The 3 Most Important Factors to Compare When Selecting Kitchen Cabinets

Most people have very little knowledge or experience relating to kitchen remodeling. Most people have even less knowledge when it comes to the actual products used in the remodel. Today we are going to take a look at one of the main components in a kitchen remodel, the kitchen cabinets.
The cabinets have three major options to compare: quality, price and wood selection. Solid wood is the most expensive followed by plywood and then particle board. Solid wood is used to construct the parts of the cabinets that are visible when in the kitchen area. These parts include the face frames, doors, and drawer fronts. Maple and oak are the most common wood species used in kitchen and bathroom vanities.
Cabinet carcasses are almost never constructed using solid wood. High quality kitchen cabinets use cabinet grade plywood for the cabinet box or carcass. Plywood is used on any piece that does not need to is almost never used for cabinet carcass construction. Typical plywood thickness in these applications varies from ⅜- to ¾-inch (with ¼-inch used often for drawer bottoms). Plywood is often used for the shelves as particle board can tend to sag over time and is also not resistant to moisture. Plywood carcasses may be assembled with screw and nail fasteners, whereas particle board is best assembled using glue or mechanical fasteners such as cam assemblies designed for particle board applications. Plywood-carcass cabinets are more expensive than particle-board-carcass cabinets.
Cabinet frames and doors may be fabricated of solid wood, medium density fiberboard (MDF), particle board, plywood, or a combination of these different materials. For example, a floating panel in a door could be veneered plywood contained within a solid wood or medium density fiberboard frame. Medium density fiberboard can be shaped and coated with flexible veneers such as thermofoil or painted. A traditional grain-showing wood finish on a shaped surface can only be obtained using solid wood. Grain-showing finishes, because they are transparent and may contain pigments, dyes, "glazes," or fillers, and be composed of lacquer, varnish, polyurethane, and either be brushed or sprayed have characteristics that are unique to solid-wood or veneered cabinet doors and decorative end-panels.
The higher cost of solid wood or plywood cabinet components is justified either on the basis of a long service life or on the basis of perceived quality or style. Solid wood is proven to be a durable material; many-centuries-old antiques fashioned of wood remain in daily use today. Since cabinet components are subject to damage, the ability to repair affects the value of the cabinet. Solid wood components (drawers, door fronts, panels) can be repaired by furniture refinishers to exactly match the existing finish on the surrounding wood.

Clyde Andrews