Self cleaning ovens generate a great deal of heat. Heat can and will scorch wood, mdf, and paint. To prevent that heat from building up, it is recommended to open the doors and drawers adjacent to an oven while it is in the self cleaning cycle. If you don't and your cabinets scorch, yes, that is abuse and would not be covered under warrant. By any cabinet company. Wood expands and contracts over the seasonal moisture cycle. Just as you will get a gap in your crown molding in winter because it's dry, and a door will stick in summer because it's moist, cabinets will do the same thing. Although top coatings are meant to have a certain amount of flex to them, they do not have enough flex to not get hairline breaks in the finish where you have two pieces lf wood joining. That is 100% normal. You cannot expect wood to not behave like wood. This is normal. Cabinets do get wet occasionally, yes. But you are expected to not let them stay that way. You are expected to dry them, as part of a normal care routine just as you would any other furniture in your home. And you are expected to not constantly slop water onto the cabinet below the sink base, and to teach your children to do the same. And not let the dog jump on them and scratch them with his nails. That is not normal wear and tear. That IS abuse that will result in guaranteed damage that will not be covered by any cabinet warranty. If you feel that you cannot properly care for your kitchen furniture investment, then there are cabinets that will stand up to a more continual water presence and searing heat. You find them in commercial kitchens everywhere. They are stainless steel.

Thanks hollysprings. You really seem to know your stuff. This is a family owned business in LA. Apparently, they have been making cabinets for 30 years or so. They built the kitchen for my friend's house which looked great. That's how I found out about them. I went back to scrutinize my quote based on what you've said. 1) Hardware brand: Not specified. I need to nail him down with some brand like Blum I guess. 2) Plywood and source for boxes: Not sure. Will ask him to specify. 3) They are individual boxes. 4) Finishing: They are charging about $4100 to paint the entire order. They didn't specify how many steps. To my untrained eye, my friend's cabinets look good 2 years out, but I guess that doesn't say much. 5) He finishes the cabinets in his own shop. 6) He builds the doors himself. I think he builds almost everything himself. His factory was in the back, so I heard all sorts of saws working while I was with him for 3 hours getting the estimate. Is it a big deal who makes the doors as long as they are good quality?

Stay away from Aristrokraft! (Some here call them "AristroKrap".) I had them in my old kitchen and other than the lazy susan, they started falling apart in a few short years (around 3 or 4 years)! I lived with cabinets falling apart for many years while we saved up for a remodel. Never again!!! Surprisingly, the lazy susan was well made and worked as well the day we demo'd as the day it was installed. . We have Omega Dynasty semi-custom in our new kitchen - it's been almost 9 years and they look and function as if they were just installed yesterday. I highly recommend them! In fact, when we build again in a few years, I plan to use them again. Not only are their cabinets well made, but they have fantastic customer service! One big advantage of Omega cabinets is that you can get most of the same doors and general finishes in their custom line as in their semi-custom. If you need a custom cabinet or two, you can order just the ones you need from the more expensive custom line and use the less expensive semi-custom line for everything else.

Have you searched the Kitchens Forum for reviews/comments? If not, I suggest doing so in case you don't get many responses here.