Grand Kitchen and Bath

3.25.22: Revision: The new owner of GK&B, Santiago, contacted me--he bought the business Mar'22. He offered to remedy anything he could. Since my complaint was purely with the previous owner's interaction with me, I no longer have any complaints with the company and I wish these new owner success & a flourishing business. Grand Kitchen and Bath: My HORRIBLE Experience (Grand Kitchen (GK) may be co-owned by Richard Valmain and Julia Burch.

The GC license #CGC1521771 belongs to Gary Orthner, in Pompano Beach. I found no license for Richard.) Judging from the numerous positive Google reviews for GK, the odds are in your favor for a good outcome. What I believe was different in my situation was that unanticipated bad results occurred with my kitchen remodeling (defective quartz counters installed and improper installation of vinyl floor product leading to warping).

Any job can have unexpected bad outcomes. But what I consider the worst part of this was Richard's behavior in response to these unfortunate events. If all goes well, you are fortunate and lucky. If GK makes a mistake, you will likely have to deal with what I consider and judge to be incredibly unprofessional treatment and lack of responsibility from Richard, (IMHO).

I'm a 61yo M.D living in Tampa Bay for over 32yrs. This was the first major renovation project I've done. My project with GK involved renovating a 30-year-old kitchen in a Gulfport house: new cabinetry, new quartz countertops and replacing existing tile flooring with vinyl flooring. After 5 months complaining to GK re: the quartz countertops, they eventually realized that the quartz was defective.

Out of frustration, I finally bought & installed a new counter on my own in March '20. 7M after vinyl floor installation, it started warping. Richard initially blamed me for not running my AC enough & possible exterior water exposure. It would take months & me hiring a Flooring Expert to determine that GK had installed it incorrectly (not enough expansion room as required by manufacture).

My biggest complaint re: GK is that for both Flooring & Quartz problems, Richard persisted in blaming me for the problems for months and accepted no responsibility or blame. (After retaining an attorney, I was advised that due to the contractual requirement for Arbitration, the Atty did not see that I would recover more than my legal expenses would cost.) In a 2nd project begun Jan2020, Moore Creative Construction is doing a much bigger renovation. & they are delivering excellence!

So here is the gist. If you hire GK and everything goes smoothly, there is a good chance you will be satisfied with the job. But I don't think it is just how good a Contractor is that is important. it is also, if things don't work out right, do they have your back, do they correct it quickly and graciously. or do they simply 'throw you under the bus' and leave it to you to find a solution?

If you use GK and anything goes wrong, I believe you will get to experience firsthand what happens when a contractor denies culpability and puts the blame on YOU (. or their hired help). My own skewed perspective is that Richard may be someone who just doesn't think he's likely wrong. Perhaps he's convinced he's as smart and unfailing as he wants to believe he is?

I'm relatively new to Online Reviews-if owners can write a rebuttal, I'm pretty confident that Richard would again blame me and deny his shortcomings. So: I would highly advise you to shop around and consider hiring someone else who might be more responsive, professional and responsible than i ever saw GK (specifically, Richard) being. If you are going to spend a chunk of money on something important (your house and yourself), you deserve to have someone at the helm, working to do both a great job and providing and STANDING BEHIND, a final product that you are 100% pleased with.

I constantly hear and see this new company (MCC) working to keep me happy and striving for my total satisfaction. I don't recall ever sensing or experiencing that from Richard. ~Stuart

Grand Kitchen & Bath cut a critical and significant corner in the build out of my commercial bakery, but one that I didn't know until problems arose. This is a warning to those considering working with this company to renovate or build out a space. In my case, rather than installing and gluing down commercial flooring which is necessary to withstand rolling carts of cookies, ingredients, etc., Grand Kitchen & Bath ordered and installed residential click-lock (floating) flooring.

The result: beginning just over a year after moving in, the floor planks began to curl at the edges, the locking mechanisms in several planks have broken, and in a few places the planks are cracked. It has now been over 2 years since moving in and the situation is getting worse. Moreover, because residential flooring was installed in a commercial space, the manufacturers warranty is void.

The warped planks create a tripping hazard for my team and will only get worse as the planks continue to warp. Richard Valmain, the owner of Grand Kitchen & Bath, took nearly a year after my first call regarding the flooring issue to come out to the bakery to see for himself. And, rather than taking responsibility for his actions, Richard lied and said the flooring was commercial grade, blamed me for the problem, said there was no warranty and said I would need to pay to have new flooring installed.

I should note that the flooring installed is not the flooring nor installation method that was defined in our contract (this is a clear breach of contract). Additionally, throughout the course of the renovation of my space, Richard made mistakes (like building a full wall where a half wall was supposed to be) and blamed them on me, charged me $325 to move a piece of equipment into the space instead of calling me to let me know it had been delivered (ie: gave me no opportunity to handle the move myself, and instead charged a ridiculous fee for 10 minutes worth of work), was cantankerous and difficult to deal with on multiple occasions and ultimately, is not someone I would ever do business with again nor would I recommend him to anyone else. If you are considering a renovation, stay far away from Richard Valmain and Grand Kitchen & Bath.

I really cannot recommend this business. We had a kitchen remodeled and partial remodels of 2 baths. 10s of thousands of dollars. Communication is poor. They left our refrigerator unplugged and we came home to a condo full of bugs that remained for a week. The refrigerator had to be replaced, and they have promised some funds for that. The dishwasher no longer worked, so we replaced it.

We had the previous one taken away, and as my husband installed the new one, he found that the problem was that Grand Kitchen had not hooked up my DW correctly after they moved it to the new location. so we had purchased a new DW for no reason. That is upsetting because the old DW was excellent, better than the new one. We pointed out a problem with the threshold to the kitchen.

It is hideous. Some one took a look about 3 weeks ago with a promise to fix it. Have not heard since. Called this morning, same old story "we'll get back to you". I don't feel there is much interest in their customers. Communication between them and customers as well as among themselves seems inadequate. And the lack of attention to detail regarding hooking up appliances and leaving refrigerator off is not what one would expect from experienced professionals.

In response to the Stuart-Lippman review of Grand Kitchen performance of the kitchen and flooring remodel, I feel compelled to explain what I personally know of this project. I was the installer of the vinyl plank flooring that Mr. Lippman is stating was installed incorrectly, I have installed numerous vinyl floors and this is the first time I have heard of an issue regarding faulty installation.

I was notified by Richard that there may be an issue with tenting of seams, which means that something is forcing the vinyl planks to raise at the joints, this problem could be due to various reasons. Such as, large degrees of moisture or perhaps not allowing for proper expansion. The baseboards were off the walls and a quarter inch gap was allowed from the edge of vinyl to the drywall, plenty of room for expansion.

I was in question of what might be the problem so I set an appointment to meet with Mr. Lippman and inspect the floor. I was also prepared to rectify any problem that may exist with the flooring. However, when arriving to the site I was shocked to see that more than half of the flooring was removed either by the homeowner or his phase-2 remodel contractor, even the footprint of the home had changed meaning a laundry room was converted into a bathroom and closets were removed etc. Obviously, the most important part of what I saw was the flooring was simply gone, well at least most of it, what had remained from what Grand kitchen installed had no signs of faulty installation whatsoever.

There was no tenting, there was no lipping, and it was as it should be. So I am definitely confused as to the review regarding the vinyl flooring. I have known Richard for over 7 years and he has always stood behind his work. That is why he sent me to review, and if needed repair or make adjustments to the flooring that we put down. But all I could do was call him to inform him that the vinyl flooring had been removed and what was left was in perfect shape less some damage that apparently occurred when the homeowner or the phase 2 contractor removed the flooring. Cale Lurvey 9/3/20

Working with Richard, Julie and their team was the best remodeling experience ever. Everyone who participated in the project was super knowledgeable, courteous and paid extreme attention to detail. The selection of materials to choose from was very impressive, too. We are so pleased with the results. We would work with the Grand team again in a minute!

Grand Kitchen and my horrible experience

First, I have no ill will toward Grand Kitchen (GK), or Richard Valmain and Julia, the owners. My experience is shared with you here so that you might be better prepared and forewarned what can easily happen to you if you do business with this company.

First, I will describe the events that occurred.

If this is too long for you to wade through, consider reading just the last paragraph where I summarize my sentiments.

Judging from the numerous positive reviews for GK, the odds are in your favor for a good outcome. What I believe was different in my situation was that unanticipated bad results occurred with my kitchen remodeling (defective quartz counters installed and improper installation of vinyl floor product leading to warping).

Any job can have unexpected bad outcomes. But what I consider the worst part of this was Richard’s behavior in response to these unfortunate events. If all goes well, you are fortunate and lucky. If GK makes a mistake, you will likely have to deal with what I consider and judge to be incredibly unprofessional treatment and lack of responsibility from Richard, (IMHO).

I’m a 61yo M.D who has lived in the Tampa Bay area for over 32 years.

This is the first major renovation project I have done. My project with GK involved renovating a 30-year-old kitchen in a Gulfport house: new cabinetry, new quartz countertops and replacing existing tile flooring with vinyl flooring. I initially interviewed four different local kitchen design companies. I chose GK because I sensed that Richard might be someone who could work with a rather architecturally unique house and design a creative solution. Overall, I am satisfied with the kitchen design and layout.

The project started in the beginning of 1990 and wrapped up about eight months later. With new appliances the cost probably came close to $85,000. The cabinetry was fine. Pricey, but I think worth it! But then the problems occurred. From the moment the counter tops were installed in March 2019, I complained to Richard. I could never get the counter tops to appear clean— no matter what I used or how I wiped them— there were blemishes immediately upon drying.

My repetitive laments about the counter issue always had me hearing from Richard that it was MY FAULT. I had picked black quartz…. Black shows dirt. I was particularly disappointed hearing this response because Richard would frequently remind me that what I was getting by hiring him was not just a kitchen remodel, but also the years of experience he had—that I should trust him to create a beautiful kitchen for me.

I wanted a design that would have the most universal appeal when I eventually sell the house. And my own singular priority was that I wanted to have minimal maintenance and clean up concerns. My error was that I thought dark surfaces hid dirt… ( I would only find out later that that is not necessarily the case). Richard would also later tell me that his own counter top at his house is black and it was always showing dirt.

So this was a double disappointment… Richard supposedly knew from his own counter at home, that black surfaces would conspicuously show dirt yet I would never hear him warn me or advise me not to choose black during any of our design and material selections. More importantly, this was not just a case of showing dirt… mine was a surface that consistently showed drying blemishes and smears. Julia offered me several cleaning suggestions and even a spray can of CitraSheen (which almost voided my ‘warranty with the supplier!!) but nothing made any difference.

It never occurred to me that my quartz could actually be defective. Instead, I reluctantly accepted Richard’s diagnosis (and as I recall, without him even coming over to examine the counter top and my persistent complaints). It was not until August, when the job was wrapping up that Richard and Julie showed up to do a final walkthru inspection.

When I showed them the issue about my countertop’s blemishes, I was shocked to hear both of them readily admit that there was definitely SOMETHING WRONG with my countertops! The problem I had been dealing with for five months was not typical of quartz! I had already come to accept that this was just a poor color selection, as I would so often hear from Richard over the phone or when I visited their storefront.

But now, they said that the Tampa supplier, whose name is Myra, would contact me. It would take several weeks but eventual Myra (and her husband, Jorge, I believe) came to my house to inspect the countertops. They immediately confirmed that there was something wrong with this quartz and their parting words as they left were that they would definitely ‘make it right’ for me and they would get back to me promptly.

My satisfaction at this response was very short lived.

(BTW, Richard’s contract had no disclaimer regarding faulty materials, as I read it. How he could be at peace knowing that he installed a defective counter in my kitchen and spend five months adamantly blaming me for issues with it… and not feel any professional pride to immediately remedy the situation and replacing my countertop for my satisfaction [and then taking it up with the Tampa supplier on his end] reflects what I consider to be very unprofessional for a business man.)

The Tampa supplier, Myra, did not return my three follow-up calls regarding the resolution that they promised.

I suddenly felt frustrated… “Why am I going through all this energy to get a defective material replaced?”—a mere six months after installation. They obviously were not ‘making the situation right’. I would let GK know that they should be the one’s securing my replacement counter. I would hear from Julia that because of the cleaning product she had previously given me (and that I used once, as it didn’t help), they were now voiding my warranty for the quartz.

As far as I understand what Julia would explain to me several times over several months, she was very persistent in pursuing this complaint and after about 4 months, I finally got word that they were ready to replace my counter. I went over to the Tampa store and looked at replacement samples. I then made my own decision to not use this fabricator/supplier as I simply did not trust her.

I bought my own new counter and had it installed the next month. And there are no problems with it!

Now, my flooring:

The vinyl floor (made by Happy Feet:Extreme Lava) initially appeared fine. But in October, seven months after installation, I noticed warping at many of the narrow edges of the vinyl planks. Numerous joints were raising up. I called Richard and sent pictures to him documenting this new situation.

Richard initially insisted, without even inspecting the flooring (my house is 8.4 miles from his office and just 2 miles from his house) that the problem was my fault.

I was not running my air conditioning enough so there was humidity in the air and perhaps also water penetration from the exterior. Certified letters were sent to GK. In November, Richard conceded and let me know he would make sure the counter and floors were corrected. Lou, a contractor that I believe GK often used, came here and inspected my floors. Then, a week or two later, in early December, Richard would change his mind, as I best understood it.

He would tell me that there was nothing wrong with either the floor installation or the quartz and he wasn’t going to replace either, as I recall. And he would now tell me that Lou found high moisture content when he examined my floors so the problem was mine. Another certified letter of my complaints was sent to GK. I pursued my complaint with GK to the flooring manufacture, Happy Feet (HF).

They suggested I have a professional flooring Inspector assess my floor. If the flooring had material defects, HF would pay the inspection fee and replace my floor for no charge. If the error was with installation, however, the installer would be charged for the inspection and it would be their responsibility to install the flooring. Gary Hanson came out at the end of January and clearly documented that the issue of my warping floor was due to improper installation of the floor as per the manufactures requirements. Moisture was not the issue—the floor was installed incorrectly without proper expansion space.

GK was billed for Gary’s inspection.

As I recalled and also documented in more certified letters to GK, Richard would now blame the floor installer that he hired. Though I saw Richard as the ‘captain of the ship, and the one ultimately responsible for my improperly installed flooring; there were no apologies on his part and no obvious admission that he was at all to blame for this, as I recall.

In a matter of months after GK redid my kitchen, I was struggling with persistent problems with both flooring and countertops. And I felt like RIchard had little concern for how I felt his project had failed me!

The issue around my floor has now gotten even more complicated which has resulted in me writing this review, retaining an attorney and complaining to Pinellas and Florida State licensing boards as well as Better Business Bureau..

While it would be dramatically more affordable for me to just replace my floor myself (which is what I’m doing now, Aug 8, 2020) and merely move on; I’m willing to spend a significant amount of money to make it difficult for Richard to repeat the quality, or lack of it, on anyone else’s remodeling job. Working with GK was my first renovation job and unfortunately I did not have experience.

Nor did I know fine quality and how a respectable contractor, in my opinion, would actually deliver their product. I’m currently using Moore Creative Construction for a larger renovation project that started January of this year. The difference in, what I believe, is their higher quality and attention to professionalism was immediately obvious.

A week prior to this new project beginning (stair renovation, utility room converted to a full bathroom, and a new utility room built near my bedrooms) a portaJohn toilet and a huge dumpster were strategically placed in my driveway. I never asked for it and never even expected it because it never happened with GK. With GK, demolition had debris piled in my garage until it was eventually removed.

Another wonderful contrast is when something doesn’t work or appear correct to me in this new project, I get immediate replies and support from the company. And within a day or two there is an employee here visiting, addressing my concerns and rapidly remedying them to my total satisfaction. That is something I never recall experiencing with GK.

The few times things that have been done incorrectly here in this new job, the team immediately accepts responsibility and corrects the problem. So here is the gist. If you hire GK and everything goes smoothly, there is a good chance you will be satisfied with the job. But I don’t think it is just how good a Contractor is that is important… it is also, if things don’t work out right, do they have your back, do they correct it quickly and graciously… or do they simply ‘throw you under the bus’ and leave it to you to find a solution?

If you use GK and anything goes wrong, I believe you will get to experience firsthand what happens when a contractor denies culpability and puts the blame on YOU (… or their hired help). My own skewed perspective is that Richard may be someone who just doesn’t think he’s likely wrong. Perhaps he’s convinced he’s as smart and unfailing as he wants to believe he is? I’m relatively new to Online Reviews—if owners can write a rebuttal, I’m pretty confident that Richard would again blame me and deny his shortcomings. So: I would highly advise you to shop around and consider hiring someone else who might be more responsive, professional and responsible than i ever saw GK (specifically, Richard) being. If you are going to spend a chunk of money on something important (your house and yourself), you deserve to have someone at the helm, working to do both a great job and providing and standing behind, a final product that you are 100% pleased with.

I constantly hear and see this new company striving to keep me happy and striving for my total satisfaction. I don’t recall ever sensing or experiencing that from Richard.
~Stuart

Thank you Grand Kitchen + Bath! I just had my kitchen and two bathrooms completed and I absolutely love the end result! This company is awesome to work with. Richard and Tammy constantly communicated with me on my project, I received a calendar on construction; when and what was being done and they completed the project on time; WITHOUT one change order from this company, NOT ONE!

I am so grateful for your knowledge when it came to FEMA! I talked to three contractors and they never ONCE mentioned FEMA and their requirements. I highly recommend this company because of their professionalism and knowledge! This company does what is "SAYS" with no additional costs. Thank you Grand Kitchen + Bath, I will definitely be recommending you to my neighbors and friends. Teri A.

The knowledge and commitment that they are able to deliver is second to none!

Stopped into Grand Kitchen and Bath today. I was amazed at the selection of cabinetry. Their showroom is really a design center, and it's beautiful. Lots of options to choose from, and a very friendly staff!

We have been incredibly pleased with all the work Grand Kitchen & Bath has done for us over the past year! They have transformed two 1965-era bathrooms into two beautifully designed and very modern rooms! They made every aspect of that job so easy; we decided to have them update our kitchen, too! Julie and Richard had great ideas for us, since we're not exactly HGTV remodeling experts!

And they made sure to keep us within our budget by giving us numerous choices of many tile, fixture and cabinet options that we could afford. Everything stayed on schedule and they kept in touch as work went along to make sure we had a realistic idea of when the jobs would be completed. Everyone who worked on both the bathrooms and kitchen - cabinet installers, plumbers, electricians - was incredibly professional (always on time), and, Pavel, who was here almost every day throughout the process, was so organized and left our house every evening with things so swept and tidied up, that it's possible my house was cleaner during the renovations than it was before!

We would pass Grand Kitchen Bath's showroom many times a week on our trips up and down 4th Street North in St. Pete, and we're so glad that one day we just decided to drop in, talk with them and then have them do a tremendous job on creating rooms that we know will ultimately increase the resale value of our house! We encourage you to visit them, too!

I can't say how happy my husband and I are with Richard and Julie in terms of the help in design and patience while we pondered what we wanted to do with our remodel. We have a 70 year old home in St. Petersburg and ran into some issues that could have been anxiety producing, yet we never worried. Richard's calm assurance and the engineers, architects, electricians and HVAC professionals all worked together to ensure our home would be safe and beautiful.

The transformation in our home is truly amazing. Thank you, Richard and Julie. I can't understand some of the other reviews because they simply do NOT resemble anything we encountered at Grand Kitchen and Bath. If you are looking for a quality company with people you can rely on, go visit Richard and Julie.

My husband and I went to Grand Kitchen and Design with the intention of having them do our complete kitchen renovation. We gave them a 450$ good faith deposit in order to provide us with detailed drawings and design for our project. An utter lack of professionalism and response ensued. No return of emails or phone calls and a scheduled meeting that we waited over an hour for in the showroom while they cont. with another client, another meeting cut short due to his dinner reservations and much difficulty in trying to arrange meeting times ( when we finally did hear back from them).

Following No response after waiting for 5 weeks, I emailed them and asked for a refund of our $450 ( primarily on principal at this point ), and informed them that we went ahead and selected another company to do our remodel and kitchen with due to the fact that our construction was scheduled and we needed to finalize our kitchen. I could not in good conscience proceed with them.

It was only after that point that (finally), they sent a poorly detailed estimate, that really wasn't an estimate at all due to the fact they he was asking for Thousands of dollars to move forward. Needless to say, I'm so grateful we did not move forward with Grand Kitchen and Bath as I have ( since then) heard of many other complaints from friends and colleagues in the St. Petersburg area to steer clear!

They remodeled our master bath. The finished product looks really great. Their workmen are skilled and professional. However, the lack of attention to detail and communication made it a very frustrating experience. There is really no on-site quality control, so it felt like that was totally up to me.

I've worked forty years in construction. Have installed a lot of kitchens. Due to health reasons back and knees unable to do it anymore. But have found a company with very good tradesman and sales people.

One of the prettiest showrooms in Tampa Bay! Owners Richard and Julie go above and beyond to ensure customer satisfaction. Their work -- and service -- is perfect.

Great kitchen cabinet and bathroom remodeling company to work with, knowledgeable and intelligent staff. Showroom is amazing, modern and high end. I love going there every time to get new kitchen ideas! Absolutely the best in St. Pete and Tampa Bay.

Great kitchen cabinet and bathroom remodeling company to work with, knowledgeable and intelligent staff. Showroom is amazing, modern and high end. I love going there every time to get new kitchen ideas!

Grand Kitchen & Bath strives to provide the best quality products and services. We utilize customer feedback to stay at the top. In our 10th year of business, we are without experience of such a negative reporting of our service.