I was afraid of that =(((((((

I build cabinets and can tell you that quality cabinets should be 3/4 inch plywood carcass and the face frame should be solid wood, not plywood. In your first photo, it looks like it might be 1/2 inch plywood and worst of all, plywood face frame. What does your contract say the cabinets should be made of?

There appears to be nothing wrong with those cabinets. The 1950s called; they want their 3/4" thick plywood cabinets back.

They are definitely 1/2" thick. Just measured them. Nothing I can really do about it at this point. I'm assuming we just need to try and take good care of them to make sure they last as long as possible? What are the potential consequences of having 1/2" thickness vs 3/4". Joseph- thanks for your comment. Any advice you have? 1/2" is okay?

Everyone's definition of a 'good' cabinet will differ. If you want it to be somewhat equivalent to a mid-grade semi-custom, then you're pretty close to that! Not quite Kraftmaid's finish but the end panels are plywood not PB. Many semi-custom cabinets have 1/2" end panels. Kraftmaid has 1/2" engineered (PB) wood end panels as a standard. I'm sure your kitchen will turn out great. I have done several kitchens with Asian imported cabinets. The brand I carry is actually pretty nice and we put them in $200-250k new homes. Are your cabinets J&K? Look at the center panel of the door. Is it a 'reversed raised panel" which is nice, thick and sturdy? Or is is a thin panel?

Now if your expectations were Kraftmaid or better......or custom quality with all wood, wood interior, blum guides, perfect finish...then you did not get that. You would have had to pay quite a bit more for that. If you plan to sell in 2-5 years, you made a good choice. For KraftMaid, take what you paid and add 50%. For Kraftmaid Vantage All wood series, take what you paid and almost double it....add another 75%.

Look at the voids in that ply. Low grade dreck. Look at no glue used to connect. Look at the hardware.

Not much you can do at this state other than just go with laminate counters on top. You may be removing them sooner than later, and you don’t want stone in the way.

Good grief. Custom cabinets are still built with 3/4 inch plywood. Those cabinets are below good custom cabinets but above the cheap line at Home Depot. They're low grade plywood at least, not mdf. The cabinet in the first photo doesn't look like the other two. The face frame bottom rail is unfinished and looks like plywood, and has been attached to the side of the carcass. The second photo shows the face frame dadoed to accept the side of the carcass - a better way to securely attach and it covers the raw edge of the plywood.

The first photo face frame is unpainted and looks like it might have been cobbled together to fix an error. Can't tell what kind of wood the second photo frame is, probably a hardwood of some type.

1/2 ply is fine for small cabinets that won't be carrying any weight. I wouldn't want granite on a cabinet over 36" made of 1/2 ply.

" 1/2" is okay?"

It is perfectly fine and will support any countertop as well as 3/4".

DuPont quit making 3/4" Corian twenty years ago. Why? Just like cabinets, it was a waste of material/money.

Just for reference, I have an uninstalled all-wood Kraftmaid cabinet in my garage. (Can’t install due to a warped door so we’re waiting on a replacement.)

fidlfreek:

Measure that plywood, please. It doesn't look like 3/4" to me.

And why would a cabinet not be installed over a warped door? Why not just install the cabinet and replace the door?

3/4" ply is needed for frameless cabinets because there is no face frame to add structure. Those cabs have a face frame and will be fine with 1/2" ply sides. If your contractor is doing the assembly tell him you want glue used. That will improve the quality. Screws instead of nails would improve quality. Confirmat screws preferred. . . . .If they're Chinese the painted finish is likely going to be the weak point. A couple years and you'll see.

I'm not a cabinet maker but I think the first pic is of the back of a cabinet. If the finish is good those cabinets look fine. No way to really tell from those pics...

Joe - we’re reworking that side of the kitchen cabinets to add a proper hood. This is a new cabinet, just arrived, and the door is warped. HD is debating whether to send a new door or what, so we’re waiting. I will go measure. It is not a frameless cabinet, so maybe you’re right.

fidlfreek:

Did you place a straightedge against the door to see if it is warped?

Cabinet look identical in construction to the ones that were in this house. They're plenty sturdy. If you're going to top with stone, I would suggest solid backs--1/4-1/2" glued and stapled onto the backs. (Not certain but looks like an open back in the first photo.)