CHESAPEAKE BAY CABINET CO.

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. I am at a loss to describe how our planned renovation with this company fell apart. We consulted with Chesapeake Bay because of stellar reviews from others and the fact that they would fit our budget for our kitchen renovation. The early parts of the project went smoothly - met with designer for measurements, met to put down initial specs, met to review revised specs for a quote - no issue. However, the early issues we had with our designer should have warned us about the trainwreck that would derail our project: - Our designer continually forgot the design choices we made. For example, we were clear from the first meeting we wanted 39 inch cabinets with crown molding; we were continually presented with designs showing a 42 inch cabinet to the ceiling. Though fixed, this was a sign of the issues to come. - During our third meeting with the designer (on a Wednesday), the designer indicated we should receive a quote/estimate by the following Monday without a problem. Monday comes and goes, no quote. Emails are left unanswered. We did not get a quote until Friday. - The designer continually gave vague or incomplete answers. He was unclear about what work the quoted price did or did not include despite me asking a very direct and pointed question. We never got an official proposal, just figures in email. - We were very clear with the designer that we wanted laminate countertops, and even provided him with color and finish choices during our last meeting. Despite this, we were provided a quote for GRANITE. When we reminded the designer that we wanted laminate, the response was, and I quote, "Have you picked a color and texture yet?" - despite having these choices IN WRITING on the specs we discussed at our final meeting. Needless to say, I was frustrated and reached out to the firm's general manager asking to be assigned to a new designer. When we spoke, I was continually interrupted by the person I spoke to and was told I could get a new designer, but I would (essentially) have to restart at square one. Needless to say, we did not use this company for our renovation. We switched to a local competitor who produces custom cabinets - and who was able to provide me a written quote which clearly articulated what was included in the cost within two hours of reaching out to the owner. This compares to the 1.5 months I spent working with Chesapeake Bay. I would in no way, shape, or form recommend this company, not even to my worst enemy.

After discussing what kind of vanity design I wanted , they sent me a drawing which was exactly what I had said I did NOT want. After much discussion, the drawing was fixed and I approved it. The vanity looked fine when it arrived - however, the materials used to manufacture it produced off-gassing that was so strong, no one could use the bathroom. This headache & sore throat inducing off-gassing is still present after 6 months. CBC did not return my phone calls and did not send me the MSDS I requested. I will have to throw out this vanity.

Although the end result is satisfactory, I don't feel that Chesapeake deserves much credit for this. We ordered the same brand of cabinets that we could have ordered through Home Depot, and the quality of the cabinets themselves is fine. But the service provided by Chesapeake Bay was very poor. It took nearly a month after the initial measurements to get the renderings/drawings from Chesapeake; their showroom (to make selections for cabinet type, finished, etc.) is not open on weekends so a little inconvenient for people with jobs; they only place orders on Thursdays; there was an error in measuring that required re-ordering of some of the cabinets (Chesapeake blamed the general contractor, but we worked with the GC extensively and he delivered high quality work on all other aspects of the remodel it seems unlikely that he made this error)--the reordering significantly delayed many other aspects of our renovation; when the initial error was discovered, Chesapeake just left the cabinets that wouldn't work in the middle of the kitchen, along with the molding and trim pieces--we were having to step over and around them to get from one part of the house to the other. We had to relocate the trim to another part of the house and ultimately had to dispose of the cabinets ourselves. When the re-ordered cabinets were installed, one of the drawer fronts did not match all the others. That one piece was again re-ordered but we didn't hear back from Chesapeake on that and had to follow-up through our GC. Chesapeake said the drawer facing had been re-ordered but the manufacturer had delivered the wrong size, so it had to be re-re-ordered. Although the kitchen was completely functional with the mis-matched drawer front, the situation is reflective of Chesapeake's lack of concern for the customer and lack of communication with the customer. Because the cabinets had to be re-ordered, we were unable to move forward with several other aspects of the renovation--installation of the kitchen sink and cooktop, installation of the bar sink, installation of countertops, completion of electrical and plumbing work, etc. After waiting nearly a month for the new cabinets to come in, we asked Chesapeake if they could move forward with cutting and installing the countertops for the kitchen island and the bar, which were not affected by the cabinets that had to be re-ordered. Chesapeake's response was that the countertop supplier did not like to make two deliveries for a project. Eventually Chesapeake was able to arrange for those countertops to be installed, saying they were able to call in a few favors. I'm sorry, but when I'm paying over $50,000 for cabinets and countertops, I would expect them to happily try and get things installed as quickly as possible, even if it take two deliveries, without trying to sound put out by the request. Even more so when the overall project is delayed by a measuring error that is likely Chesapeake's responsibility. The countertop vendor Chesapeake uses delivered good product, but we were disappointed in the ogee edge that they put on the bar countertop--the edges/angles are too sharp. We had almost the exact same work done at our previous home in Charlotte and the edges there were much smoother and more rounded. We were also disappointed to find that Chesapeake's vendor charged extra for the ogee edge--the countertop supplier in Charlotte included this edges as one of their standards. In all fairness, the Chesapeake technician that came out post-installation to make the adjustments to the cabinet doors that were not hung straight or would not close properly was very professional and corrected a lot of minor issues. Even he was surprised that the initial installers had installed a damaged drawer the he had to correct. Given the amount of money spent, the importance that investment in our home has to us, and the number or other companies providing the same services that Chesapeake provides, I was disappointed in the lack of communication and lack of customer focus from Chesapeake. Chesapeake delivered the type of service I would expect from a discount place. I will not use them again and would not recommend others use them.

Steve Estes was our operations manager/designer at Chesapeake Bay Cabinets. He worked with us on the layout, design, cabinet choices, counter-tops, hardware, etc. He provided the plummer for the sink, dishwasher and water line for the refrigerator. He worked within our budget, and made sure the job was completed to our satisfaction.

The name of the cabinet place is Chesapeake Bay Cabinets. The cost was 42000 and I think that took in the cost of some of the appliances as well. The guy that I worked with, he is a designer, he loves to design, of course to your specifications but he will give you ideas and then you can adjust from there. He was fun to deal with. I am pleased with him. I asked for things that were on the expensive side. I don't know yet about the quality because cabinetry and the house is not ready yet, the cabinetry isn't in, from what I saw in the office it looks like it was good quality. He said that he was going to send me the design and I had to get the designs through the builder. He hasn't put it in yet, I only had an appointment with him and he was there.

They have a nice selection. I would recommend them to someone. They were priced reasonably compared to some other estimates I received. I had a problem with the final installation. It was not quite as finished as I was expecting. I voiced my concerns and they took care of it right away. They do sub contract their work. You never know what you are going to get, but they people I worked with did a good job.