You need advice from an attorney on how to proceed.

What I see is: doors that should be full overlay are not, some cabinets appear to have a pink finish, others appear blonder. More troubling is that in this type of cabinetry, the shadow lines should line up (as below), yours don’t.

I’m assuming you have adjustable hinges. Maybe they are maladjusted? Also, is there a weird little cabinet at the green arrow?

I wouldn’t be happy with this either, but I don’t know what reasonable and fair recompense would be. You need to understand what your contract says. You might be limited to arbitration, and you might be in breach by withholding payment. I’m betting you being happy isn’t in the contract. I wish you a speedy resolution.

Thank you! It’s not about how happy I am (not at all) but it’s about how it turned out with the pinkish hues and misalignment of the doors. The little cabinet is not an issue - it is a small spice rack.
Anyways, i appreciate the response. We will try to consult an attorney.

There should be something in the contract to detail what procedures the cabinet maker will follow if there are issues at final inspection.

Maybe just a consultation with an attorney would be good enough.

If you mean 50K just for cabinets, yes, those could be a bit more uniform. But, yes, wood does grow individually on trees, and will never be as uniform as you desire. Especially when someone is outsourcing doors. That's when a high end laminate or foil should have been on the table. This is a dispute that the binding arbitration clause is made for.

If you mean 50K for the total remodel, then that's about 30K light for even a mid range kitchen remodel. Rift sawn white oak is an upper end choice, and that remodel level averages 160K+. That's a red flag if you mean that to be the whole kitchen total.

" However, he decided to send us an letter from his legal representative asking us for the full payment..."

If he were serious, he would have that attorney sue you. He's trying to intimidate you on the cheap. You need to let him know that collecting his balance is going to cost him money and/or time/material or serious legal fees. Tell him time is of the essence and that you'll be taking your attorney fees off his bill if he doesn't resolve this quickly.

Laws vary by state, but typically you must provide notice and an opportunity to cure to your contractor before filing a lawsuit (60 days, for example). So, check what your contract says and make sure to let your attorney know about the detailed inspection that you sent the cabinet builder. That detailed inspection may or may not count as your notice. The opportunity to cure does not mean that a contractor has to be given the opportunity to do the actual repair work--they can instead pay for the repair.

Anyway, find an attorney that has done this sort of thing before, so they don't mess up the initial hurdles.

Wow. So cheap and broke he can't even afford a genuine $300.00 demand letter. He's weak; crush him.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC

It is suspicious as the person who sent us the letter has the same last name as the owner and we could not find his name on google search. He does not have any credentials listed nor an official office letter head. That is why we are suspicious.

The owner, on the other hand, has failed to inform us that his crew will do a repair work when they were only scheduled to install the doors. He also failed to do a final inspection and instead demanded a final payment. It is an awful customer service!

Those cabinets are PINK. IDK what's in your contract or what stain you agreed to, but unless the color is what you wanted and you're ok with living with pink-mauve cabinets, you need to do something about it.

HU-417513365 did you miss that the mismatched doors were replacements?

Is there some law of the universe that states that homeowners must be on site all day, every day, while the work is progressing to inspect and ensure that everything is actually as promised? Especially when it seems that many of the problems would not have been apparent until installed?

In my experience, the range of quality for "custom" cabinetry can vary widely. Some "custom" shops with computer-controlled machining will produce cabinets to very exacting tolerances. Other "custom" shops will produce cabinets that look more like barely passing grade high school shop projects-- all while meeting the definition of "custom" cabinets. That's why you need to perform due diligence regarding the cabinetmaker's production capability as one poster described above.

Further, to align everyone's expectations, I recommend you incorporate a written quality standard in your contract. One such standard is the Architectural Woodwork Institute (AWI) Standard 0641. The standard defines specifications for "premium," "custom," and "economy" quality levels for architectural casework. For example, Specification 3.4.11 states the following tolerances for alignment of edges of doors and drawers:

Premium 0.8 mm, Custom 1.2 mm and Economy 1.6 mm. Note the tolerance for "economy" is double that of "premium."

Whether or not the OP has referenced a quality standard in their contract, I would expect that any "custom" cabinet shop would at least be capable of meeting the standards for "economy" cabinetry and any cabinet shop owner would want to deliver at least that.

Minardi brought up a good point. Your contract may include a binding arbitration provision.

I don't know what state you are in, but I would google "STATE NAME roll call of attorneys" or "STATE NAME lawyer search" to check if the letter that you received came from an actual attorney or if someone is guilty of "unauthorized practice of law". Attorneys have to be registered in a particular state to practice there (or has pro hac vice approval).

Anyone can send a demand letter. Pretending to be an attorney, though, is a no-no.

Thank you @ Charles Ross Homes! This is very helpful.