Ripping out my 30-year-old kitchen is the most stressful and expensive project I have ever…read moreundertaken. But in hindsight, I realize that Frugal Kitchens made it exponentially easier than it might have been had I chose another contractor.
Before choosing Frugal, I shopped for months, did a plethora of research, and worked with several contractors, including Lowe's and Home Depot. I almost gave up on having a beautiful but affordable kitchen.
Selling points for me were (1) Frugal's all-inclusive pricing, which includes everything but the back splash materials--even hardware is included, which you select right in the showroom and get to see on your cabinet choice (2) Very fair & competitive price for the design & options I wanted (3) Frugal coordinates 100% of the project pieces, minimizing my leg work (4) "Working kitchen" in 5 days. Every other contractor told me I would have to wait up to 6 weeks for the counter top and sink, making the kitchen unusable for a ridiculous length of time (5) Beautiful showroom and quality cabinets.
The leg work I had to do was minimal: (1) go to the granite manufacturer (Frugal gives you a list of manufacturers with whom they work) and pick out granite slab (2) purchase back splash materials and have materials on site before installation. Frugal gave me the exact measurements for the back splash area and I simply took them to Floor & Decor, picked out the tiles I wanted, and Floor & Decor got all the materials together for me based on Frugal's measurements (3) purchase desired new appliances, have them delivered, and email Frugal the specs for the appliances. Frugal's price quote includes expert installation of these appliances and the cost & installation of the granite counter top.
Were there glitches? Of course. This was a huge project. But the glitches were minimal, were handled professionally and quickly, and mostly the result of miscommunication and my not understanding a particular process.
The cabinets I chose took just under 5 weeks to arrive at Frugal's warehouse. Frugal scheduled my installation and emailed me a job schedule that detailed everything that would happen on each of the five days and what would happen after those five days.
Each part of the project was completed by a sub-contractor who is a professional in that particular field and who has a solid relationship with Frugal. These were not temp workers. All of them were experienced professionals.
Day 1: cabinet installers ripped out and hauled off old cabinets & installed new cabinets. They also moved old appliances to my garage (I chose not to have them hauled off). Day 2: cabinet installers added hardware & crown molding to cabinets & made adjustments I asked for. When they were finished, the granite fabricators templated my granite counter top. Day 3: Drink wine and wait for counter top :-) . Day 4: Granite counter top installed. Day 5: Electricians & plumber installed faucets, garbage disposal, new recessed lighting, under-cabinet lighting, and 4 new appliances. They did not leave until we confirmed that everything was working. By the end of day 5, yes, I had a gorgeous working kitchen!
The back splash was installed the following week. This crew was nothing short of amazing. The foreman called me the day before and asked to come by to see the parameters of the job and to make sure I had all the necessary materials. Thank goodness he did that because I was missing a few things that I promptly bought. Then, on the day of installation, he called me again to let me know his crew was on the way.
I can't say enough good things about the subcontractors: they were a pleasure to work with, they cleaned up really well each day, they arrived on time and worked until the job was done, and they were absolute professionals and experts in their fields. I was especially impressed with George, the back-splash foreman, and with DeBeer Granite, the granite fabricator and installer. All were polite and very willing to answer my questions, explain things, and make minor changes. The electricians even installed an extra recessed light for me, which was not on my job order. I truly appreciated this flexibility.
At the walk-thru, my punch list was really short with only a few minor fixes, meaning just about everything got done right the first time. 3 weeks later Rich, the owner, completed the punch-list fixes and also did a few extras for me like run to Lowe's to buy and install hinge restricters to keep a couple of doors from opening too close to other doors.
The office personnel at Frugal are also great and very customer-forward, especially Holly, Sam, and Liz. Jeff, my designer and sales person, bent over backwards, even making a second-measurements trip to my house at my request to assure me that everything in the final drawing could actually work in my kitchen.
Very glad I chose Frugal Kitchens. They do exactly what they say they will do & more, & if something isn't right, they make it right.