Tim Bivins/Finishes Unlimited

We wrote the contract on 4/22/13. He said he would start by the end of May. The first of our custom cabinets were installed on the first week of July--6 weeks late. This installation drug on until the end of October. He often cancelled our appointments throughout this installation. Because it took so long, he said asked if we'd be interested in being featured in a kitchen catalog for an unnamed company for whom he also built cabinets. It would pay $1800. Of course, I said yes. Then as another concession, he offered to refinish my antique dining room table at no cost. I had gotten bids and it was going to cost about $1800 so I agreed but insisted it had to be finished by Thanksgiving since I was hosting the family dinner. He said that was no problem. Neither of these offerings were ever realized. Before he left, what was to be the last time he worked on the cabinets, he said he'd be back to fix the "little things" he knew would appear after the cabinets "settled" and to get the table. I paid him the balance on this date--Big mistake! I let a week pass and then called him three times that week. He didn't return any of the calls. I explained on the last message that if I didn't hear from him by the next week, I would assume our business relationship was over. Little did I know that one of the "little things" would happen so quickly. On 12/13/13, only about 6 weeks after he finished, I noticed that paint was peeling from the seams on two of the shaker-style doors. After close examination, it appears he painted each of these last two installed doors as one piece instead of separately. All of the other doors are painted in two pieces: the raised shaker frame and the base, and these do not have this problem. I have called him three times and texted him with a picture of the problem asking him to resolve the problem. In my final message I explained that if he did not correct this problem, I would contact Angie's List, the Better Business Bureau and post the problems on social media. He has not responded. I'm disappointed it has come to this because the other cabinets are well-built and beautiful. He's a talent cabinetmaker, but this paint issue coupled with the other issues we had just tarnishes the entire kitchen. I doubt he will ever resolve the problem and I'll likely have to find a new cabinetmaker to correct the problem. This greatly concerns me because he did not leave the paint or advise of the paint he used.