Plywood or Particleboard?
Question:Fellow kitchen designers...
I've been in the business for 5 years now. Clients have it in their heads that plywood construction cabinets are the only way to go. Do you agree? I don't think I do. Seems to me that particleboard is made SO much better than it used to be. It's thicker, well sealed/laminated and is more dense than the old 1/2" thick stuff. Besides, living so close to the ocean and having the New England temperature variations we have, it seems that particleboard would be less likely to warp.
Any thoughts or opinions on this one? I just like to know what other pros are thinking.
Answers:
I have been in the kitchen/bath industry since the 70's , when I started working in my Dad's showroom.
At that time, he had a Woodmode custom dealership and all the cabinets had particle board construction with melamine wrapping and with wood species veneer on the exposed ends.
I am now in kitchen design for a major home improvement retailer and I still recommend the particle board to my customers. The only change is that now I recommend plywood sides in a species matched veneer on the exposed cabinets.
I do not have any prejudice against particleboard, and I explain to customers that it is just that, it is percieved value, no something based on fact or on my experience. Some customers still insist on all plywood, I accomodate them.
I explain to customers that the cabinetry is not supposed to get wet. And if it does, the failure rate of plywood and particleboard may be equal.
One of my reps who visited a showroom that had been damaged in a flood told me that his product that had particle board sides was simply dried off, while his product with plywood sides had to be replaced because it separated from the moisture.
Now, I have been around long enough to have seen some particleboard fail too, it is always because of moisture due to improper care. I have also seen a lot of cheaply made particle board cabinets that over the years had started to fray and come apart. But, when I show the construction and interiors of the cabinets we are selling in our particular location, most folks see that particle board may not be as bad as they thought.
The bottom line is to sell each customer what they want.
I'm not a pro,but my husband has been a lumber buyer for one of the leading Home Improvement stores for too long to say. He recommends the Particleboard.
Hit it a few times with a hammer. (the MDF)
Partcle board is brittle when compared to plywood.
I am partial to marine grade ply or solid wood.
Call me old fashioned.
problem with particle board compared to plywood is if particle board gets wet,you then can have a problem...
plywood for me.....
Not to mention one honest fact ... particlboard is downright " ugly" I love the way plywood stains and finishes...you can see the beauty of the wood grain...If I were going to pay a contractor to come in and construct something for me. I would have him use plywood since I'd be paying the same for his time anyhow - I at least want a product that can standup over time and elements, and look nice "this is what the buyer wants above all" - - Price & beauty, if its going to cost them a lot it better look good.I'd never go so low as to settle for particleboard, just wait to get the real deal.
Give me the plywood. The dust from MDF is hazardous, and it makes me itch.
I prefer particleboard IF it is 65lb. particleboard.
That is, particleboard pressed with 65lbs. per square inch in manufacturing.
Most people who have had bad experiences with particleboard are really talking about a different product altogether. A product made with air pockets in it.
Those air pockets suck up moisture and eventually disintegrate.
65lb. particleboard is so dense with adhesives and particles it can't take up moisture.
Back in the '70s the Susquehanna in PA overflowed its banks and flooded Wood-Mode. The particleboard displays in their showroom were underwater for days.
After the waters receded they found that they had to replace the solid wood mouldings that had soaked under water, but the particleboard cabinet boxes were intact and didn't need to be replaced.
That story was good enough for me. I heard it in 1983.
I also specify 3/4" shelves as I believe anything less will bend with weight over time, particleboard or plywood.
1/2" sides are fine.
The only negative with particleboard is the weight. It takes two to handle most cabinets where one can handle a plywood box.
For further specs on what I consider a minimum cabinet quality refer to:
http://www.kitchenartworks.com/cabinetry...
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