Hi all, looking for some advice from anyone who knows more about kitchens than me.

We had a new Nolte kitchen fitted 3 years ago – in contrast to the “cheap and cheerful” kitchens we’ve had before this one was supposed to be high quality and last us for 5-10 years – the price, around £25K reflected in.

2 years in we started to notice little hairline cracks appearing on the doors – the start at the edges by the handle and run along the edge of the doors where rounded profiles appear to have been bonded on to create a curved edge.

The majority of the doors are now cracked and all in the same place. Our local kitchen installer has been helpful thus far albeit with mixed messages. When I first when in to discuss the problem they said that it wasn’t the first time they’d had a problem and that they doors would be swapped.

After a few months of waiting they came out last week to tell us that Nolte had advised them it was our fault and caused by cleaning with a wet cloth and leaving them damp which then caused the corners to swell and split. Apparently they have never had this problem before so it can’t be a manufacturing fault.

There are two problems with this:

1. We’ve only every cleaned them very occasionally with detail wipes – which have so little moisture on them that it evaporates around 1 min after a “wipe”. We didn’t get any specific cleaning instructions but have cleaned the units carefully using what we assumed to be the gentlest way of cleaning.

2. We’ve never had this problem with any other kitchen.

Note are willing to replace some of the doors but this will leave us with a hitch potch of doors that are different shades of white – the dealer says they will all yellow down to the same colour after a few months but I’m not convinced.

So is the above reasonable? Should kitchen doors on a “luxury / high quality” kitchen last more than 2 years before they start to split? And should wiping them with a detail wipe once a month (if that) really be enough to cause them to split?

Would it be unreasonable for us to insist on replacement of all of the doors and matching drawers etc?

It’s a kitchen. Surely you would expect it to be fit for that purpose. So from me, I would expect it to last. Saying that we have a kitchens international one that we inherited, it probably cost about 50k and frankly is disintegrating…

Kitchen doors you can’t effectively clean? Ridiculous.

Were you supplied detailed care instructions when they were fitted? I’d have thought that this falls foul of that European fit-for-purpose legislation which I’d have to look up. Sure someone with actual knowledge will be on here soon enough to explain it.

I’m not a kitchen fitter but that looks poor, especially from a high end brand.
Never mind cleaning issues, what about humidity from kettles, boiling pans etc?
I’d be royally brassed off so good luck and I hope you get this resolved.

Kitchen doors you can’t effectively clean?

This +lots. I’m sorry but I would be kicking up a stink over this. £25K is a lot of money full stop and for the doors to not be up to being cleaned with water is ridiculous IMHO.

I don’t think you are being unreasonable and I hope you get it resolved.

Whats the warranty period & what does it cover?
If you’ve cleaned it as per their instructions & it’s still in warranty then it’s up to them to sort it out.

this one was supposed to be high quality and last us for 5-10 years – the price, around £25K reflected in.

This does not compute, surely you would expect a kitchen to last more than 5 years no matter what you paid for it. What on earth are you doing in there that would destroy it in such a short space of time?

We got a new kitchen in 2008, around £15k, £6 of which was worktops and cooker hood, its in as good nick as they day it was fitted.

What did they say when you pointed out it can’t be the first time they’ve seen it as your local kitchen installer has seen it before?

What did they say when you told them you hadn’t washed and left them wet?

On a high end kitchen, why would unit’s ‘yellow down’?

You’ve got a lot of arguing to do, so start noting down who you spoke to, when and what they said. Good luck.

Just one other thing. Who did you pay/have the contract with? The local kitchen fitter, or were they sub-contracting to Nolte?

It’s up to the supplier to sort out. That may not be Nolte. (sorry if you already knew this)

Just to clarify – the local supplier is the installer. I have no contract with Nolte directly but the local supplier has looked to them as the manufacturer for an explanation of why the units have cracked. Rather conveniently for Nolte they have just dismissed out of hand any scope for the cracking on the majority of doors being a manufacturing fault which I think has left the local installer / retailer in a rather tricky position.

The local installer have been good to deal with so I didn’t want to go in “guns blazing” without a second opinion first.

The local installer have been good to deal with so I didn’t want to go in “guns blazing” without a second opinion first.

Not that good to deal with. They should already have offered to replace the doors. I doubt the top and bottom edges have been sealed properly against the aluminium.

That looks very similar to my sub 3K Cooke & Lewis of a similar age. Except mine hasn’t cracked. I think they owe you a replacement.

Read what guarantee’s came with the kitchen, for £25k I’d expect a decent guarantee that you should be well within

Before any guarantee is issued you already have Rights under the Sale of Goods Act 1979. This means you have six years to make a claim for faulty goods in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; in Scotland you have five years. However, if making a claim six or more months after purchase it can be difficult as you need to prove the fault was present when purchased and not for example normal wear and tear. This is where a good guarantee can make it easier and quicker to get sorted if there is a problem.

http://www.realhomesmagazine.co.uk/advice/consumer-advice-kitchen-guarantees-and-certificates/

There must be some guarantee against poor manufacture, and I’d say that’s poor manufacture. If moisture can can get there then it’s poor manufacture, it’s not been made properly, like others have said how can they expect to have something in a kitchen and for it to never get wet/damp at some stage. Odd that they would also bond such a small decorative piece on there, surely the edge would have just been machined. Do you know what the doors are made of, likely to be MDF, and how the is metal looking piece on the base fixed on as it almost looks like they’ve put some screws in too close to the edge and it’s caused the material to split (could be glued on?) ?

Oh, and start recording what they say, you can’t use it as evidence unless you let them know they are being recorded, but it can help when you try to remember who said what and when.

I’d be insisting all new doors thankyou!

On a high end kitchen, why would unit’s ‘yellow down’?

Surely any white item of furniture yellows regardless of cost?

Looks like laminate over MDF or similar (would be odd to use solid wood if you can’t see the wood)?

This kind of stuff can swell and crack with use due to moisture and/or heat. Had it myself, but far cheaper kitchen.

However if they’re pointing the blame at you then they also need to show that they have clearly advised how to treat these doors with care and what not to do. If they haven’t then it’s their fault, and a few years is clearly not fit for purpose. Note, you have 6 years in law to claim this, although at this stage it’s up to you to prove the fault is inherent from the start.

This does not compute, surely you would expect a kitchen to last more than 5 years no matter what you paid for it.

That’s what I was thinking. Ikea warranty on fixed bits for kitchens is 25 years and 10 years taps and moveable cabinets.

As above my high gloss kitchen which is basically a laminate over mdf doors had done the same. However I never stood a chance as it was one of mfi’s top ranges who no longer exist.

Noticing your pictures, are the cracks only at the bottom of the doors and only by the metal strips? I don’t think the wet cloth explanation is satisfactory. It could be that steam is condensing on the metal strips and then the gathered moisture is penetrating the door, causing it to swell

Nolte had advised them it was our fault and caused by cleaning with a wet cloth and leaving them damp which then caused the corners to swell and split. Apparently they have never had this problem before so it can’t be a manufacturing fault.

Well if they’ve never had the problem before, how do they know this hypothetical damp cloth is the fault?
Plus pretty much by definition it’s a manufacturing fault if they can’t cope with a bit of surface moisture.

I had a similar issue with a similar priced Schmidt kitchen, it was under warranty and replaced under warranty.

I am a kitchen fitter, but not a manufacturer.

It looks to me like it could be caused by the laminated wrap being too tight and cracking on the radius. I have seen this before, and also cracks on flat panels too, a few MFI kitchens had this issue that I know of a few years back. If reported MFI without quibble swapped any/all offending doors.

I have also seen this caused by cleaning with bleach and aggressive chemicals despite warnings not to do it.

If you can 100% be sure that nothing you have done to them can have caused it (which it sounds like tbh) then I say you need to be firmer with the manufacturer, or rather your supplier does on your behalf. 2 years is no where near what would be realistically expected for a kitchen door in normal service. I generally expect kitchens to last 15-20 years unless abused, more if treated well, I’ve taken out quite a few that last 30+ years.

Like you say, try to keep the fitters/suppliers on your side as they are the ones to have sway with the manufacturer, if all else fails, get legal on them.

I will refer my wife to this thread next time she asks to change our old fashioned but solid oak doors with something trendier!

Our Magnet Kitchen (cost £3k) is about 15 years old and not a crack in sight on any of the doors….

Just ask for all doors and drawer fronts to be replaced under warranty. See what their response is and go from there.

Cleaning with a damp cloth! Seriously beggars belief. Our Ikea kitchen gets battered by the kids washing paint off their hands etc in the sink. Wipe it with a wet cloth and its as good as new!

Please don’t be put off by kitchen installer being nice, you’ve paid £25k they need to sort.

The kitchen is a high humidity environment …..the doors should hold up and not take in any moisture …..crap quality doors they look like and if they look like that after 2 years….the company should replace …FREE …for better quality ones..IMO

Wiping with a damp cloth may be bad – what happens when the dishwasher vents while you’re boiling three veggies on the hob and open the cooker door with Sunday dinner nearly ready inside?

25K for a kitchen that’s should last 10 years?
I’m no expert but I reckon that was a crap deal.