Cabinets should ALWAYS be installed at the finished floor height, whether that is accomplished by the use of shims, plywood, or finished flooring under the cabinets.Yeah, it's his fault. Sounds like his first kitchen and you got to be the guinea pig. I'd wonder what else he screwed up that you don't know about. And no,he's probably not going to do what you want. That's a LOT of labor, and if you have stone tops, it risks breaking them, which would also be on him.

There are some shorter DW's out there, like some of the Euro models, and even some of the American makers have shorter ones that will work in this situation. It's not ideal, but it will work.

BTW, this guy IS licensed and insured and you pulled permits, right?

If the kitchen is finished, I don't see how he can raise the cabinets without also redoing the countertops and backsplash, not to mention the new cuts he'd have to make in the back of the cabinets for allow for plumbing.

Is this a wall cabinet or an island?
Another option: see if the opening will accept, or can be altered to accept, a drawer type DW. Some of the double drawers are a couple inches shorter than a standard DW.

Also, it isn't necessary to tile under the cabinets, or the DW area, since the sub flooring can just be built up. If you find a DW that exposes more flooring, then have him tile in that area.

" He installed the cabinets on the sub-floor and installed the HardieBacker and tile over two layers of linoleum. "

That doesn't make sense. Are the cabinets installed on top of 2 layers of linoleum or on top of the subfloor? If the subfloor was exposed under the cabinets, why didn't the guy rip out the old flooring down to the subfloor?

Usually linoleum is laid over particle board underlayment. Any moisture gets down there and that particle board swells up. Not a good thing to have happen under tile. I would always remove the particle board underlayment down to the subfloor, then install cement board over thinset. This assures a sound surface for the tile.

Switch too two FP dish dwrs, which will fit in a standard base cabinet, at the contractors expense, of course.

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This post was edited by Calrissian34 on Wed, Dec 3, 14 at 11:23

There are shorter DW's out there. The link below lists just one.

Here is a link that might be useful: DW's

You really can't do a modern kitchen redo without touching the electrical, so yes, you will always need a permit of some variety to do a kitchen redo. And the reason to ask about permits is to determine whether or not the contractor is a legitimate above board kind of guy who might be out of his depth, or if he's used to skirting the law and just getting by.

A customer's response to the to different types of guys can be different, depending on what his character might be. It's not that a permitted and inspected project will have less issues. It's that it has another layer of official oversight---not guaranteed to catch problems---but it adds a level. A contractor who usually works with permits is usually much more skilled and transparent than one who works without.

As far as "jacking up" the cabinets. No, not a good idea if you have stone counters. It can break them. Uppers should be mounted 54" from the finished floor height, and I'll bet that he used the subfloor height for them as well. That impacts the standard 18" clearance between lowers and uppers. That can be an issue for small appliances and around the range for fire safety if you raise the lowers. You'll also have to raise the uppers. In other words, do everything over.

No, the real world solution is getting a shorter DW and making him pay for it. And send him with a letter outlining where his incompetence cost him in both paying for the DW and a lack of referrals from you. Explain what he SHOULD have done, (including permits, and setting the cabs at the finished floor height, as well as anything else he did wrong like no GFI outlets, etc.) and learn to live with the shorter DW. If there is a really long list of things he did wrong, that include important things like the electrical and plumbing, then I'd send him a letter outlining that, and refusing the payment in order to get someone in to correct the critical safety issues.

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This post was edited by Calrissian34 on Wed, Dec 3, 14 at 11:24

OK, now you are starting to talk about issues that involve safety. There's enough red flags here that I'd want someone who has some basic knowledge to come in and do an inspection to see what else you might be missing. Do you have a family friend or relative that can do that for you? If not, then you may want to see about paying another contractor to come in and assess the issues. I wouldn't approach the codes office until you have a good idea of exactly what needs to be addressed as far as redo's. Electrical is a big one though. Because different locations have different responses to projects done without permitting. You need that type of information in hand before you think of talking with the codes office.

And the answer to "who pays for the errors" involves your contract and how it's worded, and if any of those words mention "industry standards" "code standards" or manufacturer installation requirements". And it's also a can of worms as to whether or not the contractor is above board enough to be able to hold to a contract, or if he'll just fold, declare bankruptcy and leave you holding the bag.

Either way, hold on to the money you owe him, because that's your only leverage at this point. If the list of things he's done wrong starts to mount up, I'd personally want him to remove the stone (at his own risk of replacement) uninstall the cabinets, (at his own risk of replacement) and address the electrical issues, whatever plumbing issues might be found, then put down ply and re-install the cabinets correctly. If he's an above board guy though, he would have already offered to do that.

In a situation where you're dealing with a hack, all bets are off as to how to get him to do anything but put a lien on your home if you don't pay him. That's where it's gonna be important to have your ducks in a row, and it's why it's important to work with him to solve the issues that exist first. But, you first have to know how many issues there are.

Or he pays to have someone who truly know what he is doing to correct the mistakes. If he made short cuts and screwed up visual and or easily noticeable items I would be concerned with the hidden mistakes. The declension is your if he you trust him to make things right or not (I would err on the side of someone else personally with him footing the bill).

You are entirely in the right. Your contractor is incompetent and his "solution" of removing and replacing tile in order to install the dishwasher is asinine. Does he expect you to hammer out the floor every time the dishwasher needs service or replacement? Fire him, don't give him any more money and don't let him back in your house. There are no shorter dishwashers, so don't waste time looking for one. Hire someone who knows what they are doing and takes pride in their work. Have the cabinets removed and reinstalled at the correct height. I like to install tile or whatever finish floor from wall to wall and then install cabinets, but it's not strictly necessary. Have everything in the kitchen gone over and checked for problems.

As far as permits go, they aren't necessarily required if the job consists of replacing/repairing. Here in Nashville, I can completely gut and remodel a kitchen without a permit.

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This post was edited by Calrissian34 on Wed, Dec 3, 14 at 11:25

Calrissian34:

Hold on to the money.

While you may be able to get a smaller dishwasher, that won't solve your problem if you get a slide-in style range. Your finished countertop height may now be so low as to be out of the adjustment range of the feet which will mean the bottom of the range top flange won't kiss the countertop.

This is a rookie mistake and the rookie needs to pay $7,800.00 worth of tuition at the school of hard knocks.

Hold on to the money.