Cabinet interiors - should they be maple or white melamine??
Jerri Blank
4 years ago
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Aqua Kitchen and Bath Design Center
4 years agoUser
4 years agoRelated Discussions
melamine or plywood for interiors of cabinets??
Comments (16)I'd rather have solid wood furniture, but I'd rather have melamine kitchen cabinets. That's because the melamine is easy to clean and structurally sound enough for years and years of wear. (My old cabinets were about 25 years old, and they were holding up just fine.) I do understand why people buy plywood cabinets, because they do look nice. But for someone like me, whose budget is limited, melamine seems like a no-brainer. All the functionality (or nearly all, depending on your viewpoint) and reasonable looks at a decent price. I would not choose to give up anything else in my kitchen to get plywood cabinets. (Obviously, your priorities may be different, and your budget may be larger.:) Calypsochick, in the U.S., plywood is usually considered to be better quality. In Europe, as I understand it, virtually all cabinets are made from particle board, so it's not considered an inferior material. Even in the U.S., there are tons of cabinets made from particle board that hold up just fine. Most cabinets sold at big box stores are particle board; most cabinet manufacturers, including higher-end cabinets like Wood-Mode, make particle board cabinets. All of the slick, high-end modern kitchens (at least, I think all), are particle board. Virtually all of the closet systems, garage systems, and laundry room cabinets are made of particle board. Manufacturers use construction methods suited to particle board, such as Confirmat fasteners. I don't think you have to be concerned with your cabinets, no matter what you choose. Say the worst happens, and a particle board shelf sags a bit. Well, I'd just flip it over....See MoreCabinet interiors: ply or melamine?
Comments (11)Melamine is not a universal substance with a known definition. It is a coating. Cabinet interiors can be coated in melamine, a veneer with a finish layer or vinyl. Almost no one does hard laminate interiors anymore or paint. Melamine can use plywood or particle board or osd or even mdf as a base material (altho, my guess is the poster above who spoke of mdf meant medium density particle board. The actual melamine coating can vary between the type on the cheapest u-put-it-together desk and up. In a quality cabinet, its on medium density particle board. Short, not professional description of the base materials: Neat layers in alternating directions = plywood Finely ground cardboard = mdf (medium density fiberboard) Finely ground sawdust (little, tiny sawdust flecks, very uniform) = medium density particle board Sawdust with varing sizes bound in glue = particle board little slices of wood, not neatly arranged = osb or chip board or flake board Rather than get caught up in even more technicalities (standards? what standards?), ask for a scrap of the melamine coated stuff (about 6 x 6), take it home and put a glass of ice water on it and leave it outside overnight. The substrate and the coating should have no perceivable damage in the morning altho you might see a damp ring that goes away within a short period of time after you dry the piece....See MoreRefinishing Cabinets: How-to Melamine Interior?
Comments (9)Bmorepanic: that looks perfect! Unfortunately it can't be bought in California :( as an update i ended up picking up an Alkyd paint from Home Depot and its related primer. I'm just going to paint it in the end. ConTact is what's in there now and it looks like crap now. Formica/Veneer: not a bad option at all, but I will have to stain it and i really don't want to get into staining. wIll report back after the project to let you know how it goes!...See MoreShould I paint our maple cabinets white?
Comments (21)It would be a HUGE bummer to paint those cabinets. I agree pop out the wood valance over the window...if the finish wear is just around the handles--how easy to pop the door off and take them in to be refinished...IDK maple but back in the day we had a similar issue on our beautiful oak cabinets. I LIGHTLY sanded them all down, wiped them down with a light hit of stain them re-polyed them. It was an easy DIY. For sure you can't paint yourself and the cost will be HUGE, ya gotta love what's there to invest that money in them. You might find it costs what it did 30 years ago when you purchased the cabinets!!...See Morecpartist
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4 years agoPatricia Colwell Consulting
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4 years agoHome Art Tile Kitchen & Bath
4 years agoFoshan Yubang Cabinets
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
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