'Engineered Wood' Cabinets?

[pgtr]

I'm starting down the ride of a new house. For the attached GA I was thinking of having the builder just leave it empty and I'll put some cabinets up at 4.5 - 5 ft on the walls for storage to keep the GA 'clean'. Or I could have the builder install some.

Looking at some simple clean cabinets w/ smooth doors at various online retailers that I could have at about 4.5 to 5 ft off the ground.

Then I noticed the term engineered wood. That kinda scared me off...

But when looking for cabinets made out of actual wood - mostly I'm seeing more 'ornate' wood doors and such... things you might find in a kitchen or bathroom but at least made out of wood, plywood, etc.

Is engineered wood 'that bad' for a GA?

Or any suggestions for a source of simple/clean/plain wood cabinets made out of, well, wood?

thanks

 

[Git]

Post a link to the cabinets

I *think* when they are talking about 'engineered wood', they basically mean MDF (which would include melamine)

MDF is mainly used in the carcass (body) of the cabinet, but can also be used in the doors, etc. Depends on how cheap you want to go. MDF is cheap, heavy, doesn't like water and does not hold a screw very well. Did I mention cheap and heavy...

Better cabinets would have some sort of plywood carcass with solid wood face frames and doors, but it depends on the $$$

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

"Plywood" is engineered wood; so...

 

[Norcal]

Melamine is usually applied to particle board, but like MDF, it is heavy and does not like water either, if plywood cabinets are desired, it may be better to build your own, but at 4 1/2-5' off the floor, water is not going to that big a issue unless someone is going to pressure wash in the garage, and that would be a big mess.

 

[56Safari]

If you’re looking at RTA cabinets online what I’ve found is that many of them are made of plywood with the exception of the center panel on the door.. the door frame is solid wood, but the panel is made from MDF... any good online RTA retailer will be upfront about what their cabinets are made of.

https://www.kitchencabinetdepot.com/RTA-kitchen-cabinet-construction.html



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[rayra]

plywood, particle board, MDF. All 'engineered'. Anything not solid (natural growth) wood is 'engineered'.

 

[Git]

I agree, anything not natural is engineered, but in the context of kitchen cabinets, I think you will find that when they use the term 'engineered wood', basically they are trying to avoid saying MDF, particle board (LDF), etc. Plywood is considered an upgrade and they usually call it that

Still waiting for an actual link to the cabinets the OP was looking at

Example ad:

 

[glentre]

I too am frustrated at how the manufacturers try to hide facts by using such general and non specific words like "engineered". I'm currently researching laminate and wood veneer flooring and having a hard time finding out what cores they are using for the same reason.

But more on the subject, as a retired owner of an architectural woodworking firm, we would never use plywood for any cases or doors because you can't keep the stuff from warping unless you use Baltic birch ply which is very expensive. Best bet since this application will be well off the floor and away from water is melamine panel sheet material. This normally is melamine over particleboard and is dimensionally very stable. The exterior surfaces can be covered in plastic laminate if different colors are desired and the edges banded with heavy pvc banding for protection.

For any type of panel application, it is important that both faces be balanced, meaning if you are going to paint or finish the panels, even with solid wood, both faces should be finished the same so that each face can pick up or lose moisture at the same rate to avoid warping.

Glen

 

[rayra]

I agree, anything not natural is engineered, but in the context of kitchen cabinets, I think you will find that when they use the term 'engineered wood', basically they are trying to avoid saying MDF, particle board (LDF), etc. Plywood is considered an upgrade and they usually call it that

I agree. They don't want to say particle board.

Seems like all the 'contractor grade' or unfinished cabinets at big-box stores are just that. face veneer over particle or MDF. At the very most the only solid wood might be the door frames (and not even the center panels) on an unfinished / stainable cabinet. And if they're painted / primed, not even the door frames.

 

[pmiranda]

Any bath or kitchen sink cabinet I always spec plywood. It survives getting wet pretty well. MDF takes paint really well, and if it's laminated it doesn't matter too much what the core is in dry locations.
For door and cabinet frames you really want solid wood since they have to take screws.

 

[56Safari]

plywood, particle board, MDF. All 'engineered'. Anything not solid (natural growth) wood is 'engineered'.

I don’t think that “engineered” should be a derogatory term... I have high quality “engineered” laminate flooring that I laid down 18 years ago that’s in better shape than my re-finished original hardwoods from 1948 that we’re completely re-done 10 years ago.

I recently bought new “engineered” hardwood flooring to put over my existing hardwoods and I’ve been testing pieces to see how well it holds up under abuse.. So far, it’s tough as nails.. dropped a steel door on it and it hardly left a mark, just some paint rubbed off from the door that was easy to remove and what’s left is the faintest crease that is now imperceptible..

As long as you’re buying a quality product from a company that isn’t afraid to tell you what it’s made of It should last.. if you buy cheap garbage from unknown manufactures, then you get what you pay for.. ask your friends and relatives, if you’re around good people they won’t hesitate to offer feedback and tell you when/if they made a bad or good choice




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