What to Know About Selecting Cabinets: Construction

Cabinet selection is HARD. There are web articles all over stating that plywood is superior to particle board or vice versa. You'll read about dovetail drawers and undermount drawer slides, soft-close, and solid doors vs. plywood panels.  

Here's the thing... Not all particle board, solid wood, or plywood are created equal. I was assisting a homeowner recently who was so excited that they'd found a stock cabinet warehouse with "solid wood construction" and dovetail drawers. That makes this quality better than Ikea and just as good as the pricier stock items, right? Nope. See, after a little research, I found that their solid wood was Walnut. Wait, what? On the Janka Hardness Chart, walnut is easily on the softer side of wood. Not exactly the top preference to hold my heavy pots & pans!

I would take no less than maple interiors in a solid construction.

Then you have the dovetail drawers. In general, dovetail is a sign of a good quality joint, but take a look (feel) at those joints. Is it rough? Are you getting slivers? The level of care that is put into these details makes a world of difference.  

Solid Wood vs. Particle board vs. Plywood vs. MDF

I'm going to be straight with you on this. We often hear requests for solid wood because, well, it sounds better. Truly, this is often done for looks (and these looks can be achieved with a much more dependable veneer). There are pros and cons to each. Solid wood may warp over time and is sensitive to changes in humidity, but the strength is superior.

MDF & Solid Ply cabinets used on two of our projects.

Particleboard shows us larger pieces of material

Depending on the glue used, particle board can be amazing, or a complete nightmare.  Particle board is a lower density board with large chips of wood. The nature of low-density materials is that they are more porous and susceptible to moisture. Particle board has a great place in the world of construction because it holds screws well and offers soundproofing properties.

Plywood IS solid wood. It's just layered. Honestly, this usually makes it   stronger, because when it's layered, it's done in alternating directions. You want plywood for shelves, drawer bottoms, and the cabinet box. So, if someone is actually using solid wood construction, rather than plywood, we have a problem. 

MDF and HDF (Medium Density Fiberboard and High Density Fiberboard) are created from sawdust and glue, then placed under high pressure to create an eco-friendly, lightweight material that is inexpensive. It is smooth, and offers a great substrate for painting. MDF can be a great substrate for a wood veneer to give a nice, smooth finish, and when layered with plywood, this offers stability that is less likely to warp.

I like to see an MDF/HDF plywood combined with solid wood plies for quality stability cabinets that are lighter weight and easy to work with.

Let’s be honest, all of these products are wood, and wood and moisture do not have a pattern of behaving well together (for the most part). In the end, it is how the wood is treated and the surface around that wood that will tell us how it will behave in terms of moisture.

Wood Finishes 

I like to know if a stain is applied by hand or machine. A hand-applied stain has a more fluid appearance rather than the factory look of a uniform too-even application. The advantage to the hand application is the experienced eye, watching for imperfections and ensuring stain doesn't puddle in crevices. 

If you're looking at a painted finish, it may be worth looking into a company that can provide a factory finish. They bake on the paint and the quality you receive from this process is unsurpassable. As a side note, if you have small children or pets that could  scratch at the cabinets, paint may not be the best route for you. 

Th-Th-Th-That's all Folks! Happy Hunting. 

Check out our article: What to Know About Selecting Cabinets: Framed, Frameless, or inset?