Our knotty alder cabinets look like this?!!

8 years ago

We worked with a local cabinet maker and picked out knotty alder cabinets for our LL wetbar, wanting something that was light-colored but had a bit of interest. We had looked at numerous photos online of knotty alder and expected some small closed darker colored knots. What we got were unsightly holes filled with ugly brown filler. I cannot believe this is considered cabinet grade even if you are choosing knotty wood.... The largest opening is 3.25" long (first pic). The others are about quarter sized, there is about one on every face or drawer front. I don't understand the point of having knots if the filler obscures completely the character of said knots. Looks shoddy to me instead of slightly rustic. Please help- is this considered normal for knotty alder?

Featured Answer

PRO

Brian Gannon

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

Ok take a pic of the entire piece not jus the close up. You orderd knotty alder so if you hired me to build you a cabinet i would pick out knotty wood. You have to understand to a woodworker knotts and defects are sometime considered a plus.

Woodworkers prize wood boards with certain defects. In my own bathrroom I have a vanity I made and it has knots that I think make the piece. Woodworkers think keys, knots and highly defective grains are visually appealing as it shows the actual wood.

From what I can see he or she actually took the time to split a board and match it from door to frame. That takes a lot of work and forethought. This is why you have to discuss with the carpenter what exactly you want you can't just say knotty alder. You also have to get an understanding what that person thinks is visually appealing. If all his or her work shows knots and defects well you choose the wrong person.

That said he or she used a clear epoxy filler. No it isn't wood filler like everyone thinks it is a mixed epoxy. What they can do is mix a color into the epoxy that can match what most consider a knot should look like which is a dark brown color. It can still be done by digging out the surface and refilling the knot. It will require refinishing and that is your call. You could even try using a gel stain on top of the knot.

Wood has defects and when you ask for knotty wood you get knotty wood. Sorry but to someone who actually builds wood pieces I would have delivered the same thing although my knots wouldn't have been filled or they would have beeb filled with a darker tinted epoxy. They might be filled to make the wood more structurally sound.

It is NOT an indication of quality!! take pic of the entire piece to judge that. Some very expensive wood pieces are designed and built with large defects and prized for that defect.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (25)

Sandy R
8 years ago
That is not acceptable nor standard. What did your cabinet maker say, assuming you had the conversation?
felizlady
8 years ago
Natural knots don't come with brown filler.
Related Professionals
Edison Interior Designers & Decorators · Chula Vista Interior Designers & Decorators · Minot Interior Designers & Decorators · Medford Interior Designers & Decorators · Baltimore Architects & Building Designers · Saint Marys Architects & Building Designers · Newport Architects & Building Designers · Sault Ste. Marie Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Ashland Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Jackson Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Flint Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Terre Haute Kitchen Remodelers · Philadelphia Kitchen Remodelers · Memphis Custom Countertops · Kalispell Custom Countertops
PRO
Kym F
8 years ago
We have a kitchen with knotty alder and none of it looks like that. All the wood you see is knotty alder. I would check into that.
cbezak
8 years ago
Not unusual for this species. Here's a good description of rustic alder, also know as knotty alder: http://://www.osbornewood.com/rustic-alder
Beth H. :
8 years ago
move further back so you get of pic of the entire thing, not just a knot close-up)
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
8 years ago
IMO if I ordered knotty alder I would want it to look like this it is what I would consider the best to showcase the wood. I had a live edge table I designed for a client in walnut and i purposely choose the slabs with the most character and that included knots.
cbezak
8 years ago
Huh, problem with link. Here's a screen shot
acm
8 years ago
I don't think the OP is mad about the knots, but about the ugly filler which ruins the look of them. Shouldn't the cabinet maker have discussed how they would be handled instead of making such a decision?
bunnyllg
8 years ago
Not acceptable. I got rustic hickory cabinets for my island from Candlelight Cabinetry and the rustic/knotty pieces are just what I wanted.
mtnmom9
8 years ago
We just had knotty alder cabinets installed. I bet if you zoomed way in on the knots they might look like yours, but hard to tell unless you take a picture from further away. I don't think ours look overly rustic.
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
8 years ago
I agree the filler is the problem.
bdrhome
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks all. Yes, It's not that I didn't want knots- I know that's what we signed up for- but the fill looks completely unnatural to me and cheapens the overall look of the cabs. And like I said, obscures the character of the wood! I will get a zoomed out shot this weekend, we're not living there yet.
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
8 years ago
Your cabinetmaker deserves to eat this for being stupid enough to take a knotty alder job.
beth09
8 years ago
Has this been paid for in full?
Elizabeth B
8 years ago
Very strange to want knots in a cabinet. How would you clean the cabinets with all those grooves? You went with a lighter stain also making the knots more noticable.
beth09
8 years ago
Elizabeth, the knots are part of the character that comes with this wood. Many people actually like that. ;)
PRO
Business_Name_Placeholder
8 years ago
Maybe you can find a faux artist who can paint the knots to have more dimension than just a 1 color filler.
tatts
8 years ago
But...that's just knotty veneer on MDF. Those panels came from the factory finished like that.

Look at the top of the drawer. If that were a real knot, the cut would have exposed the depth of the knot and the filler, but it doesn't. It looks like we're seeing MDF (or something else).
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
8 years ago
Good one Tatts I missed that totally.
endurancehorsemt
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
That is typical of alder. We have alder floors, alder cabinets and alder doors. They are filled but a darker color was used that I think looks better. The lighter color of yours is I think what makes it look un-natural. If you leave the knots too big they will collect dust. The white splotches also detract. I think your cabinet maker was trying to do the right thing, just needs a bit of tweaking. I would ask if that could be done. At least on the really big knots. The smaller filled ones are probably fine as is.
PRO
Creative Design Cabinetry
4 years ago
According to your pics, you have veneer slab fronts. Epoxy in the knots is standard. The veneer is about 1/64 thick, so knots will not goe deeper. It would just be a hole with the substrate showing, so there you go.
Gloria
3 years ago
I ordered furniture made of Alder and didn’t expect it to be rustic. I didn’t order Rustic Alder. I am. It happy at all with the deep splits inside the knot.
Gloria
3 years ago
I am not happy with it at all.
Beth H. :
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Gloria, if you have a question, you'll need to start your own post.

This current post is 5 years old and belongs to another poster/question.