Kraftmaid

Kraftmaid offered the options we needed to make our kitchen the way we wanted it to be. The Lowes designer was excellent and knew the Kraftmaid product very well, so our expectations were well-managed.

The cabinets arrived right when they said they would, and the delivery matched every item on the order. There were many line items (over 50) and it all added up. So far so good.

The installers were very good, they made sure the kitchen floors and walls were as level, square and plumb as possible in our crooked 100 year old house. Their careful prep work made the cabinet installation go very smoothly.

The cabinets and drawers are well made from good materials. Everything was solid. Where there were door collisions, we installed invisible hinge restrictors that kept the door opening to 89 degrees, eliminating the interference. All the hardware is good quality and works well.

Where things fell apart somewhat is on the finishes.

1. Our doors are mitered and many arrived improperly joined, with large gaps in the seam. We understand that wood is a natural product that expands and shrinks over time, but this was brand new stuff. The starting point should be as close to perfection as possible. During our remodel, the carpenters cut numerous miter joints for woodwork to trim the doors and windows, and these were perfectly done on portable saws in our driveway. I expect the Kraftmaid doors, built in a climate-controlled factory on CNC machines, to be as good. They were not. The Kraftmaid factory rep visited our house and reviewed our complaints. He mentioned that the standard for a miter joint is "a gap smaller than a credit card." Credit cards are pretty thick. He did replace 9 doors and while we are not 100% satisfied with some others, we are satisfied enough not to pursue it further other than to mention it here.

2. We got one 4 drawer bottom cabinet. The door faces were not aligned with each other nor with the adjacent pieces. There are adjustment brackets, but several of these were screwed in such a way that no adjustment was possible. We ended up redrilling many holes to get these in line.

3. There were several painting flaws: bubbles that didn't burst when they were still wet, and one door had a very thin coat of paint, you could see the wood. Kraftmaid replaced these.

Overall, we are happy with our cabinets and love our new kitchen. But we spent way too much time managing quality issues that could have been avoided with a closer eye back at the factory.

Well to start I didn't expect high quality for the price, "You get what you pay for". But I did expect better than I got.
Part is Lowes. The designer didn't read the disclaimer about the corner units with swing-out draw not being next to appliance. So this unit will not swing all the way out for access to sliding shelves inside.
Small brass hinge on swing out unit too weak to support weight of one Crock-pot.
Requested plywood construction. received plywood framing and shelves. Side paneling 1/16th in laminated particle board. Couldn't they have at least used Masonite?
Soft close hinges block one shelf location. Called Kraft Made and they sent adjustable pins that cannot be used because they are too thick to fit between shelf end and side panel.
Love the appearance, hate the thoughtless design.

I will NEVER AGAIN purchase anything made by Kraft Maid and I hope others will read this and all the other upset and disappointed buyers who purchased Kraft Maid cabinets. They're quality control is incredibly substandard. They just could not (or more likely didn't want to further bother after several attempts) get the overall wood stain even. We originally purchased these in December 2015 and after 8 months of my "thanked patience" they STILL COULD NOT GET IT RIGHT! I purchased the cherry wood with a honey finish. The stain was SO UNEVEN from the finished product. The doors looked like there were 5 different stain colors used. When I initially inquired about one part of the sample that had an eyesore of what looked like an unstained streak, I was informed I needn't worry because the door would be replaced. I never dreamed that kind of inconsistency was THE NORM! I've worked with unfinished cherry wood myself and I never had the level of inconsistency in the wood stain and finish that this company has demonstrated. The experience I had was that Kraft Maid would rather keep producing off their assembly line substandard quality control stained cabinet doors rather than truly satisfy their customers. I paid a lot of money for these cabinets (had to pay the total amount up front at Home Depot) and it is disgraceful what I went through with them. I will NEVER AGAIN purchase any product from Kraft Maid again and will warn every and any person I come across thinking of remodeling or looking to purchase a new home to purchase Kraft Maid cabinetry.

KraftsMaid quality was extremely poor (paint chips at seams, warped cabinets, and glue oozing from seams). Considering price is nearly DOUBLE other retailers, I expected top-notch quality and service - which we never got. After spending $20k on a kitchen at Home Depot, we had to return/exchange items over 8 times! KraftsMaid was not willing to compensate us to make us happy either. Will never buy from them again.