My wife and I just finished a kitchen update and made the unfortunate mistake of working with Nu-Look Cabinet Refacing for the cabinetry portion of our project. Of all the contractors we worked with on this project (plumbers, electricians, countertop installers, tiling professionals, etc.) Nu-look was the only one that we had issues with.
Things started off alright and Tom, the owner, seemed like a nice guy but we eventually found out he doesn't have the customers best interest in mind. After signing our contract and taking measurements of the kitchen, Tom asked to return and take some additional measurements. Encouraged by this seemingly thorough attention to detail, we gladly had him come back and take his final measurements. It wasn't until the materials arrived and his carpenter began working that we found out he had not measured and/or ordered a few of the items correctly. One of the items being the toe kick. Instead of ordering the toe kick right away after realizing the mistake, he told his carpenter to just use a piece of plywood and cover it with laminate.
The real problems began when the installation of the new doors was completed. We had chosen to do a custom color on our bottom cabinets in a dark teal color. Tom told us we could choose ANY color from Sherwin Williams library and for an additional charge the cabinets could be done in this color, so we did. Once the cabinet doors were installed we noticed that the finish did not cover evenly. Every single door had spots that are lighter and spots that are darker. Nu-look never checked the doors for quality when they received them from their vendor and instead just installed them as is.
We were obviously upset by this considering we paid extra for the custom color so we brought up the issue and Nu-look had representatives from their manufacturer, Conestoga Wood Specialties, come over and look at the doors. The representatives immediately noticed the poor quality and took one of the doors back to their facility to be examined. We should also mention that when the representative went to remove the door it actually fell off in his hands, to which Betsy (co-owner of Nu-look) replied that longer screws should have been used and their carpenter would have to come back to fix that. A week and a half later we were told by Betsy via email: "The color has both dark and light pigment colortone. They feel that the doors did not get painted evenly so the edges appear to look lighter."
So they admitted the doors did not get painted correctly and instead of doing the right thing and making us a new set of doors with solid coverage, their solution was to come back and take down all the doors they had just installed, send them back to the manufacturer, and have them "re-work them" (a minimum three week process). We asked for clarification as to what "re-work" meant and never received a clear answer. We were of course hesitant to do this since the manufacturer couldn't paint them correctly the first time and again asked if they could just send a new set of properly finished doors. After going back and forth for about a week via email and phone, Nu-look said "Their conclusion is due to the color of the paint, the doors cannot be remade because the same thing would happen again."
Nu-look and Conestoga do not stand behind their work. They say you can choose any color but they clearly cannot finish dark colored doors properly. When we asked if they had a backup plan if they could not fix them, they said they did not. At this point Nu-look offered to reimburse us a small amount of money if we kept them as is. It was clear to us that we didn't really have a choice as they were unwilling to do the right thing for their client. So now we are stuck with these cabinets that are splotchy and unevenly painted. If you choose to work with this company DO NOT GET A DARK COLORED CABINET! And definitely don't pay extra for a custom color. We cannot stress this point enough.
Just when we thought things couldn't get any worse, after our new floor was installed our flooring contractor told us that Nu-Look did not order enough trim molding (in the custom color). We emailed Nu-look to tell them and Instead of trusting us and ordering the remaining amount, Nu-Look said they had to send their carpenter over to confirm there wasn't enough molding. After wasting our time with a needless appointment, their contractor confirmed that Tom had not ordered the right amount of trim and it would take three more weeks to get the remainder. While waiting for the trim to come in we were sent multiple invoices to pay for the final amount of the project even though it was not complete.
Working with Nu-look may save you a few bucks, but the quality of their materials is so poor it's not worth it. It will definitely cause you a lot more headaches and take much longer than expected. This is a small husband and wife business that has a lot to learn about quality and proper customer service. read more
