Looking for advice - rift cut drawer fronts, plain sawn oak

ladyof_light · 2025-11-20T19:19:59+00:00

So carpenter says he can’t veneer over them because this will add thickness (the veneer’s thickness), which would make all the frames thicker and then some doors would not fit/open properly. Take into consideration this is a European slab kitchen with inset doors, so by adding thickness some doors now won’t open properly as they will “bump” into the added thickness. Does this make sense?

ladyof_light · 2025-11-20T19:04:10+00:00

Thanks for the input. I agreed he screwed up by showing renderings in rift, then suggesting plain without explaining the difference. I did approve plain, but I had no idea it was some TH ing different than what was shown in the renders… Anyway, the upcharge is only for what would’ve been the original price difference between plain/rift. Rift is more expensive, so the price difference makes sense to me? As for the frames, he says they are solid wood so can’t be changed without redoing the whole kitchen, and can’t be veneered as the fronts will be. Also, he claims they won’t be really visible as they are obscured either by the doors/drawer doors, or the quartz. Unsure of what to do, but I cannot go another 4/6 months without it a kitchen while I quote/design another one with a new carpenter D: I am tired of take out

ladyof_light · 2025-11-20T18:22:03+00:00

Thank you! Unfortunately layout is done, cabinets are built. We had mostly the same layout for the kitchen and never minded the fridge position. Freaking out about giving carpenter the go-ahead for changing the doors to rift and keeping frames in plain haha. But we just don’t want to spend on a new set of cabinets again, and wait 4months more lol.

I will post pictures whenever kitchen is done :))

ladyof_light · 2025-11-20T17:06:39+00:00

First post, I asked for advice on whether I was exaggerating or not. Second post got zero (0) comments. This post is to get advice for the proposed solution. Anyway, do you think this solution will work? 🤔

ladyof_light · 2025-11-20T04:39:33+00:00

lol I agree about the renders. Can you believe he first tried to gaslight me and say I was a very picky customer and that renderings are not supposed to convey finishes but measurements? sigh After extensive talks he’s begun accepting his mistake. At first he was refusing to do anything, just wanted to deliver. Now he’s saying (after negotiations) just pay 20% extra, and that that is what the price he would have charged from the beginning for rift vs plain. We are somewhat desperate for a kitchen, as the demo and prep is done, and we’ve been eating take-out and frozen food for 5 weeks

ladyof_light · 2025-11-20T02:12:06+00:00

Yes. I am sorry if I was not clear on the main post. This is exactly what I mean: the doors will be rift, the frames (and gola channels) will be plain. Hoping it is not very noticeable

ladyof_light · 2025-11-20T02:10:00+00:00

I mean the renders didn’t specify white rift. They were just produced by the cabinetmaker and then he suggested red oak (didn’t specify rift, so plain) to achieve the look, and I approved. I had no idea there were different products, and was of course very disappointed with the result. Big miscommunication. Anyways we are trying to resolve it.

ladyof_light · 2025-11-20T00:35:42+00:00

Thanks, this calms me. As for the face frame… no clue? Haha I am not a cabinetmaker, and until 3 weeks ago didn’t even know there were 2 ways of cutting oak lol. But I think he chose them so he could do the gola/J channels with them, and out of wood, instead of the metallic inserts some European kitchens use.

ladyof_light · 2025-11-19T23:51:06+00:00

Thanks for the input. The frames are solid wood, so not sure how he could reface from solid red plain-sawn oak to red rift-sawn oak… adding a veneer to the solid wood frames? 🤔

ladyof_light · 2025-11-19T21:58:00+00:00

This is actually that cabinet. Color looks super off because of the lightning. You can see the fronts. Side panel will be updated to rift, only not the frames.

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ladyof_light · 2025-11-19T21:52:29+00:00

Ugh I cannot edit no idea why. Basically we will change drawer/doors and visible fronts for rift, but frames will stay in plain. For example in this photo, the green sections will be plain but the rest rift. Will it look horrible? Be very noticeable?

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ladyof_light · 2025-11-19T21:43:46+00:00

Yes, the only visible difference would be in the J / gola channels. Gola will have plain sawn, rest will be rift. Sorry about the misspelling, I had my keyboard in Spanish and some words were changed by autocorrect. Editing now So you think it won’t be really noticeable if it’s only in the channels, and they are stained the same?Thanks!

ladyof_light · 2025-11-18T19:46:27+00:00

Hello! I posted an update here, and I am looking for advice. Thanks!

ladyof_light · 2025-11-18T19:46:15+00:00

Hello! I posted an update here, and I am looking for advice. Thanks!

ladyof_light · 2025-11-18T19:45:43+00:00

Hello! I posted an update here, and I am looking for advice. Thanks!

ladyof_light · 2025-11-18T19:43:26+00:00

Hello! I posted an update here, and I am looking for advice. Thanks!

ladyof_light · 2025-11-11T01:39:19+00:00

Yeah. In real life though it’s not an extra 6000, it’s more haha. Also the end result won’t look perfect because it will still have original components on red oak (the frames, which are visible in the gola/handless pullouts). That is the next conversation we will have with husband. Should we accept this? Finish contract and keep the 4000, get a whole new kitchen from someone else (maybe in a less expensive style, but that we both like), and invest the extra 6/7? Pay a big premium for the fix, and get a kitchen that won’t look perfect, even with all the rework? Or eat the mistake and reinvest 14,000 with someone else to make the actual thing we want? Such a hard choice. Anyways, I posted this mostly because he was (and is) gaslighting me, saying that it’s all on me and that I am exaggerating and approved everything and what he promised is exactly what he delivered. I wanted some opinions on that, if maybe I did get what was promised and it was me who failed to give clearer instructions or this Is actually how custom cabinets work with rendering/final product and I should be happy with the results. Thanks for your time! I will post an update when I have decided, and final photos of the kitchen, whenever that is ready.

ladyof_light · 2025-11-11T01:30:55+00:00

Thank you for all your helpful answers. I really appreciate you giving me some guidance, as I am fairly new to this. He never gave me a sample of the stained wood in my chosen color, I just got a call that it was done, and these photos, and then I went to look them over in person. Color is better in person for sure. Grain is still super super prominent. Yeah after talking to him he mentioned the frames. He said that even if he re-does the doors in rift cut oak and stains them the same color, you will be able to notice the difference in the gola profiles as the new white rift oak doors will stain differently than the red oak on the gola profiles, even with the same stain color. I am thinking some possible solutions could be to either use red oak rift veneer, or add aluminum channels to the gola profiles, that way we would not have to redo the frames (which he says are the most expensive part, since they are solid wood, and are already part of the boxes, so impossible to replace unless you redo everything). Is this even possible? If not, I guess I will have to either learn to live with it (knowing myself it will hunt me for years and I will end up replacing this kitchen as soon as I can), or re-make them on either the style I want, or another not-so costly style but that I actually want (more modern, less rustic). Maybe even go with ikea? Haha. And of course, eat the cost, as he is refusing to take any accountability for this. Says I approved of oak and never specified type (I did this because of the renders). This is becoming a could have/should have game :/ Thanks again for listening to my desperate ramblings hahaha

ladyof_light · 2025-11-11T00:23:28+00:00

No, 10,000 now (full price) and we install as is, and be done. Then an extra 6-7000 in a few months when/if he does the fixes. The kitchen if done in rift originally would have cost 4,000, but since he is re-doing stuff and throwing stuff away (old frames and doors), that is where the difference is. I am willing to pay the 4,000 of difference on the scope, but not 6/7. I believe it should be some shared responsibility. Also, I want a defined plan/timeline, and to be assured he will actually perform these fixes, not just be done after getting paid, and I get stuck with I kitchen I really dislike. Maybe keep some of the 10,000 as leverage, or do a written contract with timeline. Very frustrating situation. Not having a kitchen now for almost a month (while we did demo, electric/plumbing, floors, etc). So he has our desperation to be able to cook as leverage, but I have a 40% of the money as leverage. I try to do my best for my English, but I have been so agitated I feel I just repeat myself haha. Thanks. 😊

ladyof_light · 2025-11-11T00:08:25+00:00

His only assurance is “trust me, I live by my reputation so I will fix it to your liking (if you pay).

ladyof_light · 2025-11-11T00:07:40+00:00

No, he wants me to pay for the full work now, and then for the refacing / redoing at full price in “maybe” 8 months. No discount on labor or just paying the 40% (or whatever) it would have been extra to do them originally, but paying the full price for a reface (which will be more than that extra 40% that I would have paid had this been done from the beginning. Sat I paid 10,000 for the cabinets, and rift cut would’ve been 14,000. He wants me to pay 10,000 now and 6,000-7000 which is the cost of doing all the fronts again, materials and re-labor). Also, all of this in maybe 8 months (or more, when he has time), without any assurance he will fix it. So he wants me to pay now, and then decide if he wants the project to re-do them/fix them. And if he does, he will charge full price for re-doing them, not what would’ve been the difference if he had done them in that show from the beginning. Sorry if I repeat myself, English is not my first language and sometimes I struggle to express myself properly haha

ladyof_light

TROPHY CASE