Home Depot

It was good. They came out on time. They did a great job. They cleaned up. They got around some tight corners in our closet. I think they did a really good job. They were professional.

I had a good experience in another state (FL) with Home Depot coordinating a kitchen remodeling project, so I started talking with the folks in Douglasville about a kitchen remodeling job here. We wanted to compare prices between refacing the cabinets and tearing them out and not only replacing them, but making some changes to the layout as well. The rep from the installation company came out to measure at the beginning of January, and I told her the changes we want to make. Several weeks later, I called HD to find out how much the job would cost. I was given a hard sell on new cabinets - save money by committing today, before the promotions go away! - without being told how much the demolition or installation would cost. Without this information, I cannot make a fair comparison between refacing and replacing, and I certainly did not want to be pressured into committing that day, after waiting several weeks for a preliminary estimate. Home Depot's approach is that they will 1. do a preliminary measure (for which they charge $49) 2. work up a preliminary design 3. make changes to the design based upon customer input 4. send the installer back out to measure for that specific design 5. tell you how much the total job will cost. I am not kidding. This is how it was explained to me by the installer's rep and how the HD kitchen designer wanted to proceed, while telling me I had to commit right away or I would lose the special price on the cabinets. No, we are not going to hire them. If you want to give HD a specific budget, and commit to working with them no matter what, go for it. The designer has great ideas and energy. But if you want to know the order of magnitude of a remodeling project before wading in too deep, forget it. If you want to compare the relative merits of refacing v. replacing, forget it. HD does not want to give you this information, nor will they release any of the measurement info you have paid for until you sign a contract. Phooey!

The experience with Home Depot was hair raising. The first installer did not do a good job and it took 3 months for them to do the repairs and finish the job. I had contacted them about the amount of damage they did to the adjacent areas which is $800. When they returned my call they said they would only give me a $300 gift card. There were several problems after the first installer came, one being a mis-matched pattern. They did that repair but did not repair the others. I had to contract other companies to do the repairs that I had to pay for. This was reviewed by the regional install manager decided that I was entitled to a $300 gift certificate to the Home Depot, but that does not cover the cost of the repairs that I had to use other companies for.