Kitchen remodeller caused problems

What is the name of your state? ohio
we signed a contract with a local company to remodel our kitchen, approx. $23,000. the work was finished in may/june of 2001. when winter came we started having heating problems. the kitchen is usually 6 to 8 degrees colder than the living room, and the living room is usually 6 to 8 degrees colder than the upstairs hall. (the upstairs bedroom and bath are even warmer than the upstairs hall.) we can no longer adust the temperature of the house so it is an even temperature throughout. we have to leave it with the downstairs uncomfortably cold, and the upstairs uncomfortable warm. you can imagine how difficult it is to walk from the upstairs to the downstairs, or from the living room to the kitchen, with that kind of temperature difference.

in addition, the kitchen is extremely cold, with a cold blast of air coming in through the west wall, and from the cabinets and drawers against this west wall.

these problems never existed before the remodel. the temperature in the house was always even. the kitchen was as warm as the rest of the house.

i have several months worth of documentated phone conversations with the remodeling company. they did install one additional electric baseboard heater in the kitchen, but that has not made a difference.

the salesman who sold us on the remodel visited the house last week. he indicated that with regards to the cold air coming in through the west wall, we were "stuck with it." he came on a day when the temperature difference between the upstairs and downstairs was not too bad, so he did not notice it. i have not yet pushed them but i don't believe that they will do much to fullfull their responsibilities.

as part of the remodel, they removed three medium sized radiatiors and replaced them with one very small radiator. now here's the key point - before we signed the contract, he showed us the layout of the kitchen. when we saw that he proposed replacing three radiatiors with one small one we were concerned about the heat in the kitchen. he assured us that the small radiator would be sufficient. it seems to me that he is therefore obligated to fix the heating problems we've been experiencing.

we sure don't have money to spend on an attorney. what can we do?

sorry for the long post. believe me, even this is a condensed version.

thanks,

dave

[HomeGuru]

What do you want them to do?

Thanks for the reply, HomeGuru.

I'd like them to fix it. Before, I could adust the temperature to say, 70 degrees, and it would be that temperature in every room in the house. I need to have that back.

Also, I want them to do something about the cold air coming in through the west wall.

Either they can fix it or pay to have someone else fix it. I doubt that they'll do either.

they removed three medium sized radiatiors and replaced them with one very small radiator
==============

I think the problem here is NO BODY spends $23,000 on remodeling the kitchen and then doesnt use it.

That is you answer each and every day its cold USE IT, bake a cake, boil pasta, broil a steak, use the damn kitchen.

That would be my logical guess as to why they took out 3 large radiators and installed a small one, becuase they EXPECTED you to generate heat BY COOKING A LOT!

and by cooking a lot you will have lots of heat downstairs and it will fool the thermostadt into believing additional heat is not needed and the upstairs will be cooler..

So... get out your cooking pans cook a 20lb turkey Saturday, boil potatoes,cook some side dishes, have a thanksgiving dinner in February, then see how the temperature of the house reacts.....and have fun!

[HomeGuru]

[quote]Originally posted by dkw
[b]Thanks for the reply, HomeGuru.

I'd like them to fix it. Before, I could adust the temperature to say, 70 degrees, and it would be that temperature in every room in the house. I need to have that back.

Also, I want them to do something about the cold air coming in through the west wall.

Either they can fix it or pay to have someone else fix it. I doubt that they'll do either.

**A: consult with an HVAC contractor and then send a certfied rrr letter to the kitchen contractor licensed owner.

Take the contractor to small claims court. If you win they have the money to pay or should have. If the work they did included the heating system then they would be liable to provide a new one that is satisfactory to the average person. Hire a heating contractor to take a quick look and do an estimation of the heat loss for that room and the amount of heat needed and see if the contractors did what they were supposed to do. There are standard formulas for heat loss and the heating systems required that no one can disagree with. Also if the contractor said the one unit would replace the three units and provide the necesary heat and if it doesn't hire a heating contractor for an expert opinion using standard heat loss formulas and see if the contractor was wrong.

Geez...everyone wants to sue sue sue......

Here's what i think happened, she wanted her kitchen redone,($23,000 is not a small job) she mentioned she wanted to be the next Martha Stewart, and how she would love to be able to cook all those fancy goodies, so the contractor figured in the amount of heat that would be generated while she would be cooking a Lot, By taking out 3 radiators and installing one..

Now the posted changed her mind like any fickle woman, and the kitchen is cold, because she doesnt want to cook like Martha Stewart anymore.