Last month's laminate order nearly ruined a kitchen job

I put in a big order with my usual supplier back in September for a full kitchen reno over on Maple Drive. When the laminate sheets arrived, the grain didn't match across any of the four panels. I called them up and they said it was from a different production run and their system didn't flag it. I had already cut the first cabinet door before I noticed one sheet was way lighter than the rest. The client was coming by for a walkthrough the next morning and I had to stall her for three extra days while they rushed a replacement. That mistake cost me about 14 hours of wasted labor and $200 in scrap material. Has anyone else had a supplier ship mismatched material without telling you?

2 comments

2 Comments

blake_cooper6d ago

That sounds like a real headache with the mismatched grain.

-1

kim_martin22h ago

Used to think matching grain was just some fancy woodworker obsession, people making a big deal out of nothing. Then I had to do a simple repair on a walnut tabletop, grabbed a piece that was close enough, and it stuck out like a sore thumb. Completely messed up the whole flow of the wood, looked like a patch job instead of a fix. Changed my whole view on it real quick. Grain matching is like the difference between a repair and a restoration, total headache if you get it wrong.