We had our kitchen cabinets spray laquer painted by True North and almost immediately hair line cracks appeared and some chipping. Tracy agreed to redo the cabinets. The same thing has happened again. He blamed the humidity from coffee maker, pots boiling, normal kitchen activity. Huh!! The second time he did them, he notified us that he would not redo them again. Needless to say, we are terribly disappointed with the results.
After reading Tracy’s reply, I was struck by many things. First, he initially insisted I wasn’t a client until I proved it to Homestars. His response had an awful lot of details for someone who claims he doesn’t remember me. His response is a lot of verbiage with gross inaccuracies. First, there was NO mention of hairline cracks because if so, I wouldn’t have proceeded. I had written to Tracy about my concerns of using a water-based lacquer and he responded with a long-winded email assuring me of its superiority to oil based lacquer. He also reassured me that there was a year warranty so I need not worry. Secondly, the dates. I did notify him May 15, 2014 about the hairline cracks and paint chipping. I waited until October to email him about getting the work done because of some family issues. He wanted to postpone until the New Year because he claimed that Oct- Dec was his busiest time. When he returned our cabinets the second time, the hairline cracks appeared a month later. What’s worse is that paint is now chipping where it had not occurred previously. I decided not to contact Tracy about this because really, there was no point. I stand by my original review!!!!
- Approximate cost of services:
- $1,000.00
- Company Response
To start I will say this customer is confused about the process and details we email, why? we do NOT use a water based product. We use a waterborne product. The difference is that waterborne products will clean up with water, there is no actual water in the product, it is a low VOC solvent based product. In fact it is an Acrylic Urethane. Urethane is the one of the most durable commonly used products for wood and metals as well as boats. Oil based products are also not 100% moisture & chemical proof & the main reason Oil based products are NOT used when light colour are concerned is that they tend to yellow over time. Yellowing would alter the colour and surely be an issue with many people. 32 years refinishing experience tells me that.
This customer refuses to accept that the previous condition as well as current conditions like grease and food debris (including cleaners that use silicone) in her home have any effect on any finish despite the detail in our quotes discussing this. Her comments are not based on facts provided, she is disappointed that this problem occurred and rightfully so and refuses to accept that certain things are beyond any finishers control. The most prominent being that these cracks are only taking place on the exposed sides of the doors and not the back sides. If The product or our workmanship was at fault these conditions would be everywhere. When we resprayed one year later we used product from another batch made by the manufacturer and we have had NO other complaints about this type of cracking to say the product is at fault. Whether she wants to believe it or not moisture and heat do affect wood finishes and this is easily provable with some research, watermarks on table tops are common and a very good example of what can take place. There is a great deal of information available regarding these issues below. Given that we did in fact sand down these cracks to bare wood after they appeared and re-primed and sprayed them and that they returned again shows that the conditions in the home including humidity, heat and cleaning methods are the reason the finish is cracking, these conditions are well beyond our control.
If you take a close look at the pictures (I downloaded and zoomed in on the pictures provided) (click and expand the picture to get a better view) she provided you will see two things, first the cracking is limited to the top rail or frame piece. This indicates that it is NOT the product or workmanship as these two things would be evident on the entire drawer front as it is about 7" in width and only needs 3 passes with a spray gun. (She has now deleted the photos that show this, I suppose to take away the the proof of what I am saying) Copies are available upon request.
Second you can see food/grease debris on the inside edge under the handle and around the handles themselves. This is an indication on how well this customer takes care of this finish or the environment these items are in, this is well beyond my control as I describe in detail below. Given that a new finish after 1 month shows this debris it is an indication of the environment prior to spraying as well.
In each of our quotes we go into detail as it relates to any current finish and conditions that can affect the final outcome, this includes hairline cracking. We ask the potential customer to ask any questions where they do not understand what is being said, we also provide a great deal of information on our website to educate anyone about the process and potential problems that can arise as well as a detailed description of our warranty. This customer has admitted that they waited longer than what our warranty allows for completing repairs and this exasperated the problem. I have also never claimed I don't remember this customer. This customer actually did business with an affiliated company that I owned and is no longer operational called True North Spraying Services Inc. This company was closed down in June 2014. I personally attempted to correct this issue with the Home Services company I own that offers similar and additional services when I legally was not obligated to. This customer does not seem to remember who they legally did business with and I receive no credit as a different company for even trying to assist them in correcting the problem.
Here are 2 links from well known websites one being a tv show that also describes this hairline cracking reality, you will note that both state that regardless of the quality of the product or the experience of the sprayer wood moves and causes expansion & contraction that is the underline cause of the problem:
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/asktoh/question/0,,452995,00.html
http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Hairline_Cracks_on_Painted_Cabinet_Doors.htmlIn this case the customer was given details as it relates to the problem they experienced in the quote and that despite every effort we make to ensure the best results the previous condition of the doors and the conditions of any home as it relates to humidity are well beyond our control and when that affects the final outcome it is also beyond our control. This customer either did not read or understand the quote or they are misrepresenting the situation for what it is to make us look like we don't care.
On Nov 13 2014 we received a review that clearly discusses the process we use to inform each and every customer, when a customer has or chooses to overlook these details and something does go wrong it is unfortunate they choose to ignore these details as has happened here.
I do personally spend a great deal of time educating people on the website, in our quotes and in subsequent emails, I also back up my workmanship as I take pride in that work, I however can't be held liable for issues any customer was warned could happen despite my best efforts to ensure the best results.
Unfortunately the customer waited very long to allow the repairs to take place & has not fully represented the facts of this job. The review is very vague and leaves out important details as it relates to their warranty. We however did repair these doors anyway.
The reasons for this cracking are outlined below and well beyond our control, we are NOT responsible for the care of the previous finish prior to respraying or the new finish after delivery, the conditions like but not limited to high heat, humidity, grease and overall cleanliness in any given home are well beyond our control and do affect any interior finish when not properly maintained.
An example of this is when a hot plate or cup leave a white ring on a table finish, heat & humidity do affect any finish that is not poly or plastic based. This is fact not something I conveniently make up.There are two types of cracking that can take place.
1. Cracks appear and the edges roll up and flake off ~ caused by poor adhesion whether contaminated wood or poor sanding prior to spraying.
2. Hairline cracking where the cracking is visible but hard to see and does not flake off immediately, this is caused by expansion & contraction of the wood due to heat & humidity or cleaning with hot water or chemical cleaning products. We recommend warm water & soap only to all customers.. Sooner or later moisture will get in these cracks and it too will flake off.
The warranty and timelines follow:
http://www.truenorthservices.ca/truenorthhomeservices/warranty
Timeline for One Year warranty:
Items picked up March 22 2014
Items Delivered April 5 2014
Hairline cracks on 7 pieces June 3 2014 & Reported
In home Visit to verify June 7 2014
Customer wanted to wait until after Father's Day to correct.
Customer then waited until November 2014 to make arrangements to fix, this allowed the problem to get worse, our policy is 30 days to fix issues once notified, we however accepted to still do the work. The items were picked up Jan 2015 after the holidays, each piece was sanded down to the wood where these issues existed and then primed & resprayed, the cracking was around the handles where they are touched frequently with hands that may have been and likely were contaminated with food debris and/or grease. There were no issues on the back sides of the doors, just the exposed outside surfaces.
The items were delivered back two weeks later cured with NO cracking issues.
The warranty expired upon delivery in 2015
Customer is reporting issues June 17 2015, 2+ months after the warranty expired for their doors based on the condition of their doors at the time of pick up. There updated review now says the problem happened 1 month after delivery however we were not notified at this time as the customer was told that due to the long wait the first time their warranty was not valid, as mentioned we did however offer to respray these items anyway to show we do care about the end product.
Warranty Info & Disclaimer:
http://www.truenorthservices.ca/truenorthhomeservices/warranty
http://www.truenorthservices.ca/wood-moisture-content-finishes
A FINAL NOTE:
I do take pride in the work I provide, I also take a great deal of time in my quotes and on the website to educate and inform customers of the realities of any finish and wood movement as well as how that can affect any finish.
Sometimes based on the old finish or conditions in a home problems arise like cracking. We always respond right away to address these issues and no review has stated otherwise.
As a professional we offer detailed information regarding correcting what is within our control.
Customers often overlook this information despite our quotes asking they ensure they read and understand the quote before accepting. Once quotes are accepted we still take every effort to educate and inform customers on what is taking place.
What is beyond our control is any customers ability to understand or follow our guidelines. Unfortunately we have had 3 reviews where the customer has failed to read & understand what can and does take place and subsequently we received negative reviews.
I accept responsibility for my workmanship it however happens that despite every effort on my part when customers fail to accept that conditions beyond my control do happen after they have been informed of the possibilities that I am the problem.
I personally believe that when an individual accepts terms and something goes wrong they too must accept responsibility for their part of the legal agreement. Unfortunately all 3 negative reviews don't seem to take any responsibility for not having followed or understood the information I have provided them in the quote and in subsequent emails and/or home visits.
This is the discouraging part of being in business, it is hard to defend oneself when individuals refuse to accept the terms they entered into and choose to lay blame elsewhere not accepting that their lack of attention to details played any roll in the final outcome. It becomes easier for them to lay blame on the professional despite every effort made by said professional to address in advance issues or problem or warranty details.
The 14 very positive reviews (all 10's) I have received are the complete opposite of what the negative reviews want you to believe and do show how I address quotes, questions and details regarding the work I perform.
There is no middle ground on these reviews they are either all 10's or zero's and the zero's all failed to follow the guidelines and information that the 10's clearly say exists when dealing with me.
It would be counter productive & plain stupid of me to randomly pick people to not offer the same level of service and details to.