Where did you store the cabinets?

That would be unacceptable for me

I store in my house not in garage. And I lived in Northern California. I really don't think temperature should be an issue.

You don't have any severe cracks. What you have are mitered doors, doing exactly what mitered doors do. They'll probably replace some doors for you, but sooner or later, even the new doors will have the joints crack. My guess, around the time the temp/humidity changes again.

Wouldn't be acceptable to me. I'd pursue having the involved doors replaced.

That is from higher humidity making the wood swell. In the winter, the inside corner will have a gap, and the outside will be tight.

Miters. are. unstable. joints.

Casey

Another voice to say that your cabinets are not defective. The mitered corners expand and contract with temperature and humidity.

They aren't doing exactly what correctly constructed mitered doors do. The right material and joining will not look like that. Head back to the display where your sales person sold them to you. Check out the quality there. If you don't see the same thing talk to your sales person If you bought these without a sample inspection it may be tougher and you've learned a lesson.

So should we avoid mitered corners? Seems people should be informed

Maybe a spline joint could prevent the corners splitting? Seems a decent cabinet maker would take precautions

If that is the best they can do with their mitered joints, and if the cabinet rep said they will replace the fronts, and 10 out of 13 boxes have this "flaw," why not request that all the fronts be replaced with a different non-mitered style? I would not expect their replacements of the same style to look any different.

The "credit card" test sounds like something the rep made up.

I actually prefer the natural look of joints that expand and contract. The MDF doors that get around it look artificial, imo. However, I wouldn't be happy what you have going on there.

I believe the cut below is preferred over the mitered corners because the expansion & contraction looks better. This type construction could also reduce it, I don't know. This is how my painted cabinets are cut. They have held up well, only showing little separations here and there as you'd expect. Seeing joints in cabinetry looks right to me. I would not like how yours are separating.

The really good mitered doors have some kind of finger joint milled in. I sawed some leftover Canac doors apart to see how they did it. If the splines are strong enough they can overcome the stress of the miter deforming under changing moisture conditions. Some picture frames do this; they "hourglass" inward but the miters stay tight.

If a 'cabinetmaker' can't do properly constructed miter joints they should stick to the journeyman level stuff they can do well.

"They aren't doing exactly what correctly constructed mitered doors do. The right material and joining will not look like that."

You can build the doors out of wood and with true blind miter mortise and tenons or Corian with a plain 'ole miter. That stuff grows on trees, ya know.

Normal for painted mitered doors. Don't want wood to look like wood? Pick MDF. Even it will telegraph the seams. Stick and cope will too. Just to a lesser degree.

Cabinet doors · More Info

Cabinet doors · More Info

Cabinet doors · More Info

Cabinet doors · More Info

Hardly the same. Could you live with these examples above OP?

You do have an issue. It is with the climate control in your home. That gapping is in response to the uncontrolled humidity in the environment. It is how mitered doors behave when the humidity gets high. They are not defective.

You are required to maintain the interior humidity in your home as part of any cabinet, flooring, or furniture warranty. That means using air conditioning or a dehumidifier in summer when typical humidity is higher than in winter. That also means adding hunidification to the home during the typical drier winter season.

Please post a picture of a hygrometer reading for your home's interior. That is the first thing that any cabinet rep will check for in respond to a wholesale complaint. Especially in light of the tell tale pictures that indicate exactly what the problem is.

This has nothing at all to do with where the cabinets were purchased and everything to do with how they were constructed and stored per LWO. Put a little white putty in the gap and call it good.

I don't think there is climate control issue at my home. I got this cabinet back in "spring" and my city didn't get hot until this week. I put in the middle of my house not garage. I "didn't" go through the winter time especially my state is not that cold at all. I am living in Northern California and close to the bay not East Coast. I understand Cabinet will wear out when couple years use. But not when it was in the box for only 1.5 months.

I just went back to home depot this morning. When the kitchen designer called the Thomasville rep who insist me to install first. He told the kitchen designer that he told me everything and "I need to install it first". He even didn't tell the kitchen designer about the 5 replacement doors. But the problem the email I sent to him or text him, he never replied in wording. He just called me. I don't have any written document that show what he promise either send me the replacement door or maybe they will consider to pay for the installation for the replacement. He insists that I need to install the cabinet then he will come and take a look. I really feel unconformable. What my kitchen designer told me is after I receive my cabinets within 90 days if there is an issue I can request for the replacement. She never mentioned about I need to install the cabinets in order to get those replacement. And from the conversation I got from the Thomasville Rep makes me feel that he is not trustworthy and trying to play a trick. If you already saw the picture which I emailed you and text you, why don't you just come over to my house to see what's wrong with it? You are the area rep. Why you insist to install it. Are you trying to push me to accept the defective cabinet which I got?

Here are some pictures for the whole cabinet I can show. Below board is my sample door which I was putting in my car for three months that condition is even better than my cabinets which was in box for 1.5 months in my house. From the picture, I can't see there is crack in my sample door. But when you see my cabinet, you can see the crack. I was thinking about just get replacement Cabinet doors. But even I go through with home depot and that Thomasvile rep gave me those bad attitude. I am really serious thinking about to dispute the payment and return the cabinets to them even it's going to delay my project.

The miters opening slightly is common and expected. The doors not lining up with each other are standard, you'll need to adjust the hinges after the cabinets are installed. Those pictures of the cabinets you just posted look fine. If you think they are unacceptable, you'll have to send them back and either pick a cope and stick door style, or find a higher end manufacturer with a mitered door style.

No one pays anyone for installing a replacement door/part. If you are installing these yourself, you're going to be installing the replacement doors. If you have an installer or GC, you might can talk them to installing them. But it's 2 screws, and then adjusting the hinges.

"I am really serious thinking about to dispute the payment and return the cabinets to them even it's going to delay my project."

Excellent idea. Tell 'em to come get their cabinets and take 'em off your bill. That's one of the advantages of buying at HD.

Call your CC company and they will let you know exactly what you need to do. Do not install the product if you intend to go this route. They will want you to send a letter to Home Depot telling them that the product is unsatisfactory and is ready to be picked up.

I do think you might be happy with just a different door/drawer style. The cabinets do look very nice in the pictures. But I, too, would be reluctant to install them without a written promise of an acceptable resolution.

You just need to go to a much higher end product and pay double for more hand holding experience if you are not satisfied with those. Even with a more convoluted miter join, you will get wood behaving like wood. You will not avoid that.

Post that picture of your home's humidity levels. Don't "think" you don't have a problem. Investigate and learn.

I hate air conditioning and only run mine when I absolutely have to. Most days I have all the windows open and my home's humidity levels are dictated by whatever is going on outside. I have no separated joints in my cabinetry, but I also don't have mitered joints or a painted finish. Does that make a difference? I like air blowing through my windows and I cannot imagine having to suffer in a "climate controlled" home in order to keep my cabinets looking nice. I guess I lucked out.

My humidity gets up to 80%. I have no problems with my painted cabinets (not mitered, they are cut straight like what I posted above). No problem with these cabinets. No problems with the painted cabinets before them. Not expensive by standards here on GW, probably considered cheap. Nor do I have problems with my engineered wood flooring. Or the wood furnishings. It gets down to as low as 30% humidity in here during the winter. All is well. I do not mind seeing minor expansion. It looks normal to me. I do not like the look of MDF.

I just bought the humidity monitor from lowes to check my house humidity that which is 40% (up 40% and low is 36%) and show its in the ok level. Either not hot level or low level. If the humidity is ok level, I don't know why there is an issue to blame on my environment for having crack on the unboxed cabinet.

There is an issue to blame you or your environment only because it will always be your fault with some of these sales people who post here. Conflict of interest!

what you are showing us is not really a 'crack', it is where two boards are joined together and with real wood, this "joint" is actually reasonably normal, real wood shrinks and then expands. Apparently these cabinet doors will never be acceptable to you - either choose a different door type or a different material.

BTW: temperature is not the problem. Humidity is. And you are by the bay, or somewhat close.

It's normal for wood painted cabinets. You either need to get stained or mdf

We put in Thomasville cabinets painted but not mitered. No problems like yours but again not mitered. We did have a problem with what the KD at HD told us we needed and what we needed. He then tried saying that he never said what he did tell us but I had it in an email. We had to talk with someone higher up, show her the email , go back and forth about the problem, wait, have more problems with the shipping the factory would not ship to the store only where the skins would be installed and we don't live there (long story), wait some more, finally got the skins installed. So I would not do anything unless you get it in writing. If you are thinking of going with a more expensive cabinet I would find out the price first before rejecting these. The more expensive ones may be a lot more than you want to spend. We have Rutt cabinets I needed just a few more it was a shock at how much they would be. They are painted mitered but no spaces at all. A/C on.

Call HD then your credit card company. I wouldn't mess with talking to those people again! And, do not install anything!