SETAUKET KITCHEN & BATH INC

The owner was nice and responsive at first. He took measurements and we discussed basic ideas. Even the designer was fine when it came to discussing the ideas, however when it came to presenting us the designs - the whole atmosphere changed where it was now very secretive. We could not look or take the estimate or designs, and the price - which was extremely high considering it did not appear to include everything we discussed (although I can't say for sure, because we were never allowed to look over what it did include - we were just presented with a bottom line figure). We asked if we could have a copy of the estimate and we were told we couldn't. We didn't even mention that we thought the price was too high, and we told the designer that we would look into some other things and she told us she would get back in touch with us. As we felt that there was no way for us to even understand what we were verbally told, and not shown - we decided to not pursue this avenue anymore. We were very surprised that the owner or designer never attempted to even see what we thought of the numbers or designs and if we had any interest in moving forward. It was almost as if they had decided for whatever reason that they didn't want or need our business, which is very strange considering we never at anytime discussed what prices we had in mind for a renovation.

I would give the people who did the renovation work a grade of " A+" in every category. The grades I entered were for the planning process and actual physical renovation work combined. The bottom line is that we are extremely happy with our new kitchen. The men who actually performed the physical work did a great job, and their workmanship was excellent, but the planning process was protracted and painful. I waited quite some time to submit a review because I wanted to make sure that the work was durable and of good quality. It is. We had saved up for many years to be able to pay for a kitchen renovation, so when we began the process we were serious and ready to move forward. We selected Setauket Kitchen and Bath based upon recommendations from people we know. After contacting the business and setting up an appointment for someone to come take measurements of our kitchen to begin the process, we waited about 10 days for the appointment. My husband left work in the middle of the day and arrived home 30- 40 minutes before the scheduled appointment so that he would be sure to be here when the man arrived, but when no one had shown up 40 minutes past the appointed time, my husband called me at work. I called their office and they seemed to have forgotten about the appointment that they had scheduled with us and they acted unconcerned that they had caused a professional to waste 2 hours of a work day and another professional had been interrupted at work to investigate why they had failed to show up; clearly they do not worry about first impressions. Denis, the owner, did ultimately come over and took measurements, but was barely civil to my husband on that day; other than that day, Denis was pleasant. One of the measurements Denis made was incorrect. We pointed this out on the first visit with our "kitchen designer" when she showed us the 3-D floor plan of our old kitchen and continued to do so on multiple subsequent visits, but this was not corrected until she came to our house 3 months into the planning process and I literally handed her a measuring tape and took the measurements with her. It had been our expectation that after measurements were taken (assuming that they would be accurate) and we had noted the basic features that we wanted (center island, remove the wall between the dining room and old kitchen, have a counter top partially separating the kitchen and the dining room) that initial plans would have been drawn to show these ideas, but all that was done was a drawing was prepared of the old kitchen as it was (with the error I noted above). We spent the next several months on repeated visits with the "kitchen designer" who was working with us. The official "kitchen designer" did help with telling us what types of cabinets would work for our designs, but did no actual designing at all. She never generated any new ideas or assisted with much in the way of providing contemporary solutions to design problems. I do not expect others to know how to do my job; I don't know why I was expected to know how to design a kitchen. She made many errors that ultimately had to be corrected during the actual renovation phase, one of which led to a delay of 3 weeks during the renovation phase. Here is one of her errors to serve as an example, but there were many others: We spent a significant amount of time at one meeting with her planning the height of the above-counter microwave oven, to have useful counter space below it, but so the microwave would not be too high for me to use. Forgetting this plan, she ordered the wrong cabinet; the microwave oven would have been located above my head, and a different cabinet had to be ordered (this added 3 weeks to the renovation) so that I would be able to use the microwave oven in the new kitchen. When we were selecting kitchen hardware, I begged her to let me know if there were any accessories that people often find useful for the kitchen sink; she never answered me (but the answer is yes- install an automatic soap dispenser). She wouldn't help me select a kitchen faucet or share ideas when I asked what kinds of faucets other customers had enjoyed or what features people liked; she did provide the names of a few reputable companies. From the beginning of planning in early June, 2013, through the middle of renovation in March, 2014, she never once addressed me by name or said please or thank you in any of our myriad of verbal and email communications; I was always appropriately courteous in all communications. We had scheduled one appointment for a Saturday at 1 pm 2 weeks in advance and there had been no one else on her schedule at that time. (We never complained about having to wait two weeks for an appointment.) She had confirmed this appointment on the day before. We had arranged our entire day around that appointment and less than an hour before the appointed time, she called me and told me to show up a half-hour later than scheduled because she didn't want me to have to sit and wait while she assisted others. It would have been proper to inform those others that she already had a previously scheduled appointment with us and that she would have to meet with us at 1 pm. I was shocked and appalled at her disrespectful treatment of us. I wonder why those other customers were more important to Setauket Kitchen and Bath than we were. It is surprising that we actually stayed with Setauket Kitchen and Bath through this inept, painful, unhelpful planning process in which we were subject to continual disregard and rudeness. One of the other kitchen designers there made fun of us for how long it took for the design process of our kitchen- really? If our "kitchen designer" had ever done any designing or taken any initiative or had been helpful in facilitating the job, the process could have been accomplished in significantly less time than it took- he should have turned his question toward his colleague, not us. She asked a plumber who works with them to stop by and check to see if a certain pipe could be moved; it took him 8 weeks to show up for this task that took him 10 minutes to perform; perhaps they could have asked him to show up a little more promptly. Their recommeneded electrician came to our home and gave an estimate, but failed to mention the $2,000 cost for upgrading the fuse box; I know he examined the fuse box when he was here to prepare his estimate, so this necessity was not a surprise to him. No one told us about it until it was time for this part of the work to be performed. We would have still proceeded with the renovation, but it seems sleazy and manipulative when people obviously low-ball an estimate. I am not an electrician and I should not be expected to have known that a new fuse box would be needed. What is the purpose of an estimate if it does not identify and state the cost of the expected necessary work? Thankfully, the construction team compensated for all of the mistakes of our "kitchen designer" and all of the negative experiences during the planning phase. The majority of the kitchen renovation took place during a very cold and snowy February and March. The two main members of the construction team, Fred (the very knowledgeable leader) and John, showed up reliably every day and worked diligently and consistently and the quality of their work is excellent. They were very informative and helpful to us. A bonus was how great they were with our dog! We worked with them to make a plan for where we would put the dog when we were at work and they were working at our house, and they made sure that he remained safe throughout the entire renovation, even when unexpected occurrences arose and our doggy had to be moved to another area of the house for safety. This was above and beyond the call of duty! They corrected all of the errors in the 'kitchen designer's" plans and they gave us mostly great advice for options that arose during the construction phase. The only part of the renovation that I dislike (I'm trying not to say hate) are the old-fashioned undercounter lights that they installed. I selected them, but without knowing that they were going to look like big boxes out of the 1950's stuck onto the underside of cabinets. I did not know what questions were necessary to ask to make an informed choice. I love our backsplash, the countertops, the cabinets, the overall arrangement of the kitchen, and the archways that they installed. The work appears to be of excellent quality. So, in summary, we love our kitchen and enjoy how much it has opened up, brightened and improved the main living area of our home. We would have liked to have received more knowledgeable assistance during the planning phase and to have been treated as if they were interested in our business and if they had treated us with the same degree of courtesy and consideration that we afforded them. We opted for a somewhat conservative renovation; if the designer had been more helpful and knowledgeable perhaps we would have installed a propane tank with a gas range rather than the electric range that we have (our neighborhood does not have a gas line). Maybe we would have found a way to install double ovens instead of the single oven that we have. If we had received proper advice from the kitchen designer, we would have certainly selected more modern, less ugly and obtrusive under-counter lights. I recommend Setauket Kitchen and Bath for the quality of the work and because I think the owner, Denis Lynch, is an honest and decent business man. If you work with them and are not receiving the advice and assistance that you need during the planning process, I suggest that you discuss this with Denis and he will probably remedy the problem.

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I was ready to order until I heard the cost. It was so high that I joined Angie's List to get other recommendations. Setauket Kitchen & Bath was almost double the estimates of two contractors who had better ratings.

This project was started over 2 years ago in 2012. Although the basic design that we selected was developed by Home Depot, we contracted with Setauket Kitchen and Bath because of their alleged excellent local reputation. We did not prefer the SKB design although their designer did tweak the H/D plan. The SKB designer was very helpful in helping us choose tile but mislead us as to granite choices. We wound up having to pay extra for our granite selection. I also asked her twice to order me an extra cabinet touch up pen...she never did. The crew chief and assistant showed up to the job on time consistently. The chief's attitude could use improvement. When installing coat hook racks on the walls they were glued and nailed to the walls rather than screwed to the studs. When I questioned that decision, I asked the chief, "What if I ever want to take them down? "Not my problem!" was the reply. I purchased an expensive grout additive called "Boost." The assistant said that they generally did not use the recommended amount because application was harder. After prepping the grout, I noticed that only about 1 ounce (far too little) of Boost was mixed in. Later that day, half the bottle was gone, probably poured on the ground. I believe that that practice was unprofessional and deceptive. Without asking, chief drilled a hole in the new casing for an abandoned alarm wire. When I complained, chief said "Too bad!" During construction, a lot of basement items were moved, covered with dust and not replaced or cleaned. During construction, my old refrigerator was moved to my dining room for use. After completion, the chief wanted to adopt my fridge for his garage. I said, fine. Upon his removal of my refrigerator he did not put a cart or rags under the unit. this caused permanent scratches on my D/R hardwood floors as well as my brand new floor tile and oak saddle. THESE PROBLEMS STILL EXIST EVEN OVER TWO YEARS LATER! I have called the owner many times over the past two years concerning these unresolved problems. His response has been consistently unsatisfactory. BOTTOM LINE: The kitchen is done and looks okay. The floor problems still are there and I am not sure if they will ever be resolved. I believe that many of the problems were caused by "not respecting the job." On 7/15/14 I returned a call Dennis Lynch because I'm sure that he wanted to speak to me. He called me back to complain about this review. He was livid! He asked me if I was trying to put him out of business? I replied that I was only trying get some service, after 2.5 years. He then said "get someone else to clean your floors" , and then hung up on me! I've never been hung up on before. I will not call him back. racksuseith

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From day one we began the planning and design, Dennis, Rich and Bob were very helpful in coming up with a plan that would suit my needs. I always looked forward to stopping by and discussing the plans. They are all extremely talented, patient..( I had more than tested that with my numerous change of ideas!) and fun. They all have great personalities which made it a joy to work with them. Their main carpenter, cabinet installer, and numerous other skills, Jeff, was meticulous, honest and hard-working and 100% reliable. If for any reason he wasn't able to work, or would be late (due to another work related matter) he would always call and let me know. If there was anything I thought needed some attention, either Dennis, Jeff, or Bob would stop by and take of things, either that same day, or at the latest, the following day. The company has a great team and I am glad that I chose Setauket Kitchen and Bath for my Kitchen remodel! Thanks guys!