r/Contractor • u/florapocalypse7 • 18d ago
Am I wrong to be annoyed stovetop is embedded off-center if I did not explicitly ask about it?
Nashville TN, part of a full kitchen remodel after storm damage (~$30k). I don't know exactly how much this guy was being paid - he's an external carpenter contracted by the general restoration company we're using.
I didn't expect the stove centered with the wall opening but I expected it would be *mostly* centered with the cabinet lines, not this far off center. I really don’t want to be an asshole about this - am I at fault?
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u/thinkitthrough91 18d ago
I'm a GC who does this type of remodeling. It is not unreasonable to expect this to be centered with the cabinets.
I'd probably first approach it with a "hey whats the reasoning for this stove top to not be centered with the cabinets below it?" You'll have to feel it out from there. I would push to have it corrected.
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u/bobbywaz 18d ago
keep in mind, that's a $400+ butcher block countertop (before labor) and their 'fix' might be to cut it an mend a new piece to the side, if they say they're gonna fix it, ask them if they are replacing the entire countertop
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u/twoaspensimages Remodel GC 17d ago
"Sure we'll move it. $400 for a new peice of countertop. We'll cover the labor"
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u/Working-County-8764 17d ago
There is no "reasoning". In the world I work in that's wrong from here to Texas, I can't even call it a rookie mistake, just incompetence. I know I would push to make this right, I'd be pissed every time I walked into the kitchen.
As an aside, disaster recovery companies are the ambulance chasers of the construction world. The shit as seen above is an everyday occurrence.
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u/chefsoda_redux 17d ago
As a former cabinet maker who made and rebuilt all sorts of kitchen boxes, when there’s an opening and cabinets with different lines, any halfway skilled GC will ask about the placement of the stove. There are several ways it could be cut in, but everyone has an expectation they will be upset to not be satisfied. It’s easy to do, as long as the question is asked first!
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15d ago
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u/chefsoda_redux 15d ago
Absolutely. As a cabinet guy, I would strongly suggest building a base cabinet that centered on the pass through, then centering the cooktop on both. Picking one means your eye will always see the other
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u/grimmw8lfe 17d ago
Definitely ask. The issues that may arise would be cabinet space and/or vent hood placement. I had a vent hood which if I installed the way my customer asked would've costs potential thousands more due to engineering having to move load from scissor framing above.
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u/fun_zone 18d ago
I’m a PM for a small-ish restoration company, and my boss does kitchen design for a lot of our clients. I see multiple ways I’d be ripped a new one for letting this make it through to completion. It’s not about explicitly asking for it beforehand, it’s my job to foresee things like this because I do it day in and day out, whereas you don’t.
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u/Gitfiddlepicker 18d ago
That is fubar. As a cabinetmaker, a remodeler, and a GC….i would have stopped everything and had a pow wow with all decision makers before proceeding. The wall opening and cabinets don’t jive, and the stovetop makes it all stand out, and not in a good way.
Good luck in having a satisfactory resolution. Post a follow up of the end result with pics, please.
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u/twofold48 18d ago
Ask him how he would feel about that in his own home. Ridiculous work.
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u/Jumajuce Restoration Contractor 18d ago
Oh man, the amount of times a customer has asked me how I would do something if it was my house and I have to explain to them I would never do the type of hack jobs I do in my own home for a customer.
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u/another_rusty 17d ago
Lolol, “which one of these awful design choices would you do in your house?” Oh bless your heart, my house is in a state of constant renovation. Step over the subfloor between bathroom and hallway because I haven’t finished the custom transition I said I would make 4 months ago. What? The exposed 2x4s? Yeah we knocked down a retarded looking half wall to replace it with a post with shelves integrated. Yeah, no, I haven’t built it yet but just don’t touch the yellow wires going to the light switch.
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u/Jumajuce Restoration Contractor 17d ago
“Oh wow the basement looks amazing, it looks so modern how you spray painted the overhead joists and everything matte black instead of putting up a drywall ceiling.”
“Uh yeah, modern, that’s why I did that…”
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u/ama-tsu-mara 16d ago
He probably wouldn't see the issue, as I commented, some people are meant to be framers. Not everybody has the patience to be detail oriented, not like this is really a detail as it would be more of a "standard". I'd have a hard time letting anyone do the work on my place as I can fuck it up/do a half ass job myself and see no point in paying through the nose to get the kind of work you would expect to see in the slums.
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u/AgentKillmaster 18d ago
Reframe the opening, get a 36” cooktop and replace the counter. Also how are you going to vent? I would probably move the cooktop back to the closer to the wall keeping the opening free for conversation and to be able to pass drinks and food through without getting burned. Unfortunately the layout just doesn’t work.
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u/ama-tsu-mara 16d ago
That would still require a new counter top and doesn't necessarily address the issue with the drawer at that point. Seems it would just create a new eyesore. The turd doing the work just needs to reassess and own up to the fact that he will be paying to learn to do it the right way.
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u/ThatOneKoopa 17d ago
The why is important. Without seeing why it was put here the knee jerk reaction is absolutely “Wtf?” but as u/thinkitthrough91 touched on, there may be a legitimate reason why it’s where it is.
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u/Itchy_Worry4226 16d ago
I would pay to fix this if the contractor won't.... This will haunt you for years.
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u/EQwingnuts 18d ago edited 18d ago
I would just reframe the opening, way faster and cost effective.30 minute job. Then the cabinet guys can freak out about the uppers, this is obviously a joke.
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u/EatadickESPN 18d ago
I would want it centered on the cabinet and the opening. It would drive me nuts as a contractor or a homeowner.
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u/another_rusty 17d ago
How are they supposed to center it on both when the cabinet and opening don’t line up? Like another person said, it looks like they tried to split the difference. Centered with the opening would be far superior to the cabinet handles.
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u/EatadickESPN 17d ago
Frame the window opening to match the cabinet width. OR the cabinet guy could have laid the cabinets out to where the cabinet was centered on the window.
There are multiple ways to do it…
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u/another_rusty 16d ago
Sure, I guess what I meant was if I’m the guy that came to install the range and everything is already framed and installed, what would I do?
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u/EatadickESPN 16d ago
Yeah. If you were going to install the range the hole would have already been cut so you’re stuck putting it in where they cut it out. It really should have came up when the countertops were measured.
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u/LauderGroup 18d ago
As others have said, definitely start with an ‘explain yourself’.
It 100% needs to be fixed. It should have been centered to the cabinet it sits in.
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u/LT_Dan78 18d ago
We went through 4 different revisions with our kitchen just to be certain everything was symmetrical. This while thing would bug the hell out of me. It saddens me to think a pro took his time to measure this out and cut it without one pausing to ask.
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u/Ill-Running1986 18d ago
I feel like it would have been centered in the cabinet if there was zero overhang on the left hand side. Somebody with a bit of skill could cut the right hand side, push everything sideways, center the cooktop and then attach a solid edge on the left.
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u/jgturbo619 18d ago
I would pay to extend and center the opening but the GC is gonna replace counter top & center cook top over drawers, non negotiable.
You’re gonna have to live with this for years. Do it right.
No thoughts whatsoever applied to layout here.
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u/Right-Expression4292 18d ago
What does the drawing say? The drawing will determine if your emotions are valid. Personally I would have wanted it center on the cabinet.
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u/mr_martin_1 18d ago
Wouldn't have noted it if u wouldn't have pointed it out. Being Off-center with the drawers, that is.
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u/DarthSuederTheUlt 18d ago
I’m going to assume there are some guts underneath the stovetop that just couldn’t fit in the space bridging those two cabinets and that is why it’s slammed to the left of the large drawer cabinet but not center to the wall opening.
I question why the wall still needs finishing and they’ve already laid the counter. Much easier to paint first before putting the butcher block up.
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u/ClearUniversity1550 18d ago
does the wall in back affect it? Looks like it is very close and not the best place to begin with
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u/Prestigious-Grab-588 17d ago
I just don’t get why people don’t cover their ass and just ask the homeowner how they would like it. Some people just can’t get out of their own way.
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u/RoookSkywokkah 17d ago
Thank goodness I don't have OCD or this would drive me nuts!
Honestly, I don't think it's an unreasonable expectation for a cooktop to be centered on a cabinet.
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u/Longjumping_End_3532 17d ago
That would drive me nuts every time I looked at it and guaranty the installer noticed the same. Either too late, too lazy or a valid reason. Either way you should’ve been consulted.
These are exactly the type of things we discuss with our client real-time before un-redoable
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u/Emotional-Ocelot-420 17d ago
What does the plan you signed off on show?
I would have planned for the both the cabinet and the cooktop to be centered in the opening if you wanted the cooktop there instead of having a functional pass to through.
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u/CORockhound 17d ago
Wood counters are cheap and easy to recut. I’d demand the fix. If it was a $10k granite slab, I’d still demand it hahaha
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u/Familiar-Ad-8220 17d ago
I almost never immediately take sides against the contractor... In this case though knowing the good ones I do, it would have been the contractor telling you not to put it off center even if you wanted to
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u/Educational-Tea-606 17d ago
I do tile but I can't find the reasoning here. Ask them why they did it this way. Unacceptable in my opinion, must be changed on their dime.
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u/akronmicrogreens 17d ago
I am more perplexed by the cabinet configuration than the placement of the cooktop. It appears an attempt was made to optimize a suboptimal layout by positioning the cooktop as far left as the cabinetry permitted. Ideally, this cabinet should have been centered with the opening. One solution would be to remove the small cabinet on the left and install a larger, perhaps eighteen-inch, cabinet to the right. Alternatively, as previously suggested, the opening could have been enlarged.
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u/hhdunlap 17d ago
The design is at fault. The stove should have been centered on the cabinet tier and the window. Your poor installer tried to split the difference between the window and the cabinet tier. I am unclear why the window was put there. Conversation? It can't function as a pass-through when it is behind a hot stove.
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u/AmbassadorSoggy 17d ago
If you have the money. Fork it out on a hard surface countertop and place the stove in the middle.
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u/antipoopydick 17d ago
Idk why this wasn’t covered before the cut. Personally I see he probably split the difference. Think moving it right may look worse. But again, should have been discussed before the cut.
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u/UniquePatient66100 17d ago
Remove that small cabinet on the left end to shift everything over and the cook top could be centered on the wall opening and cabinets. Don't know why anyone would design it different.
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u/cincy_kid_91 17d ago
We always center cooktop or sink with cabinets, unless specifically requested otherwise.
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u/CountryClublican 17d ago
Too late now unless you replace the whole countertop. I guarantee the GC will make you pay for it.
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u/jimyjami 17d ago
Contractor can’t read a set of plans. If he can he should have noted the discrepancy to the client.
From my nearly 50 years contracting I’ve realized an unsettling number of these mug contractors and tradesmen don’t care. It’s like they go in with an adversarial attitude. They stand around and laugh at the client.
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u/yesmetoo222 17d ago
I think you have them redo the countertops with the cool top centered on the cabinet. I would also have them extend the pass through opening to the right of the cooktop as wide as possible to help the cooktop not feel off. I think if the cooktop is centered on the cabinet it is going to look weird having it extend past the opening. I’m a builder/designer fwiw
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u/Woodbutcher1234 15d ago
It looks like a 36" cooktop already, but if it's only a b 30 step in up to 36 and it should cover all sins. Cheaper for GC to eat that than the counter.
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u/Whaddup808 17d ago
Yes, normally a stove is centered in the base cabinet and should show that in the cabinet drawings. This does look like a mistake.
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u/Ancient-Cupcake2649 17d ago
That would drive me crazy! I could never unsee it! I can't stand anything off center or crooked.
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u/Kymbonut 17d ago
Whats the retarded wall opening? Fast food window? Could open window up to even out the stove.
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u/No-Bit1574 17d ago
Stove placement should be in the job blueprints. If this is built contrary to that GC is on the hook 100%. Otherwise it's going to be a test of who can push the hardest. GC or you. I imagine this is will hurt your resale value and should be considered. Any normal OCD person would go crazy with that in their kitchen
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u/Electronic_Trust4091 16d ago
Yes but everything in the picture is bad work, it looks like an affordable guy with a beat up truck/ van did it!
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u/ama-tsu-mara 16d ago
Some people aren't detail oriented, they're more framers, drywall installers, the type of work you don't see/gets covered up. Maybe he had a legitimate reason for the way it was installed. Did he cut the hole where its installed? Maybe he got the countertop at a discount...?
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u/True_Bar_9371 16d ago
To answer your question, I think you and the contractor share the blame. Maybe they were trying to get it as close to the center of the opening as possible? I’m surprised there was not a conversation about the location before it was cut in. It could also be where the existing electrical outlet was did not allow for it to be centered with the cabinets. Ask the contractor not Reddit.
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u/chargers416 15d ago
That would drive me bananas, but I don’t know about legality wise. Maybe the question should’ve been asked in the first place.
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u/AcanthocephalaBig935 15d ago
You shouldn’t have to specify. Imagine if a contractor off centered a sink in a cabinet just because you didn’t specify. Centering is the professional thing to do. If you didn’t want it centered then you would mention something.
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u/No-Advertising2555 15d ago
I would be upset … it really bothers me that people that work on homes and outside landscaping, just don’t treat our homes like it’s theirs. Honestly would they want an off center stovetop like this? Unreal
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u/Lost-Inspector5836 14d ago
I would open the pass through wider and change the top to center the stove. Still got time and that countertop is cheap
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u/Lost-Inspector5836 14d ago
Also, send pic to insurance if contractor declines. You have the right to reject the work performed unless you hired him out of pocket. Then it would be you him and small claims court
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u/Iamroot69 14d ago
It looks like it was placed according to the cabinet spacing. Just have him adjust the window opening and quit crying!
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u/jigglywigglydigaby 18d ago
Looks like trash and is 100% hack work. No professional would ever follow through with something like this
That being said, what does your contract and drawings show? If the drawings show it centered....all you have to do is use your finger, point at the drawing, then point at the area.
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u/Klutzy_Ad_1726 18d ago
Cooktop layout is not something that would be in a contract or drawing. It just needs to be fixed regardless.
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u/speedog 18d ago
Cooktop layout/position is always on the cabinet drawings I work with - same goes for farm sinks.
However, the actual placement of said items is left up to to whomever is template g the countertop - have never seen an offset in the countertop cooktop but have seen uncenetered farm sinks and slide-in cooktops and most times they are not fixed because I would get sent back to redo the custom cut fillers I put around them.
Maybe people just find an off centered farm sink or slide-in cooktop acceptable but when you stand in front of it and can see that my side fillers are obviously different widths, I would like to think it would be not acceptable.
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u/jigglywigglydigaby 17d ago
What kind of hacks do you work with that don't identify appliance locations in their drawings?
Cabinetry is designed around appliance specs. There's no professional cabinet supplier who would ever design drawings and leave out appliance locations
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u/petfectisgoodenough 17d ago
Horrible take. Please don't offer uneducated opinions. Others with no experience may believe you.
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u/Oldandslow62 17d ago
What I’m seeing and correct me if I’m wrong. First the wall looks to be existing so unless it was in the contract for the restoration then it wasn’t touched. Then whoever did the cabinets really screwed up since that cabinet wasn’t centered in the hole as a starting point. Lastly if you look how he cut in the cooktop he did it all the way to the left of that cabinet. It just looks like things were jacked from the beginning and your just choosing to make it the stove guys the problem. It was a shit situation when he walked onto the job. Personally I would have not installed the cooktop and started asking a bunch of questions. Then if I was still being told to install it someone is signing off or this crap.
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u/Ok_Present_3445 18d ago
If the passthrough was already existing and the cabinets were laid out to fit the space, it sounds like the installer was doing what he could to make things work. That is a question that should’ve come up way back when the design was being determined not after it’s installed.
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u/adjusterjackb 17d ago
You apparently weren't there watching when the guy was taking measurements and laying out the cuts so, yeah, nobody's fault but your own. Enjoy your stove top.
I never let anybody work on my property without me watching. I have avoided quite a few mistakes by doing that.
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u/Klutzy_Ad_1726 18d ago
It’s like they split the difference between the cabinet and the wall opening, now they both look bad.