Hi there - sorry I didn't see you're early post.

I looked at a few other cabinet lines, and Merit was the least expensive - it's been a while (2+ years), but they were ~25% less than Robco Cabinets, 100% less than Woodlake...

I can't remember, but I think my kitchen was all stock cabinetry without the need for much compromise. I shot an email to my KD who did the kitchen layout; I'll post her feedback when I get it. She had actually used Merit in her first personal kitchen.

I'm very happy with the quality. They look good as new 2 years later, no warping, dings, etc. Some issues off the top of my head:

1) All the cabinets arrived with very even, uniform staining/color across all pieces. A couple of items were delivered the incorrect sizes (doors) and the replacement doors were WAY darker even though they were a stock color. We had to get several sets of replacements before we got the right color.

2) Don't know if it had to do with shipping from Canada and export/import rules, but it seemed to take forever to get replacement parts.

My KD emailed me back - Merit is a "semi-custom" cabinet maker, so there's no customizability in terms of having a custom size made. However, they have a wide array of options that may suit your needs.

Thanks for responding! I knew Merit was semi-custom, but they might have more size options than the Diamond I'm looking at. I may go custom instead as my GC's local custom guy's price is the same as Diamond. I'm just concerned that the white painted Shaker cabs I want won't hold their finish as nicely from the custom paint job compared to a factory finish.

I had never heard of Merit before my phone consult with KD Susan Serra. She suggested they might be a little bit more customizable than Diamond. I just can't find anything about their cabinet styles or options on-line anywhere!

Are you in Washington state?