Do Not use Wolf Cabinets

10 years ago

I just wanted to post about my experience with Wolf Building Solutions since I saw some others asking for reviews.

After Hurricane Sandy I had to replace my whole kitchen but didn't want anything top of the line - just simple, functional white cabinets. My contractor suggested Wolf because they were affordable, made in the US and had a "mobile showroom" which would speed up the whole process. My first meeting with so called "kitchen specialist" Frank Stukey went well, he was pleasant, seemed to know what he was talking about and the cabinets looked nice. He put together a kitchen design that looked like what I already had, which is what I wanted. This initial design didn't have any exact measurements on it but I gave my approval, assuming both the "kitchen specialist" and my contractor would make sure everything was functional and made sense (huge mistake #1).

What I ended up with is a kitchen that is the exact same size as my original kitchen but with about half the amount of usable cabinet space. The worst was where he put in two "blind corner" cabinets with 10" doors - leaving absolutely no option for pullout shelves, lazy susan shelves or anything like that. So I have these two huge corner cabinets with close to zero access to the space inside.

When we went back to Frank to come up with a solution to make the corners more usable (I even assumed I'd have to pay for the fix since I'd approved the design in the first place) - he simply refused to help. The fact that he thought those cabinets were a good idea in the first place was bad enough, but not trying to help make some adjustments after hearing we weren't happy is unacceptable. My contractor is now left to clean up Wolf's mess and try to make what's there more functional somehow.

The cabinets themselves look nice but I have read online about the quality being lacking over time. I'll have to see how they hold up over the next months and years.

Shame on me for not doing more due diligence and not demanding to see plans with exact measurements. I'm just hoping I can save someone else the same headache!

Featured Answer

Rachael Dixon

7 years ago

I am the supervisor of our Kitchen Department and we've been selling Wolf Classics since it first came out, as well as Wolf Designer, and Norcraft, which is what Wolf Designer was before it was bought and renamed.

Wolf Classics Cabinets are a great value cabinet. They are all plywood with dovetail drawers. Some styles also come with cushion close doors and drawers. They are well made and are made in bulk. So the cabinets you need for your kitchen are already made and boxed up and are likely sitting in a storage warehouse until that cabinet is ordered. You will be very hard-pressed to find a quick-ship plywood cabinet for less. (Otherwise, we'd sell THAT instead.)

As far as the blind cabinet goes, that has nothing to do with Wolf Classics and only everything to do with your kitchen measurements and your kitchen designer. That's not any fault on Wolf Home Products. As far as putting a pull-out shelf in that blind cabinet, no one makes a pull out for that size. So I don't think that was necessarily your designer not helping... there really is no helping that. The product doesn't exist. If you have a 10" opening, the amount of space the glides and sides of a rollout would take up a few inches and then you would be left with about 7" of storage space, width-wise. It's so unreasonable that no one makes that. Okay, maybe not "no one." But definitely none of the reputable kitchen accessory companies.

Also, as far as damaged cabinets and doors, every kitchen company from "stock" to "semi-custom" lines will have damage issues. Some kitchens might have no problems, some might have every issue in the book. 95% of cabinets are made on assembly lines and are only spot-checked. So inevitably, some doors will be warped. Some cabinet fell off a truck and the driver didn't report the damage. Some contractor dropped a cabinet on the jobsite and lied to you about it coming damaged. It happens. No cabinet company is perfect. None. (Note, I left out full-custom lines. They should have much less damages to report. But they're not perfect either.)

And sometimes things get back-ordered. Wolf Classics is a stock line which means the cabinets and parts are sitting in boxes, waiting for you to order them and then they ship out. But if say you need three Base 24"s (B24) in your kitchen... the DC might have 40. But it happens sometimes that someone orders 30 kitchens for an apartment building and each of those needs two B24's. Or maybe a lot of different people ordered that cabinet and yours was one of the last ones orders before the deadline. Or maybe the truck driver accidentally dropped that cabinet off at a different store. It allllllllll happens. Cabinets can get back-ordered. It's logistics. It's life. It happens, no matter the brand.

The best advice for ANY kitchen renovation is to go over every cabinet in detail. Don't sign off until you know exactly what you're getting.

Also, order your cabinets with plenty of time to spare. Get them delivered with plenty of time to spare. Open your cabinets. Make sure they're the right color, style, size, etc. Make sure there's no damage.

Some damage can still happen on the jobsite or be left unseen until the cabinets are fully unboxed but you are cutting down the construction time by checking all these things out before your contractor starts the work. Order replacements as soon as you know of any damages.

Damaged cabinet doors are the least of your worries. Replacement doors can be ordered while the contractor installs the cabinet and you use the damaged door in the meantime. And bowed doors can sometimes be easily fixed by adjusting the hinges. In fact, that's what the hinges are designed for. When wood expands and contracts with differing humidity and climate conditions, the wood does not expand uniformly. It can twist and bow. This is due to the grain in the wood. It would be 100% impossible to have wood with perfectly straight grain. The more humid your house, the more likely you will have cabinet doors that bow and expand. Just an example.

Knowing all that, it seems like your biggest problem is with your designer, and not Wolf Classics. I know your post was from several years ago but I wanted to inform the other people that may or may not be considering Wolf Classics for their kitchen.

And to be frank, you know I have nothing to gain from giving you this information. I just want to help maybe just one person out there become a better informed customer than you were when you purchased your kitchen.

Hopefully in the aftermath of Katrina, you've found some peace and calm and hopefully your kitchen isn't half as bad as your review based on the skills of your inept designer.

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Comments (19)

Vertise
10 years ago
Is this a dealer or part of the company itself? Try contacting Wolf headquarters with the issues. Contact the president to get some resolution if you need to.
robbcs3
10 years ago
This seems to be an issue with frank and not wolf cabinets. They can only be purchased through lumber yards, design centers, etc. This has absolutely nothing to do with the cabinets themselves.
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gaetanp
10 years ago
Your issue is with a poor design/designer. I have been selling and designing kitchens for many years and I never use a blind corner cabinet unless absolutely necessary or requested.. The Wolf cabinet is a great value in my opinion,not the best quality available,but you would be hard pressed to find an equivalent cabinet at the same price. I have sold over 200 kitchens of Wolf in the last two years...minor problems with quality that are always resolved to the customers satisfaction.
Graboski1
10 years ago
First I am glad to hear that you like the quality of WOLF Classic Cabinetry, however I am sorry you experienced disappointment with your design. WOLF Classic Cabinets does have design options to enhance the storage for any kitchen. It sounds like there may have been a communication issue with your independent dealer on your design needs. WOLF Classic Cabinets also offers a full 5 year warranty to ensure these Value Priced, ALL PLYWOOD, Dovetailed Solid Wood Drawer cabinets will stand the test of time. WOLF stands behind all of its products and we strive to delight all of our customers. A representative for WOLF Classic Cabinets will be in touch with your dealer to get your contact information to see how we can help with your design problem.
mlweaving_Marji
10 years ago
MonmouthBeach, I'm curious to know if Wolf made good on your cabinet issues.
We are considering Wolf for both our laundry room and our upstairs guest bath which will get used no more than a handful of times a year.
alice1derland
10 years ago
I made the bad decision to use Wolf cabinets in my kitchen. Big mistake! Some mistakes were made by the designer but I have been waiting since August for replacement doors for 5 of my cabinets. Many of the doors were damaged. 2 were warped and they were all streaked.

Yesterday I was told the doors were in. Then today I'm told the replacements "have imperfections." So now I get to wait again and I don't even know when/if I'm going to get doors that aren't damaged.

Save yourself the hassle.

This post was edited by alice1derland on Tue, Oct 1, 13 at 19:13
gocards23
10 years ago
Does anyone know where Wolf Cabinets are actually made within the US?
robbcs3
10 years ago
They are manufactured by Kountry wood products in Indiana
mltoms
10 years ago
So, trying to post a "neutral" experience here with Wolf. We're partially through the install now. See here for pics.

Please keep in mind that this is a brand new install, so I haven't lived with these cabinets, but it should give some feel for the process.

1) Issue of damage/time. Cabinet install was supposed to have started on Monday, October 14th. One of the pieces for the island had not arrived, so it started on Wednesday, October 16th. Mostly finished on Thursday, October 17th.

One of the upper cabinets was damaged. A new one was installed yesterday, Tuesday, October 24th. One door had a small nick. New door yesterday.

We did go with a very reliable cabinet dealer. I don't know if they have more clout than some others.

2) Issue of design. There aren't many "skus" so there were not a lot of options. I would have preferred a super-susan to a lazy susan. I would have preferred an upper easy reach instead of a angled corner. I would have preferred a curved end to the island pieces instead of an angled. None of these were important enough to me to upgrade to a semi-custom/full custom line. At least not for the price point.

3) Issue of quality. The edges of the wood is not as smooth as I would imagine other doors are. For full plywood boxes, we were willing to put up with a little extra elbow grease in cleaning. (We were upgrading from 25 year old frameless particle board cabinets)

I recognize that these decisions would not be made by most of the GWers, but they seemed right for us at this time.
cmanley33
9 years ago
I am reading a lot of chatter about Wolf Classic cabinets but has anyone had an experience with Wolf Designer Cabinets? Thx
Loand Garcia
9 years ago
Hi there, I own a retail store and sell Wolf Classic and Designer. Working with them all this years never had any problems. I believe the problem that u had was the service provide it since day one. Every time that I sell a kitchen, I am always trying to make sure that my costumers know exactly what they are getting. Another words the best title for this book will be , DONT BY CABINETS FROM THIS PEOPLE. WOLF JUST SUPPLIE WHAT THEY WERE ASK FOR. THANKS AND HOPE YOU HAD SOLVE YOUR NEEDS.
Laura Deppmeier
4 years ago
You are the one purchasing product you need to never sign off on anything until you know for sure your contractor provided the correct measurements. You also signed off on the design the designer and the contractor are not at fault here nor is the cabinet company.
millworkman
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Laura Deppmeier you do realize this is a very old post?
Laura Deppmeier
4 years ago
Yes; but it still needs to be addressed. The original person didn't do what they were supposed to do. They signed for a design without her contractor making sure everything was correct. She made assumptions. Contractors should always be brought into a kitchen showroom so the designer and the contractor can compare notes. If the kitchen was ordered correctly her contractor would have had an easier time. It wasn't fair to him at all since he was stuck installing the kitchen she blindly signed off on.
ymbs01
3 years ago
This is going to sound very weird but has anyone ever had someone come to their home to paint a wolf cabinet? I am very skeptical.
HU-646502765
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
My parents had Wolf Cabinets installed in their home and they are so cheap looking and awful. We are wondering about a warranty on the cabinets. A salesperson returned my call and was rude and ugly to me i don’t remember the last time I was treated so horribly by someone who represents a company. I sent so many pictures of the rough awful edges of the doors and pictures depicting how bad the quality is and asking for then to give me information on warranty and if they will stand by these cabinets and take them back. The salesperson treated me like garbage and I am seeking Information on whar steps I can take to see if someone high up at this company will stand by these cabinets and take them back. Unless the company will take their cabinets back I would say DO NOT EVER purchase From Wolf. These cabinets are brand new and EVERY single door looks like the pictures below. where the dovetailing meets it is all rough and unfinished it is hard to believe anyone would consider these acceptable to box up and ship off they are a mess and cheapen the value of the kitchen. If anyone has any info on how I can resolve this situation and maybe speak to someone important at Wolf instead of the very nasty salesperson that returned my call it would be appreciated.
Joseph Stetz
3 years ago
I have the exact same thing happening to my Wolf cabinets. They started to look like that only after 1 year and have gotten progressively worse! My kitchen looks like a 30 year old weathered kitchen and it's only about 5 years old! I'm embarrassed for Wolf that they are putting out such poor quality products! If I had to do it again I would have purchased Bertch cabinets I have put one in my bathroom and it's about 5 years old and looks just like the day I put it in! I to am gonna look into contacting Wolf and seeing if there is anything that can be done!
Meg Gal
last month
I love my bertch bathroom vanity! I just came back from Wolf cabinet dealer and I am reading this post… :-(

Do Not use Wolf Cabinets

Rachael Dixon

Comments (19)

Vertise

robbcs3

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