gaps between end kitchen cabinets and wall

18 years ago

We recently had the kitchen cabinets intalled in our newly built kitchen addition. The cabinets are attractive, but the cabinetmaker left gaps here and there between the cabinet and wall. The countertops were placed, as well as the crown moulding on the wall cabinets, before we noticed this. The most unsightly gap is the one between the wall and one of the end cabinets--it widens to 1/2 inch at the top. Also--one set of open shelves by the kitchen window sits flush to the wall, but the opposite set of shelves leaves a gap between the edge and wall.

It seems as though it's too late to set the cabinets flush to the wall, but has anyone had experience masking these gaps or dealing with a similar situation?

The cabinetmaker will return to the house soon to make final adjustments to the doors and drawers and to collect his final payment(of a mere remaining $500, unfortunately).

I can't resist adding that the island was placed noticeably slanted--the perfectly aligned floorboards give it away. I guess I'm basically annoyed, needed to vent, and interested in any comments.

Featured Answer

pcjs

18 years ago

We had the same problem and used filler strips or molding to hid all of that. It would have been easier precountertops as you can use a screw through the side of the cabinet, but it probably can still be done.

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Comments (7)

holligator
18 years ago
We had a lot of gaps, some of them fairly large, because our house is old and hopelessly out of plumb. The cabinet maker hid the gaps with trim that looked great.
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petra_il
18 years ago
I had a slight gap between my upper cabinet and an end wall ... my installers suggested using a shoe molding to cover it -- and it looks great.

It was less than 1/2" wide though, more like 1/4".
Detail:

Cabinet:
bethv
18 years ago
You had them made by a cabinet maker and he left gaps!!! I wouldn't pay him until he trimmed them out!! He could use inside corner moulding at least! He should fix the island too!
westsider40
18 years ago
I agree. He should fix it. It's not that difficult. Your house, your money. Many trims will work.
the worst scenario is he will say no. Who cares if he thinks you are a b----tch. Only $500 left but drop some hints about referrals, word of mouth.....how it's bothering you, and you know he can do such fine work, and he's coming back anyway. I'm sure you can think of 10 other diplomatic, persuasive ways to fix sloppy work. If you need to enlist the help of an assertive or skilled big mouth, feel free. You will kick yourself if you arent happy. Bev
holligator
18 years ago
I'll add that my cabinet maker asked me for a list of things that I had noticed that needed fixing or finishing before he returned for his final payment (which was also small). It's easy to miss those little things when you're putting in the big stuff, so I would assume that he's planning to fix all those gaps. I went over each wall of cabinets with a fine tooth comb and made a very detailed list. The list was pretty long, but most of the items on the list took him a minute or less to fix.

Just to be sure, call or e-mail (I preferred e-mail so that we would both have it all in writing) with your list. A simple "I wanted to be sure you brought enough trim with you to finish these spots" should do it. If you feel like he needs some incentive to do it right, follow that by a "I'm having a friends over soon and I think there will be some potential business for you, so the sooner we can get this finish work done, the better." :)
kompy
18 years ago
I would doubt he intends to leave it like that. Before you jump on him too much, ask him if he plans to use 'scribe molding' to cover the gaps. There could be a few reasons why he didn't do it yet....not enough time at the end of the day...molding left at the shop...etc.

I'm sure he will take care of this for you.