Taylor & Stevens Cabinetry

This entity ripped out my existing kitchen cabinets and installed new kitchen cabinets. Steven Jackson the owner relied on the kitchen designer to do all the measurements before ordering the cabinets. He never showed up prior to 11/4/2009 to double check the measurements. After ripping out all my cabinets he discovered that the cabinets for the corner were too big. He decided that to resolve the problem he would move the kitchen window and the pipe stack beside it in order to accommodate the bigger size cabinets. I asked him if he was sure that the remaining space would properly accommodate the remaining cabinets. He said it would. he opened the wall and the ceiling to move the stack. He removed the kitchen window and when it was reinstalled I noticed it didn't close properly. The window is a casement window, and it was locked. He claimed that It was painted shut and thus he had to force it open. The window was in perfect working order before his measurement error necessitated its removal. He obviously forced the window open while it was still locked. He never owned up to his mistake.When the temperatures are at extremes the window no longer opens and closes without difficulty. The Town plumbing inspector noticed that a required protective steel plate for the moved piping was not installed. He wanted the contractor to wait until the general town inspector could look at it before closing up the wall. Jackson's response was that he knew where the pipe was so he could go ahead and close it up. During this whole construction period he told us periodically, that other contractors, realizing that they screwed up on the cabinet order would have just walked away. I construed this to be a veiled threat. As part of the pipe movement his plumber needed to uninstall the upstairs toilet in order to connect it to the moved pipe. He reinstalled it incorrectly which led to a leak which I will discuss in detail later. He had a plasterer come in to plaster the newly closed in wall. While the plasterer was there he could have had him plaster the opened ceiling as well. I believe he felt this was covered by the Crown moulding so he didn't have to worry about it. The problem is that I will have to pay to have somebody repair that hole should I chose to change the cabinets in the future. The hole wouldn't have been there if he hadn't screwed up the measurements. He continued on mounting the cabinets. I noticed, and brought to his attention that the tops of the cabinets were split where he mounted the crown mouldings. In addition the backs of the cabinets were mangled due to him using screws that weren't meant for hanging cabinets. The right screws with a washer type head that would have protected the backing wasn't used even though they came with the cabinets. When all the cabinets were mounted, the countertops in etc., he came to us to tell us that the kitchen window and sink wouldn't be centered between the cabinets. This was after him assuring me on the first day that the cabinets and their mounting locations were fine. In addition to the regular kitchen cabinets we purchased from him a desk and storage unit that took up most of one of the walls in the kitchen. This unit has the same finish and style as the other kitchen cabinets. It also has a crown moulding like the other cabinets and is meant to be mounted flush with the ceiling like the other cabinets. It appears he had another measurement error, because the crown moulding on this unit is about two inches below the ceiling. His response was that now it looks like a standalone unit. That wasn't what we contracted for. In addition, an active wall plug is hidden behind this unit and can only be accessed by taking out a drawer. There are still shims sticking out from between the cabinet and the wall. Some of the other problems resulting from this remodel were: 1) One of the backs of the units used for the island and visible in the room has a line down the middle that is not finished properly. 2) One of the spacers he installed has a bubble on its face and has cracks where the screw he mounted it with, almost came through the face of the wood. 3) Holes that were drilled in the wood and nail holes are not filled in a professional manner, The surface is visibly rough. 4)An undercabinet mounted microwave has cracks in the door and the grill work to vent is broken and needs to be held on with tape. Prior to this remodel it didn't even have a scratch. . 5) In performing work in the basement, insulation was removed and moved and left hanging down. Nothing was done to correct this. 6)All the windows on the back side of the house have a dripcap over them. When he replaced the kitchen window, the dripcap wasn't replaced. He filled the space with clear silicone caulk, but it is noticeable that something is missing. 7) Just recently, I noticed that the wall that was replaced and plastered is starting to bow in away from the granite backsplash that was installed. The space between the two is getting larger. I had also contracted to have him install in other rooms some hardwood flooring that I had purchased separately. I originally asked him to do the installation because his designer talked about him being meticulous. After all the problems I experienced with the kitchen, I decided that I didn't want similar problems spread throughout my house. I told him his services for the installation wasn't needed. This was within a few days after he received final payment on the kitchen. I also asked him to remove his dumpster which he did the following Monday. After the kitchen window was replaced, I noticed that the siding near the window was discolored. I thought that maybe when he painted the replaced siding he didn't prime and the cedar was bleeding through. I thought I would wait until the warm weather came and prime and repaint it. I was out in the back of the house in July, 2010 and noticed water running down the side of the house. I thought it was the shower because my wife was using at the time. I called a plumber to see if the cause could be determined. Rather than start disassembling thing, the plumber suggested he just recaulk the shower drain. I hoped for the best and waited to see if that was the problem. I was in the yard again and noticed water running down. I contacted Steve Jackson on 7/29/10. I outlined the problem and asked him how he wished to address the problem since the kitchen work came with a two year warranty. He responded that day,saying that I needed to prepay him 1,000.00 and that I would have to pay him 150.00/hr. per man. If HE determined that it was as a result of his remodel work, he would refund the 1,000.00. He said this was necessary because I had made him wait for his final payment. The facts are that Jackson submitted a bill for additional work in the amount of 1,375.00 on Tuesday 12/8/09. The final Town Inspection wasn't done until Thursday 12/10/09. He sent an e-mail saying he would be by on Friday 12/11/09 to get the check. He was paid on Friday 12/11/09, the balance remaining per the contract plus the additional charges on 12/11/09. I don't know what he is referring to with regards to waiting for his payment. The facts are that Jackson consistently requested payments from my wife prior to meeting the milestones set out in the contract. He was paid when he made the requests. I responded to Jackson's change of the warranty terms that same day. I advised him that I would have somebody else do the repair since the terms were outrageous and I didn't trust him at that point. The repairs were made in October, 2010. I sent him copies of the bills clearly outlining that the upstairs toilet hadn't been reinstalled correctly leading to the leak and damaging my house. I sent this to him Certified Mail on November 12, 2010, these invoice copies and requested that reimburse for my expenses. Jackson had the opportunity to make the repairs at his cost. He chose to pose outrageous terms that weren't in the contract. As of 2/14/2011 no response has been received. REBUTTAL TO PROVIDER RESPONSE- His response isn't worthy of a full rebuttal. His work is substandard and he caused damage to my house that wasn't there prior to his arrival. It was worth it to pay extra to competent professionals to fix the problems created by his negligence. A word to the wise should be sufficient.