Not the Quality We Expected from Kent Moore
Summary: We've built four homes, and this is the first time we've had so many issues with cabinetry quality and installation.
Review:
We're in the process of building a new home with Drees, and Kent Moore Cabinets is handling all the cabinetry and floating shelves. They promote high standards--tight tolerances, thorough inspections, durable construction, and so on. That all sounded great going in.
While I know that only the builder is legally responsible for the work in a project like this, I think it's important to share our experience with Kent Moore's products and installation. And while it's totally normal to run into some issues during construction, what we've seen here has gone well beyond that.
- Wood-Paneled Kitchen Hood: The hood that was installed was the wrong size, and it also had visible brad nails between panels and seams that were already separating. We're waiting on a replacement and hoping it lives up to the standard we were shown.
- Drawer Glides: A good number of the drawer glides (many soft-close) either don't work well or were installed misaligned. One drawer was completely stuck and needed multiple visits to get open. After checking out the Kent Moore glides on display at the Drees Design Center, the ones we got just don't seem to be the same. I was told Kent Moore handled the install, so I'm not sure why the glides are different. It's possible they're all substandard. That's a bigger issue than just final adjustments.
- Pull-Out Shelves and Cabinets: This was one of the more frustrating parts. Instead of sealed hardwood with dovetail joinery, we got softwood boxes that were nailed and glued together. Some of the corner joints don't line up. The shelves don't glide well, and some were installed on a slant. The pull-out garbage cabinet is hard to open, and the utensil pull-out base cabinet feels unsteady when extended, like it's not anchored properly. Our builder confirmed that the pull-out shelves we received aren't up to Kent Moore's usual standard, and replacements are being made. If those aren't right either, we'll likely ask for a refund and replace them ourselves.
- Floating Shelves and Alignment: One floating shelf is visibly warped--almost an inch thicker on one side than the other. Others were installed crooked. I don't know if that's on the fabrication side or the install, but it should've been caught. Honestly, I have no idea if a level was even used. The quality here was so off that we're seriously considering asking for a refund and hiring someone local to rebuild them.
- Kitchen Cabinets: Some upper cabinets are visibly tilted and there is some separation from the wall. I'm unsure whether it's an install or fabrication issue or both. It's also possible the drywall they were installed on had an issue. If so, the Kent Moore installer should have notified the builder and not continued installation. Also, cabinet doors are askew--as expected before final adjustments--but some are so far off that we noticed fabrication issues adjustments won't fix.
I appreciate that the pull-out shelves are being replaced by Kent Moore. But it's disappointing that so many obvious problems made it through inspection. Kent Moore talks a lot about quality control, but none of that seemed to happen here.
I get it, stuff happens during a build. But we've never had this many problems with cabinetry in any other home. At a minimum, someone should've tested that drawers opened and shelves weren't crooked. And if something showed up broken or misaligned, they should've flagged it and not installed it. I don't understand why Kent Moore would install something that doesn't meet their own standards and is obviously flawed.
At this point, I don't just feel let down as a homeowner--I feel like Kent Moore let down Drees (our builder). Builders count on their subs to get things right, and in this case, that didn't happen. I hope this review helps Kent Moore tighten up their process, because the way things went here just doesn't reflect the quality they promise. For now, I remain disappointed. read more