ago to replace our 40+ year-old kitchen cabinets and 20+ year-old formica counters, but found the process of shopping for cabinets and obtaining estimates for installation MUCH more complex and frustrating than expected. Cabinet sellers would give us estimates for cabinets and counters, but refuse or be unable to give us an estimate for installation. One cabinet supplier gave me the name of the installer, but, despite repeated calls and conversations, he never bothered to give me an estimate. I gave up for quite a while, wondering how on Earth the process might ever be completed if I could not get a firm estimate of total costs.
Last year, I finally decided to give it another try, and contacted several cabinet sellers, including BKC Kitchen and Bath in Englewood. That proved to be a very smart move. BKC's salesperson, Pete Von Esten, was extremely helpful, patient, and responsive. I contacted BKC because they sell a brand of cabinets, Crystal, that I had identified (from the mostly surprisingly sketchy consumer information available) to be a solid brand. Pete was very helpful in explaining the pros and cons of framed versus frameless cabinets (frameless being a good option for a relatively small kitchen, such as ours, but framed generally being described as more durable), and in clarifying the features of and differences between the somewhat less expensive Crystal Current line and the more expensive Crystal Keyline or Encore. Pete won my confidence when he did not try to "up-sell" me, but forthrightly recommended, given the style and finish we sought, we go with the less expensive Current line, which is very well constructed and could be upgraded with more plywood, etc., at a modest additional charge.
Pete won our business thanks to: (1) his honesty, courtesy, and patience in preparing repeatedly revised plans based upon our decision to go with replacement of soffits and taller cabinets extending to the ceiling; (2) his recommendation, when I asked him for the name of a contractor he recommends, that I contact Dave Ricard at Interior Solutions.
To my relief, Dave, though very busy, responded as quickly as possible to my request he come by and give us an estimate, gave us an estimate in short order, and readily adjusted it when we decided to add removal of soffits, "drywalling", and "taping" where the soffits had been, as well as "can" ceiling lights in lieu of suspended fixtures. His estimate seemed reasonable. Finally, we had the information we needed to make an informed decision. We swallowed hard at the expense, and went ahead.
Dave is (for good reason) very busy, and we ourselves had travel plans that fell when he was first available, so it was necessary to wait several months before going ahead with the job. Nailing down a date took some time and persistence, but Dave showed up when he said he would, in late April. Dave and his assistant, Joe, very quickly won our confidence and affection. Dave and Joe are very personable, but also very hard-working, efficient, and meticulous. They maintained a clean and orderly work site, putting down mats or putting up plastic sheeting to protect our house from debris or dust. Dave readily worked with us to add several additional ceiling "can" LED lights as well as under-cabinet LED lights, which required considerable additional rewiring and time, at significant but reasonable additional cost. They consistently showed up when expected, and never left us uninformed about next steps or "hanging".
The only glitches in the process were not Dave's fault. The Cambria quartz slabs Dave had ordered via his preferred counter fabricator arrived at the fabricator's shop with a scratch in the surface. Rather than just polish the surface and foist the counters on us (something to which we would have been none the wiser), Dave insisted on replacement of the slab, even though that would delay completion of the project, because polishing of the surface instead of replacement would void the warranty. When it turned out that we faced a minor glitch because not enough "scribe molding" (a small, but important, cosmetic device) had accompanied the cabinets, Dave and Pete agreed that BKC's tech would install it when it came in. BKC's tech did so after Dave's work was done, along with cabinet door restrictors.
Dave requested a deposit of 15% of the estimated project cost, a few months before beginning. He also requested progress payments as the project progressed, once work began. This took me aback, as I usually prefer to pay for work completed, if and when fully completed, but it all worked out just fine. I would only suggest that this expectation be clearly communicated and explained up-front.
In sum (although we hope never to again remodel a kitchen), we would not hesitate to ask Dave to do the work. We could not have been more pleased, and relieved, at the efficiency, meticulousness, and quality of his work. Outstanding! read more
