Personally I would return them. How frustrating! :-(

I agree with Kiwi. Unless you were going for a "variegated" look for the finish, I don't think they are acceptable.

Can I just reject custom ordered doors? Is there a standard procedure when the builder has ordered and paid for them? These doors were very expensive.

I would definitely reject the right two....their coloring is just not acceptable.

I had to sign a waiver to order hickory cabinets due to natural variance as they are non-returnable. This product you have there should've had a disclaimer. Make a move to return and take it from there.

What type of house do you have? These are rustic looking doors(which I happen to like), if your house is the rustic type, these would be fine. If you want everything to look exactly the same, it wouldn't fit. With walnut, you will have some differences., nature of the wood.

I can't believe somebody is trying to palm off all those mis-matched veneers as acceptable for anything. They are not even all the same species of walnut!
Casey

I would absolutely return them. That variance goes beyond anything that anyone should have to deal with in their home.

And they are definitely not six panel.

I would not use them.

I think they used really cheap veneer for the panels. Here's a photo of a seam that doesn't even come together. And the repeating veneer panels doesn't seem right to me...even the cheap doors in our current rental house have veneer panels that are random. Not this repeated pattern over and over.

Is there an industry trade group for millwork and doors that sets standards? The supplier keeps insisting these doors are "up to industry standards." Well, who sets those standards? Like how granite countertop installers have the Marble Institute of America...is there a similar group for millwork?

I don't know if there is a standard but those doors look unacceptable to me. I also have walnut doors inside but those are all matched and look nothing like yours. How can that shop stay in business with a product like that ?!?

The veneer looks slip-matched (as opposed to book-matched). I wouldn't call the veneer itself cheap, but the level of workmanship is pretty weak.

man...no way would I accept those. The veneer job is horrible. They should have taken a sheet of veneer (say 4x8) then cut it into strips that run the length of the door.

I'm sorry :(. The 2 on the right have an ombre look. I'm sure that is not what you wanted to hear :( Hoping for the best as you find a resolution for this!

I take it they said they were non-returnable? I wonder if a salesman or manufacturing rep. from a different company would be willing to write you an independent review of the doors. I don't know if there is a governing body or not but perhaps another industry professional would be sufficient.

Nothing on the contract says they are not returnable, nor did it say anything about extreme variability in the color. The regional rep came to look at them and would not confirm that every panel is even black walnut! There are all these different Asian walnuts available now so I'm wondering if they even used the same species on all the panels!

These are from a reputable millwork shop in town and a manufacturer that "makes tens of thousands of doors" as the rep kept telling me, as if to say I am the only customer of thousands unhappy with her doors.

Did I mention I have 40 of these doors?

So there is no trade group of millworking companies that would set standards? He just kept saying these doors are up to industry standards so I'm wondering what that is exactly.

Hi there -

I know nothing whatsoever about millwork, but those doors look poorly-matched at best - and more to the point, you're clearly a dissatisfied customer who's purchased forty of these, so it's mind-boggling to me that nobody is making any effort whatsoever to address your concerns.

Google informs me that AWI (the Architectural Woodwork Institute) might be the organization you're looking for. They publish The Architectural Woodwork Standards manual, which covers industry standards in three different grades from raw lumber through to installation. Maybe giving them a call would help?

Here is a link that might be useful: Architectural Woodwork Institute

If your contract allows returns, I would do that. You are unhappy with the doors and do not want them in your home. Perhaps the answer is that walnut is not for you, or the doors are poorly made. Either way, return them and get something that will fit better in your home. Good luck! Maybe the above organization will be helpful.

What ended up happening with your doors?

Those veneers are very unusual.

Here are some recent walnut doors we used from Trustile, great door company from my experience.

{{gwi:1487038}}

NOTHING has happened with my doors. My finally called the sales guy's boss this week (we have been requesting this since the doors came in in August) and of course the guy had no idea about the issue.
We also have some Trustile doors in another part of the house...beautiful. I wish we would have done the whole house with them. The book matching, graining and coloring are stunning. They are very expensive but worth it if you want drop dead gorgeous{{gwi:807}} walnut doors.

This post was edited by pumpkinhouse on Tue, Feb 3, 15 at 16:48

You asked for walnut doors not two-toned (or four toned) doors. These doors are really unacceptable as is. The frames appear to be fine - but the center panels are crazy. I would ask for the doors to be replaced or at minimum the center panels replaced or re-veneered. At minimum I would ask to have the center panels restained to all be the same color (although this might not be possible if different species were used).

Somebody needs to start cracking the whip.

Just wanted to say "you poor thing"!!! This is a remodel from hell. Fingers crossed that everything starts to fall into place right away!

Omg, what you are going through is horrible! I can't believe all this is happening to you at the same time, I feel for you!

The local millwork shop and manufacturer still won't help me out with these doors! I've tried to propose a compromise, where we pay for these doors and new doors at cost, but they refuse to compromise. I went back in my emails, and it turns out I originally requested a different brand, but the sales guy at the millwork shop informed me I would be getting this brand instead. I'm beginning to realize how many crooks are in the building industry :(

I think your compromise was far too generous. I am not an attorney, but I am familiar with the UCC and I am a woodworker who has built doors many times before. I would advise you to look for the local woodworking group in your community, you should be able to explain your situation and get a significant amount of written evidence from people who can see the doors in person and simply ask for your day in court. If you can't find the local woodworking group let me know and I will put you in touch with them.

Additionally, you can search for warranties under the Uniform Commercial Code to learn what your recourse is. In brief, the UCC protects consumers by saying that every product has an implied warranty of merchantability and that companies can't indemnify themselves against it. The products you buy must conform to ordinary standards of care and must be of the same average grade, quality and value as similar goods sold under similar circumstances. It does not even matter if you sign a contract that doesn't allow returns, you are protected against crappy work. It also protects merchants from additional damages by generally limited your recourse to repair or replacement of the items.

Looking at the doors you have shown pictures of I don't think they meet that minimum standard of care. I believe if you do a little leg work, you should easily be able to get the doors replaced or simply part ways with the company with a refund.

This post was edited by Bry911 on Wed, Feb 4, 15 at 1:54

The next time the salesman says they are up to industry standards, tell him they are not up to YOUR standards. Send them back; they're nasty.

Linda

Here's another example of my hideous doors, next to Ikea Pax on the right. The Ikea doors are beautiful.

In case you are wondering, my builder temporarily installed some of the doors because we have been in the house since last fall and needed doors.

They really are hideous. I hope you get it fixed to your satisfaction.

Horrible. The panels are different color, are they color blind? If you ordered six panel why cant you return them, they gave you 3 panels?

I am assuming that the two photos above are the front and the back of the same door - it looks like they installed the top panel opposite the middle and bottom panels. A simple mistake, but unacceptable.

Not a fan. I wouldn't want to settle on those.

I sent the millwork shop a link to this post to see if they would mind if I post their business name here, along with the name of the door manufacturer. The sales guy threatened to file a lien on our house! He and the door rep said these doors are acceptable and up to their standards, so why would they mind? It's free advertising for them.

Sklka--no, those photos are two different doors. There is no consistency whatsoever in regards to the panels.

Going to have to take legal action to get your way. The doors are probably solid enough to be up to standard but they look like garbage. It is like buying a new car and getting one with a bad paint job. The manufactuer is trying to not eat the cost of this, its plain and simple. They messed up and dont want to pay for it. It is clear the doors do not look right. Dealing with this many doors and such cost may be worth getting a lawyer involved.

How did you pay for these doors? If you paid with a credit card, you could dispute the charge. But I'm sure you already would have thought about that if you had.

Have you contacted the door manufacturer?

I would think at the very least, a letter from a lawyer is in order. Unacceptable and please please submit their name on here.

Would the cost of these fall into small claims court? If so I'd file immediately. Obviously this has dragged on long enough that they are just hoping you'll go away.

Another reason why you rarely see honest reviews. Post your experience and they threaten to sue! Plus often people are just exhausted by the whole process and they are just grateful it's over...so you get no reviews. I have decided that no reviews is the same as bad reviews. People got out by the skin of their teeth and they just want the whole thing to go away.

The deck is really stacked against the consumer in these matters. I admire your perseverance. Good luck!

It is my opinion that the biggest problem you have at this point, is time. I personally believe the lien threat is a bit hollow, I suspect they are either not wanting to file it (as they haven't already done so), because they don't want to give you a chance to get this in front of a judge on their dime, or they are going to anyway. The longer you keep and use the doors without asking for a legal remedy, the more you show your willingness to accept them. Many companies pass off substandard work or products because consumers are too hesitant to act. You should be protected against this quality of work.

I would think an attorney would take this case very reasonably. I believe the court will ask for a mediation attempt before seeing a judge. I also think at some point along the way someone will tell the company that they off their rocker. They are risking giving your opinion, "these doors are ugly," the full weight of the court, "The doors produced by this company do not meet the minimum standard of care for merchantability."

This assumes that the doors are as ugly in person as they are in the pictures, and this is not some blue & black dress / white & gold dress trick of our eyes.

All of this was just a long way of saying, call an attorney.

The doors really are this ugly. These are just a few of the photos I took with my phone. I didn't alter the photos or select the worst ones. My builder promised this would be resolved this week and it is Thursday evening already...

I find the company saying the doors are up to our standards is quite hilarious because if you as the customer are not happy, then they should fix it. The doors are not up to YOUR standards and you are the one who is supposed paying for them.

aimless, while agree to some extent with your statement (and I am not sticking up at all for those doors as they are in my opinion unacceptable as well) to state that they are not up to YOUR standards as a rule is not necessarily true, you cannot make that as a blanket statement as some people will never be happy even with perfection.