According to a survey by the National Association of Home Builders the following kitchen appliances last on average: If you are going to need to replace other parts of your kitchen soon it’s important to keep this in mind when picking out new cabinets, for both style and budgetary reasons. If you consider a kitchen renovation, get estimates. Some manufacturers use 1/2" thickness to keep the cost low and tote that it is a premium feature. As with the cabinet box, the pieces of the American dovetail fit perfectly leaving a nice smooth seam. Thermofoil cabinets are similar to laminate, with a vinyl coating placed over a manufactured or pressed wood … Signs the design of your cabinets could benefit from replacement: Have your cabinets gone soft? You can’t simply go by the number of years your cabinets have been in use. Refacing your cabinets allows you to re-style and update wood without spending a fortune, but that doesn’t mean refacing cabinetry is cheap. Cabinets are a key element of any kitchen. Here are signs of more serious water damage if the: The first step is always to find and then stop the source of the water from getting into the wood. So saying it might be in Chinese cabinets may be true, but is it? The sides of your cabinets are SO important, if they are not in good condition there is no point to waste money making aesthetic changes. It comes in 3/4-, 5/8- and 1/2-inch thicknesses. First of all I am talking about the doors, and drawer fronts, not the cabinet box. Don't forget your local custom cabinet maker. Please don't be naive and think that you will not have a water leak at some source in your kitchen's lifetime. I have installed the Chinese products, but the set time is so much more time consuming. We all know that china has far less environmental regulations than the united states, so we have no way of knowing what type of unregulated chemicals and glue are holding the plywood together. The bottom panel of the American drawer is slightly thicker and is inset on all four sides of the drawer. When will you need to finally replace them altogether? But sometimes breaking down a full sheet of 3/4″ plywood can be a little….daunting. Also, weight was important, but strength was even more important. The better equipped the buyer is, the easier their choice and the wiser their investment, whatever their budget. This is fairly typical across most manufacturers and is one of the major selling points Chinese cabinet manufacturers use to their advantage. At a glance, in a completed kitchen remodel, the cabinets may appear comparable, but a detailed examination quickly reveals several key components in the cabinet construction that make a quality cabinet worth the extra money. Nor was the butcher block I looked at. No matter how aesthetically pleasing you refinish your cabinets to look if they do not efficiently function you will still be craving a remodel. Typically plywood is the more expensive cabinet box construction, but check the thickness before you decide to go plywood. They are lighter, stronger and hold up better than an MDF cabinet box – but that’s a conversation for another post. From a design standpoint, cabinets typically draw the most visual attention in the kitchen, so refacing them is probably the single best way to renovate your kitchen. Ridiculous. By the way, they don't fall apart in five years as implied. Mold is usually caused by a water leak somewhere, so at the first sign of mold you should identify the source of water so that the problem does not continue to occur. When it’s time to replace your kitchen cabinets you might be concerned with the overall costs. Plywood vrs particle board If you would like a free design consultation, contact us to schedule an appointment! That's one long run-on rant you posted, completely free of any punctuation. The deeper the finish looks and the smoother it feels, generally means the higher quality finish. No. Here is a fact, you showed one of the best samples of an American made cabinet and the worst Chinese cabinet. Both are very standard cupboards that you would expect to see incorporated into any kitchen design. Since age alone can’t tell you if it’s time to replace your cabinets, what can? Cut ¼” plywood to make the doors to fit these openings. I am a firm believer in a plywood cabinet box. https://www.nlcabinets.com/plywood-vs-particle-board-cabinets The point is that without the correct construction methods, plywood doesn't matter. To level the playing field, let's compare an all-plywood model by the Design House brand to a similar model by Kitchen Cabinet Kings: Not only can mold compromise the general integrity of your cabinets, but also large quantities of mold can hamper you and your family’s health. The cabinets structural integrity is gone and other distortions may occur. © 2021 New Leaf Cabinets. Overall I want to get the best value for my dollar. Kitchen Cabinets and Granite Countertops, Pompano Beach FL. If yes, your problem might be water damage. The only area I vary slightly is the plywood/particle board comparison. Many older cabinets are made of solid wood, and these can make great refacing projects, producing cabinets that will last another 20 years or more. Considering the average kitchen is only remodeled once every 30 years, Most people want their cabinets to last far more than 5 years. The Chinese dovetail is rough, splintered and appears forced. If you can still feel the texture of the wood and there is not a very noticeable sheen or depth to the wood, that is typically a sign of a thin finish coat that will wear out quickly, scratch easily, and rapidly discolor. I would first eliminate the Hybrid door as a possible selection. This sounds like an incredible long period of time, and cabinets are in fact one of the longest lasting components of your entire kitchen. Buying ready-to-assemble (RTA) kitchen cabinets online can significantly reduce costs and time. A-grade plywood is ideal for furniture or cabinet doors. In general, high quality cabinets can last up to 50 years. Certain factors can cause your kitchen cabinets to wear away faster, no matter their original quality. The Chinese cabinet feels extremely delicate and if it might fall apart if you so much as look at it wrong. Particle board vs plywood is a much bigger topic that has an upcoming blog post in the works, but here is a secret about why Chinese manufacturers use plywood instead of particle board: boats. Another way people easily spruce up a solid set of cabinets is by adding new hardware, such as handles that make a refreshed statement. The drawers do not open without getting stuck, making an odd sound, or causing some sort of issue. I have also seen plastic corner braces in both American and Chinese products. 03/14/2018 - P Marks from Merritt Island, FL, Kitchen cabinets are not created equal Here we explain the difference between cabinets you should replace vs. cabinets you should restore. They will live in your community, therefore, be more invested in maintaining their reputation should something go wrong. And they can usually do other things: mudrooms, laundry rooms, etc. In the article below, I base the comparison not only on my experience of having installed many Chinese cabinets and many more American made cabinets, I also specifically compare two standard kitchen base cabinets. This forces any installer to rebuild the cabinet just to make them work. Did I seriously just hear you try to make a case that particleboard is better than plywood? If the cabinet box is too worn for you to re-drill new holes or mount new hinges, the structure of the cabinet box will not be sound enough to support new cabinet doors. The most challenging part of the built-in bookcase and desk I built for my study was the 135″-long plywood countertop; most of that challenge was balancing my desire for beauty with my checkbook. I understand that it is price and economy to use melamine cabinetry, and foil wrapped doors, as it hits the consumers price point. I would much rather have plywood over particle board. If you knock or tap on it, it feels slightly loose. Eventually it gets down to the question: does it make more economic sense to get a new car, or continue making repairs? Bottom line, while handcrafted cabinets may be better in many ways, most American cabinets are not really all that American. To my knowledge, the vast majority of Chinese cabinets come as is, no warranty at all, but I have seen warranties with limited periods such as 1, 3, or in some cases 5 years. How much do I use the kitchen? Signs Your Cabinets Are Good For Repairs. Though excessive and long term exposure to water could effect it, its structural integrity will stay in tact over a much longer period of time. Even if you purchase all new cabinets you will not be able to stop the problem from happening again if you do not first solve the issue that caused your original cabinets to wear out. Upon further examination, there are several reasons for this. Someone replied with a statement, that a good particle board cabinet is better than a bad plywood cabinet. The drawer guides also appear comparable. If your service is bad while you are making the purchase, it’s bound to be bad during the cabinet delivery, the installation, and any required service after the purchase. 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