Expo Kitchen Remodeling Projects

During planning for our kitchen remodel we decided to go with Silestone countertops. They look like real stone (at 30% less), are heat and stain resistant, and do not require seasonal sealing. Problem (big problem as it turns out) is that Home Depot and Expo are the only authorized reps of this product.

The person we were forced to deal with was (to put it bluntly) a complete idiot. She complained about her sore back, was rude, easily distracted, and was constantly correcting mistakes on the order form. While we were there she had to leave us to deal with a disgruntled customer. Turns out that Expo's quote was off by over $1,500 (low) of the installer's actual cost after taking measurements. She was demanding a refund and was obviously hot about this situation. We made a mental note of this encounter.

After repeated phone calls our counters were finally scheduled for measurement. We were told that someone from Expo would be contacting us if there was an additional amount due. We were also told that this is not uncommon because people are not always accurate (themselves) in estimating square footage, and Expo center's staff are poorly trained and consistently make mistakes in this regard. Several weeks went by and no one ever called us. In retrospect we probably should have been on the phone ourselves the very next day. After 10 phone calls to installers and Expo (who had lost our paperwork) we finally found out that there was a balance due of $642.00. Not a big deal and certainly well within our budget.

The problem is that countertops are the key and cornerstone to our remodel. Since there was a balance due (that we did not know about) nothing more was done on their end. Nothing was cut and installation was not on their schedule. This will delay our project completion by almost a month. All other work has stopped and we will be without a functioning kitchen well past the first of the year. Besides the obvious inconvenience we have had to cancel our planned vacation to accommodate the completion of this project.

It has been over 3 months of attempting to rectify granite countertops that were installed in my kitchen. To date, I have paid in full and to date, I still have a failed seam line and a nick in a cabinet. I have placed over 10 calls with no return calls. The last straw was an additional charge, unauthorized by me, of $85.00 on my Visa.

I contracted for a Kitchen Remodelling Project in 8/02. To date (11/03), the project is still incomplete. In the middle of my project, my designer, Cynthia, quit. However, no one at the Expo told me or reassigned a new designer. After not receiving any email or telephone calls back from my designer, I called to finally learn she had quit. I was referred to the Project Design Supervisor, Yolanda, who informed me that my design was done and I needed only to work through the project with the Project Superintendent, Howard.

However, the design did not work, it was not to code. Several cabinetry items had to be returned (since they didn't fit). At this point the person in charge of the Design Dept, Allison, went to my home to redesign my kitchen. She sent me a fax the next day, which I signed off on in order to get the job done. She never got back to me on any of my questions regarding the design and I have not heard from her since.

My floor was supposedly levelled, but the cabinetry clearly is not aligned. The refrigerator came with damaged drawers and an interior scratch. The decorative wood pieces are damaged. My hood has been ordered three separate times and I still don't have one. My outdoor lights and GFI outlets do not work ever since the electrician came to install the recessed lighting, some of the doors were not hung evenly, base molding was never ordered, my tile had to be reordered because some of it was missing, $500 pair of earrings are missing from my jewelry box, and the list goes on. NO ONE FROM THE EXPO has addressed any of my issues. I am currently seeking counsel.

My kitchen was considered high-end ($65,000). I thought Expo was one of the better places to go, only to have a very expensive job completed by either mediocre or worse contractors. I have had to eat all of my meals out. After the theft of my earrings, I am now nervous about thieves returning to my home and breaking in. It has been difficult getting up all the stairs that lead to my townhouse door without lighting; without GFI in my bathroom, I am forced to use outlets in other parts of the house to do my hair. The delivery men always called me (interrupting me at work), when the Project was supposed to be run by The Expo. In fact, without being assigned a new designer, I was often greatly inconvenienced and misinformed.

My friends were getting their kitchen remodeled. The wife was dying of Lou Gehrig's disease, but wanted to get the kitchen done, hoping to have it done before she died. Since she was wheelchair bound, they felt Expo was the best place because it was one stop shopping.

The experience was a nightmare. My friend died before the kitchen was done due to the many problems caused by Expo. To name a few: The wrong color cabinets were shipped ending up in a 1-month delay (a month is a long time when you're dying). The overhang of the kitchen counter prevents you from putting a pot on the back burner. The water faucet was installed too close to the back splash and you can't turn the hot water on to its full position. The cabinet that was to house the refrigerator extended 8 inches into the doorway.

If we had let them install the cabinets and counters as designed, there would have be a 2 foot walkway from the front door past the kitchen into the family room. There were multiple other disaster regarding plumbing fixtures, etc. When I tried to call Atlanta to complain, all they would say was that "We can't really do anything about this until the project is done." They also said things like, "All remodel jobs have some problems."

My friend died and never got to see her kitchen completed.

Despite having to measure several times nobody called to apologise about all this mess. In fact one of the section supervisors from Carrara Marble Company was very rude when I called him about the delay and the way these people were conducting business. He in fact asked why should I apologise to you? They were also equally bad in returning phone calls. Carrara Marble is subcontractor to Expo design, which in turn employs subcontractors to do its below-standard work.

Our house could not be finished on time because the kitchen and bathrooms had to wait on homedepot's people and mistakes, which caused our delay in moving into the home (being constructed) and we had to pay more rent where we were living to wait for the home being built ... which also delayed all the bank transactions being closed which delayed our contractor from finishing our home ... it was a vicious circle. This did not help our marital harmony at all, either.

We lived without any kitchen whatsoever for over two months. HD then installed a small temporary kitchen for us, but that's all it is--a barely functioning kitchen. We have serious questions about the contractor's ability to do the job well (on the basis of what he's done so far) and do not believe our concerns are being taken seriously. We have a stately home, we love to cook and entertain, which we have not been able to do since December.

My kitchen has nothing in it because I was expecting them to start working after I got the bid. I now have to find someone else to do the job and recreate the floor plan. I need to start over in the process of selecting materials and appliances. This is creating a prolonged instability in my house and an a minimum economic loss of the $750.

If you plan on taking on a kitchen or bathroom project, I suggest you do many hours of homework and thoroughly research your contractor and any other sources involved in the project.