suing cabinet maker

What is the name of your state? CT

I had a new home built in 2002 that had custom cabinets installed. I had a written contract with a local cabinetmaker to do the cabinets and bathroom countertops. I wanted a custom hood over the stove which he listed on the contract as "wood hood". I later provided him with a photo of how I wanted the hood to look and a short writeup along with it. I have a copy of the photo & writeup.

The hood was made, but is a very half-ass version of the one in the photo. Its obvious he took the easy way out. The hood was to have an arched bottom with corresponding arched raised panels, a "keystone" piece in the center of the arch, and the sides were to have fluted accents. These were visible in the photo and I specified those in my writeup. He installed a box with 2 rectangle cabinet doors attached to the front. No arched panels, no keystone, no fluted side panels. When confronted about it he said "Shut up, it's close enough". I wrote my attorney a letter and explained the situation to him as a matter of record.

Moving on to the upstairs vanity - the countertop is about 2" too short on both sides leaving a large gap between the countertop and adjacent walls. He supposedly ordered some "side-splashes" to fit into the gap. After months of excuses the items never came. Also, the vanity itself is about 3" too short in width and a small filler panel had to be added in on one end. He wedged the filler panel in so tight that it pushed on the wall and messed up the operation of the bathroom pocket door. The door scrapes along something inside the wall when opened & closed and has gouged the door.

Lastly, there are several areas of shoddy worksmanship. The face of the cabinet under the sink has come loose, and there are areas where the wood was never sanded and the finish applied over.

I'm in the process of getting estimates on having these things repaired and the hood built like it's supposed to be.

My question is - how well do you think I will do in Small Claims? What else, if anything should I get or bring with me. My wife will be a plaintiff as well as she is witness to everything.

Thanks in advance for any info or guidance you can provide.
- Dan

Pictures of the poor work .

Did you have specs ? Use a tape measure in the pictures to show the differences in sizes .

Is there some sort of building codes for hoods ?

I will definitely have pictures with me, and will use the tape measure trick to show scale.

We had written specs but the portion relating to the hood was not spelled out in detail. It was only put down as "wood hood" because at the time we were still deciding on a design.

I don't think there is any code for a hood, other than the ventilation itself. Under the hood is a standard range vent that is ducted to the outside. The cabinet guy just built the wood part around it.

"how well do you think I will do in Small Claims?"
*** Depends. As I see it, there are several things that could affect your changes. Some of them are:
- What does the paperwork say as to your 'acceptance' when you signed the paperwork??
- Your post says that this was in 2002. Depending on your specific complaint, the SOL 'could' have expired.
- Your post also implies that this item was added to your original contract ("I later provided him with a photo of how I wanted the hood to look and a short writeup along with it."). Do you have ANYTHING with his signature agreeing to do this work to that design??
- Finally, presuming this was 'added' work, did you pay extra for it??

"What else, if anything should I get or bring with me. My wife will be a plaintiff as well as she is witness to everything."
*** I would suggest you consider getting a qualified 'expert witness' to come to court to help explain the differences between what was provided versus what would have been 'professional'. He should also testify as to the 'damages' you have incurred (if any) and the cost.

And in your later post:
"We had written specs but the portion relating to the hood was not spelled out in detail. It was only put down as "wood hood" because at the time we were still deciding on a design."
*** Oh, oh!! I think you just killed yourself. The contract says 'wood hood' and that is what you got. The ONLY hope you have is if you can prove that he agreed (in writing) to amend to a specific design or style.

Writer, why isn't your attorney involved in this matter?