Two months away from expected project completion, I was faced with a dispute with the supplier of the built-in cabinets being installed in my new home. Up to this point, the biggest issues I encountered on the project had to do with security on the site: a homeless person, two instances of graffiti, and the theft of my time-lapse camera set-up and miscellaneous construction tools. None of these incidents caused me as much torment as the dispute with the cabinet supplier.
The conflict stemmed from two things: an unexpected invoice from the supplier, and a cabinet of the wrong size. Before the cabinet contract was signed, I asked the supplier to fix his installation fee rather than charge me based on time and materials. He agreed and added 16% to his installation fee. I thought this was fair because that up-charge enabled me to put in place a strong incentive for the supplier to install the cabinets expeditiously, and would limit the cost to me if he didn’t. Consistent with the lump-sum construction agreement I had with my general contractor, I sought to limit my exposure to cost overruns in every way possible. It therefore came as a surprise when the cabinet supplier sent me an invoice amounting to another 50% over his original installation fee, claiming that his installers had to do additional work, including adjusting how the kitchen cabinets resolved with the counter tops, building additional framing to mount the cabinets to, and thickening a wall around a built-in servery.
The second source of conflict was a wrongly sized cabinet in the servery, which was designed to stow a stack of extra dining chairs in. Because of a load-bearing wall behind the servery, there wasn’t much depth in the cabinet so a stack of chairs would have to be stowed sideways rather than front or back first, and the chair storage cabinet needed to be at least 28 inches wide because a typical stacking chair doesn’t stack neatly on top of another (the one stacked above usually sticks out in front by roughly an inch). More than once, I had e-mailed the required dimensions to the cabinet supplier, who was also their designer, including during the design stage and also a few days before the cabinet contract was signed. The cabinet that was installed is only a little over 21 inches wide, barely enough to store one chair.
Is there a better place to store a set of extra dining chairs than in a cabinet near the dining table? After first hearing about my idea to have a chair storage cabinet during the design phase, my builder hosted a dinner party and told me at our next meeting what a great idea it was and how he wished he had one too. Better than lugging extra chairs from another room or from the basement, he agreed enthusiastically. Given how much my architect’s design influenced almost every nook of my compact home, I’ve been quite proud of my little idea and I was very upset that it hadn’t been realized. After years of waiting for my new home to be built, I’ve been looking forward to experiencing the unique features of my bespoke home, things that were built especially for me or that I wouldn’t easily find in a second-hand or spec home. The chair storage cabinet was one of those features. The cabinet supplier failed to deliver despite my written instructions long before the design was sent to the factory for production. There were errors in some of the other cabinets too. Most were fixable; at least one I decided I could live with.
For a while, I was placated by the supplier’s attempt to find another chair that would fit in the wrongly sized cabinet. Most of the alternatives he recommended didn’t actually fit; one that may have fit didn’t appeal to me. Plus I really didn’t want to limit my options, in case I decide to replace the chairs later. When the supplier finally told me that he could fix the cabinet but at my expense, I picked up the phone and dialed my lawyer’s number.
The value of a good lawyer
It’s ironic that, of all the people involved in this project, the person I trust the most to be 100% on my side, my lawyer, is also the one I least want to spend time with. Notwithstanding his objective counsel, he charges by the tenth of an hour and is quite expensive. Without divulging too much since my dispute with the cabinet supplier isn’t fully resolved yet, I can share what I learned from consulting my lawyer.
First, it’s good to set aside the funds needed to resolve a dispute through legal means. In addition to hiring an arbitrator, who would cost thousands of dollars (the cabinet contract requires that any dispute be resolved through arbitration), my lawyer estimated that he would spend around 50 hours representing me. I would also have to pay the cabinet supplier’s legal fees if the arbitrator ruled against me. All of this would amount to around five percent of the total construction cost. I hadn’t accounted for any of this in my budget, but thankfully I had enough funds to consider pursuing arbitration as a credible arrow in my quiver. Without it, I would probably be more willing to cede ground in the dispute without a fight. Nuclear deterrence only works if you’re actually able and willing to launch your nukes.
Second, the supplier of built-in cabinets is unique among subcontractors because they are especially difficult to replace. Whereas windows, doors, hardwood floors, and wall paint can be sourced from multiple suppliers and still fit into a cohesive design, cabinets are much harder to mix and match because of the proprietary nature of their materials and finishes. Given the open plan of my main living space, it’s not just kitchen cabinets coming from this supplier, but also paneling and shelving around the entrance, stairwell, and fireplace. Hence, it’s important to choose the right supplier. But because it’s often hard to judge someone’s character, attention to detail, and reliability at the outset, at the minimum, it’s good to have a contract that protects you in case the supplier doesn’t deliver.
Third but not least, it’s great to have a competent real estate attorney on my side. He has provided an objective perspective to moderate my emotions. He has put legal force behind the words I use to press the supplier to deliver. Better still, he has given me enough wisdom to know when to stop fighting. There are worse things that could happen in a home construction project than a dispute with the cabinet supplier, and even that will serve to enrich the story behind my new home. The cabinets that have been produced and installed correctly are looking pretty sharp too.
Thankfully, things are humming along in spite of the ongoing dispute. Although the general contractor has had to phase in the various trades to avoid having too many people on site at the same time and risk a covid infection, the interior walls have been painted and the appliances installed. Lighting and plumbing fixtures are set to be mounted next week.
The Bespoke Home 