To be so sad new kitchen damaged already

[Picturesoflilly]

I just need to vent. Kitchen not even a month old and there’s damage to the corner of the sink. Kitchen fitter claimed no knowledge, but I don’t think it was damaged when received, we checked it.

Then the father in law dropped a tool on the work surface and caused a small chip. Whilst doing DIY for us so can’t complain.

But I want to cry, this has cost me all my savings and I just see these two flaws now!

Talk me down. Has anything similar happened to you? Please don’t feel the need to have a go at me, I know these aren’t life altering issues but I can’t help but feel disappointed.

AIBU to want to cry / scream ?! 😆

Can you get them repaired at all?

It's gutting isn't it

Our new kitchen floor had just gone in and my FIL dropped the fridge freezer off its wheels and gouged a chunk out of it. It had been “finished” less than an hour. Then the fridge itself got hit with something and has had a dint in the door ever since.

i was frustrated at the time, but honestly, after a couple of weeks I just learned to accept it and get on with things. It didn’t take long in a kitchen for other things to get scuffed and stained anyway.

feel the disappointment and then let it go.

I’d be really upset at that too. Yes they aren’t life altering but it’s one of the biggest things you can do to your house.

Could they be repaired? Or under warranty - eg the sink?

Yes I did the "you don't need a man" thing and painted the spare room. It was a disgusting black and grey striped paper before, so I painted it pink.

DH moved a wooden sofa bed in three days later and leant the wooden pieces against the wall. Took a lot of the paint off,and there was not a drop left in the tin for touch ups. I was heartbroken.

I also painted the dining room and the children were very quick to stab the wall with a piece of wood.

It's hard when it costs so much of your available funds and you can't see a way to fix it.

Repairs seem excessive for what are relatively small pieces of damage. Plus the cost 😭 😭

thank you @SonicAllanKey, I did try to tell myself in a week or so I’ll be resigned to / accepting of it!

What kind of materials are the worktop and sink?

I discovered a scratch on the fridge door about a week after the kitchen was installed. I’ve also just dropped a heavy glass jar and chipped a floor tile 🙄 I feel your pain!

We bought a side by side fridge freezer for our new home. It turned out to be about half a centimetre too wide and the installer scraped all down the side of it trying to force it in.

I understand op, we had a new kitchen about a year ago. Within a week I had two dents in my extortionately expensive fridge freezer and a chip in the paint on one of my beautiful pan drawer. I was gutted as I had spent every penny we had (and more which I'm still paying off!) and it felt tarnished.
The anger subsided and I had to just tell myself that a house is for living in.

Kitchens need to practical, looking pretty does not minimise damage occurring

But if someone has caused actual damage like anything it should be fixed by them

I think there are firms who specialise in fixing dints and scratches on kitchens and bathrooms. They mainly work on fixing damage on new builds where multiple trades on site mean that things get damaged and noone knows who's responsible. I only found out about this after an electrician clearly put his step ladder on our newly installed shower tray and scratched it. The builder got one of these firms out to do a repair. The alternative was to replace the shower tray which had been tiled up to and sealed and whilst the builder would have gone down this route it was a lot of faff for a scratch. The repair has been fine.

We had a new kitchen fitted a few years ago, and within the first week I'd managed to make a massive hole in the (fitted) cutlery divider thing in the drawer. Husband then managed to take a chip out of the worktop by dropping something on it. I think there's something else now but I forget what. I was gutted at the time, but a few years down the line and I don't notice or care about them anymore...

I'm clumsy, OP. I am a keen cook but I would never cook in other people's kitchens because they feel full of potential damage traps for me.

There's a reason my whole kitchen is stainless steel and I've had to resign myself to using wirewool to take out the scratches once or twice a year.

This is the first time I've had domestic fridges and freezers rather than the commercial ones with metal walls inside. I hate them, I'd never have ABP again. I like being able to steam clean everything and not worrying about putting things in and out as I always seem to be doing that with one hand.

Some sinks come with a warranty - have you checked?

Does a warranty cover someone damaging the item?

Can you add pics?

when we moved into our new build the washing machine fitter decided to pour my washing up liquid all over the floor to ‘help it slide in’ before i could stop him. it got all over the skirting boards which went all soggy and bubbled up and ruined them - to top it off he ripped all the floor under the machine and some infront. complained to AO who said i had no proof it was his doing :’) been here 3 years and it still makes me angry to look at it

sorry op it is really irritating isn’t it!!

Thank you all. Sorry to hear of your various predicaments, helps me keep things in perspective. These things happen!

I will look at warranty but the sink people made it very clear we had x days to check it, which we did, and it was another couple of weeks until it went in so I couldn’t ever say for certain where the damage came from.

Can you believe I have three young kids and none of this was at their hands!!!!

My new kitchen is being installed as I type and I am just waiting for something similar to happen, in fact I’m really worried about it. It’s such a huge amount of money as well as being a big emotional investment, so I don’t blame you for feeling like this at all.

Ouch.

I feel you, OP. DS stained our new bathroom tub and sink the day after we had it completely redone. Absolutely gutting.

Agree with PP, check the warranty for sure.

I fit kitchens, have fitted hundreds over the years - we always caution people who say "don't bother about the blinds, we'll fit them" etc. That if they do DIY immediately after the professional fit and damage something, the cost is on them.

It's far better to let the fitters do everything, or another insured professional (we have a decorator who often follows us) do the lot, it costs a little more, but if I scratch the worktop we replace it (which is a big job when its finished), if you do it the next week its not covered.

It could be worth contacting a repair specialist. It’s amazing what kind of treatments they can apply to different surfaces which should be able to bring it back to a near perfect finish.

search for cosmetic repair specialists locally

I understand how you feel. My DH scratched the new bathroom sink within weeks of it being fitted. I was gutted but after a while when the ‘newness’ wore off, just accepted it as part of normal wear and tear.

It’s a bit like when I had a brand new car years ago, I was very precious about it to start with but after a few dints from the supermarket car park and having a dog who trashed the boot, I soon relaxed.

Oh I totally understand how upsetting it must be after you’ve spent so much money on the new kitchen. However, try to think of it as the pressure being off- you’re no longer holding your breath waiting for the first bit of damage that makes it look less than pristine. Some kind of chip, dent or breakage was always, always going to happen- no functional room like a kitchen is going to stay perfect forever. Over time you’ll stop noticing the damage so often and it’ll feel a bit less disheartening.

Honestly just get the plastic surgeon in. I’m in a new build and our kitchen had some dings in it, they were all I could see. Bathrooms sink was badly scratched too. The plastic surgeon worked magic and they’ve vanished. I didn’t have to pay but if I was in your situation I would do because seeing the chips every day would make me miserable.