I would say after 5 months, chips and nicks are normal wear and tear. The paint problems is where I would complain.

there is nothing normal about that. Properly painted cabinets should NOT chip and nick unless you hit the edge w/a pan or something equally heavy.

very poor quality work.

this is completely unsat. looks like they didn't even use a primer, let alone a sanding first, priming and sanding again. I bet none of that occurred.

I had mine painted 3 years ago and I have no chipping or anything that looks like that.

Need more info on the cabinets, (were they new? raw wood? what?)

who painted them and how were they prepped?

is this a builder home and the cabinets were part of the deal? If so, they owe you new cabinets. they can keep touching these up for the next 6 months, but eventually it's not going to last.

I disagree beth. The builder is going to come through and see those chips and say wear and tear. They are going to touch them up, not redo the kitchen. For all that guy knows, she bangs her doors putting her stuff away (im not saying you do). Where she can argue is on the terrible finish and paint. Do you have any pictures from when you moved in or paperwork noting the cabinet quality from the walk thru?

eta also, was this a custom build or tract build?

Every single cabinet has some problem. the rounded corners, clearly from instilation are killing me. the builder installed them. They are brand new and we were told they are painted wood. I have no idea how they were built or painted.

sorry, but I disagree. everyone knows people bang their drawers putting away silverware. but to have those chips like that? Come on.

Dings are one thing, but that peeling is entirely different. there is no damage to the wood on the drawer top, so why is the paint suddenly chipping?

on the pull out drawer where the paint is flaking, that isn't from wear and tear. that's from improperly prepped and primed cabinet.

here's mine after almost 4 years

All of my drawers look like this. not one is chipping.

I do have some dings from putting away heavy pots, you can see the dents, but the paint never chipped off!

check out this one. this is right next to the stovetop. I must have really banged this hard while removing the iron skillet. (I even chipped my quartz because of that cast iron skillet!)

yes, you can see it's clearly dinged, but the paint around it?

This was a properly prepped wood cabinet.

What the OP got was NOT. Especially after only 5 months! good lord.

I can tell just by looking at this picture that her painters did a crappy job that would lead to premature chipping and eventual peeling .

This is horrible. No one should have to accept this.

wear and tear over the course of years is one thing, poorly prepped and painted cabinets is entirely different.

we need a tie breaker.

I have some random pictures from before we loved in. We had a 60 day walk though scheduled. They didnt show. finally got ahold of someone at 4 months. Again, they didnt show. We are scheduled for this week at 5 months to address the problems under warrenty. Yet to seen if they show up. I didnt show all the things that are wrong, just a few areas. There is also a whole bunch of these type cracks.

Do you know the brand of cabinets? just curious

I assume it was bulk ordered from overseas. i have no idea!

Ideally, what do you think would be a fair resolution? If its a repaint and he agrees, I would source my own painter and take whatever he will reimburse you. No doubt those cabinets arent great but you have to get the builder to agree. its not always easy. What do you think Beth?

Its a track home, but most houses have different color cabinets.

Casie, I edited my last comment. can you reread and see if you can answer anything?

also, did your neighbors move in around the same time frame? I would go door to door and ask to see their cabinets (after explaining what youre going through) if you find multiple home owners w/the same issue, and they're also getting the runaround from the builder, then you know you have a much bigger issue.

There is another poster/advisor on here that had similar problems multiplied tenfold from her builder. So many things done incorrectly! she went through hell and back trying to get the builder to fix everything. (and of course after one year of him stalling, he said the statute was up and he was no longer liable for anything! That's why I said to document everything from here on out. all the missed appointments, emails, whatever. You're going to need it. )

I would demand new cabinets. As I've stated, these were not prepped properly. They all need to be stripped and redone, so starting w/fresh cabinets is actually cheaper becasue of the labor involved.

I'd also demand a painter of MY choice, and not the idiot the builder used. I doubt the builder will go for it unless you get a group of people who are going through the same thing.

If the builder says he will come in a spot treat the bad parts, it's only a quick fix. and if he's going to use the same painter, do you really think it's going to look better??

I didnt pick anything in the home. just the floor plan and the site. Everything was already picked. sorry about the delayed responses. this page isnt loading right, so i am only getting part of the responses.

This was not a custom build, the quality will not be the same. I hope im wrong, but if its already like pulling teeth, its not going to get better. good luck let us know how it goes.

do you have neighbors that did the same as you? go check with them. walk down your street and knock on as many doors as you can, and ask about their ktichen cabinets. id be surprised if you're the only one experiencing this.

Regardless, the cabinets fall under a warranty. the poor painting as seen on the panels and that rough looking spot is not normal or acceptable. He's giving you the blow-off because he knows he gave you shoddy work. What else ia poorly done in the home? IAre those requests also ignored? document that too

document everything. if he still refuses, you should talk to a lawyer

DesignInteriorSouth is the other person that went through this nightmare. perhaps she can advise you

I will definitely ask my neighbors. I know a bunch of them are having the same problems with the warranty guy. We have a list of about 50 things for him. All documented with video and photos. The warranty people have been very responsive about plumbing and HVAC problems. But all the little things were have been waiting on the "60 day" inspection. If he does not show up this week and I am going to flood their inbox with video and photos of problems we need addressed.

see if you can message DesignInteriorSouth. tell her I sent you over to her! She had the exact same issues and could give you some good advice on how to proceed. If you have all these issues, then you're neighbors do too. Flooding their inbox (along w/all the others who are prob doing the same) doesn't mean the builder is going to see it.

60 days has now turned into 5 months?? At what time frame is the warranty no longer valid? One year?

What he will see is a legal notice from an attorney that represents you and any of your neighbors.

Based on what this builder has already done, I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that all of the 'non-essential' problems will be neglected.

The warranty on the finishes and fixtures is one year. They advised us to wait till 11 months to file for the nail pops and get the dry wall redone.

Here are just a few of the other problems. Ignore the mess on the bathroom floor, but you can see how uneven it is. That spot has serious issues and the doors around it will no longer close. The wood work is also really bad. If it was a bad piece of trim, they didn't care, just painted right over it.

wow. imagine all the mistakes you can't see.

I wouldn't wait till the 11th month. they're going to try and wear you down and hope you give up.

talke to that person I mentioned. She had exactly the same issues you did. The builder gave them the runaround for over a year. she got most things fixed, but man, did she suffer.

I'll send her a message for you and have her pop in here.

talk w/the neighbors. get lists of names and their problems. (maybe get a group meeting?) Find out what they've done or want to do.

I"d retain legal advice now, but that's me.

This is a tract home. I'm guessing it was at a lower price point. No doubt with inflation and supply problems, there was a lot of cost cutting by the builder.

As Casie thinks, he probably sourced the cabinets from China and had his guys spray them straight from the box with cheap paint. Hiring a lawyer is likely the only thing that will get a response.

However, nothing is going to get this builder to do a quality paint job on those cabinets. I would actually focus on the sloping floors and structural problems. I would suggest hiring an inspector. Long-run, those are bigger issues.

Good point.

Might be worth getting the money back for the cabinets and getting a replacement yourselves.

It's not like the builder is going to suddenly get all good quality wood cabinets and take them to a painter who charges 10K to paint them.

Look for a monetary reimbursement on the poor quality items like the cabinets, baseboards, painting, etc, and do those repairs on your own. The other structural issues the builder will have to remedy. I'd prob hire my own inspector in order to get an unbiased report.

Unfortunately, the monetary reimbursement for those cabinets will probably not amount to much. Hope I'm wrong, but I wouldn't be surprised if the wall paint comes off when washed. The economics of building today just don't make for quality construction.

I would definitely hire an inspector and focus on the major issues and systems.

Oh so sorry. How disappointing and frustrating. As Beth says, you are going to have to be the squeakiest wheel that ever squeaked. Wishing you luck. Would love to know what builder this is and where this is. I have a guess.

IMO almost time to get a lawyer since no one shows for walk trhoughs IMO they won't show this time either . BTW I have some pretty rough clients with 5 or 6 kids and no way in that short time have they done any of that damage . These were cheap cabinets installed poorly , finished poorly and you better hope the builder had a warranty that is good to access. I think squeaky will not do the trick but maybe a letter from a lawyer will get some action.

So I did some reading last night and SC new construction warranty laws state that cabinetry has to be redone if there are cracks or significant imperfections within the first year.

Yes, I certainly start the process of researching good attorneys in your area as well.

$1.98 quality. Because it’s a $1.98 overall build cost level. Whaddaya want? The 88K average mid grade kitchen in an entry level home? Not gonna happen. The build wouldn’t be $1.98 then.

Nope, it isn’t good. But neither is the rest of anything seen in any of those pics. And if you can’t afford the 100k lawyer to take them to court, which you probably can’t if you bought that level of home, then you gotta learn how to DIY your way out of the situation. You can refinish those cabinets yourself, and do better than that. Get busy sanding off that crapola finish. Learn to do finish trim. Learn to tile.

People at the mercy of $1.98 crapola builders can only fix that powerlessness by becoming empowered through DIY.

Hi Casie Beth asked me to pop on over here to see if I can give you any advice. I am going to address the cabibnets first.

In your photo of the drawer front this looks like water damage. Were these cabinets exposted to water?

The inside trim moulding on these is not paint grade. There is a grain. Paint grade cabinets are not made out of wood with heavy grains. usually maple is the top choice or maple and MDF panel doors. Don't cringe at that. They take paint well and are less likely to warp.

Since Covid came along delays have been so heavy that I have witnessed builders picking up cheap stock cabinets at big box stores and having their painters spray them once installed with no prep work or anything. It would not shock me if this occured.

Find out who your cabinet manufacturer was and try going directly to the manufacturer. The sales person at the design center for the builder knows this information. If they won't give it to you then have a friend go in and act like they are wanting to buy a new home from them and ask all the questions.

The off level walls, floors etc is more sloppy install.

Because you already closed on the home , you doing so was your sign off that you were happy with the home. The walls and floor were not level befoe you closed. Or if they were then you have even bigger fish to fry in the form of major foundation issues.

Here is where I would start.

1. Talk to anyone and everyone in the neighborhood. If you have a facebook group independent of the HOA and builders DISCUSS. I guarantee you are no the only home with these issues. If you don't have a discussion group START ONE. But keep it private and away from builder and HOA. Know who you are approving into the group.

2. Go onto BBB and see if they haveany filed complaints against them. See if when people have complained if it has gotten them to respond and fix those issues for that homeowner.

3. Go to your town and see if there are any flags against the builder.

4. Go to the buillders association and do the same. Make sure this builder has all licensing and permitting up to date and his subs do to.

Hire an independent inspector. It will be worth the $300-500 to have this done. They will do a full report and you will want this . I am assuming you didnt hire one before closing and if you did then you should go after him/her too because they didnt do their job. There are going to be things you have no idea even exist and some of them are likely bound to be scary.

Now here is where you have to take all the information you have gotten and decide what you feel will get a repsonse out of them. If you have noted that they have BBB complaints and they have acted on those complaints then fire away. Same goes for any social media accounts they have. Be LOUD and threaten their future sales. Builders like this only care about their bottom line. They've already got your money they don't care about you but they do care about not being able to sale the next house. If you have to have a large sign made for your lawn that says DON"T BUY FROM XYZ ASK ME WHY then do it. You arent going to get any monies back. That won't happen but If they don't respond still then file a class action law suit against them. You have to have numbers to do that and if half the homes occupied or more will do it then you have the numbers.

The most important thing you can do moving forward is create a paper trail with the builder. Send everything via email and copy as many people from the builders company as you can. sales agent, construction manager, design person, etc. Look up the builder, find out who the owner of the company is and email him. I would be sending out daily emails. If you can put read receipts on them I would. If you arent getting email responses start sending certified letters where a received signature is needed.BOMBARD them. Even if you never get a response from them this will be what is needed if you hire an attorney.

I hope you get your issues resolved.

Thank you Pink for your input. I hope OP follows the advice. These builders want nothing more than the buyers to relent and give up.

Looks like an on-site paint job to me.

UPDATE: 5/12/22

So he actually showed this week. He was really receptive about a lot of the work that needs to be done in the house. I recorded the whole interaction. Of course he was very hesitant about the kitchen cabinets. He has to bring his manager in to talk about it. This weekend I am going to make a visit to my neighbors to inquire about their problems with the cabinets. Turns out the bathroom cabinets (identical to kitchen) are also starting to chip on the drawers. I put pulls on them a while ago, so its not even contact damage.

I filled out all of the warranty paperwork and recorded that as a paper trails as well. I have taken several videos of the cabinets and other problems in the house (and stored them on the cloud). I am going to follow up today about the next step.

I have no problem being a 100% Karen about the situation, or as you all put it, a squeaky wheel.

We can afford to redo everything in the house. I just don't like being sold on a product and it not delivered.

My guess is either local cabinet maker or purchased online and painted by local painter. The drawer boxes aren't real wood and no one really uses side mount guides anymore. At least in my area. Even with most cheap Chinese cabinets, you get 3/4" solid wood dovetailed drawers. Your drawer boxes don't look like real wood. Not sure why they would use Oak. Not to say you can't paint oak...just not the norm. Some of the areas looks smooth though like maple...so I'm confused. Could just be the photography.

Did you ever find out who made the cabinets? Cabinet Manufacturer? Local Cabinet maker (aka assembler) or cabinets bought online unfinished then local painter painted them???

My guess is the last option.

I FOUND THE MAKER!!! It is Marsh Cabinets. They have a profile here on Houzz!

https://www.houzz.com/pro/marshkitchenandbath/marsh-kitchen-bath

They came pre painted and assembled

A cabinet renovation company isn’t a custom cabinet maker. They had to buy that crapola somewhere, from someone.

Marsh has their stickers on the cabinets. and their label on the boxes. They might front as a custom cabinet maker, but they also wholesale.

Here are my cabinets on their website.

https://styles.marshcabinets.com/#/view/6/0/6/9/1/1 

in Alpine white, just like our paperwork says.

casie, someone had to paint them. Perhaps you just got a bad batch.

I would contact Marsh directly (since their site claims to be all for building quality items for peoples homes) and show them exactly the crappola cabinets that you received.