Removing Bulkhead in Kitchen is IMPOSSIBLE!

[1st Lexington]

Hi everyone,

When we were looking in the design center, before purchasing our home, we asked about kitchen bulkheads and were told that none of the homes have them unless you ask for it.

Then we went ahead and purchased the Lexington in March. It was very important to me to have the bulkhead deleted the in the kitchen. This is our second home and the home we plan to live in for the next 30 years :)

At my first design appointment, I was told the bulkheads CANNOT be removed - because of the location of the stove. I asked to switch locations of the stove and fridge. I was then told it was not because of the stove, it was because of the HVAC (they don't even know why they say no). My laundry room is directly behind my kitchen. I asked to have the bulkhead put in my laundry room - again no. They are in no way interested in accommodating my request. Each time I ask for a new solution, the answer is a dead set NO. I had my heart set on staggered cabinets with cabinet moulding. Surely they can find some way to remove the bulkhead for me. It is SO FRUSTRATING!

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

And now that our foundation has been poured, we see that they have inadvertently put our fireplace in our kitchen! We have a mirror image of the floor plans and they flipped everything except the fireplace.

What is going on????

Does anyone have similar experiences or have any advice for me?

Thanks,
Christine
Chase Crescent - Lot 38
Lexington Elevation A

[K.C.]

We had alot of problems with our electrical being backwards because they couldn't get the flipping right. The construction office did fix it after we brought it to their attention. The fireplace ending up in the kitchen is a first though! Call the construction office and ask them about the bulkheads too. I found them the most helpful but it all depends on who you talk to. I always used to talk to Rocky and Suzanne.

[Claudia]

Rocky is no longer here

[1st Lexington]

Thanks. My husband has called and talked to them about the mix up with the foundation. They are very apologetic. I'm worried that with them now removing part of our foundation and repouring it, that we may have foundation problems down the road. My husband is going to make an appointment to talk to them about the bulkheads. Hopefully them goofing up will give us some leverage. We are definitely getting no where at the design studio!

[Style]

In our model we had NO problem deleting our bulkheads when we asked. and Claudia what happened to Rocky?

[K.C.]

I heard they temporarily sent him to Milton?? There are very few cars parked outside the construction office during the day on weekdays compared to before. Hmmm ....

[Alex&Vanessa]

we were also told they could not remove the bulkheads in our house

so we asked them to reduce the bulkheads to 10" instead of 12"

the trick here is the wording, on our Structural upgrades form it says

"Delete Bulkheads- Note: reduce bulkheads to 10" if possible"

well to our surprise, they didn't put bulkheads at all

it must have been easier for them to not install then to reduce the depth of the bulkheads, our original idea was to be able to put crown moulding on top of the kitchen cabinets we need the bulkhead to be recessed from the cabinets which are 12"

[dvar]

If you succeed in removing the bulkheads and go with staggered cabinets MAKE SURE you get the taller cabinets made deeper or the shorter cabinets made shallower (closer to the wall). We got the staggered cabinets but since they all stick out the same distance from the wall you cant do traditional crown molding. Since the molding leans forward it would look like crap where the taller cabinets meet the shorter ones. Look at the corner cabinets in the Coronation model home and you'll see what I mean. (hard to explain clearly). The only option is to put molding on the taller ones and some kind of decorative valence flipped upside down...we plan on asking to see an example but probably wont end up with molding because of the oversight.

Good luck

[Claudia]

I heard they temporarily sent him to Milton?? There are very few cars parked outside the construction office during the day on weekdays compared to before. Hmmm ....


isn't the construction office moving to the beginning of Baldwin...where you come into the neighbourhood? They have added a double wide trailer there

[K.C.]

I haven't heard that but it would be good. The area near the current construction office is very pretty and would look even better if it was vacant.

[babymaeby]

I haven't heard that but it would be good. The area near the current construction office is very pretty and would look even better if it was vacant.


Does anyone know what they plan on doing with that one awful house? Will they tear it down?

[Claudia]

Does anyone know what they plan on doing with that one awful house? Will they tear it down?


which awful house? the one the construction office is in right now?

[babymaeby]

Yes. That one.

[K.C.]

They should tear it down and put in a Dairy Queen. :D I'll be going for walks every day. The more I walk the more weight I'll gain!

[Style]

I saw that too! But I doubt they would leave there old wood house for a cold ass trailer in the middle of winter!:D I was wondering if they might possibly eventually sell off the model homes in the Upper country club and built new ones here and move the office over here too. That way potential buyers are already in the community! Just a thought!

I also saw that they installed some new cameras directly in front of my house too. Better make sure I keep the curtains closed!:eek: Since there is alot of building going on near me and will continue to be for awhile. I also have noticed that alot of stuff goes missing day and night so that could also be a reason why they are positioned there as well!
Better keep my reciepts when Home Depot drops a bunch of 2X4's off at my place for my basement! :)

[1st Lexington]

Hi everyone,

I found out that I am able to cover my bulkhead with a veneer the matches the colour of my cabinets. Then put moulding at the top, touching the ceiling. It looks gorgeous but isn't cheap. Just the veneer covering the bulkhead is $2500 and then the moulding is another $1500 (large moulding through Mattamy). This is what is seen in many of the Aya kitchens and is a good (but expensive) solution for people who are not fond of the look of bulkheads. It makes the cabinets appear to go right up to the ceiling.

I just wanted to share...

Christine

Lot 38, Chase Crescent - Lexington Elev. A
Closing May 27, 2010 (less than 8 months - yeah!)

[1st Lexington]

Thanks DVAR for your advice on creating deep cabinets. We are finding that the constructions guys are FAR more cooperative as far as removing the bulkhead so we are going with the staggered cabinets. Yeah! Thanks!

Christine
Lexington Elev A
Closing May 27 10
Lot 38 Chase Crescent

[gagnon777]

Lexington,

We were told nearly 4 times that we couldn't have our bulkheads deleted. finally on our 5th ask, they said yes. They gave us the same reasons, but in the end, they made it work. I would just keep pushing and demanding it.

[1st Lexington]

Thanks for the advice! We have been told multiple times that we cannot delete our bulkhead by the design center. We have thought of many scenarios to make it work and each time they say no. Then we go visit the construction crew and they have a very different attitude. I'm glad you were able to have yours removed. It is very frustrating when they don't care about what you want. They care much more before they have your $$$. Thanks again!

[gagnon777]

Thanks for the advice! We have been told multiple times that we cannot delete our bulkhead by the design center. We have thought of many scenarios to make it work and each time they say no. Then we go visit the construction crew and they have a very different attitude. I'm glad you were able to have yours removed. It is very frustrating when they don't care about what you want. They care much more before they have your $$$. Thanks again!



If you can make "buddy" with the construction guys you'll get lucky. We were even told by the sales office that we couldn't delete a simple closet. At our framewalk, we made a joke to the guy about how they said it was impossible and he looked at us like we were crazy. He said it's no problem and they deleted the framing of that closet on the spot. I am happy to say as I sit here typing this email on my desk in that closet now! Try that approach with the bulkheads - may work!

[1st Lexington]

Thanks for the advice! I will definitely take it. We already see how much more cooperative the construction crew are than the office staff. And they do the work :) They don't seem to mind tearing things down to make us happy - which is totally fantastic! Thanks again!