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Solid Wood vs Veneer....

13 years ago

Hi,

I'm usually on the Bathrooms Forum, however, since there is so much "talk" about cabinetry here, I thought I would repost my question here.

I'm looking at slab solid wood cabinetry for my bathroom vanity and a designer yesterday said "absolutely do not put slab solid doors in a humid atmosphere". We live at the shore (not beachfront) and he said that based on his experience a better alternative is wood veneer or get another type of wood door...not slab.

The 2 other designers that I consulted with said nothing of the sort and I'm now confused.

Any thoughts??

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Comments (4)

ideagirl2
13 years ago
We're getting solid doors in our kitchen, from an Amish cabinetmaker (i.e. someone who really knows wood and cabinets, which may not be the case for your designer). The cabinetmaker said the walls and shelves should be plywood because of the humid atmosphere, but solid doors were fine.

I also saw solid wood doors in a 60+ year old kitchen--a high-end 1940s kitchen that hadn't been touched since--and they looked beautiful. And this was in Michigan, which gets very humid in the summer, on top of the fact it was in a kitchen.
jakabedy
13 years ago
I think what you often see as "solid" today is really strips of the wood joined together so that it has the appearance of a slab, but not the warping issues. That may be what your cabinetmaker is referring to. So your comparison is really "solid" vs. "veneer" rather than "slab" vs. "veneer".

What I think you have in your mind is a true "slab" of wood, as in, cut in one piece from a tree. I don't think I'd want a true "slab" of wood as a cabinet door, especially by the water.

Now, when you hear folks refer to "slab" doors, they are really just referring to a style of door that is flat with no insets, stiles, raised panels, etc. That "slab" door could be solid or veneer.

Confused already?
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bob_am
13 years ago
Listen to that designer (at least about the door issue). The humidity is from the bath/shower. A "solid slab", either one big piece of wood or multiple pieces glued up, will expand & contract, and maybe warp. A "veneered slab" won't do either. The other type of doors are solid wood in a 'frame & panel' design, which hides shrinking & swelling, and prevents warp.
rsvlle-nj
Original Author
13 years ago
I've looked at Omega-Dynasty, Medallion, KitchenCraft & Neff.

The solid wood doors, in slab or otherwise, all show seams, or strips, of wood. I've been told the "strips" is what identifies the door as being a solid piece of wood vs veneer. So I agree with you. The veneers have a much more uniform look without the "strips" and if it matters to someone...the door front and drawer front can have the grain running in the same direction or not.

Right now, I'm leaning towards doing a slab veneer front with a plywood box. I don't want to deal with warping issues later on down the road and in a slab door I like that the veneers do not show the "strips".

My kitchen cabinets are all wood as the humidity is not an issue in the kitchen.

Trying to get unconfused!!

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