We ordered a countertop and sink/faucet replacement through Costco. Although the end result was mostly satisfactory, the process we endured to get there was truly awful.
The countertop consisted of a main counter plus a double sink and facet, and an island counter with a single sink and faucet. When the install date arrived, we were informed the island sink was on back-order and would not be available for three weeks--something we should have been told when we placed the order.
We opted to have the main counter done on the install day and the island when the sink was available.
On install day it was discovered a 1/8 inch measurement error (by the Floform technician who did the plan) meant the counter did not fit on two walls--it left a 1/4 inch gap between the tile backsplash (which was original) and the countertop.
The installers spent two hours trying to hammer the counter into place. No luck--it's quartz, it doesn't stretch. Finally, the branch manager showed up and suggested replacing a row of the 3x3 tile backsplash with a quartz backsplash to cover the gap. He said it would be no problem to remove a single row of tiles and do that. Not being experts in the matter of kitchen remodeling, we believed him. He left and promised to deal with the backsplash when the island counter was installed.
A plumber (hired by Floform) showed up to install the (very expensive) double sink and faucet. The result looked like it was something we picked up at a garage sale. The faucet handle didn't seat into the stem and (as we discovered later) the plumber didn't have the right parts to install the sink drains, so instead of going out to get them he improvised. As well, the sink strainers and stoppers didn't match and frankly it looked like an amateur job.
We complained to Floform and the plumber returned two days later. He changed out the sink strainers, but couldn’t fix the faucet. As he was leaving, we pointed out that the sink drain was leaking. He said “I’d better get my glasses from the truck†and worked on the drain until it looked like it was sealed. This begs the question “why didn’t he put his glasses on in the first place?â€
Floform agreed to replace the faucet on the day the island counter and quartz backsplash was installed.
The day before the island installation, the tile installer who was supposed to “easily†remove a row of tiles for the quartz backsplash showed up and stated that it would be a “disaster.†He was under the impression there was only a single row of tiles, period, and there was no way he could just remove a single row from a six-row backsplash.
The tile installer also pointed out that the concept of a 3-inch quartz backsplash was very old-fashioned (his term was “80’s lookâ€) and said the only reasonable path was to replace the entire tile backsplash with a tile backsplash thick enough to cover the gap caused by the measurement error.
The branch manager reluctantly agreed, so the tile installer took the entire tile backsplash out.
The next day, the island countertop was installed and a different plumber showed up to replace the defective faucet and install the island sink and faucet.
Later that day we noticed the main sink drain was leaking again. We called the second plumber and explained that we wanted him to return and fix the main sink drain. He agreed to do that the next day which is when he pointed out that the drain connection wasn’t using the right parts, and that was why it was leaking. He went out and purchased the correct parts and replaced the entire drain assembly.
We chose a 4x16 bone-colored matte “subway†tile for the backsplash from a very limited selection of tiles that were thick enough to cover up the measurement error. We were subsequently informed matte was not available, only gloss.
When the job was complete we discovered the flip-down storage door below the sink was not re-installed properly by the countertop installers. We spent about three hours fixing that.
In the end the kitchen looks OK, although it’s not quite what we ordered.