JSI Cabinets (Looking for affordable, White, non-particle board)
Andrew
14 years ago
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writersblock (9b/10a)
14 years agocaryscott
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Plywood or particle board boxes on your kitchen cabs?
Comments (36)>>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....See MoreAffordable white kitchen - RTA?
Comments (28)Jen, You mention early on that you are interested in frameless cabinets because they allow a more efficient use of the space that you have. Later in a comment about Ikea you state you are leary of them because they are made of particle board (its true they are) So I don't see why you would even consider either of the two options offered by your local lumberyard, given that: 1) They are both a face frame style, not frameless, and 2) Despite what the represententive at the lumber yard seems to have been claiming, both cabinet line are constructed almost exclusively from particle board (going by the images and details they list on their websites). The tops, sides, bottoms, shelves, and toekicks are all particle board, (and for the most part 1/2" particle board) that is glued and stapled together. The only parts of the cabinets that is not particle board, is the face frame, the drawer boxes and the doors and drawer fronts. Of the two the Debut cabinets seem to have slightly superior construction (again going by the images and details they list on their websites) Although in looking at it, the two "manufacturers" are actully two lines manufactured by the same company, which explains why many of the details of the construction seem so similar. Also if you read this site alot you'll find that in base cabinets: drawers == good whereas doors with shelves behind them == bad. If you have a smallish kitchen this can make an enormous difference in the amount of usuable storage you have. Lastly don't take what I have said as an attack on particle board, (some of my best friends have particle board cabinets :-) Many people who post here point out that details of the construction and details of the material are far more important than whether a cabinet is particle board or not. The cheapest plywood will fall apart long before high quality particle board. Ikea cabinets are touted as very high-quality, well-built cabinets, the one big complaint about them is that many people don't like any of the limited number of door styles that they offer....See MoreDoes anyone have painted white cabinets that have held up?
Comments (39)With regard to Thermofoil option: Yikes! I have yet to see a high quality option. The product is basically a sheet of plastic, printed to look either like wood or a high gloss lacquer. The MDF or particle board door is shaped and then a heater is applied to shape the sheet of plastic over the top and around the sides of the face. It is cooled and cut off along the back edge. Any cabinet next to an oven or dishwasher, will have issues. Period. Over time the sides tend to delaminate and you will get lifting and loose looking edges. Eventually they rip. Trying to match one, if something breaks a door is very difficult and expensive. If your cabinet line offers a free touch up kit- that is wonderful! Just imagine that when your counter top is being installed, they accidentally bump a door face. This is not a warning of an inferior finish- it is a thoughtful manufacturer....See Morecommand center: white board/chalkboard/glass?
Comments (26)Kids will be using it in the sense that they will look at it (hopefully), but idk that they will be writing much. The door you see actually goes to the foyer, and we have a mail basket in there. At the other end of the kitchen, we built a little closet (which I love), so we're set for coats. I haven't measured the width of the hallway (and I'm upstairs right now), but it's too narrow for anything other than a board or painted surface. Baskets or something would be nice, but they would probably just get knocked off the wall. One of the reasons I'm doing this is that I don't want stuff on the fridge anymore. We have an old, beat-up dry erase board for a shopping list, and I want it gone. We used to have a paper calendar on that wall, but I like the idea of a bigger, reusable one. And I want space for chores/reminders, plus just a little room to attach a few short-term things like permission slips. Basically, when anyone has a question, I want to be able to say "go look in the hallway." I also think with a big calendar, the kids will be more likely to actually look at it and be able to plan. I used to have a weekly dry erase calendar for one of the kids, and that was helpful, but I want to do it on a bigger scale....See Morenessie1020
14 years agoAndrew
14 years agowritersblock (9b/10a)
14 years agopharaoh
14 years agobirkie_2006
14 years agodeedee-2008
14 years agoanon_girl
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14 years agosue_ct
14 years agoagaya
9 years agoJoseph Corlett, LLC
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9 years agoFrank
8 years agoUser
8 years agoWalcraft Cabinetry
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agojscism
4 years agoGeraldine Jozwik
3 years agoWalcraft Cabinetry
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoGeraldine Jozwik
3 years agoSusan Murin
3 years agoGeraldine Jozwik
3 years agoGeraldine Jozwik
3 years agoWalcraft Cabinetry
3 years agoGeraldine Jozwik
3 years agoCentral Cabinets LLC
3 years agoWalcraft Cabinetry
3 years agoNeil Karamchandani
3 years agoCentral Cabinets LLC
3 years agoChristian La Salle
3 years agoChristian La Salle
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoStan N
3 years agolast modified: 3 years ago
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