Advice required with our outdoor kitchen

We started having our outdoor kitchen made early October 2012. The cabinets were installed and the sink delivered. The BBQ and wok burner have been stored in the garage since July. And now, almost mid January nothing has changed.

The cabinet maker who did all our house ( plus various other projects of mine) quoted us a fee for the complete job - cabinets/granite top/stainless splashback. His stone person wanted to come out one Monday in November @ 8.00am but unfortunately it didnt suit us. We called him back asking if he could do after 4.00 that day but we didnt get a response till later in the week to tell us he is too busy now and to find someone else to do the job. Ok so i call the cabinet maker and he also told me he'll find someone else. So early december someone else calls me telling me they have the job to supply the stone and will call me later in the week to arrange samples. 2 weeks later ( and 1 week before christmas) still no call and little joy with the cabinet maker. So i ring around and found someone that could finish the job before christmas.

Anyway, out they come to measure up and they are not happy with the cabinets (see pic below) as in the are where the fridge goes they would like a vertical and horizontal panel to support the stone to as they dont trust the glues they use to hold the mitre join next to the heat of a BBQ. So I send a request to the cabinet maker to add these panels and he refuses to because of the cost ( mind you I have paid him for a complete job and on top of that I paid extra to someone else just to get a stone top before christmas which never happened).

So now the cabinet maker has dug his heels in saying I'm fully paid and his job is finished and i have paid a stone supplier who wants supports. I have called consumer affairs who have indicated that the joiner has a responsibility to finish the job but I do not want to go without these structural supports of they are required. And i have already paid $1900 more that what the job should have cost me.

Are there any joiners here that can offer some advice.

You definitely need a vertical support panel RHS of the fridge space. However, by adding the panel, it will reduce the internal width of the fridge space.

Also, is that the power point for the fridge (above the fridge space?). If so, consider moving it to the LHS floor cabinet (interior).

thanks for that. I intend to lodge a complaint to our local consumer affairs come monday ( our kitchen cabinetry has some areas that need to be addressed which he has known about for 6 months and is doing very little to rectify the problems) I just wanted some other opinions before I lodged the complaint.

As for the power point - there is another one in the cupboard to the left for the fridge.

What space is left for the fridge?? Is there enough room for an 18mm panel?

I also belive that support on the R/H side of the fridge is needed for the stone.

Yes its the joiners responsibility to finish the job but unfortunatley the support is not on the plans and if you are paying the stone mason directly then the joiner has done what was quoted.

I dont believe it was designed correctly and a good cabinet maker would just supply the panel at cost or for free.

Good luck.

i am more interested in what materials the cabinet maker has used, if he has used the indoor gear it won't last very long.

here is some info
http://www.laminex.com.au/products.php# ... -laminate/

Well from the pictures its not really outside. Its under cover with a solid wall on the outside end.

I really doubt it would be affected by rain. Standard HMR board should be fine.

I fitted an out door cabinet that was undercover but one end would get wet if it rained.
I used Nema board which can be polyurethaned(2pac) and is totally waterproof!

i have done plenty as well, sure if the end of the outdoor alfresco has stacking sliders or is shielded by the elements std, indoor material will be fine and cheaper, but i personally advise my customers to choose wisely if they keep it open.

There are filler panels either side of the cabinetry that can be ripped down and the two ends of cabinetry moved aside to increase fridge space.

The joiners quote included splash back and stone - that was the initial agreement. Out of desperation, I ended up approaching another stone mason independently ( and I paid them ) to try to get it finished before christmas, which was a cost I was prepared to pay just to have it done for christmas/new years/ 2 birthdays - unfortunately it didnt happen.

The total joinery fee for the house ended up to about $60k - I would have hoped he would go the extra mile to add the support panels, unfortunately he didnt, hence I will be contacting consumer affairs.

the doors are compact laminate and the carcass seems to be just normal board - it does have a bluish tinge to it - could that mean it's marine grade board?

It should be fine unless its exposed to direct rain and moisture.

The HMR carcuss board is so much better than most people realise. I actually used it as in ground form work when I was pouring concreat footings. I cut 10 pieces 250mm high and they spent a total of 15days in the ground with either wet concreat or water(it rained alot) After all that they didnt show any swelling at all. They were however a little dirty!

My joiner has totally dug his heels in completely and refuses to put a vertical panel to support the stone. So I have now formalised my complaint to consumer affairs.

I guess you can only give a person so many chances and if they believe the stress of dealing with a government agency to address such an issue as placing a vertical panel then they really need a reality check.

The irony of it all is that they were also to do a $5k entertainment unit and a commercial fit out for me mid year. All lost for the sake of a piece of panel.

Just as an update to this thread. Our outdoor kitchen has not changed at all from the time that picture was taken. We will be attending court tomorrow over this and various other issues.
1. An overpayment of $500 which he is refusing to acknowledge
2. 5 issues of warranty work which he denies need to be done ( photos will be presented as well as a report from another joiner)
3. And the refusal to provide the stone support or at the least acknowledging that one is needed.

Lets us know how you get on. Good Luck!

Crazy and a little short sighted........ Echoing CEK, keep us all posted with the outcome and good luck.

It was actually mediation not court. The cabinet maker did not turn up he sent his mum instead. They claimed that they had reimbursed my $500 overpayment on 20/12/12 - i never received it and they could not answer why 2 of my letters after this date regarding overpayment were ignored and even they elected not to mention it on the court documents. The court officer asked has the cheque been presented - the answer was no.

The mum claimed that the some of warranty issues had been addressed - I asked her to tell me a date they addressed them and advised her I have CCTV inside and outside the house and enough drives to hold 12 months worth of footage. I was happy to send the footage of that day to her to see that nobody has been to fix any issues. So after going stone faced she agreed to get them fixed in the next 14 days.

With regards to the outdoor kitchen, they refuse to address it maintaining it is adequate, despite the fact that I have 3 independent joiners documenting the need for additional stone support.

So in the end I decided that i wasted 2 hours of my time dealing with her that I asked for warranty issues to be dealt with within 14 days and the overpayment + court fees+ sheriffs fee be paid within 7 days. She agreed to that.
Going to the magistrates court as the next step is pointless. Through my business I deal with a large number of the public, and I am in a respected position. A bad reputation spreads quick - their loss.


I have someone lined up for this weekend to add support for the stone and the stone will be installed next week.

It's a shame that for the sake of a few hours of time and a $20 piece of off cut panel some people are prepared to risk their reputation and lose ongoing work.