I wanted slab doors because I like the clean look. When we started cabinet shopping, none of the cabinet makers we spoke to in the area we live in (Canadian prairies) would give any warranty on slab doors that were solid wood. They all stated that climate considerations here could result in warping. Since they stood to make more money off us if we went solid wood, I am guessing they were being honest and maybe speaking from experience. We went with veneer. One thing our KD told us to watch for during our cabinet shopping was to make sure that there was a solid wood trim around the door edges for veneered doors. With veneer doors, little bumps on door edges is more likely to result in damage (chipping of veneer etc.) whereas the solid wood edge protects the veneered area. Of the 6 places we checked out cabinets, 4 made the cabs with a solid wood edge and 2 didn't. That is one consideration I would not have thought of if our KD didn't mention it.

It shouldn't matter, oil or water based stain. Water based is a little harder to work with. You need to apply a conditioner prior to staining. This can also be true when using oil stain on certain woods. You can end up with splotches all over. To protect the stain you can apply various materials. Poly, lacquer, shellac. Practice on scrap before you work with the cabinets. Do the whole process from stain to top coat and see which one you like. Ron

The restoration saga is far from over, but priming every things is giving us a much needed rest and reflection time. Soon I will hire a trim carpenter for the baseboards and picture rail installation, a plasterer for the skim coat, and electrician (MUCH needed). Not in that order ;) I enjoyed working on the windows and feel passionate about restoring them, but I just cannot do it myself right now. I'm thinking about sending the interior trim off to a Dip Strip place, then seeing what we got and working with some window restorers. Some pieces are broken :( While replacing the sash cords I could see that the windows were originally stained and shellacked. The restoration team can make custom storm windows, and much more. But our outside window trim is full of poorly painted nasty paint, super caked on layer after layer - have to hire someone to remove it (maybe lead abatement?) before storms can be made. Reglaze and weather strip, too. I know it's not cheap, but neither is replacing them. Maybe do one window at a time. Even one per year would be nice (only 5 double hungs and 2 pianos to do!) So...with everything I've read in favor of original wood windows, I have to say that currently our windows are definitely subpar and VERY cold. I see they MUST be maintained and have the storms to be great in the winter. We added a removable plasticy caulk, shimmed then, painted them shut, and plastics them, and now they are okay. Q: Can trim carpenters also repair parts of our hardwood floor? Thanks again to everyone on Houzz, I learned so much here.

I had cabinets made by a local cabinetmaker and he used SW precat lacquer. He sprayed 3 coats. It has been 8 years and the cabinets are in a rental and the finish is a little scratched around a couple knobs But otherwise perfect. same guy does high end homes around the lake. With the same products as he used on mine. I think your cabinetmaker either used old finish (it has short shelf life), forgot how many coats and just did one or something else....equipment failure or drunk?