So, we bought a new house and are in the process of gutting the kitchen.
The old kitchen had ~25-30 feet of oak cabinetry, including a 6’ x 4’ island. brand new granite counter tops that they’d installed after hearing prospective buyer feedback, extra tall upper cabinets (to fit a 9’ ceiling), base cabinets with a built-in brand new sink and faucet, built-in double oven, built-in electric cook top, dishwasher, and fridge.
Since we wouldn’t be using anything in the new kitchen except the dishwasher and fridge, I posted a few photos of the kitchen on FB and asked if anybody knew a charity that would take the old stuff. Caveat was that I needed them to pick it up, because we don’t have a truck, the stuff is heavy, and my husband’s back is already screwed up.
Within a few minutes of posting it (where I got 3 suggestions for charities that would pick it up), my brother’s nephew’s wife IMd me and asked me if they could please, please, please buy it all off of us. Her husband is a handyman who’s done work for us in the past, and we spend a lot of holidays together, so I know them well. I said that they could just take it, perhaps in exchange for a few odd jobs around the house, such as installing cabinets in our laundry room.
She was thrilled. I told her that I needed to have it all out of our house by the following weekend because once the demo was complete, we’d have contractors in and out all the time. I told her that everything would be in the garage, except the the 6’ slab of granite, which they couldn’t move because it was so heavy. I warned her that he’d have to bring a least 3 friends to pick it up.
So that weekend he and my brother show up. They haul off all the cabinets, but leave the 5 pieces of granite…because the granite was too heavy to move with two guys. Sigh. My brother informed me that they’d come back the next Tuesday to get it, and could my husband meet them there and help them move it? Sigh. Oh, and BTW some of the cabinets were damaged during the removal and B would have to repair them. Oh, and worse, the longest piece of granite that encased the sink was broken into two.
What was I to say? I told him sorry, our contractor knew we wanted to save it, but I guess they weren’t as careful as we’d hoped.
Fast forward to today. I went to the house today to meet the painter…and discover that the granite is still there, including the 6’ slab in the middle of the kitchen. The painters and electricians and plumbers have worked around it, but the hardwood guy is coming on Monday, and he can’t do his job with a big rock in the middle of the kitchen.
So I sent a text to my brother (because I don’t have B’s cell #) and asked him what was up with his nephew.
Here’s the response he gave me:
“I just talked to B. He’s out of town but will be by this weekend to get the granite. FYI, he only wants the island slab now because the sink piece is broken, which makes the other pieces useless to him.”
So, before I respond, I ask you: What would you do now? FTR, B is a hardworking father of 2 in his 20s. They don’t have a lot of money.