What Is Cutting Edge’s Cabinet Door Warranty Policy?
Updated November 27, 2024
Understand Cutting Edge’s one-year warranty policy for cabinet doors, covering manufacturing defects and other guidelines you should know.
As a cabinet maker or contractor, you know how frustrating it can be to receive damaged or defective products. Even when a warranty policy is in place, navigating unclear policies can be time-consuming and costly. And if the product isn’t covered by a warranty? Unexpected expenses and delays compound your frustration, impact your schedule and damage your reputation.
In the cabinet industry, the stakes are high. Choosing doors with limited or unclear warranty coverage can lead to costly replacements and delayed installations, leaving your clients dissatisfied. Knowing exactly what your supplier’s warranty policy covers, and how to navigate replacements, is critical to keeping your projects on track and your customers happy.
At Cutting Edge Doors & Woodworking, we’ve spent over 20 years crafting high-quality cabinet doors, and we understand the challenges contractors face with warranties. That’s why we’ve developed a clear, detailed, and hassle-free warranty policy to make your job easier.
In this article, you will learn:
One-Year Warranty Policy on Cutting Edge Cabinet Doors
All cabinet doors from Cutting Edge have a one-year warranty. The one-year time frame starts the day the cabinet doors leave our shop. The warranty coverage ends after one year. Defects that become noticeable after the first year are more likely to be normal wear and tear than manufacturing defects.
Throughout the rest of this article, you will notice a lot of limitations to our warranty policy. We want to take this chance to reassure you that if the defect you bring to our attention is a defect that we think should not have occurred, we stand behind our product and you as the customer.
Cutting Edge’s Warranty Policy Covers Manufacturing Defects
The warranty policy covers manufacturing defects, also known as issues that occur or aren’t corrected while we produce the cabinet door.
Manufacturing defects include incorrect cabinet doors, warping, or cracks in the wood that affect the stability of your cabinet door.
The one-year time frame is not set in stone when it applies to manufacturing defects. If your cabinet door is over one year old when you notice a defect that occurred in manufacturing, our team may still discount the replacement piece or cover the cost.
Cutting Edge’s Warranty Replacements Match the Original Cabinet Doors
If you require a warranty replacement, we will make it the same as your original order.
For example, if you originally ordered raw cabinet doors, we will replace the defective piece with a new raw cabinet door. If you ordered a finished cabinet door, we will replace the defective piece with a new finished cabinet door.
Our warranty coverage does not cover finishing costs, install costs, transit time, or other costs over and above the product we originally produced. For example, if you ordered a raw cabinet door, finished it, and then noticed it was defective, we would ship out a new raw cabinet door even though you had already finished it.
Because of this, it is vital that you check your cabinet doors for defects before you put any work into them.
Alternative Option - Repair Your Defective Cabinet Doors
You can choose to repair damaged or defective doors in exchange for a credit on your account. To receive a credit, you must take photos of the issues or defects before you repair the doors. You will also need to keep track of the time you or your team spend repairing the defects.
If you choose this option, we calculate the credit at $50 per hour, up to a maximum of 60% of the order subtotal.
Cutting Edge’s Warranty Policy Can Be Limited or Voided
Sections of the warranty policy can become void or limited when you make specific requests or door-style decisions.
Door Style and Other Options Can Affect the Warranty Coverage
Cabinet doors are produced with solid wood, which is a living product. And yes, even MDF (compressed recycled wood components, like sawdust) is technically a biotic product.
Any living product can move over time. Some examples of wood moving are warping, expanding, twisting, swelling, shrinking, and contracting.
This inherent instability is why our warranty policy only warrants stable designs and sizes.
Two common decisions that limit the stability of your cabinet doors are:
- You order any door 30” or wider with no center stiles or any door 43” or taller with no center rails. This option voids the warranty against warp and twist.
- You choose an unstable door style, like solid wood slabs. This option voids the warranty against warpage and shrinkage.
To make your job easier – and to keep you from being stuck with a product that isn’t warrantied – our team will notify you of any voided or limited warranty when you place your order.
How You Handle the Cabinet Doors Can Affect the Warranty Coverage
You can make decisions that affect the warranty of your cabinet doors after you place your order.
Your cabinet door warranty can be limited if you:
- Choose to paint doors that aren’t recommended for painting – specifically if you paint cabinet doors with a solid wood center panel. Because solid wood can move over time, the painted finish on the center panel can crack.
- Open the cabinet door packaging more than 24 hours before you or your team finish the doors. Because solid wood moves when the humidity and temperature around it change, it is vital that you seal the doors with a finish as soon as possible. This helps reduce the amount of humidity that can get into the wood, which in turn reduces how much the cabinet doors will move.
- Stress test the cabinet doors in any way. Any stress testing can weaken the door and cause it to break before you even get it installed. Some examples of stress testing include:
- Forcibly bending the doors to test the joints
- Placing doors in a high- or low-humidity environment (the ideal humidity range is 30-40%)
- Exposing doors to high or low temperatures (the ideal temperature range is 60-80 degrees F)
- Install the cabinet doors in a non-humidity-controlled environment.
Cutting Edge’s Warranty Policy Does Not Cover Natural Changes to Wood Cabinet Doors
Because wood cabinet doors are made with a natural product, they will change and move over time.
Four common developments or changes that can occur over time are not warrantied. These developments are normal, and you can prevent or reduce the chances of them occurring by keeping the temperature and humidity consistent.
Hairline Cracks
Cracks in the finish at the joints or seams of the cabinet doors (also known as hairline cracks) are another frequent development. These cracks are not structural defects – they occur as the cabinet doors shift over time. Hairline cracks are not a reason for warranty replacements, and they are only visible on painted doors.
Warp and Twist
Warp and twist (fancy terms for wood bending) are two ways to describe the movement of wood cabinet doors. When two adjacent corners of the door move, we call it warped. Twist occurs when two diagonal corners of the door move.
Cabinet doors can warp or twist after the one-year warranty coverage expires. If this occurs, the cabinet doors are not eligible for warranty replacement. The wood movement has likely happened due to an unusual change in humidity or temperature. Once you correct the humidity and temperature, your cabinet doors should move back to their original position.
Center Panel Movement
If your cabinet doors have a solid wood center panel (as opposed to a plywood center panel), you may notice that the center panel shifts, shrinks, or expands over time. When this type of movement occurs, you may notice:
- A hairline crack running vertically along the panel of your cabinet door (or horizontally across the panel if you ordered horizontal grain drawer fronts)
- A ‘shadow’ around the outside edges of the panel (where the panel meets the frame); this is because the finish doesn’t reach very far underneath the frame. So, if the panel shrinks, you might see an unfinished area of the panel.
Shrinkage and Expansion
You may notice your doors shrinking and expanding over time if your house is not humidity-controlled. As they shrink, you will notice wider gaps between doors. As they expand, some of the doors might rub together as you open and close them.
Like the other items on this list, keeping the humidity and temperature consistent will help keep your cabinet doors from shrinking and expanding.
How to Tell if Your Cabinet Door Is Covered Under the Warranty Policy
When you started this article, you were looking for clarity on Cutting Edge’s cabinet door warranty policy. Uncertainty about what defects are covered – or what might void a warranty – can be a source of frustration and unexpected costs for cabinet makers and contractors.
Now, you have a clear understanding of what is and isn’t covered under our warranty, as well as the reasons behind these policies. You can rest assured that our team will communicate any warranty limitations upfront when you place your order, helping you manage expectations and protect your reputation.
With this knowledge, you’re better equipped to address potential warranty concerns with your customers, avoiding costly replacements and delays. Your next step? Learn how to confirm if your cabinet door is covered under warranty.
