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Kitchen cabintry and humidity problems

adelaide1
9 years ago

Has anyone had problems with mitered corners on their wood kitchen cabinets? Have a water front summer home and installed new custom cabinetry kitchen last year. 5 months later the joints on 40 of the doors and drawer fronts started to separate. I was told I did not maintain the proper humidity level for these cabinets which was to be kept between 38 and 48 percent. Impossible for a summer home unless I keep the windows shut and AC or Heat on 24/7. I was not told this when I bought them, but did later see this in their brochure.

DO NOT BUY MOUSER CABINETRY! DO NOT USE KITCHEN MASTERS PLUS! I do not believe the humidity was the problem, but rather they messed up on these cabinets, bad glue, bad sealing - something. They did replace but no appology and a very snotty attitude. Hoping this second batch will do better. But has anyone experienced this with their wood cabinets???

Comments (6)

  • Fori
    9 years ago

    If you have some photos we could maybe have an idea of if the issue was normal or not. Some separation is to be expected but can't tell how bad yours was.

    I don't think I'd be complaining about the company as they replaced the cabinets though. That seems unfair.

  • MsComposter
    9 years ago

    I design for my bread and butter. The advice you were given is correct and it was in the written materials you received. This is normal to any natural wood cabinet (especially frame style fronts) and it is a feature that shows it is wood not a CNC cut MDF door. You were very lucky they replaced the doors. I would say this is a GREAT company to work with! You have a huge kitchen and to replace that many fronts ensures that they lost money on your kitchen. They covered a natural feature under warranty. This speaks volumes about everyone involved. HMMM???????

    A mitered door is not quite as sturdy as a stile and rail door but they are much more elegant and beautiful. I do not believe the cabinets are at fault nor are they damaged. When the humidity returns, they will fill out a little but that crack is part of the natural wood cabinet. All natural materials have flaws that is their nature. Granite has flaws. Wood has flaws. (BTW when MDF doors crack it is because the household slams the doors too hard.)

    You are in a vacation home on the water and you likely leave the property uninhabited. The reality is all the systems in a home need someone checking on them every 2-3 days and daily when on the water front or where winter freeze happens. A good local property manager is important or consider having a tenant live on site.

  • GreenDesigns
    9 years ago

    Your gripe is with Mother Nature and her creations not behaving like 3d printed pieces of plastic. Your wood behaved normally, as is in all of the paperwork, and the manufacturer behaved honorably. I wouldn't sell a mitered door to someone who wouldn't use AC. Buy thermofoil next time if you don't want natural products behaving naturally. Or, do as is recommended and control your humidity. But don't buy a mitered door ever again.

  • ci_lantro
    9 years ago

    Sounds like the cabinet company and cabinet vendor went above and beyond to make up for your bad choices

    which were choosing a mitered door style made with real wood
    and not protecting your investment by choosing not to control the environment they were installed in.

    IF anything, your post is an endorsement for using Mouser and Kitchen Masters Plus.

  • bicyclegirl1
    9 years ago

    I'm sorry to hear about your problem adelaide1. As I read thru the posts here, I'm not sure I would have thought mitered wood doors would have been an issue at a waterfront home. I know wood & water don't mix, but it wouldn't have occurred to me that cabinets inside a home would be a problem. I don't know if the co's that built the cabinets & help design your kitchen are in your area or not, but if they are, it would have been nice had they discussed your choice's with you & let you know it wasn't the best for the conditions there. If you read the brochure when you got it & didn't follow up w/ them w/ your concerns & just ignored it, then they went above & beyond the call of duty to replace them. When they told you they were going to replace them, maybe that would have been a good time to for both of you to discuss a possible alternative to make sure this doesn't happen again. Something you might want to think about if you don't want a repeat.

    Good luck with your new doors! I hope you don't have any problems w/ these.

  • Vertise
    9 years ago

    Please post a picture if you have one, so we can see the degree of separation. Expansion and contraction is normal but no one can say you are being unreasonable without actually seeing the issue with your cabinets.

    Are these painted or stained?

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