Why Are My Cabinets Cracking? (Find Out Now!)

Ossiana Tepfenhart
by Ossiana Tepfenhart

Growing up in a Romanian home meant that I naturally had a certain level of superstition, and one of the most dreaded ones is hearing cabinetry crack in the home. It’s considered to be an omen of death in my family. As I got older, I realized that this isn’t always the case. Cabinets sometimes just crack, but why they do it should be concerning.

Cracking cabinets are usually caused by expansion and contraction sparked by changes in moisture levels. It can also be caused by cabinets being overburdened by too much weight, as well as by a major shift in your home from an earthquake.

Hearing the cabinets crack or seeing the cabinet’s paint crack can make you worry about your home’s integrity. Or, it can make you freak out for superstitious reasons. It’s time to shed some light on this phenomenon, don’t you think?

Do You Need to Hire Cabinet Installers?

Get free, zero-commitment quotes from pro contractors near you.

Why Are My Cabinets Starting To Crack?

Technically, there are several reasons why your cabinets might be cracking. We’re going to take a look at the most common and try to help you figure out what you can do for each.

Home’s Moisture Levels

The most common reason for cracks in cabinetry is adjusting to the moisture levels in your home. Water in the air gets absorbed by wood, which makes it expand. Then, water levels reduce, making the wood shrink back to its original size. As this happens over and over, the paint and other parts of your cabinet’s finish will lose their ability to expand and contract.

This is what usually causes paint cracks and stain cracks. If your cabinets are starting to physically crack, then it’s often a matter of the house settling over decades. It takes a while for it to get to that point, though, unless you recently had a flood.

Too Much Weight

Cabinets are almost always made of hardwood or reinforced softwoods. That’s by design, you know. Having sturdy woods will allow you to store more stuff in the cabinets, but even hickory cabinets have their own limits. If you add more weight than what your cabinets can bear, then you’re going to start hearing and seeing cracks.

Cracks happen because the wood is starting to break. Worried you have too much stuff weighing your cabinets down? There are often warning signs you might see that occur prior to the cracking. These issues suggest that too much weight is the problem:

  • You’re noticing that the wood is starting to bend. If it’s bending in the middle, it’s due to excess weight.
  • The maximum payload on your cabinet has clearly less than what you have. This is kind of a niche situation, but if you know how much your cabinetry weighs and you decided to store your barbell collection in your cabinet, then you should probably stop that.
  • Something in your gut generally tells you to stop putting things in there. Listen, I’ve been in that situation. I know it happens.

Structural Damage

This is the third rarest cause for cabinets to crack, but it’s still something that should be worth mentioning. In many parts of the country, earthquakes are a major cause for concern. If you live on a fault line or have earthquake insurance, then you already know what I’m talking about.

A single earthquake can do some serious damage to the structure of your house. At times, it can make cabinets fall, or have stuff fall on cabinets. If the impact of the movement or falling stuff is big enough, then your cabinets (and the paint around the impact area) can crack.

How Do You Prevent Cabinet Cracking?

So, with this issue, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. These quick and handy tips will help you prevent cracks from showing on your cabinetry:

  • Keep a humidifier on. Humidity isn’t the enemy here. It’s a friend! Humidity that is kept at a constant level will prevent the contractions that often happen during the night. This, in turn, means that you will have less cracking and a more stable set of cabinets.
  • Use painters caulk on cracks you find, then add another clear coat. If you have cracks already, your job is now to make sure that they don’t get worse. Painters caulk helps keep the cracks from getting worse, and another top coat will help lock in moisture.
  • Don’t hesitate to oil or polish your wooden cabinets. We’ve all seen wood that is super dry for one reason or another. This is a hazard for more reasons than just one. The best thing you can do to preserve the furniture is to add some orange oil to your cabinetry.
  • Fix cabinetry when it breaks. Let’s say that you have a cabinet that has been affected by a heavy item dropped on its surface. While your cabinetry might seem fine, the truth is that it’s probably gotten a little dinged up. Take a closer look at it and feel the areas around it. If you notice chips or breaks, it may be time to replace that part of the cabinet.
  • Report and address water damage ASAP. Floods are nightmarish when it comes to keeping your woodwork intact. It literally weakens your wood and saturates it, causing the wood to expand and contract unevenly. Wood and water don’t mix! The sooner you dry off your cabinets and treat the water damage, the more likely it is you can salvage it.

Are Cabinet Cracks Something To Worry About?

While they might not be the prettiest things to look at, the vast majority of cabinetry cracks are nothing to worry about. Much like how your home will settle at night, cabinets have a tendency of settling too. In most cases, the little cracks and chips you see in paint will be able to self-remedy by just waiting until humidity levels rise again.

The only time that you should worry about cracks in your cabinetry is when you notice structural damage alongside it. Cabinet cracks accompanied by visible tears in the wood, warping, or slants suggest that your cabinets have seen a lot of damage.

Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Broken Cabinets?

Broken cabinets are generally not covered unless they were harmed by an outside influence—such as a tornado, hurricane, or fire. If your cabinets got busted as a result of regular wear and tear, don’t bother trying to file a claim. They won’t cover it. Maintaining your cabinetry is part of your burden as a homeowner.

It’s worth noting that you probably can find out the specifics of your coverage through reading your policy. You might be surprised at what is and isn’t a part of it.

When Should You Replace Your Cabinets?

In most situations, cabinets can last for anywhere from 15 to 35 years without needing to be replaced. However, there are several moments where replacing your cabinetry can make more sense. If you notice warping, breakage, or have had your cabinets literally fall off the wall, chances are you need to replace them.

Moreover, homes that are affected by floods should take a closer look at replacing cabinetry. Any time that you’ve left your cabinets in disrepair is a time that you should consider either giving your cabinets an overhaul or replacing them outright.

Do You Need to Hire Cabinet Installers?

Get free, zero-commitment quotes from pro contractors near you.


Related Questions

What hides cabinet cracks more, paint or stain?

If you want to hide the signs of cracking in your cabinet’s covering, the best thing that you can do is to use stain. Both paint and stain crack about the same amount over the course of years. However, stain tends to show cracks in a more subtle way. As a result, they tend to be easier to hide.Paint shows cracks too, but it tends to be a bold and more noticeable look. This is especially true with high-gloss lacquer, since it reflects light off the surface.


Are there any cabinet materials that don’t crack?

Yes! While most woods and MDF will end up cracking once in a while, the truth is that there are other options that can help prevent your cabinets from ever getting a crack. There are plenty of cabinets currently on the market that are made from metal. And, let’s all be honest, metal does not crack.Along with being crack-proof, metal is very easy to clean. This makes metal cabinetry one of the most popular choices for business areas that require a kitchen.


Should you caulk your cabinet door panels before you paint them?

Caulking your cabinet doors is a smart move, 100 percent of the time. The caulk helps keep the surface of your doors even and ensures that any cracks that could have happened are filled in before the paint even hits the door. If you want to have an ultra-smooth and crack-free surface, use caulk before you apply a full coat of paint.Any type of white or paintable caulk will help your cabinet’s primer to take hold. When in doubt, ask a hardware store employee which type of caulk they’d want to use.

Ossiana Tepfenhart
Ossiana Tepfenhart

Ossiana Tepfenhart is an expert writer, focusing on interior design and general home tips. Writing is her life, and it's what she does best. Her interests include art and real estate investments.

More by Ossiana Tepfenhart

Next