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spinmomnj

What would you do, cabinets are chipped?!!

spinmomnj
14 years ago

My cabinets arrived and are in middle of being installed by kitchen store. There are some noticeable chips and nicks on cabinet doors! I ordered white painted birch cabinets from Cuisimax(formally MRS)in Canada.What should I do? I am so upset, I know painted cabinets can show wear and tear but not before I even touch them! Are birch cabinets more delicate than maple, did store mislead me by telling me they are equal? What should I demand of store? I am ready to cry as the cabinets were the most expansive part of entire renovation and I am afraid to spend the $ on granite if the cabinets are such bad quality. Please give me advice. Did anyone have an issue like this?

Comments (8)

  • plumeriavine
    14 years ago

    When my cabinets arrived with flaws, I was disappointed and I let it be known. I was told that the flaws would be "fixed" with touch up kits. Weeks later, it was clear that the touch up kits couldn't heal what ailed my kitchen.
    Don't be surprised if they tell you that everything will be taken care of with touch-up kits.

    Take pictures. Post them and have people with more experience tell you if what you are seeing is "touch up kit" doable or not.

    Let the kitchen store know in writing that you've found damage. See what they say and do.

    Don't forget to check all parts of the cabinet boxes for damage, too.

  • igloochic
    14 years ago

    Doors can be replaced, but chips in the cab bodies ned to be fixed before install to your satisfaction. Don't allow install.

    I personally sent them all back. 40grand in cabs and that did raise a fire under someone's arse, but in the end I got nice cabs. Don't get stressed...they aren't right, send them back!

  • boxerpups
    14 years ago

    I'm with Igloo. send them back. Be firm, strong and
    keep your standards high.

  • peytonroad
    14 years ago

    yes, what they will try to do is get you to installthem hoping you "live with it". DON"T install them. If you do install then they will put them under warranty, the paint colors may not match either. Send them all back!

  • live_wire_oak
    14 years ago

    While I'm with Igloochick on the "take no prisoners" approach if the whole order is dreck and beyond just a few doors needing to be replaced and a few frames needing a tiny bit of touchup, there is a some "acceptable" damage, even in new cabinets. Birch IS softer than maple, and will have more nicks and dings, unfortunately sometimes after a long shipment even straight out of the box. Two or three doors with dings or nicks sometimes in an inevitable part of shipping damage. Your cabinet company should offer to replace those with no questions asked. If the boxes are have some small travel dings and scuffs, as long as they are cosmetic imperfections that won't be seen (Sides or rear of boxes, non structural) then I'd allow them to be installed rather than wait for new cabinets. If the visible face frames are minorly damaged, if it were covered by the door when shut, I'd allow them to be installed and field touched up. If it were a major dent, scratch, or ding, I would reject it and demand a new cabinet, despite the delay. If the whole order had more than 15% of the cabinets damaged in some way, I'd ask for a visit from the cabinet company rep before even thinking about installing the cabinets.

    New means "new", but it doesn't mean 100% perfect. A skilled installer can fix those minor issues---as long as they are minor and not numerous. Plumeriavine's kitchen is an example of where an incompetent installer made everything much worse than it was originally. Her kitchen is the unfortunate proof of my saying that a skilled installer can take 10K worth of cabinets and make them look like 100K, but a bad installer can take 100K worth of cabinets and make them look like 10K. Other than exhaustively checking references and belonging to trade review sites, it's difficult for consumers who are engaging in a once in a lifetime activity to really find someone qualified as a "good installer". So, go with your gut if you feel that you are receiving poor quality workmanship from your installer or your cabinet company.

  • caryscott
    14 years ago

    Just want to echo l_w_o that door and drawer fronts being chipped during shipping is very common and is not necessarily a reflection of poor quality. A good store does the walk through after installation is complete- installers are human and cabinets can be damaged during installation - amd you inspect the cabinets and make a list of deficiencies which usually means re-ordering a few doors. As l_w_o mentioned Birch is softer than maple but it is a hard wood (Cuisimax web sight describes Birch as hard and Maple as very hard - depending on species it falls around 1200 on the Janka scale)) . Just so you know it takes both light stains and paint well and is very commonly used by Quebec based manufacturers as their standard wood.

  • spinmomnj
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks everyone for your help. I will ask the kitchen store to come down to job site and inspect everything before continuing with installation. Does anyone have any experience with painted birch cabinets? If I order the replacement doors to be made in Maple, will there be a visible difference?