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Discussion Forum

Warped kitchen cabinet doors

| Posted in General Discussion on December 7, 2001 08:43am

*
I installed kitchen cabinets about a year ago, and some of the doors have warped. Most have a slight twist to them. Enough that the homowner would like them replaced. The doors are solid panel, cherry doors. The manufacturer will provide new doors for those that have warped within five years, but I am wondering if there is a way to straighten them without doing that. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

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Replies

  1. Luka_ | Nov 29, 2001 08:47am | #1

    *
    The Mfgr is willing to replace them, and you want to dink around with trying to unwarp them ?????

    1. Tim_Thompson | Nov 29, 2001 12:42pm | #2

      *Luka, you truly have a way with words. Great answer.

      1. Geoff_B | Nov 30, 2001 12:05am | #3

        *Expect to replace all the doors. Cherry with a natural or light finish probably has darkened a bit and the new doors may not match.I've been down that road before and its a long and ugly journey.

        1. r__ignacki | Nov 30, 2001 04:30am | #4

          *Just wondering, Are these tall doors, like on a pantry?

          1. Bryan_Klakamp | Nov 30, 2001 07:23am | #5

            *Yes, some of them are tall doors, but some are regular-size doors. I have already had the manufacturer replace a half-dozen or so doors. My reason for wanting to see if there is a way to unwarp them is that it took the company three times to get the color right on two doors, and to get them shipped to me without being damaged. We finally sent a small door that they color matched, and they shipped them to my supplier on their own truck, not UPS. When I received the doors, the color is ok, but both tall doors are warped.I could be replacing doors for the next 4 years, and don't really want to do that if there is a way I could straighten them.Thanks for any input!

          2. Geoff_B | Dec 01, 2001 03:07am | #6

            *Bryan-Did you supply the original cabinets or did the customer purchase them?

          3. GACC_DAllas | Dec 01, 2001 04:07am | #7

            *Unwarp a cabinet door?No way.If you replace them all, how many of those new ones will warp?My suggestion? Replace as many as the manufacturer will (he probably won't pay for the painter) and make amends with the client to the best of your ability.Did the client think they would save money by using this particular manufacturer? Did you steer them that way?This is bad for which there is no good answer.Call it an education. Sorry.Ed.

          4. piffin_ | Dec 01, 2001 04:17am | #8

            *How bad is the warp?Some people will go buggy about a sixteenth inch in a tall door while others can live with 3/16". It makes a diff what style of door. Full flush inset are the most unforgiving.Fact is that most any set of solid wood doors will do some warping, especially in difficult climates. Next question is whether the customer took care of the finishing. Most door warpage I've seen is from customers trying to save a buck by doing their opwn finish/paint work. They should be stained, sealed, painted immediately and have same number of coats applied to both sides of the door.

          5. Adrian_Wilson | Dec 01, 2001 05:15am | #9

            *I agree with Piffin; depends on how bad the warp is. There are standards. And I've never seen a doormaker that didn't have some sort of proviso that "x amount of warping is normal and within standards, it's a natural material" in their business arrangement. If it's outside that, that's one situation. If it is inside the norm, and the customer still doesn't like it, that's another.

          6. Bob_Covell | Dec 01, 2001 08:34am | #10

            *Bryan-While I certainly agree with most of the above posts, they haven't answered your question. I don't have any direct experience solving your problem, but, I once saw an old timer using some cables, spacer blocks and a turnbuckle to remove the warp from a wooden screen door. If you have any of the replaced cabinet doors around, maybe you could 'practice' on one of them to see if a procedure could be worked out to gradually 'untwist' your door. Good luck. Bob

          7. r__ignacki | Dec 02, 2001 03:00am | #11

            *Steam?

          8. Joseph_Fusco | Dec 02, 2001 03:13am | #12

            *Bryan,

            All cabinet doors will move depending on the humidity in the air. People who cook a lot pump much more moisture into the air then those who don't. A 1/8" twist in a standard size door can easily be adjusted out if it's installed using 35mm hinges with six way adjustment. If you SET the standard that ANY twist is reason to replace a door you WILL replace every door TWICE.

            View Image"The first step towards vice is to shroud innocent actions in mystery, and whoever likes to conceal something sooner or later has reason to conceal it." Aristotle

          9. r__ignacki | Dec 02, 2001 03:28am | #13

            *John.I don't think you can untwist a twisted door using those hinges you mentioned. That's probably what's on his cabinets.

          10. Joseph_Fusco | Dec 02, 2001 03:55am | #14

            *

            It's obvious you have missed the point as well as my name. I said nothing of taking out the twist. I said you can adjust the hinges to compensate for the twist.

            View Image"The first step towards vice is to shroud innocent actions in mystery, and whoever likes to conceal something sooner or later has reason to conceal it." Aristotle

          11. r__ignacki | Dec 02, 2001 04:12am | #15

            *That's fine for a single door on an upper cabinet by itself. Try that on a door next to others. Sure, you'll get it to shut right, but you'll push the opposite corner out, which will stick out past the door or drawer next to it, which leads to more adjusting , etc.Sorry about the name change.

          12. Joseph_Fusco | Dec 02, 2001 04:27am | #16

            *

            Really. . . I'll try and remember that. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

            View Image"The first step towards vice is to shroud innocent actions in mystery, and whoever likes to conceal something sooner or later has reason to conceal it." Aristotle

          13. Bryan_Klakamp | Dec 03, 2001 05:35am | #17

            *To answer a few of your questions:The cabinets are from Riviera. They came prestained and finished.They do not have 6-way adjustable hinges.Some are warped about 1/4" up to one having a bow in it.If the hinges were adjustable, I would be able to compensate for the twist as Joseph says.I will have the manufacturer replace as many doors as they will let me. My original question is still the same, but from the majority of posts I can see that I will probably not be able to untwist them. Just wanted to know if anyone had had any success with taking the twist out.Thanks for the input.

          14. dahoo_ | Dec 04, 2001 08:01am | #18

            *Are the doors five piece with a solid panel or a veneer panel? Euro style or face frame cabinets? Does it look like the style and rail are actually warped and twisted, or could it be a bad glue up?

          15. Bryan_Klakamp | Dec 06, 2001 07:57am | #19

            *The doors are two panel with solid cherry panels. They are face frame cabinets. I haven't examined the doors closely enough to see what is exactly twisted or warped. Some of the doors are away from the cabinet at the top of the door, and some at the bottom of the door. On one door the vertical style on the handle side has a bow, not a twist, in it.

          16. Lisa_Long | Dec 07, 2001 08:43am | #20

            *Is the exhaust fan vented to the outside?

  2. Bryan_Klakamp | Dec 07, 2001 08:43am | #21

    *
    I installed kitchen cabinets about a year ago, and some of the doors have warped. Most have a slight twist to them. Enough that the homowner would like them replaced. The doors are solid panel, cherry doors. The manufacturer will provide new doors for those that have warped within five years, but I am wondering if there is a way to straighten them without doing that. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

    Thanks

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