Expert: Jamie Yocono - 12/15/2007

Question
Hi Jamie,

I found your response to Ajay when I googled my problem and I was hoping you could help me.  We have almost finished a complete kitchen remodel.  We were told that our new cabinets would be made of Maple, but our contract only states that stain-grade cabinetry would be installed with no mention of the actual wood that would be used.  After the stained doors and drawers were installed, we noticed that the finish was not what we expected.  It is very grainy and streaky and generally uneven.  We subsequently learned that the cabinets were constructed of Poplar instead of Maple.  We were shocked to say the least.  My question is can Poplar actually be considered to be stain-grade wood?  If so, I don't know what recourse we have, but if not, what do you recommend we do to improve the finish?  They have already been stained, glazed and sealed with a lacquer finish.  We feel that we have been completely betrayed by our contractor who we really thought we could trust.  Do you have any suggestions?  Thanks for your help.

Answer
Hi Very Disgruntled Customer,

Had to chuckle at the name you used, you sound POed. and I don't blame you.

OK, here's a little background - Poplar is actually a hardwood, and it usually takes a finish pretty nicely. So I suspect that if the finish is "very grainy and streaky and generally uneven" as you wrote, then someone simply did a poor job of finishing it. Maybe the manufacturer?

What's that saying about "let the buyer beware"? I think you pretty much were duped by your cabinet salesperson.

If they told you that you were getting Maple, and then later in the contract, it only said "stain-grade cabinetry" was used, then - then I hate to say it, but if you signed it, you're sort of stuck. Of course, I'm not a lawyer, but that's the way I see it.

OK, what to do? Well, there are a few things. You can strip the cabinets and have them refinished. A good wood refinisher can probably make those cabinets look better. But the bigger question is- are they Poplar or something else? I don't trust the company that sold them to you, so who knows what the wood is!  For some reason, a current "favorite" of cabinet companies is Alder (I hate the stuff) and it's being used quite frequently. So if they lied about the Maple, they might be lying about the Poplar too. You need to get it looked at to make sure.

Depending on what you paid, you might want to try and get some sort of a partial allowance back from whoever sold you the cabinets. Take that money and buy new doors. Don't laugh, I've seen it done.

To me, those seem like your two options - fix it or replace it.

I have a couple of names of door companies I can recommend. Are you handy at all? Can you switch out the doors if you bought new ones? You can order new doors finished and predrilled for hinges, so it's just a matter of taking off the old ones and installing the new ones.

As far as recourse, I hate to say it, but you probably have little. I would try to reason with the remodeler and perhaps you can come to some sort of resolution.

Write back if you need more advice, or the names of the door companies. Or just a little tea and sympathy. It sucks being taken advantage of... sorry that happened to you. You're not alone, I hear stories like that every day.

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com