Thursday, August 29, 2013

#^%#@*$ wood doors!! {delusional rant #2}

Long post.  Short fuse.  Read on.

For those of you who have been playing along for a while, you know hubby and I are very involved in building a new shack.  A home of our own design.  Now folks...that's pressure.  Sometimes it makes us a little crazy about with each other.

In fact, there have been times that Philly has mentioned in passing that he's afraid I'm going to lace his food with arsenic.

I would never do that.

Because he sometimes shares his food with our Schnauzer (Eddie) and I would never do anything to hurt my dog.

And this isn't Flowers in the Attic.






No, that's not a piece of ham.  That's his tongue.  He has no teeth.  His tongue just hangs out and I don't know how it doesn't get dry and uncomfortable but he is so stinkin' cute and sweet that he breaks my heart and isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen I just love him to pieces!!

Hello run-on sentence.

Anyway.  (Hello incomplete sentence.)  There are too many things to pick out, and for each thing, there are too many choices.

Analysis paralysis quickly sets in.

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty tired of everything coming from China.  And I'm not talking about actual china (cups, dishes, etc.)  I.  Mean.  Everything.  Else.

And it's mostly garbage.  And China will gladly take over the world if we let them.

Philly and I have tried to be very conscientious when we make choices for our new pad.

Our cabinets are 100% domestic wood and made in the USA.  They're RTA (ready-to-assemble) cabinets (which means that if Phil ever lets me near the drill, everything will be upside-down).

In other words, there's no way he's going to let me touch them.

Our house is just over 1900 square feet.  We didn't want 1900 square feet of chinese flooring.  We've shopped USA flooring to death.  And we're buying USA flooring.

We screwed up with our doors.  I don't know what I was thinking.  Usually the FIRST thing I ask is, "Where was this made?"

We've been shopping at {Anonymous Box Store*} so often, that when I found an interior door there I liked, it didn't even occur to me to ask.

I don't know why I failed to ask, but I'm ashamed.

When we took delivery, we were slapped in the face with "Made In China."  Or it may have said, "Crafted In China."

Like that makes it better.

Let's see...

Bullshit...




We'll see...




They were special order, on sale, rebate, etc. etc. etc.  Affordable solid-wood 2-panel doors with an oak veneer.

Now, I used to be an oak-hater, but that's a tale for another day.

I just knew I never wanted to look at this ever again:


I really didn't want to go with the $25 air-filled door.  A solid wood door with a veneer was a serious step up.

Except they're crap.

Garbage.

Puke.

I wouldn't even dumpster-dive for these doors.

This post was supposed to be a tutorial on finishing your fab new doors.

It's not.

Anyway, we went to the local woodworker's shop and picked out our stain.  I asked the dude to come out to the truck and look at my door and give me a rundown on the best way to go about the whole process of getting my doors ready to hang.

And the guy was completely decked out in a kilt, knee socks, etc.

No lie.  But I didn't see a sgian-dubh, or a dirk, or even a broadsword, so I felt safe.

But I did NOT want to take a look at what he was wearing underneath his kilt thankyouverymuch.  But I was told he has a teddy-bear tat on his rump.

Ewww. 

I could have gone the rest of my life not knowing that.

I'll just bet you could have, too.

The first thing out of his mouth was,"Well, first of all, take all your doors back to {Anonymous Box Store*}."

Why, the VERY idea!  I don't care if you are wearing a kilt and Jamie Fraser is the hottest fictional Highlander to ever come to life in the Outlander series (or EVER) and you're not him buddy and never will be and clearly you don't want my business Mr. Insult!!

Except he was right.

We got home and Eddie and I anxiously set up door #1 on my "workbench."  Doesn't look too bad here, right?



I wiped my "finest homes use quality doors" down with a damp cloth, lightly sanded, and then wiped again with tack cloth.

The veneer started flying off the door.  It started with 2 small pieces that we glued back down.  Then we flipped the door over and found a significant piece coming up.



That's veneer?  I'm sorry. 

Where I come from, that's called toilet paper.

And this is what the edges look like:


Needless to say the can of stain was never opened.

{Anonymous Box Store*} got a visit.

I'm pissed.

Phil's pissed.

The store manager whined about "nothing he can do because you bought these doors SO long ago."

We ordered them in June and picked them up in July.  It's now August.  But I guess you can't expect these things to hold up forever.

But he was "gracious" enough to give us a form to fill out to send to corporate to see if they could "cover it under the warranty."

I'll let you know how it turns out.  If they take their crap doors back and refund our money, I will gladly remain a regular shopper.  And by "regular," I mean we've spent over $10,000 there this year.  And we don't even have drywall up yet.


If they don't take care of this customer, they'll never see another 10¢ from us again.


*I'll reveal the name of the "Anonymous Box Store" after this issue is resolved.  Of course, I know you're all savvy enough to figure it out on your own.  I want to give them the opportunity to make this right before I completely trash them openly.


Have you guys had issues like these?  Spill.

 

I'm sharing this tale with:

Mellywoods Mansion




24 comments:

  1. I admire your tenacity to stick with homeland merchandise. Sometimes the search is overwhelming and even then you aren't always assured of a quality product. I hope it is all resolved to your satisfaction, and in a lickity-split time frame. Something similar happened to us at a big box home improvement store. Now we shop exclusively at the competition. :)
    tm

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  2. Uh, I would tell Anonymous Box Store that I'm a blogger with a large and loyal following and I will trash them from here to eternity unless I get my money back and get better doors at a significant discount. I have used this method to great effect with a number of stores and gotten a free cherry jewelry box, among other items. I don't put up with shit like you've had this so long we can't take it back. Staring at people when they tell you something stupid like that is an effective technique, too. Just stare; don't speak. I would probably enjoy the guy with the kilt and would like to see his teddy bear. We built a house long ago. It's not the reason we're divorced. X shut up and let me make all the decisions and it turned out great.

    Love,
    Janie

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  3. Isn't that horrible???
    I did in fact do a post on the the crap we get from third world countries ................
    Don't even get me started - it's sickening - because people are dying from unsafe
    conditions so we can fill our homes with inferior quality like that!
    Did you mention you had a blog and you were going to post about it?
    Might have given you a little leverage you know LOL
    And that little toothless wonder just about stole my heart away ;)
    XOXO

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  4. Now those are crap doors!! Some lifetime guarantee if they don't take them back before they are even stained or hung and it's only been a month. We're talking construction here, folks! Grrr! I can see why you're mad!

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  5. no idea what this post was about...after I read that Jamie Frasier was at your house. swooon. p.s. some of my favorite books!! And Jamie's my fictional boyfriend. I called him. And Mr. Darcy. You can have another Brit...maybe...Dr. Who.

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  6. I'm right there with you. It's so frustrating! It's almost impossible to find so many things that aren't made in China. Last winter I was trying to find a not-made-in-China pair of slippers and I couldn't, so my mom knitted me some just like when I was little. Thanks mom! I hope you get some satisfaction from the store for those cabinets. They should be mortified by that shoddy workmanship.

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  7. So proud of you for staying away from Chinese products for the most part... At least you tried to use the door, before it fell apart! LOL! BTW, your little schnauzer is just precious.

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  8. Where did all Eddies teeth go?

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  9. good for you give them a piece of your mind lady! otherwise sick that big slobbery tongue on them!

    (I AM TALKING ABOUT EDDIE!!)

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  10. Oh, Eddie made me think so much of my late dog in this picture. She didn't have any teeth anymore when she got old and her tongue was sticking out and it was adorable, just like Eddie.
    Sometimes we made mistakes! I so wanted a certain design for my dining-room door that I didn't check quality and it's crap! I'm hoping I'll be able to fix it, but I'm not happy. I was more careful a year later with the windows and they were made locally.

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  11. OMG. Raw wood, ragged wood. The perfect moisture sponge and future problem child.

    I'm amazed that THIRTY-ONE people have commented at my blog. Where were they before? Odd. I'm still trying to figure out what to do.

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  12. Eddie is just too adorable with that tongue hanging out! You should.stick him on Mr. Kilt man. Probably be the most fin he's had in years (the man, not Eddie).

    Everything is made in China! I think even I was made there. One day we're going to look back on this time and wonder why we gave our country away. But don't get me started.

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  13. Okay little missy. I've got what might be my last, last, post up just to see if anyone tips their hat.

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  14. I love Eddie. That big box, not so much.

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  15. yikes! hope the issue get resolved. thanks for visiting and following. Good luck on the giveaway

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  16. Having built a house... yes. We had issues. That nearly led to two mental break downs. Hang in there!!!

    JAMIE FRASER!!! OMGOMGOMG!!! LET'S TALK ABOUT OUTLANDER!!!

    Love, love, love your sweet little doggie's face and tongue. :)

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  17. OH NO! I really hope they do the right thing and refund your money. They really did look good on your saw horses. I guess you kind of want doors to look good stained and hung too :)

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  18. That is so bad! Same thing here with overseas imports and o be honest they're not cheap. We spent $3k on solid bunks or the boys turned out they were held together by glue which came apart one night when Javk climbed up and fell through. Luckily Samuel had just got out of bed to get a glass of water seriously pissed it would've killed him. If they don't refund let us know o we can make sure we share it round on social media!

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  19. OhEmGee.....I am in love with Eddie the Tongue (sounds like a creepy Mob guy) He is so sweet! We had a schnauzer and loved him to death.....he never got old enough to lose his teeth. Poor Eddie.
    What a shame about the doors! If they make good, I'll send you the name of the company where we bought our solid wood doors. You can probably afford them for the bathrooms at least. You can save up for the bedroom unless you're the exhibitionist type.

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  20. Oh Eddie, you really are s cutie pie! (my heart melted) I was dog sitting for my sister last week and I miss them like they were my own. I can't imagine that they wouldn't take those doors back. They are falling apart!!! I have encountered such crap service (cuz I don't have a peni$) so many times, that I pretty much quit shopping locally due to redneck idiots but now we have a Rona and I love it. Most of the staff are great! In fact I just bought some 12x12 travertine tiles for 50 cents....score! Believe me, blogs are a great way of spreading reviews so I sure hope they do the right thing!

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  21. This is where I write the CEO, Chief Legal Counsel, and head of Investor Relations. I mean, why else call yourself a writer? Good luck!!

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    1. Ummm...not sure I can call myself a "writer".... :P

      -andi

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  22. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  23. Making your wood look good: How to take care of your wooden furniture ... metallic alloys that are coming up and require far less maintenance. how to maintain your chaise

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