Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF). I wouldn't dream of using it in anything I've ever built or renoed. However, yes, I have seen it used in higher-end homes.

It can pass until it's damaged and is then harder to repair than solid wood. (There's also an appalling amount of debris painted over on the trim.)

For a $3m house it shouldn't have one inch of mdf trim. That's outrageous and pretty chintzy of the builder.

Worthy's posting says it all, though. If I were you, I would replace room by room as it gets damaged (and it will) but it is not an "end of the world catastrophe"

It may be cheap but its yours now.

I suspect a bigger problem is a very poor paint job.

I have heard the dents and dings can be repaired with Bondo. The plastic applicator can be shaped by immersing it in hot water.

Yes, unfortunately mdf is pretty standard for white trim around here regardless of the home price. Getting hardwood stained trim costs quite a significant amount more and getting painted solid wood is even more than that and I think a lot of people don't even realize they are getting painted mdf until it is too late.

The most expensive trim should be the stained hardwood. Reason? To match grain patterns requires much more material from which to choose. Plus joints have to be perfect, since filling(as is done with painted trim) would show.

Painted trim can often be pine, hard enough to just dent where some of the MDF trim broke open.

I'd say several thousand dollars for the trim budget of that $3M went into someone's pocket.

Replace it with paint grade wood trim as you can.

As JDS pointed out, absolutely terrible paint job. This is a new house???

This doesn't look new to me. Our 113-year-old house's trim looks better.

Agree with others. This does not look like new construction. When I first looked at the photo I thought it was a very old house with layers and layers of paint.

The horrible paint job would bother me more than the trim material, and the that would bug me ALOT. Just wait till that stuff gets wet.

The only place I would say MDF trim would be alright to use is crown molding since it is up and way from getting damaged. In a $3M home I would almost expect popular paint grade trim.

Interior Doors could also be the cardboard/wood chips mixture.

I'm sorry to say the photo looks like it is from an old house rather than new construction. I would be quite upset with the quality of the work done. Looks like the painter didn't bother to sand or even dust before doing the work on your home. We used poplar for our paint grade trim work. Very crisp, clean lines and the paint finish is smooth as glass and our home is nowhere near the price you paid. I wish you the best.

Yes, you've got MDF trim. MDF trim is less expensive than its wood counterpart and it's more susceptible to damage. In my opinion, it shouldn't be used for baseboards, casings or any trim application subject to mechanical damage. Proponents of MDF trim point to the fact that it's more dimensionally stable than wood. You might consider it for crown mouldings where there is minimal potential for mechanical damage, but I'd recommend you stay with wood for all interior trim.

My Mom has trim like that in her apartment. There isn't anything in the building that's high end (or even mid-range).

Not sure where the OP lives, but it makes a big difference. In some parts of the country $3 mill might not get you much in the way of high end materials. I'm in LA and could easily imagine a cheap-flipper using this type of trim in that price range. Buyer beware!

OP's username includes 90210, which is Beverly Hills....

Good catch Chloe! I didn't even notice the user name. There were a few flips on my street in that price range and the new owners are spending quite a bit of money to redo some things done by the flipper, who built both of their houses. He is new to the business and area.

I do know some contractors who care about their reputation and do good quality flips, but they live in our town and wouldn't stay in business long if they sold crap to their future neighbors!

$3M, I don't care where.... I'm spending $300k, not a speck of MDF.

I did allow MDF as my crown- something about it was easier to install for some reason? Or maybe the builder TOLD me it was easier, and easier really just meant cheaper. Who knows. But I do know he explicitly told me he wouldn't use MDF around doors/windows, etc., because his experience was it didn't hold up well at all. I had it at a former house and became quite adept at using spackle to reform it when it invariably got dinged. I personally hate the stuff.

If you paid 3 mil for that, get your money back. Horrible paint job too.

Thats MDF.