TARA CABINETS

Very well until it came time to finish. I made the mistake of paying them when they installed the cabinet bases in the master bathroom until waiting until they were completely done (the kitchen refacing was already done by then). After that it was like pulling teeth to get them to come out, first to put on the doors and drawer fronts, and then to add the proper trim to finish everything. It took us a month of us calling them; that's a month after the bath remodel was completely finished, including final inspection before they finally came out to put up the last tiny bits of trim. Every time, Steve would tell us they'd call us in "a few days" and of course, a week later, nothing; no call, no work repeat. The whole project started well, but eventually Steve was just another contractor who would tell you anything to get you off the phone, but whose promises mean nothing. Very disappointing.

The quality of work did not come up to the cost. The first installation of the large top board was incorrect as the drawings had been laid out incorrectly. Quality of the installed woodwork was decent, but not up to the level dictated by the cost. The workers also damaged the ceiling in the near kitchen area and said they would fix this up, but they never did. About a year after the installation one of the drawer units failed. We had to remove the drawer and institute our own repairs with better components---the staples used in the drawers had been sloppily installed, and many missed entering the drawer frame. We re-stapled or otherwise repaired every drawer in the installation.

There were what can only be termed as "the usual level" of delays getting to the start on the install process, which took many visits. I kept a record: 7/20/06 signed contract for 9/06 install; 10/12 signed c/o for special items; install days: (day 1) 11/27-deliver pieces (takes lots of floor space); (2) 11/28-1st office (#1) install kicks, place lowers; (3) 12/7-#1 install lowers, uppers; (4) 12/8-#2 install kicks, some lowers; (5) 12/14-#2 rest of lowers, uppers, #1 trim; (6) 12/19-#2 deliver, install desk tops (one scarred), trim; 1/5-Greg sick; (7) 1/9-#2 install new top, grommets, cab shelves; (8) 1/18-all file drawers, #1 desk tops, grommets; (9) 1/19-all drawer pulls; (10) 1/20-rest of trim; (11) 3/1-pick up desk top with hidden flaw that emerged; (12) 3/12-install new one (beautiful). We targeted 10/06 for install because of travel scheduled during Nov, Dec, Jan so original delivery delay spread everything out. This was frustrating, but the job turned out beautifully.

This was a smaller kitchen remodel. The cabinets were the gating factor, and were ordered in August. When asked if they would be ready soon, they had not yet been started as of the beginning of October. They did manage to get many of the cabinets done on time, but had forgotten to do the fridge and dishwasher panels. They were non-committal in attitude and many follow up phone calls were required to get the work finished. They tended to avoid additional responsibility, saying that different jobs belonged to other sub-contractors. The cabinets look great, but are easily damaged. The finish is very soft. I would not recommend this company.

Absolutely terrible experience. They didn't have the cabinets done when they said they would and repeatedly demanded payments that were not in line with the contract. They actually held our cabinets "hostage" for a payment that they did not have coming. The quality of the cabinets is not as good as other companies we have used, and the installation was sloppy. Then to top it off, they abandoned the job unfinished. Almost a year later we are filing complaints with the CSLB and will probably end up in court.