How can I stop my brand new kitchen cabinets from showing wear?

The contractor's warrantee should fix some damage. I would ensure the drawers/doors are not scraping. A touch-up paint could mask the damage, and adding a coat of clear poly could help prevent future damage.

Christine, this is not your problem, it is the responsibility of the company that you bought them from. After only four months, they surely will make things right for you. Call them immediately and have someone take a look at the worn areas.

First thing I do is call the place that installed them. Is this what you paid for? Don't do anything to the surface until you talk to the company.

Go after the contractor or the manufacturer of the product. After 4 months this should not be happening, especially if you spent a good sum of money. What warranty from the manufacturer is in your paperwork? Pull it out and review. That's where I would start. Is your family "hard" on things? If so, time for some etiquette lessons and to be more gentle and show respect and not slam things all over the place.

That is very disappointing!! The manufacture of the cabinets should have at least a one year warranty. If that doesn't work you could put a protective polyurethane coat on the top of the drawers to protect them in the future after you do a little touch up paint. I'm sorry that happened to you!!

Contractors are supposed to be licensed and bonded to help protect the consumer. They should make it right for you, but there are a lot of crappy contractors out there. Best of luck.

Are these oak? Could be they weren't prepped properly! If it is only 4 months since they were painted, CALL YOUR CONTRACTOR! They should be under a service warranty.

Contact manufacturer,contractor both. Small claims court is always an option. Just sucks that you pay out good $ for what you think is going to be good job,all new and get screwed. Maybe the contarctor pulled a fast one and got cabinets that were not new, factory rejects or even second hand. Contractors I've used have always had some type of warranty, been licensed, bonded but that being said it is up to you to ask these questions when dealing with them. My grandmother taught me ages ago "You get what you pay for" sometimes it's better to spend the xtra for better quality instead of paying for 2 of them after it breaks.Maybe the upgrade he suggested was the way to go. That's water under bridge now. If you need to fix yourself make sure you find out about the warranties because if you mess with them it could void warranty on other work,parts like hardware,hinges.Might need to wait until they expire to redo, replace the drawer fronts.

If your contractor was licensed and you can't get any satisfaction from him, make a call to your State's Attorney General's Office and file a formal complaint.

The fact that your cabinets were made in China makes me inclined to believe they were of inferior quality. Were you not shown physical examples of the cabinetry that you could see, touch and evaluate prior to purchase? Are they thermofoil or particleboard? Better wood cabinets with competent factory finishes should not be deteriorating.

You will rapidly learn that you must be very assertive in dealing with contractors. You are the ones paying for the work and you have the right to scrutinize contracts and work, and demand poor workmanship be corrected.

You will also come to learn that if you fail to do your research prior to contractor work, you will ultimately pay the price for any short cuts. You cannot trust contractors to disclose every detail of the work you are having done, which is why you must be prepared to ask specific questions ahead of signing contracts. There are many books and videos available to assist you in your research, which, on larger projects may take as much as a year of your time to reduce the potential for situations such as your present one.

I sincerely hope you can obtain some remediation, but I fear this job may entail additional monetary outlay to correct these oversights.

Hi, Christine,

I'm really sorry about your situation, but know that you are not alone. Even physicians I have known have expressed disgust with contractors and the difficulties encountered when you believe you are dealing with honest professionals, but the experience shows otherwise.

Unfortunately, you will find many working with concepts of 20 years ago, many unwilling to deal with women, many unwilling to listen to fact or to read recent and qualified articles on the project. You may even be faced with situations where they hang up on you, yell at you, etc. Eventually, you will develop a very thick skin and remind them that since it's your money, they can specifically write your demands into the contract, or you'll look elsewhere.

Even when you think you've found the perfect match, you'll need to check on them, daily, many times, and take numerous photos of the work as it progresses, in case something is wrong.

You'll find a plethora of articles on line about dealing with contractors, negotiating contract points, costs, change orders, etc. You can even specify who purchases what, when, and where, if you think you're being taken advantage of.

I am not saying there are no outstanding contractors out there, but there are far less than the public would be led to believe.

I hope you gain resolution, soon, and that despite this misfortune, you have a good Holiday and a significantly better 2019.

You may wish to put your experience on a social page, for others to be wary of your contractor and his practices.

Thank you.