Is this a tract home or a custom home?

I think the builder should replace it. You're building new, and they're installing brand new materials - why would they install a broken cabinet? We had a drawer in one of our bathrooms that I wouldn't consider broken, but looked like it was starting to splinter - I pointed it out and they ordered a new one and replaced it, no big deal at all. Not sure why your builder is fighting it. Is it because it doesn't look broken now that it's installed? I don't know much about cabinetry - but would that present problems over time? You should be starting with new materials - not already damaged ones. Curious what someone with cabinetry knowledge would say.

Did you already have your pre-closing walk through?

@Mark Bischak, Architect It is a tract home in a master planned community.

@Kate E They installed it because (I'm guessing) they don't want any delays and they want their money. We have our walk-thru this Thur. I have told them twice that I want that cabinet replaced, once on 1/29 and once last Friday. Last Thur we had our inspector (hired by us) do a walk-thru and he found several little things like the cultured marble vanity was chipped and a window was cracked. I'm guess they will fix all the little things but the cabinet is going to be a fight I fear. We paid $8k for these cabinets. The other concern I have is that if they do order a new cabinet we run the risk of the paint not being exactly the same, in spite of it being the same color. I called the Registrar of Contractors and they suggested accepting it as is and then requesting a Building Confidence visit from them after we close, and they will make a ruling. Then if they determine that it should be replaced, we would have that done thru the home warranty. My husband is furious about this and wants it replaced before we close. I just don't know what is considered standard. Is this normal? We have never built a house before. The reality is that we would not even know it was broken if he had not been there and seen it. But then if the whole thing comes crashing down someday, we will know why. Then I will sue the crap out of them. Wouldn't it be easier to just replace it? LOL

It would be my guess that, when the cabinet was installed, any structural integrity that the cabinet lacked as a stand alone cabinet was restored when it was installed. If after the cabinet was installed there was no sign of damage, structurally or cosmetically, it would be difficult to make any claim that would initiate any repairs. Most custom builders I work with would have the cabinet off site or in the dumpster within 24 hours of discovering the damage.

Thanks @Mark Bischak, Architect. In looking at the picture, is it even possible that a cabinet with that much damage can be structurally sound when installed? Even if they "fixed" it?

I would not be okay with that tract home or custom

Is the damaged side panel of the cabinet installed next to another cabinet?

You first brought this to their attention 5 weeks ago. At that point there was plenty of time to replace this cabinet. It should have been reordered at that time. The side panel is more than damaged. It is pulling away from the back panel.

@Mark Bischak, Architect No, the damaged side is the back, so against the wall. However, the side it's closest to is where the OTR microwave and small upper cabinet is. We plan to rip out the microwave and put in a nice hood, if that makes a difference. Not sure yet if we will keep the upper and do an under cabinet hood OR get rid of the small cabinet too and do chimney hood. Here is a pic of the whole kitchen. I circled the cabinet that I am talking about. The damage is against the wall, very close to the corner near the OTR microwave.

Don't let them strong arm you into closing if there are defects. That's standard tract builder nonsense. Once you accept it, they can drag their feet as long as they want.

We had one try to get us to go through closing without any of the appliances installed. When we pushed back and refused to go through their pre-closing "walk through", they didn't know what to do - no one had ever refused before.

It's also not a home warranty issue. Those home warranties are related to ability to use the home - construction defects, etc.

Stand firm.

Hopefully they repaired the cabinet before they installed it, but nobody knows other than the installer; and nobody here certainly knows. The cabinets should be screwed to the wall and to each other, so the cabinet above the hood is adding to the structural integrity to the cabinet on each side of it. If you remove the cabinet above the hood to install a new hood, something may have to be reinforced in the cabinets to each side.

With all that said rely on the advice of the people there on site.

Thanks. The advice I was looking for was really whether or not something like this is common and if we should accept this cabinet, fixed obviously OR do we dig our heels in and insist they replace it. I am not convinced that it is truly fixable. Thank you for pointing out that the adjacent cabinet provides stability as I had not thought of that.

It is not common and it needs to be replaced, not repaired. The materials visible in the photo appear to be press/particle board so it's not something simple like glue and clamps to fix.

Don’t close until it’s replaced. Let the builder know tomorrow

If they haven't fixed it in 5 weeks before closing, what makes you think they'll fix it after you close and they have your money?

How do you know it wasn't repaired with wood glue and clamps before it was installed? I would examine all visible edges, and the interior. If you do not see any visible flaws, maybe it is ok. If there is visible cracking, separation on the inside, flexibility and bowing or instability I would be more concerned. But if you can not locate an issue on the existing cabinet, is it an issue?

I would insist the builder deal with it before closing if you are not comfortable. They are motivated to close on time.

If you can not see the flaw in the installed cabinet, there is nothing visible to have repaired under the warranty.

How are you so sure that it is that set of double cabinets?

lafdr

Yes it is common, depending upon what you call common.

The tests for the cabinet are if the cabinet looks any different because of the damage, and if the cabinet performs any different because of the damage. If there is no compromise in the cabinet's appearance or performance in the configuration of the intended installation of the kitchen, then all is good and the builder has met their obligation.

If you intend to alter the kitchen in any way, the burden is on you to deal with the existing condition of the kitchen's components; damage or repaired or unblemished.

That is the way I see it.

There may be contractural elements involved or other unknown facts that may effect your results.

To Mark’s point, if the cabinet is sandwiched between two other cabinets tightly, there’s no reason to believe you’ll have a cabinet failure. However, I wouldn’t pay until it was fixed.

You bought particle board cabinets and paid 8K????

You could easily fix it with some epoxy and be done with it in 10 minutes.

Feel free to make it as difficult as you want though.

I am honestly, genuinely curious.

Has anyone here successfully postponed a tract builder's closing date *without* penalty? My tract builder's contract specifically stated that if I delayed closing (and they would find me at fault for delaying closing for any number of issues that weren't related to the structural or electrical integrity of the building itself), I would be responsible for a fee of $250/day.

Cabinet backs aren’t structural components. However, that hanging rail IS. That join is obliterated, and that cabinet should be replaced The replacement should have already been here, if it were ordered. Any good cabinet company has a rush replacement program to account for delivery damages.

Dealing with a tract builder though, nothing you demand will probably happen. And there’s probably other similar quality control things you don’t know about too. There always is. That isn’t the lone ranger. How much of that you can swallow depends on you.

You picked this level of build for a reason. Usually affordability. Well, unfortunately, that’s the level of work that comes with it, for the whole build. Not just your cabinets. Can you accept that level overall? Or would you walk in order to find and pay for better quality? What does your budget say works for you? Accept and sell in 2 years, before things start to show? Refuse and buy more house by buying an existing used house? Refuse and buy a more expensive tier new build house?

@cpartist It has been fixed but I don't know if that's good enough or if I should insist it is replaced, rather than fixed.

@lafdr I inspected it the other day and there are no visible issues that I can see. My best friend's husband is a GC and he said it's probably fine and it's not going to fall off the wall, and that stuff is expected with these builders - a sad reality I suppose. He also did say they should have replaced it but they try to cut as many corners as they can. I know it's that cabinet because my husband marked up the inside with a sharpie so we'd know which one it was. The superintendent was NOT happy with him. LOL

@Mark Bischak, Architect Thanks - what you said makes perfect sense. If we decide to close on time, we will reach out to ROC to inspect it and if it passes, we will just move on.

@shead It has been fixed, but not replaced.

@MrSteeDoo . This is a tract home in a master planned community and the builder standard cabinets were ugly 1990s "oak" looking wood. We wanted painted cabinets and that was a level 3 upgrade. They are HDF, which apparently sightly more expensive than MDF. The cost for that, plus island wrapping plus the additional 6 foot nook was $8k. I realize it's an egregious markup but the alternative was to rip out the standard ones later and pay CASH to have new ones put in. The $8k went into the mortgage and we are saving what cash we have for ceiling fans, a back yard, and window coverings. We had to pick our battles.

@One Devoted Dame Thank you for pointing that out. I do recall something about that in our purchase contract. That will definitely affect how much we push back on this. Ugh.

@User Thank you for that - all good points. Yes, this house was $415k (2500 sq ft) and fits our budget. We certainly are not in the market for a custom build. And we are not prepared to walk and lose our $8k earnest money. We are building in this community because we wanted a bigger house and we like the location, amenities, pool, playgrounds, etc. And it's a small lot and a minimal yard to maintain. Right now we have a huge backyard and I am tired of dealing with it.

"It’s horrific that someone thinks it’s acceptable to put in a broken product and call it a day."

I feel the same way about most of the designs put up here for review. Inexperienced designers/drafters are feeding people sh . . . tuff that is just poor design.

That must be replaced before closing. Maybe it's just terminology, but I would tell them to do it, not ask them.

Gather the facts before making any decision. Did the installer and/or the builder notice the damage? Was the damaged cabinet repaired or replaced? How was it repaired? Is the cabinet structurally sound as installed? What are the ramifications of removing the adjacent cabinet for a hood? Who will pay for any further repairs or replacement? Will the cabinet support a 40 pound boy swinging on the door? Will the top shelf support his 30 pound sister? Is there an extended warranty on the cabinet? Is there anything in the contract that addresses use of damaged materials? Etc.

The repaired cabinet may have more structural integrity than any other cabinet in the kitchen.

Also consult with your mortgage lender...they have more experience with this kind of situation and will be doing their own due diligence....

You have to decide if this is a hill worth dying on. I suspect it is not. You may want to get in writing that this is structurally sound and will hold standard cups, saucers, plates and bowls that you plan to put in there with the known defect and repair.

As ODD said - your contract will likely penalize you for several times over the cost of the cabinet if you delay closing because of this.

Perhaps close and HOLD BACK enough money to have the cabinet replaced at a later date? DO you have a closing attorney that is YOUR ATTORNEY? Holding back some money is a common practice when things are not perfect, but time is of the essence.

@Mark Bischak, Architect, too many questions. If you were my client I would drop you.

@strategy if you are threatened by those questions how do you get clients?! They are reasonable questions to sort out how far to take this issue and how to proceed.

Okay, "Did the installer and/or the builder notice the damage?" may have been out there, but the rest are legitimate.

Maybe the cabinet asked too many questions and that's how it got damaged.

Y'all aren't going to believe what this builder is trying to pull in today's episode of "screw the naive tract home buyer." Our inspector pointed out that the cultured marble countertop in the master bath was chipped in a few places. probably when they installed the mirror. So instead of FIXING it, they moved the mirror out away from the wall about a half inch, to hide the chips. But it's still flush against the wall at the top, so now the mirror is tilted. I sent the superintendent a rather snarky email that his MacGyvered solution was not going to fly and that if he doesn't know how to repair cultured marble perhaps he consult Amazon - they sell kits just for that purpose. I also informed him at this point that we are not going to close until all of our items are addressed and we will require another walk-thru prior to closing to ensure nothing is still pending. I am LIVID. Look at this photo. First frame is the pic our inspector took, the second is their "fix" and the third is my husband with his fingertip BEHIND the mirror.

@Shandra Locken, right on! Get them to do it right. What the heck?

Is that electrical outlet near a sink?

Is that electrical outlet near a sink?

It's probably directly underneath a towel ring, too, so that it gets all wet and drip-trippy.

(My builder did that in both bathrooms; drove me nuts, so we moved the towel rings. Sigh.)

To the OP -- I wish you luck! Looking forward to updates. <3

@Mark Bischak, Architect yes, it's a double sink vanity. Here is a bigger picture. Mirror had not been installed yet.

That (those) outlet(s) may have to have a ground fault interrupter either at the outlet (which it doesn't look like it is) or at the electrical panel. I could be wrong.

What is the little dark rectangle on the upper right corner of the duplex outlet cover plate?

Medicine cabinet. Oh, and I asked today about the ground fault interrupter and they have that at main box. The only one that has it at the outlet is the downstairs half bath. We had our walk thru today and they are going to address all of our gripes except the cabinet. He insists that it was fixed. Whatever. If it falls off the wall I will sue the crap out of them. It’s been almost a nine month process and I’m over it. Thank you for all the advice! 😊