Standard Thermofoil Cabinet Door Warranty

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If you have MDF vinyl kitchen cabinet doors it’s a good idea to check them for damage. The standard warranty information for most Thermofoil companies is in this article. There are two places that these doors will naturally start coming unglued.

If your kitchen is less than five years old, you should give the doors a test every now and again to see if the vinyl coating is coming loose. In this article, you will learn what is covered in the standard warranty and how to check your vinyl wrapped doors in comparison to your rights.

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Common MDF Cabinet Door Names
Through the years this style cabinet door has acquired several different names that basically mean the same thing.

• PVC Doors
• Vinyl Wrapped
• Vinyl Clad
• Thermofoil
• MDF Plastic Coated

Standard Vinyl Wrapped Door Warranty
Most manufactures of this style cupboard door have a five year warranty that covers occurrences of discoloration and delamination. They will only replace the damaged doors and not cover the labor costs associated with removing the old doors from your kitchen cabinets and then installing the new ones.

You will have to hire a cabinet professional to handle this task. Most companies will generally pick up the costs of shipping the new Thermofoil cabinet doors.

There also may be a guarantee against a certain amount of warpage. The main company I deal with warrants their MDF doors for anything that has over a three sixteenths (3/16”) of an inch curve in the door.

Delamination

Checking for Loose Edges
To check the edges of the cupboard doors to see if they are starting to come loose, gently run your fingers across them on the backside. If any of them seem loose start checking all edges on every door. Usually, when one loose edge is discovered many others will be found also.

Loose edges are not acceptable. Once the edges start coming unglued, then eventually the entire piece of vinyl will come loose. Apply your warranty rights and get them replaced.

Checking the Face Panels
Using your ring or index finger, tap lightly all over the face of your cabinet doors. Make sure to tap in the raised panel groove area. If any of the vinyl has begun to come loose from the MDF solid wood panel beneath, there will be a hollow sound. The difference in sound will be very apparent from the areas that are glued fast and the ones that are coming loose.

If you still have a couple of years on your warranty, you may want to wait a few months because eventually more will get loose. Most door manufactures will not replace an entire set of kitchen cabinet doors unless a majority rules.

Discoloration
Checking the doors for discoloration is just a matter of looking for any yellowing that has begun. This is really only going to be apparent with the white colored Thermofoil doors. Over the past fifteen years, I’ve never had to replace MDF doors due to them yellowing or discoloring in any way.

Check for Warpage
To check to see if your doors are warped, look down the edge. If you notice a curve, take the door off of the cupboard and place a long straight edge, such as a level on top of it.

Look to see how larger the gap is from the door to the level. If it exceeds the allowable dimension of the MDF door supplier, have them replaced.

Not all companies are going to have the same warranty for MDF Thermofoil doors. The five year guarantee seems to be the standard that is the most common among most PVC door manufactures. If you are uncertain, contact your kitchen cabinet supplier and find out.

Video on How to Fix Loose Edges on Thermofoil Doors

If by chance you are not sure who made your cabinet doors, read this article on finding Thermofoil cabinet door replacements.

It’s very important to keep checking your MDF kitchen, vanity or office cabinetry doors to see if the vinyl is coming loose. You really want to make sure that you keep up with this because if you don’t, you may just be out of luck if your warranty has passed and you discover loose vinyl.