# \[Throwaway\] Kitchen Reno From Hell - Contractor Ghosted, please help **URL:** \ **Category:** General\ **Created:** [July 16, 2025, 10:37am UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/throwaway-kitchen-reno-from-hell-contractor-ghosted-please-help/17930 "2025-07-16T10:37:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kim](https://home.renovation.reviews/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@Kim](https://home.renovation.reviews/u/Kim)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2025, 10:37am UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/throwaway-kitchen-reno-from-hell-contractor-ghosted-please-help/17930/1 "2025-07-16T10:37:00Z")
So yeah, long‑time lurker, first‑time ranter. Buckle up, friends—this is going to be part vent, part cautionary tale, part “I guess I live on microwave burritos now.” * * * #### The Setup - **Goal** : yank out my early‑2000s faux‑Tuscan kitchen, slap in shaker cabs + quartz, call it a day. - **Budget** : $20 k (lol) - **Timeline quoted** : 4 weeks. Sure, Jan. - **Contractor** : “Elite Home Makeovers” (their Yelp photos looked fire; their contract terms looked… less fire, but I was naïve). * * * #### Week 1: Demo Day & Disappearing Act - Crew shows Monday, rips everything out—fun, cathartic noise, neighbors visibly annoyed. - Tuesday? Crickets. - Wednesday? _“Truck needs parts, back tomorrow.”_ - **Tomorrow** = “whenever Mercury leaves retrograde,” apparently. I’m now washing dishes in the bathtub like a college student who forgot to pay rent. * * * #### Week 3: Surprise Electrical “Discovery” Contractor pops back up, says **“Your wiring is ancient and a total fire hazard—need to re‑run it, $4,300 extra.”** I call an electrician friend; he eyeballs it and mutters, “Looks like 2005 code, not ideal but not $4k tragic.” Contractor insists, I cave because stove \> candle‑cooked ramen. * * * #### Week 5: Cabinet Fiasco Custom cabs finally arrive. They’re gorgeous… and an inch too tall for the soffit the contractor forgot to note. Options offered: 1. **Chop the soffit** (butcher the ceiling). 2. “Leave a cool gap—it’s modern!” I pick option 3: internal scream → external margarita. * * * #### Dustpocalypse Now Their “dust containment plan” was literally one sad drop cloth taped like a kindergarten art project. Fine drywall powder is in my sock drawer, on the dog, inside sealed cereal boxes—physics can suck it. * * * #### Money Pit Math Original quote: **$19,780** Current running tab: **$29,400** Line‑item highlights: - “Project management fee” (uh, do your job?) - “Site logistics” ($600 because my driveway slopes?) - “Inflation materials adjustment” (nice try, Economics 101) * * * #### Communication Level: Dial‑up Modem Calls = voicemail purgatory. Texts = green bubbles, no read receipts. Only time they respond fast is when I comment on their Insta reel (“Love the work! Where’s my kitchen tho?”). Comment mysteriously deleted 10 min later. * * * #### Current Status (Week 10) - Backsplash half‑tiled, one box short (they forgot to over‑order). - Faucet installed, leaks like a toddler with a juice box. - Fridge still camping in living room; at this point it’s furniture. I’m keeping a diary of every delay, photo‑time‑stamping everything, because small‑claims court is starting to look spicy. * * * ### The PSA Portion - **Never** pay more than 10–15 % up front; tie the rest to milestones. - Check references _you_ find, not the three hand‑picked ones they give. - Put a penalty clause in the contract: $/day after the agreed deadline. - Buy a decent respirator mask; trust me, drywall lungs are real. * * * #### TL;DR Hired a “top‑rated” contractor for a 4‑week kitchen job. Ten weeks later I’m broke, my house is a dust bowl, and dinner is whatever fits in an air fryer. Learn from my stupidity and get everything in writing, with teeth. ---
**Author:** ![BuildersLTD](https://home.renovation.reviews/user_avatar/home.renovation.reviews/buildersltd/32/14872_2.png) [@BuildersLTD](https://home.renovation.reviews/u/BuildersLTD)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2025, 10:47am UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/throwaway-kitchen-reno-from-hell-contractor-ghosted-please-help/17930/2 "2025-07-16T10:47:43Z")
Kim, as a reno company owner, I get it: on‑site jobs carry ~60 % chance of delays/failures if planning’s loose. Vet crews, lock milestones & retain 85 % payment until pass‑offs. Need a rescue team or unbiased walkthrough? Check out the teams that we have vetted already. DM if you need anything!~ ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_From\_LFBuilders](https://home.renovation.reviews/user_avatar/home.renovation.reviews/gary_from_lfbuilders/32/17159_2.png) [@Gary\_From\_LFBuilders](https://home.renovation.reviews/u/Gary_From_LFBuilders)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2025, 10:57am UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/throwaway-kitchen-reno-from-hell-contractor-ghosted-please-help/17930/3 "2025-07-16T10:57:48Z")
you get what you pay for I guess… a kitchen like that should go for 35k minimum! ---
**Author:** ![HomeRenovationExpert](https://home.renovation.reviews/user_avatar/home.renovation.reviews/homerenovationexpert/32/88_2.png) [@HomeRenovationExpert](https://home.renovation.reviews/u/HomeRenovationExpert)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2025, 11:01am UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/throwaway-kitchen-reno-from-hell-contractor-ghosted-please-help/17930/4 "2025-07-16T11:01:39Z")
Gary is right 100% Smells like someone was being a little too cheap.