Kraftmaid

After a little over 4 years we had 2 wall cabinets completely fail at the joint between the cheap particle board sides and the horizontal braces across the backs that are used to mount them at the top, separating completely. The result was that the cabinets were literally about to fall off of the wall with about a 1" gap at the top and were being supported solely by the lower mounting screws. For even a fraction of what they cost that would simply be inexcusable. I immediately called kraftmaid when we noticed this and after waiting through a brief hold was hung up on without a single word being uttered on either end of the phone. The second call was much more lengthy, although no more fruitful. I spent almost 30 minutes essentially being told that the cabinets must have been installed incorrectly and that, point blank, kraftmaid would under no circumstances repair or replace them and that I would have to go back to where I bought them and deal with the issue there, again, more than 4 years after the sale. Even more insulting, I was also told a number of lies up to and including a statement that it would be illegal for them to send me more cabinets because I would just put them back up the same way as the last set and create a safety hazard! It's important to note that at this point I had already informed the representative that I wouldn't simply be putting them back up as they were before and had been through options with her that in kraftmaid's view would make my installation "safe". Having said all of that, it's also probably important to mention that this entire kitchen was professionally designed and installed and that the way the cabinets were mounted would have been perfectly acceptable for virtually any other brand I have ever seen and while I'm not a cabinet installer myself, I've been in the building trades in one way or another for most of my life since I was 12 years old, so I've seen my fair share and then some of kitchens, baths, etc go together. Screws of more than adequate length were installed in each cabinet, top and bottom, at every location that there is structure to support them, at every stud. To be honest it seems like the real problem is the 1/2" thick, 2.5" wide board that is the sole support for the top of these cabinets. It's just glued onto the particle board sides where it has very little surface area for the glue to adhere and doesn't have so much as a finishing nail or staple to help hold it together. The fact that the rest of the back wall is cardboard printed to look like wood certainly doesn't help either. Simply screwing a piece of hardwood 1x4 flat across the top into the sides of the cabinets and pocket holing it to accept the mounting screw going through to the wall stud should be more than adequate to reinforce that part of the structure and would be trivial to incorporate into the manufacturing process at a minimal cost. At the risk of sounding a bit cynical I have to say that I suppose I shouldn't be surprised about the problems I'm having after more closely looking at the extremely cheap construction of every part of these cabinets behind the doors/faces. It's like kraftmaid thinks if they use real wood for what people will see walking by, then nothing else matters. Sadly though, it does, and having already been taken like so many others and the point being so clearly made that I can expect absolutely nothing in the way of warranty support, I'll make the modifications to the cabinets myself that kraftmaid should have designed in at the factory and warn every person I can about what they can expect of what should have been a quality product at a premium price from an American company. Disappointing doesn't even begin to describe it...

Never Again. This is what was written by one of your other readers who bought and reviewed their Kraftmaid cabinets. I completely understand that sentiment and will never again order anything from Kraftmaid. I originally decided to buy Kraftmaid because they had one of the only black cabinets that was a bit glossy but not lacquered. Everyone else had some form of gray black or brown and black combination. I will give them 1 star for the fact that my cabinets are completely beautiful. I have to take away the other 4 stars because the company has absolutely no pride in their product or any ability to complete basic customer service needs.

We bought cabinets for a 10 x 10 kitchen and a much smaller washroom. The total cost was about $16K. The first shipment of kitchen cabinets had a return rate of about 50 percent and Kraftmaid sent the wrong type of doors. We checked the order and the doors they sent were ordered correctly on the store’s end. Then of the remaining cabinets and doors about half were turned back due to problems with the finish. Dimples, dents, scuffs, scratches here and there throughout. My kitchen was held up for a further three weeks as the replacements were ordered. Once again, some of those had imperfections that were noticeable. There is also a set of cabinets that were sent with no drawer fronts. These finally came in but we had to put them on ourselves. We would get three shipments for the kitchen before Kraftmaid got it correct. Then, the garage door type hinges for two of the cabinets never worked. The company was quick to say that they had replaced these with a new type of hinge that would work better. This was amusing. Clearly they know that there is a problem with the old hinges but they are still selling them. The Kraftmaid representative for this area said he would come out and bring the new hinges but we have had the store representative call him three times now and he still has yet to contact us even though its been months.

The kitchen and the washroom are within sight of each other and so we wanted the washroom cabinets to match the kitchen cabinets. Round two with Kraftmaid began. Or if we count all the repeated shipments round four. Just as with the first shipment the cabinets and doors that were ordered came beaten up with factory indents, dimples, scuffs and scratches. We re-ordered and the second time we just decided to keep the replacements and put the defects in the top upper corners and just ignore them. Kraftmaid had broken our spirit with regard to re-ordering and holding up the remodeling process.

My thoughts for all of you out there determining who to use when remodeling your kitchen, washroom or bathroom? Find another cabinet maker. Kraftmaid may have once taken pride in their work but their production standards have lowered considerably and they will hold up your project by having to try several times to get it right.

We remodeled our kitchen with Kraftmaid and I regret it. Doors all shipped seperatley, once installed some touch and rub. Colors are noticeably off. They sent someone to repaint the cabinets after installation which did not help. He just created more work for us by removing his over spray off of the floor and appliances. Sooo disappointed with the appearance of our kitchen. Should have sent the entire mess back and went with a different company. Don't make the same mistake we did. Customer service department in Kraftmaid is not interested in solving any of our problems.