Help! Wood vs MDF cabs!
akl_vdb
10 years ago
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CEFreeman
10 years agoakl_vdb
10 years agoRelated Discussions
MDF center panel vs. all wood for painted white cabinets?
Comments (3)You WILL see minute cracks where the rails and stiles meet on an all wood door, as well as where the panel is inserted into those stiles and rails. That's just how wood behaves in the presence of moisture--including your wood floors. They too will gap in the winter and potentially cup in the summer. It can be controlled a bit more if you use AC in the summer and use a humidifier in the winter, but nothing on the planet will stop it. Choosing wood stiles and rails with MDF panel will stop most of the cracking at the joint where the panel meets the stiles and rails, but it won't stop the cracking where the stiles meet the rails. If the natural expansion and contraction of wood will drive you crazy then don't get wood. Get an all MDF door that is routed to resemble a recessed panel door or raised panel door or whatever you are looking at. And then choose thermofoil if you want a "perfect" paint job too. Because even sprayed MDF will still not be 100% perfect. It's about as good as you get for smooth paint, but thermofoil is smoother and more even still....See MoreER need help...cherry vs. painted cabs/we don't agree!
Comments (25)oruboris: I don't agree. We do have stained cabinets, not because of any trend, but rather because they fit with our decor. Following your logic, since the 50's stained cabinets have been the norm. There are probally a far higher precentage of stained cabinets in kitchens today than painted ones. I suppose that makes stained cabinets, um, ... well common? And cherry? Often refered to as timless, I suppose that must mean in the next decade or so it will become, um, ...well...tired, and then tiresome? And berryberry: When is the last time you tried to strip off a modern stain finish so that you could paint over your cabinets? Easier said than done. In any case, if your kitchen works well, looks new, has a reasonable level of quality componets, and feels good to you and yours, it will take decades before it will become dated. Only a few trends in kitchen design have not lasted over the past 50 years, painted and/or stained cabinets are not on that list, but Avacado green is. :-)...See MoreHelp choose wood for kitchen cab fronts!
Comments (2)Thankyou Jon, You are absolutely right-frameless with slab fronts, couldn't think of the right names at the time. I also realized after I posted that I should have used the word product rather than wood as I think it would be tough getting solid wood horizontal grain doors. I'm open to all suggestions and the veneered MDF sounds like a good one. It's not necessary that the grain be horizontal either it's just that I want a very simple even look to the fronts. The carbonized compressed vertical stranded bamboo is absolutely stunning. The carbonization is a process they put it thru that causes some sort of reaction with the natural sugars in the plant that gives it it's darker colour so the colour goes all the way thru rather than just on the surface like a stain. It's a medium toned brown (not pale like most bamboo one sees), very little red/orange with lighter and darker striations (strands). We agonized over floor choice as we each had different ideas but when we saw this we knew it was for us. It doesn't have the "knuckles" that are so prominent in the horizontal bamboo and is extremely stable. Because of the varied striations, options for cab colour are quite open, from light to dark however I'm thinking medium(preferably) to lighter as we are in the woods and I'm afraid that a dark finish (black would be lovely-my first choice but DH won't go for it) would be too dark even though our kitchen is quite large and open to rest of house with high vaulted ceilings. Thx again Biner By the way we poured sample slabs of concrete this week and I am so excited. They are going to be beautiful and for first timers I'm amazed at how easy it is and how well they turned out. Can't wait to post some pictures....See MorePlywood vs. MDF and Thermofoil vs. Veneer..... ??
Comments (7)My last two kitchens were painted cabinets. IMO the MDF doors are superior in a painted application. They don't swell and shrink. Thus, no cracked paint lines. MDF is not particle board. That's where people get all tripped up. Get some information on good MDF. It's an excellent product. I've been using MDF in cabinet boxes rather than plywood for a while now. I've had three excellent custom cabinet makers advise it's use in three of my kitchens. They used both plywood and MDF in their products. It didn't matter to them on way or the other. But, they all believed that I would appreciate the stability of the MDF in the long term and advised me accordingly. People get all tripped up over plywood versus MDF....See Moreakl_vdb
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