Cabinet Finish Compromised by Installer?

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

We're nearing the end of our home renovation, spent a lot of money on Ultracraft wood cabinets, and were apalled to see them damaged during construction (see images in comments). The damage was potentially by the installers or floor finishers. We expect our contractors to offer to touch up the cabinets to cover up damage and we know that will suffice for some marks. However, I'm concerned that some of the damage will compromise the cabinet finish in the long term and results in the finish wearing away sooner rather than later. In fact, issues with the finish longevity were already one of the more common complaints about this cabinet brand by other homeowners here in Houzz. I'm also worried that if I have to make a warranty claim on the cabinets in a few years, that the repairs will be visible and void my cabinet warranty as abuseShould I insist on the contractors replacing (rather than just repairing) some of the damaged cabinet parts? If so, which kind of damage needs to be replaced and which kind wild touch ups suffice?

Featured Answer

chispa

4 years ago

Did you wipe them down to make sure it isn't construction dust? Some of it looks like dirt. I would some barely damp microfiber cloths and wipe everything down carefully.

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Comments (9)

Jessica Gutowski
Original Author
4 years ago
Imag

s of damage
Jessica Gutowski
Original Author
4 years ago
Bumping
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PRO
Rockin' Fine Finish
4 years ago
Hard to say what's damage and what's dust. You'll have some touch-up but alot is avoidable.
Jessica Gutowski
Original Author
4 years ago
We can feel the scratches through the dust.
Jessica Gutowski
Original Author
4 years ago
Update: The situation got worse! Our installer placed 6" cabinet pulls where they were supposed to put 8" pulls on ALL of the drawers. We're not leaving it that way as we chose pull lengths based on drawer width.

Contractors have agreed to replace all the affected drawer fronts. But now I'm wondering if a colormatched repair and refinish would yield a better result.

The reason is I spoke with a local cabinet refinishing/repair company on the reccomendation of our cabinet dealer. The repair company owner cautioned that because our cabinets are black, it's possible that the replacement drawer fronts won't match the other lower doors in terms of color or finish. He recommended ordering ALL new doors and drawer instead, including the undamaged ones, to ensure color match. The alternative is that his repair company can color match and refinish the repaired drawer fronts and will provide us with a sample door to verify color and finish match prior to painting and installing the refinishee drawer fronts.

Should we 1) get just the damaged drawer fronts replaced 2) push contractors to replace ALL black doors/drawer fronts or 3) have a professional repair and refinish the damaged drawer front? Which option will yield the best results? Note that we have white upper cabinets and only the lower cabinets (black) are affected.
PRO
Rockin' Fine Finish
4 years ago
Get all new doors
cat_ky
4 years ago
Definitely all new drawers and doors.
nskeca
3 years ago
We got Ultracraft maple white cabinets last year and are still trying to get the job done when our contract was signed in 9/2021.

Everything came damaged. Or warped.

Or the incorrect size. Everything was reordered, took forever, and many still came defected.

The sales rep dismisses every concern, and the warranty means nothing from what he told us.

We are now filing a case against the designer who we paid a lot of money to, had emailed us she would get these last issues fixed, then did not.

We wish we read the reviews before we believed the story Showcase Kitchens in CT fed us about these being ’custom’ cabinets. We had other contractors look at them and just shake their heads:(