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Originally Posted by princess 1
We recently did a kitchen remodel and our general contractor uses Diamond cabinets so that is what we ended up with. We have a mix of dark stain and painted cabinets. The finish on all of them is not great but on the white it is terrible. Most of the panels have rough surfaces as if they weren't sanded or they painted over some debris or the paint was lumpy. The seams are not consistent - some show the seam, some are painted over so no seam shows, some need touch up paint as bare wood is showing. On the end panel the seam is gaping. On the inside of the panels there are more rough surfaces and believe it or not blue streaking! There is also glue residue. The cabinet rep visited our house one day while we were at work with our contractor's designer and agreed to replace a couple doors which are not much better. ALL the cabinets have these problems. The rep and several of our contractor's people are coming back on Monday while we are home so we can all look at them together. I cannot believe this is how painted cabinets are supposed to be. I am so disappointed. Any suggestions how to handle this situation?
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I wonder if you'll ever come back to read this as few one hit one post wonders ever do. We find that many come on here to post their frustration with a product or service then never come back to read the answer to their question. I wonder where you live as we deal with Diamond too down here. Diamond is the upline of Aristokraft, a pretty good product in my veteran eyes.
The light paint problem, especially on edges and always with paint colors seems to be running rampant on all product brands. I can't figure out why. This is not an issue on stained cabinets. And it's mostly with white or shades of white. And it's mostly on tall boxes such as pantry/utility and oven cabinets. Touch up can not fix this, it has to be sprayed by a professional furniture refinisher. If you use the touchup kit provided it will be a disaster. We just dumped Wellborn Americana due to this problem they refused to fix (among other problems).
Your description of seams concerns me, but not of my industry or your cabinets, rather of you being perhaps a bit fussy. I don't mean to mean here. But some things in life are what they are. You bought wood cabinets. Wood is a product of Mother Nature. If you want wood in your house then you have to learn to live with Mother Nature,. If you wanted such perfection then you should have ordered plastic or metal cabinets. That's no joke or not meant to insult you. I too have had customers that there is absolutely nothing on the face of the earth that will satisfy them. Including giving them the kitchen for free.
Let me add something else. Due to the above reasoning, I have indeed seen some bad doors/drawer faces or finishes on select doors over the past 3 decades. Sometimes there are many and at that point the local Dealer Rep comes to the home. Most often there is nothing wrong at all but for a few doors that look beautiful but the homeowner rejects them. Often enough the Rep approves half a dozen door replacements and everyone is happy. Today's consumer just gets that rush by creating a scene where many people of authority converge together in their home to come to a decision to make everyone happy.
Here is a very true story to back up what I said. This is often, not one time. On new tract housing where there are typically 2 to 4 identical models scattered about the subdivision, many people take the standard cabinet Builder offerings. One homeowner may complain they do not like a certain grain on a couple doors. So we will simply swap them out with identical ones from an unsold home across the street. This homeowner is happy. The other house we swapped the rejected doors to, now a buyer wants that house and demands the whole kitchen look like the few doors we swapped out, the ones rejected by the first person. So you see, what you see as bad or wrong or ugly, someone else sees absolute beauty. Hmmmmm back to the Mother Nature thing again!!
Painted cabinets, no matter what cabinet manufacturer, the finishing process is basically the same. Some implement more steps in the finishing process then others but basically most manufacturers use robots that spray parts as they hang from a hook and move along the conveyer belt type process. At the end of the line, there should be a quality control human being who inspects everything before letting it move forward in the manufacturing process. During these economic depression times where the home improvement and construction industry have been devastated, this step has been eliminated by many cabinet manufactures. That sucks. So anyone that don't like it should just STOP buying Chinese junk and start buying American.
Diamond has a very good warranty.....it's a good product. But Diamond like any other brand has a limited warranty. This is the one I use:
As a product of Mother Nature, wood is filled with a variation of details - color, grain pattern and natural deposits - that will effect its final appearance. Your new Merillat kitchen has a lifetime warranty which can be found and printed on our web site. http://www............. This warranty does not cover these natural occurrences in nature.
As far as you saying seams are not consistent, I know you're not talking about seams in the face frame or door frame. Stiles and rails are sanded smooth. Yes you will see a seam as parts are fitted and grain goes in different directions. I wonder if you're talking about from cabinet to cabinet. That is your Installer who may be doing a less then perfect job. Many Contractors will buy cabinets from where ever they get the best price, then have their Carpenter install them. That's like having an Electrician hook up your sink and tub. Cabinets should be installed by professional cabinet installers. Seams must be perfectly flush. All boxes have to be perfectly level and plumb. I say perfect with a chuckle. Remember this: In construction, there is no such thing as perfect. The goal is to achieve as close as possible to it. I go into this subject in my book but suspect people find this chapter boring.
Again, Diamond is a good product, but it's not in the same class as Woodmode for example. Woodmode cost triple what Diamond cost and many of these silly issues are not a problem with the most fussiest buyers.
Good luck!
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Diamond cabinets
