About new kitchen

[Silverstripe]

Currently having some work done on our house, knocking through to our integrated garage to create a kitchen / diner. The original plan was to reuse the existing kitchen cupboards and doors (totally plain white, matte wood) but half of these fell apart when removed from the walls and couldn’t be salvaged.

We spoke to the joiners who indicated they could get new units and doors which would match the old ones. We very clearly explained that we ultimately wanted to paint them, so they couldn’t be gloss. The joiners acknowledged this and specifically wrote ‘satin or matte’ on their shopping list.

We’ve just been to the house to check progress. The cupboards are in, and every door is the glossiest gloss you could ever imagine. They are hideous, I doubt they could be painted (perhaps with a good sanding and industrial quantities of primer but I’m not sure), and they absolutely don’t match the existing cupboards which aren’t being replaced.

WIBU to insist that the joiners remove the doors and end panels and replace them with what we actually asked for, at their own cost? At no point did they get in touch to ask if we were happy with gloss after all, and we couldn’t have been clearer in the initial conversation we had with them. They’re running over time and I suspect they couldn’t get the doors we wanted and so just chose what was in stock, but I don’t think it’s right that they did this without consulting us.

And to add insult to injury the gloss doors are much more expensive than the matte and satin ones!

So do I have a leg to stand on insisting that they rectify this issue at their own cost?

OP check out DIY kitchens - they offer exact quality and value for money and on some styles they also offer a custom colour painting service - often even in the specific paint you want to use. If it come to having to replace them, they might be a good place to look.

@TheChineseChicken yes the should but sometimes what is in the rest of the house or similar to it is not avaliable anymore. My partner is a bulder and will always give the client three options of what he is buying so they pick what they want.
OP- Though this wouldnt have happned with him.You defo need to raise it with them and aswell need to work out where it is in your contract etc on how to resolve it. Talk to your builder, you will come to a resolve on this especially if you had no issues up to now.

I had a similar situation with our patio recently - builder couldn't get the stone we'd agreed so ordered a conpletely different one & started laying it without telling me. They said it was due to a shortage of materials, but I called a couple of builders yards and found the ones I wanted, asked the builders to take up the incorrect ones and order the replacements. The builder agreed he should have told me before laying the stone so although I'm sure it was a hassle for them, I had no problem telling him.
You're paying a lot of mobey and it's you who has to live with it - so ask them to rectify it.

Is it possible the doors still have the protective clear wrapping on? Mine had that on for well over a year before I noticed- I have a (hideous according to you) white gloss kitchen and it really wasn't obvious, kitchen fitter hadn't noticed either

I do feel for you OP, ahrghhhhh never let others buy stuff Particularly your kitchen!!!!! I would personally suck it up for now coz Im not sure that the fight would be worth it ( at 8 months pregnant). How many doors are we talking? Could the joiners at least pay for your old ones to be replaced to at least match the new ones up?

[quote Silverstripe]@TheChineseChicken wise words! I’m regretting it so much, because everything else (worktops, sink, taps, lights) we bought ourselves but for some reason we just accepted it when the joiners said the easiest thing was for them to just pick them up.[/quote]
We live and learn. Your situation is much worse and you definitely should ask them to change the doors. They will grumble but tough shit

[quote Wexone]@TheChineseChicken yes the should but sometimes what is in the rest of the house or similar to it is not avaliable anymore. My partner is a bulder and will always give the client three options of what he is buying so they pick what they want.
OP- Though this wouldnt have happned with him.You defo need to raise it with them and aswell need to work out where it is in your contract etc on how to resolve it. Talk to your builder, you will come to a resolve on this especially if you had no issues up to now.[/quote]
Sure, but the mismatched ones were fitted without any consultation and I just came home to find them in place. No one else would notice (inclusion DH who just pulled a face at me ) so I didn’t bother to say anything

I can't believe you're even debating not tearing a strip off them getting them to fix this, at theur cist . It's NOT what you asked for

Just to echo what someone else said, you can’t get a good finish if you pain them yourself as the vast majority of kitchen doors are have the kind of finish that is not meant to be painted. You can get some very expensive wooden kitchens that are meant to be painted but that’s not what most people have.

I have had similar issues.
Don't apologise to them.
Just say that the doors are the wring ones. We agreed satin or matte. You need to change them to what we agreed.
Don't be open to being talked round.
Then withold a reasonably substantial proportion of the payment until you have what you asked for.
But pay promptly when you do.
The only time I let myself be talked into them coming back later to replace the wrong colour window fittings, I am still living with them. Once paid, they never returned.

@Pineapplemonkey sorry - I wasn’t trying to be rude! I’m sure yours are lovely and in the right kitchen these ones likely would be too - they’re just totally wrong in the context of all the other decisions we’ve made. Sadly no wrapping, it’s the finish itself which is very shiny.

@Scarby9 that’s really good advice, thank you!

@Silverstripe you're okay- I was only joking! I only chose the kitchen I did because it fitted with the style of house, didn't imagine I'd ever choose a gloss kitchen either!