>>Not sure how you can have adjustable shelves in particle board- (is that a possibility?) Not only do I have 19 yr old particleboard kitchen cabs in perfect shape (Kraftmaid frameless Euro6 line), I've owned painted particleboard bookcases for over 30 years, lugging them around from place to place. And yes, the KM cabs are completely adjustable with pins, no problem. There IS a difference in quality to look for. 3/4" is not as good as 1" (you can see some of the thinner particleboard cubes below show some bowing, although at 19 yrs in the same configuration they have yet to fall apart). And high-density is a lot better than low-density. Here's a photo of a mix of 3/4" and 1" bookcases and cubes. Notice the 2-shelf unit on the bottom LH, of 1" board? One of the oldest ones I have, it has been loaded with those extraordinarily heavy art and coffeetable books for thirty years. If you stacked up all the books that are on one shelf there, it's 30" high and I'll bet no person here would be able to lift them all at once. BTW, ignore the tilt in some of the vertical stacked cubes - we used L-brackets to bolt each individual piece to the wall for earthquake proofing, so it tilted some of the cubes forward as we worked upwards. Also, these are only half of the bookcases; we have 8 full-height teak-veneered particleboard bookcases in other rooms, also heavily loaded, and all over 20 yrs old. I can assure you, having moved these books and bookcases around several intracity relocations, each one of those bookshelves is holding much more weight than is being held on my fully-loaded, 75-lb capacity rollout KM pantry shelves in the kitchen. Lousy quality particleboard will bend under the weight of a few folded sweaters - I can attest to that, I've owned some of it (and had to throw it out). OTOH, lousy quality plywood is just as bad. We also own the "solid wood" Home Depot Masterbath bathroom cabs - what crappy plywood it is! 1/2" ply so flimsy, I was surprised it managed to support the weight of the double sink countertop without crashing to the floor. You'd better believe I'd never stand on the Masterbath cabs - but I have stood on the KM cabs without any problems, and at 230 lbs. I'm not exactly lightweight. The point made about the quality of interior veneers is an excellent one, and far too often overlooked. The interior veneer used by KM in 1989 is far superior to what they use now. I put dishes away wet and even had a six-month slow leak in our sink cab that did no damage outside of a quarter-sized bubble raised in the veneer, no substrate damage. There is an additional cost to using particleboard that should be noted - you should never go over 30" wide without a - I don't know the right woodworking term - front vertical support slat? - to help prevent the shelves from bowing. Plywood can go 36-48" in width, depending upon board thickness and weight capacity desired. Therefore, you should use more, slightly narrow cabs in particleboard, than you can use in plywood. That is the ONLY advantage of plywood, IMHO, coming from someone who has put frameless particleboard boxes through a lot more heavy use than most people ever manage. Being able to use fewer, larger cabs can sometimes save enough $$ to be worth the upgrade cost, for those who prefer plywood anyway. Plywood cabs are lighter and easier to DIY. Installers hate particleboard because it takes 2-3 people to do the install and it's a lot more heavy work. But either material IF of good quality, will be able to last so long you'll get tired of it before you'll see it disintegrate.

I was in the high end cabinet business for 20 years. I have seen solid wood doors grow as much as 1/4" with high humidity. The reason most cabinet doors are made as raised panels is that the largest portion of solid wood is the panel-which will grow the most. There is a recess inside the four frame members which allows the wood center panel to grow without splitting the door apart. I have seen some flat solid wood doors, but they are a problem waiting to happen if there are humidity swings. The factory that I represented was considered one of the finest in the country. They offered plywood construction and MDF construction. Most people opted for the plywood. The funny thing is that the owner of the company felt that MDF made a better cabinet. The wood veneer lied on the MDF smoother and the MDF was more stable than the plywood. That being said, there are different grades of plywood and MDF, so keep that in mind. Solid wood cabinet boxes are a huge mistake unless the sides are raised panel.

I know this is a little late but it may help someone in the future. I work for a cabinet company and our in-house line comes standard with upgraded plywood boxes. See here: http://www.citycabinetcenter.com/lotus-cabinetry.shtml AND they are on the lower scale in price. The drawback is they are 'what you see is what you get' (color & style). So if you shop around you may find some like these or if anyone is in San Diego come visit us! I hope you like your new kitchen! Here is a link that might be useful: City Cabinet Center

People pay an upgrade fee to use plywood because of wood prejudice. That belief costs them money. Hopefully, this will save them money. Or, allow them to reallocate the funds into an upgrade that they want. Yes, there are different grades. But most any mid level grade manufacturer and up uses the 45 lb and up board that is Carb II certified. For custom, you would need to ask.