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corgimum

I just need to vent a little...

corgimum
11 years ago

***Now with photos- please tell me what you think***

Our remodeling project has gone well for the most part.

We gutted and rebuilt the kitchen and powder room from scratch,
painted those rooms, the front hall, living room and dining room and are replacing all of the baseboards.

As part of these projects we had hardwood installed in the kitchen, hall and bath. It was poorly installed and resulted in two more trips for repairs (and there are still issues). The plan was to have the hardwood installed in the LR and DR, steps and upstairs hall, but with all of the issues we decided to get carpeting.

So, I pulled my business from the hardwood company (they do carpet too) and went with someone else.

Today the carpet was installed. As I was looking it over it seemed wrong. The color was about what I expected but the pile looked too long. So, I pulled out the sample and lo and behold THEY INSTALLED THE WRONG CARPET. Will this remodel ever end? Sometimes what you think are the simple things cause the most problems...sigh.

This post was edited by corgimum on Fri, Mar 8, 13 at 15:12

Comments (27)

  • beekeeperswife
    11 years ago

    sounds like you need a blood orange margarita....

    hang in there girl

  • mountaineergirl
    11 years ago

    Oh my I can sympathize with you! Due to a water leak we had a major remodel. Somedays I would just scream "I hate contractors!!" Most of them just plain don't give a rats a$$ about your house. We finally said get out we will finish ourselves. Fortunately for us, the issues were mostly cosmetic. Just lipstick. But still aggravating.

    So sorry you're going thru this. For me, getting away for a weekend here and there helps. And wine :)

    Some days you just have to back up and look at the good things. For me I would just think of the hurricane sandy victims who still don't have a home to live in.

    But at the same time I do have a low tolerance for incompetency. :/

  • beekeeperswife
    11 years ago

    ....oh, and I have a hunch that our carpet in this house is the wrong color. Of course the day they were installing it, I went right to the builder's office, found the "designer" and told her I wanted to compare the piece of carpet from my house that was in my hand to the sample in the selections room at the office....guess what? They just discontinued it so she threw away the piece I had looked at! Who does that? She threw it out! There was no way to compare the two! And of course the carpet people don't call it by name, it has some bogus number on it that cannot be cross referenced to anything in the universe....

    so yes, I feel your pain, at least you KNOW and can prove they screwed up....

    you still need a blood orange margarita...or two

  • smiling
    11 years ago

    Oh No, what a pain, you must be so upset and disappointed having to deal with their mess-up. Wish I could pat your shoulder and say "There, There" in person. And it will be OK in the end, it will be right, and you will like it after all the work is over. Time for an adult beverage or two until you can get on them tomorrow...

  • deedles
    11 years ago

    Oy. It's like a person needs to hover like a ghost over every single thing or pay the price in mistakes by others.

    I can show you a picture of my crappy marmoleum floor if you want to feel like you aren't alone....

  • suzanne_sl
    11 years ago

    Vent away! When you recover some, be sure to write an honest review on Yelp! or one of those online review forums. That's how we knew to bypass one place, all one-star reviews, and go a little further afield to another, all 5-star reviews.

  • corgimum
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thank you for the support. I am scratching my head to try to figure out where things went wrong. Hope to find out tomorrow. The leftover piece has our name on the back so the installers brought the ''right'' piece. The order has the correct carpet listed so the salesman did his job. So it was either the order placer or the mill pulled the wrong carpet.

    I did have two tall drafts at dinner so I am a bit more relaxed:)

  • drbeanie2000
    11 years ago

    I can vouch for the blood orange margarita. It goes down real easy...

  • raehelen
    11 years ago

    OK, now I want a Blood Orange Margarita...Anyone gonna share the recipie?

  • ginny20
    11 years ago

    Forget the wine and the beer and the margaritas. This calls for straight bourbon.

    How could they install the wrong carpet? This is unbelievable. Sometimes no amount of oversight will head off mistakes. So are they going to reinstall the correct carpet?

  • bichonlover
    11 years ago

    The carpet installed in our home in October was the wrong color, too! However, I discovered the mistake before they got too far into the job. Installation was stopped immediately and I took tons of pics with my sample (that I never returned to the store and I'm soooo happy I didn't!) in comparison with what they were putting in. It had the same name but it was a much lighter color. Since it was special order and I needed my floors finished, the carpet company (Mohawk) took 40% off the price and I decided I could live with the color! :)

    Sorry that you are having a rough go of it!

  • corgimum
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    My salesman is coming Monday to see it. I could live with the carpet in the LR and DR with a generous financial benefit but not on the steps and upper hallway. It is a frieze and is just too long and loose. I will take some pics this weekend and see what you all think. I think the mill might have made the mistake so we will see what happens.

    The worst part is my china cabinet is sitting in the kitchen and my family room is full of chairs and miscellaneous stuff until this is all sorted out! Plus I am hosting Easter dinner this year and am not happy about another delay in getting my house back together. Perhaps I need some more adult beverages!

  • corgimum
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Let's start with the close-up view...

  • corgimum
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Next we see the sample that I ordered on top of the installed carpet...

  • corgimum
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    And here is a close-up of how the steps meet the LR... (sorry about the shadows)

  • corgimum
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    So as you can see, the colors are close but the pile is not. I don't think I can live with the carpet on the steps and hallway due to the high pile. I can live with the LR and DR but is is a bit darker than I would like. Still not crazy about the high pile and frieze for the LR/DR. I have a frieze in the family room and am fine with it there.

    How do you think the installed carpet looks next to the sample on the steps if I keep the LR/DR carpet? In reality, the steps will need replacing in 8 years so at that point they likely won't match the LR.

    What kind of compensation (percentage wise) would you expect to get if you agreed to keep carpet that you didn't select?

  • beekeeperswife
    11 years ago

    If you wanted a frieze you would have ordered it.

    End of story.

    And attached is the recipe for the blood orange margaritas, for raehelen

    Here is a link that might be useful: thread with recipe

  • corgimum
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    But Bee, the wastefulness bothers me and it is a very nice carpet. Probably a higher price than what I ordered. Yes I did not order a frieze. But I could live with it in the LR/DR. Just can't decide at what savings.

  • beekeeperswife
    11 years ago

    I totally get that about the wastefulness mum (my crack team installed the wrong hardwood in our house, and I couldn't bear to waste it and rip it out, so I bargained and had them do more rooms and hallways in h/w), but do you want to have 2 different carpets because you don't want this on the steps? Would they be willing to spring for doing hardwood steps instead of ripping it all out, etc? (If that's even possible, and if you even would want that, of course).

  • chicagoans
    11 years ago

    I would call them right away and go as high up in the organization as you can. Then I'd tell them the wrong carpet was installed and you have the sample and pictures to prove it. (But double check your paperwork first! Make sure you didn't sign something with the wrong product ordered.)

    Then I'd say something like this, "I really want it replaced because it's not what I want and not what I ordered. BUT, that seems so wasteful. I'm willing to consider keeping it, but ONLY if I get a serious discount on the price. What is your best offer? Can you give me enough of a discount that I can be happy with carpet that isn't what I want?"

    Then the ball is in their court. You have the power here because you have the right to make them tear out and replace, which is a serious cost to them. (But again, check your paperwork first.) And if it comes down to having it replaced, they might be able to resell some of it as a remnant so don't feel too horrible about the wastefulness.

    As an alternative, if they replace it and say that they're going to ditch the current carpeting, call Habitat for Humanity and see if they want it. Or do you have a basement that could use the carpeting?

  • beasty
    11 years ago

    I thought the recommendation on this forum was to vent a lot!

  • autumn.4
    11 years ago

    Wow that is not even close in pile - obviously different. I hope you are able to come to a resolution and that they remedy the situation for you.

  • jerzeegirl
    11 years ago

    I would try to get the carpet for free. The carpet people have lost their money already by installing the wrong carpet, since you have every right to have them remove it. They should cut their losses and call it a day. If they have to uninstall the carpet they will have to spend more time on something they won't get paid for.

  • ginagordon_gw
    11 years ago

    FWIW, We had a terrible install from a big box store and they reimbursed the entire project and we got to keep the carpet. They actually left a tool underneath the carpet! But it lasted just long enough for us to save to have hardwood floors installed instead!

  • User
    11 years ago

    We used to have the kind of carpeting you have down now. There is no way you will get 8 years out of those steps. I now have the kind of pile you chose in the first place that replaced the 5 year old carpet I took out because the steps were shot. This has been down over 15 years and will likely "ugly out" as my carpet guy responded when asked about durability. We also came to hate the longer pile pretty quickly as it was tough to keep clean and prone to keeping the cat hair all to itself when we vacuumed. Stick to your guns here and get it replaced with the stuff you wanted in the first place. Remember the old saying about the price being forgotten, but the quality will be remembered. They can't pay you enough to keep you satisfied with what they installed. You will hate it until you replace it. (At your expense of course.)

  • User
    11 years ago

    We used to have the kind of carpeting you have down now. There is no way you will get 8 years out of those steps. I now have the kind of pile you chose in the first place that replaced the 5 year old carpet I took out because the steps were shot. This has been down over 15 years and will likely "ugly out" as my carpet guy responded when asked about durability. We also came to hate the longer pile pretty quickly as it was tough to keep clean and prone to keeping the cat hair all to itself when we vacuumed. Stick to your guns here and get it replaced with the stuff you wanted in the first place. Remember the old saying about the price being forgotten, but the quality will be remembered. They can't pay you enough to keep you satisfied with what they installed. You will hate it until you replace it. (At your expense of course.)

  • corgimum
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Mini update:
    Salesman was here and agreed it is the wrong carpet. Same color but the deep pile and twisted yarn makes it look a little darker. Apparently the carpet I chose comes with a guarantee that if they put it down and you don't like it- no matter what the reason- they will replace it. I asked them to replace it with the carpet I chose and that I would also like something for my trouble. Salesman has to contact his quality control people and the mill to work out the details and get back to me. (I asked what they would do with the LR and DR carpet and he said they will probably sell it at their remnant store so they will be getting something for it.)