What’s the Difference in Cabinet Materials

5 years ago

I’ve been reading a lot about people’s choice style in cabinets and was curious if you could tell me the difference in the materials for face frame and exterior cabinet sides, particularly between choices like engineered wood, plywood, and MDF.

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PRO
Dutch Design Cabinetry - Phoenix, Arizona
5 years ago
Hi Amy,

Cabinets are basically 2 parts. 1) Cabinet box or carcass and 2)Face frame and door/drawer fronts.

Boxes are typically plywood(best option) or particle board(typically in lower end cabinets). The face frames are always solid wood but the doors can vary 2 ways. If they are stained they will be solid wood. If they are painted it's very common for the entire door to be made from MDF(medium density fiberboard, similar to particle board). MDF won't allow the door to expand and contract with humidity causing cracks which become unsightly. Some manufacturers use solid wood on the frame of a door and MDF for the center panel for the same reason. It won't expand or contract.

It's very common for drawer boxes to be solid wood and have soft closing under mount drawer guides even in the basic "off the shelf" cabinets. Same goes for soft closing hinges too.

Basically if you really want your cabinets to last just stay away from particle board carcasses and particle board drawer boxes.

Hope this helps!
Helen
5 years ago
Cabinet boxes are either plywood or MDF. MDF is not the same as particle board which is low end. Much debated but many professionals do not think MDF is an inferior material to plywood and in fact is superior in some circumstances as it is more stable than wood if you are painting your cabinets.

The real test of quality is in terms of the construction of the cabinets especially items such as hardware used for drawers and how drawers are put together. The type of wood used for a door (if a door is wood) is a determinant of expense as certain wood species are more expensive. Another factor in expense would be how customizable a cabinet line is - the fewer options in general would correlate with a less expensive cabinet line.
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What’s the Difference in Cabinet Materials

Comments (2)

Dutch Design Cabinetry - Phoenix, Arizona

Helen

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