New kitchen cabinets cracking.

8 years ago

Custom inset cabinets are less than 2 months old and are cracking is this normal? Also is it possible for inset cabinet doors to be soft close

Featured Answer

Carly Schwanz

8 years ago

The only thing that makes drawers and doors soft-close is the hardware. You can get hardware that is soft close for inset cabinets, yes.

Anyways, I am not sure what you know about painted cabinets or what you were told... but things like that can and will happen to painted cabinets. With wood cabinetry expansion and contraction of the wood happens all year round. With stained wood cabinetry you never notice the expansion and contraction because the grain in the wood sort of hides it.

With painted cabinets, you do see it more. It looks like whoever made the cabinets sprayed the paint finish over the entire door with the door assembled (with the center panel in the frame already). Something cabinet makers will do is spray the panel separate from the frame of the door, so when it expands and contracts you cant see it (as much). This way if the panel shifts you can't tell because the entire panel is painted inside the door frame. I hope that makes sense.

What kind of humidity do you have where you live? Very high and very low can cause extra expansion and contraction on the wood. Did the cabinet maker use paint grade maple? Alder? MDF? MDF is becoming more popular with painted cabinets because it does not expand and contract like regular wood, therefore the finish ends up nicer. Yet, MDF does have some flaws, as well.

If your cabinet maker did not explain this to you, and you are unhappy with the product, I would talk to him abut your options. Hope this helps!

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Comments (7)

Tanya H
8 years ago
My cabinet doors are almost a year old, shaker style made of MDF and no issues with cracking. We’re in Canada so we get extreme shifts in temperatures and humidity. I would definitely request your cabinet maker address the issue. How frustrating when your kitchen is still brand new!
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Filipe Custom Woodwork
8 years ago
Check if they are made of wood. If they are then it is normal as wood contracts and expands with the temp of the room. many times minor cracking is normal due to the wood, that's why most manufacturers who sell painted cabinets, their center panel is almost always MDF. The most common construction of cabinets is by planks being glued together to fabricate a door. On the center panel, you cannot do that on a painted door because eventually you will see the "cracks" on the panel of the doors. If these openings are in any other place than the center panel it is normal. Try getting a touch up kit from the vendor. They have paint and filler they can provide to you so you can fill in the opening and paint.

2nd and 3rd picture you provided do look unusual....I would call them an see if they can repair or you can order a new door...keep in mind it may happen again.
Fori
8 years ago
It's normal for painted wood cabinets to show cracks where there are joints. Your second photo looks like a crack where there is NOT a joint and THAT is not okay.
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New York Woodworking
8 years ago
Definitely contact the company. If the cabinets were built custom, then they should have their own finishers & if they are a reputable outfit, they will send the finishers to do touch-ups.
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Debbi Washburn
8 years ago
That is definitely not the type of cracking you get with painted cabinets... it is not in the joints... I would contact the place you bought them from immediately... make sure you take lots of photos and document which doors and drawers this is happening to. It could have been a drying issue of the doors - if not enough water is removed from the wood then it tries to "get out" and will cause the paint to crack and bubble. A good company will test for that.

Hope fully it is not a lot of doors, but I would be concerned that once you get some fixed what happens with the rest - I would try to get something in writing.

And yes you can get soft close with inset - they should have been offered to you up front....

Good luck and keep us posted....
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
8 years ago
Wood grows on trees. Make your doors out of MDF or Corian if you don't want this.