Did you or your contractor receive them? If you did, did you inspect them? Most cabinet companies require you inspect within 7 days and before they are hung. Whoever sold them to you should of made that clear. You can try contacting all party's to see if anyone will fix this but... Depends on a lot of things and might be hard to get fixed.

Also, there should be a stain pen and putty stick that will fix some of it included in what you got.

We are building new construction and we, personally, did not receive or inspect them prior to being hung, as the builder did this on our behalf.

I would call the builder first and ask him why he would hang damaged cabinets. Nicely of course since he presumably has more to do for you. Maybe just ask what the process is to get cabinets that aren't damaged in.

I hope you can have them replaced and this doesn't cause you too much grief.

These should have been REFUSED at the door. I would contact the builder asap, ask WHY they were even hung. Sign me Not surprised if SOME of the chips and dings occurred on install. .....or from being kicked around the garage at your job site. Which may well be what the cabinet company says. Or the trucker shall be blamed. Good Luck. Indeed.

You have what you ordered, on site, on time. It is all a touch up and will all get better. Talk to the MRP: most responsible person. Stay positive and speak directly to the project manager or general contractor. You need to give the builder and crew some time to finish the job. Social media just adds fuel to the fire of misunderstanding and is rife with the green eyed monster.

This is not a snub. Truly in every cabinet line there is a best door style for each person. You bought an inexpensive brand painted 5 piece door cabinets which was shipped from afar across different climates wrapped in plastic on a hot transport. The finish was touched up prior to shipping and wrapped while wet which give you the chip rub at the end of the gable. MDF in a single piece is a better choice for you if seam lines (joint) are a problem. Beveled shaker (what you ordered) really shows the joints. Even a chamfered door style would work better if 5 piece is all you had to choose from. The door corner rub and rub on the light valance require a touch up. I know these cabinets and how they were shipped. All the issues are touch ups and a good finisher can repair.

These cabinets are dropped shipped so you cannot refuse them: they would be left onsite regardless. I have yet to see any trades person intentionally kick a cabinet. At this point, the builder is the customer so let him take care of his responsibility to have them repaired.

I am a kitchen and bath designer who wears steel toes and safety gear on site. I am respected enough to make changes to save money and time for clients and builders. I show up before dawn to receive deliveries, give instructions to swampers and installer, and work harmoniously with the trades so I see many faces. They respect the staging area, products, site, and customers. We love our jobs and creating great spaces. Stay on top of your job but stay open minded and positive too.

Can you send me brag photos when done? Hope this helped you out. Cheers.

A touch up marker does not have catalyzed finish. Unacceptable. Contractor should have signed “no visible damage” when order was delivered, then unboxed promptly while verifying completeness of order and checking for damage. At minimum he should have informed homeowner. He installed damaged cabinets (voiding warranty) or his crew damaged them during the install. Either way it is on the contractor.

A hairline paint crack at a joint, like photo 3, is common over time which is why a single piece MDF door could have been a better choice.


That being said, no excuse for a door or face frame being scuffed up.

The trucking company isn’t going to leave them on site without a signature.

Teachable moment:

Touch up pens and kits are formulated differently from the paint to accommodate for the catalyzed finish. That why they cost the big bucks compared to the putty sticks. Putty sticks are good for little dings that have have an edge. These are both essential for homeowners wear and tear on a kitchen.

My tip is to tape your touch up kit on the back cabinet wall under your sink. It is not likely to walk off.

I'm going to call the bluffing here. Its highly unlikely that a customer or builder is willing to wait the 6-12 weeks production and transport time to have a kitchen take up space and hold up a build or reno. The cabinets get installed. Damaged cabinets get ordered under warranty and replaced when they come in. All this posturing just puts the whole project back and costs the customer money in carrying costs. Who pays for the paralysis of perfectionism? Aim for perfection and settle for excellence. Let the finisher do the touch ups. Reassess.

Angela Smith, with your warranty,
technically, the minute you cut the holes in the sink cabinet the
warranty is off. Touching up and repairs that you need are not
modifications. If the cabinets are not what you want, I suggest you hire
a K&B designer and upgrade and change them out while you have
trades on site. Now would be the most cost effective time frame to
change. Talk directly to your builder about these cabinets and the experience.

I have brokered 16 lines of quality cabinets in different price points and been in the industry since the 70's. I am familiar with IKEA: the quality of materials, hardware, and construction is simply not equal to onshore manufacturers. There is a product for everyone but IKEA does not make the cut. I know Aristokraft / MasterBrand product and the parent company very well. They do uphold their warranty for defective cabinets. I design with several Canadian custom cabinetry lines today, they end up best value for the customer.

Hal -you just do not know how some cabinet companies and delivery agents work today. A dropped order is common especially if these cabinets came into Alaska or Canada from the USA. Aristokraft is made in OHIO. The truck is loaded and locked and the contents must be dropped before the truck returns to factory. Usually the trucking company has a return contract to ensure they make some money to pay their bills. Today it is expected that the builder, project manager, or designer is making arrangements to have the shipment met by an adult MRP. They deliver to a GPS address and they drop. My clients who live and farm 4 hours from the nearest hub or north of 60, get this service. Its the new norm. It is best to have someone count and sign, but in today's world, increasingly deliveries are dropped. This was a populated build site so someone received and secured them. She has her order. The warranty and replacement procedures will be followed.

Wondering if the customer self-ordered and installed with the same results, would the comments be more helpful and encouraging?

Considering the original post was 5 weeks old when you commented, I'm guessing is already been decided one way or another.

Hopefully others with similar problems will read and learn. All of the cabinets I have ever ordered shipped via Fed Ex Freight or an independent trucking company. Each case I was emailed a tracking number and expected delivery date. Each case the trucking company had a terminal about 30 miles away, and they called to give me a 4-hour delivery window the next day. Each required a signature. The manufacturer emailed specific instructions about taking possession, so that if the cabinets were damaged they could file a claim against the tracking company. If I missed the appointment, there would be a surcharge.

If the cabinet company uses in-house shipping, I can understand no signature being required. But, signature or not, the person in charge should ALWAYS do a shipment inventory and check for damage. Damage, whether a cracked faceframe or a nick, should be discussed with the homeowner before installation.

Newarre, the reason some of us set aside time to respond is that our own clients read these posts and end up frustrated when a clear answer based on experience is required. It really does not matter if the post is fresh or not: it's out there and people are finding it. There is simply too much posturing which helps no one. I find when my customer gives me an example, like this thread, than I answer if no satisfactory response is already given. There are some laypeople and writers who post continuously and simply don't know what they are talking about. We can disagree as professionals based in preferences and experiences but principals remain solid. Much home reno blogging is sponsored and biased and often the results are really faddish and do not stand up to west and tear. I cannot let my customers follow a rabbit trail. They worked too hard to blow it away based on fictional blogs or articles.
People watch television and forget its entertainment. You can find some nuggets in these shows but they do not tell the whole story. Consumers expect perfection but compromise is always a limiting factor.
Every project has a compromise or limit. For most of us it's money. For some it's making a mountain out of a mole hill.
Let it never be an ego with a flip answer.

Oh heck yes, push for replacement.

People, please, come to reality. These are kitchen cabinets for God's sake not the Hubble Space Telescope. If you think you're getting a wooden anything without normal shrinkage like the pictured door, you should not have ordered a product that grew on a tree.

Touch up the cabinet paint. Have a dinner party and after a drink or two if any of your guests can find the touched up cabinet in three minutes, I'll buy you a new one and install it personally. The shadow cast by a counter overhang is going to disguise the touch up very inconspicuously, but that's not what's pictured. You are never, ever, going to get the view the picture shows.

Flip that door/drawer with the kiss on it to face down.

This is why I preach to fellow contractors to never, ever, let customers see your or any mistakes. They can't ever "unsee" them. I scratched the bottom of a fresh-out-of-the-box $800.00 stainless steel sink, fixed it on the spot, and never said a word. My ignorant customers loved it.

I also tell my fellow contractors to weed out overly-fussy unrealistic customers. This isn't all a cabinet issue; the salesman should have smelled this before signing the deal. His sniffer will improve, I promise.

The chips and scrapes are a problem. But the separations at joins are totally normal with painted cabinets. A paint stick should have been supplied. The scrapes should probably be replaced with a new cabinet.

Looking for advice on a related issue. My cabinets had some similar issues when installed, but I know I purchased cheap cabinets. I did some touch ups, and now I have trouble finding the scuffs myself.

Unfortunately the counter top installer took a pretty good chunk out of a cabinet face and the base framing of the same cabinet. The contractor has offered a credit, but wants me to give him a number. I'm just not sure what is reasonable for a % off due to the damage.

The gouge is about 2" in length, and 1/2" tall. I wouldn't mind if it was just the paint, but it dug into the cabinet material itself, and I'll have to do some filling before I can touch up the paint.

Suggestions?

Hi Kaylynn. It would help to see a picture. How deep is the gouge?

I would call the cabinet company to ask how to repair. they might have a kit the carpenter who damaged it can buy. If not, talk to the cabinetry department at Lowe's, from my experience they're very knowledgeable and helpful.