First Place & All Star Award

2008 REMY Award for Kitchens Under $30,000

Objective of Project:

The owner of this 1950 era Mission, Kansas home needed a new kitchen. There had been several “make-do upgrades” out of desperation over the years but 2008 was the year! The husband recently retired from the railroad and the couple had made the decision to make this house their final home. A pot rack full of pots and pans hung over an old electric free standing stove. A micro-wave took up what little counter space they had in the overall kitchen. Small narrow cabinets limited their storage capacity. Additional counter space and storage was needed. The electrical wiring required upgrading and the room was poorly insulated. They also wanted to remove 2-4’ walls that divided the kitchen from a very small dining room. They also wanted new flooring installed pull these two rooms together.

The kitchen and dining room area was basically taken down to the framing. All appliances were removed. Wall paper was removed as well as walls that had partially separated the dining area from the kitchen. This would allow the new design to extend into the area. New fiberglass insulation was inserted into all open stud cavities of the exterior walls. Electrical wiring was brought to code adding new receptacles and badly needed additional lighting. All vinyl and under lament were removed and new sub-floor was installed. Outdated “popcorn” texture was removed from ceiling and repairs made due to the removal of walls and made ready for a new textured ceiling.

Client Needs:

Transformation began with Merillat’s Classic Deluxe cabinetry in Oak with a full overlay frame and recessed panel door style accented with crown molding. Large drawers replaced typical lower cabinets and 24” wide doors balanced the design and enhanced the beauty of the grain in the oak. At special request by the client was the 36” wide pantry containing a double sided swing-out storage unit. A 1/2” bull nose edged granite counter top in “Baltic Brown”, with a single stainless steel sink and 4x4 tumbled marble backsplash complimented Merillat’s “cider” stained oak cabinetry. A 30” double oven, free-standing, dual-fuel range with an over the range micro-wave, dishwasher and a 22 Cu.Ft. side-by-side, counter depth refrigerator all by Jenn-Air were installed replacing all appliances. The 5” plank wood flooring by Mullica installed pulled the kitchen and dining room together and completed the newly updated kitchen/dining room. Our clients are extremely pleased with their new kitchen and just can’t say enough good things about our lead carpenter and our company.

Project Management

The owners did not want the project to go over $30,000. We felt confident we could accomplished this. We made necessary drawings, defined the scope of work and established allowances on materials that were yet to be determined. We requested our cabinet designer to provide drawings, elevations and cost on cabinetry that we knew would not only fit the clients budget but fit the overall design era of the rest of the interior of the home. Once the final design was agreed upon our designer/project manager began meeting with our client at various showrooms to begin their material selections. The final agreed upon proposal of $26,223.72 was signed by the client. The final invoice came in at $26,823.30 due to material selections and addition labor not included in original proposal.

The established allowances in materials yet to be determined assists us in keeping our clients aware of any overages they might have before materials are actually purchased. We require a written approval before materials are purchased that exceed the allowances. We never want surprises at the end of our projects.

We assign one Lead Carpenter to each project. Our designer/project manager and he work together to schedule delivery of materials and scheduling of sub-contractors. Once a lead carpenter is assigned to a project he does not leave that project until the project is complete unless there is down time due to delays in installation of materials by sub-contractors or delays in receiving special ordered materials. We rarely change lead carpenters on our projects unless absolutely necessary due to illness or additional areas within the home that call for a different expertise.

Challenges

The flooring sub-contractor we use on all of our projects is a very reputable company we have had a business relationship with for over 10 years. The hardwood flooring material selected by our client was a pre-finished product by Mullican Hardwood, style Ridgecrest Merbau Natural 5” plank. The flooring contractor installed the flooring following manufactures specifications. The finishing materials used to attach the flooring mysteriously came up to the surface of the flooring creating a dimple in the surface. The manufactures representative was contacted by our flooring contractor and successfully negotiated with them to approve a smaller gauge cleat or staple to repair the dimples cased by the larger fastener. The manufacture re-instated the warranty with a 25 year finish wear and lifetime structural warranty.

Our flooring contractor stood behind his product and service and removed and reinstalled the flooring without cost to us or our client. It pays to maintain long standing relationships with your sub-contractor. Manufactures don’t always honor warranties as they should.