Most manufactured cabinets have two options for sides, plywood or furniture board/melamine. The plywood will have real wood veneer with grain and visible layers on the ends. Furniture board will be smooth and might be a different color on the inside.
The grain pattern is a sure way of identifying the wood type. In practice, hardwoods such as European oak lumber or mahogany have an open poor structure while softwoods are almost smooth with zero grain indentations. Another pattern worth observing is if the wood was plain sawn or quarter sawn at the time of cutting.
Appearance: Melamine cabinets typically have a solid colour or wood grain pattern throughout the entire thickness of the material. In contrast, laminate cabinets can have a wide variety of colours, patterns, and textures, including options that mimic the look of natural wood or stone.
To find out where your kitchen cabinets are from, start by checking for any branding or labeling on the cabinets themselves. If there are no visible indicators, you can try contacting the manufacturer or installer for information.
The material that makes up the cabinet can be identified by one or more distinctive features and will help you determine if it is made of solid wood, plywood, medium-density fibreboard (MDF), or another particleboard. Distinctive features include things like grain, joint construction, texture, and color.
Cabinets are grouped into four grades based on quality of construction: ready-to-assemble (RTA), stock, semi-custom and custom. Decide up front on the amount of money to be invested in cabinetry and then browse cabinetry lines and options within your budget.
Melamine dinnerware won't bend because of its thickness and sturdiness. True melamine won't snap when moderate force is applied to it, either. Another way to determine if a dish is made of plastic or melamine is to apply heat to it.
Can you paint laminate? Yes—and it's actually quite simple. Follow our step-by-step guide on how to paint laminate furniture, including project-specific tips for painting laminate cabinets, desks, coffee tables, bookshelves and dressers.
Particleboard is very smooth, consistent, and holds screws and other fasteners well. MDF has a smoother finish, takes machining very well, but doesn't hold screws too well. Use dowels or other fasteners. MDF is heavier than particleboard.
To distinguish between natural wood, laminate, and vinyl flooring, observe the pattern repetition on the boards. Natural wood will have unique variations like knots and grain patterns, while laminate and vinyl will show repeated, uniform patterns due to their mass-produced printed layers.
While it's entirely possible to paint your melamine countertops or cabinets yourself, it's quite a bit of work and isn't easy to do properly.
Solid Wood - In Stock Kitchen Cabinets - The Home Depot.
To discern between the two, it's helpful to feel the surface of the material. Laminate will have a smooth, plastic feel, while veneer will have the warmth and texture of real wood.
Stainless steel, solid wood, and plywood are some of the most common and durable materials for kitchen cabinets, but they tend to be more expensive than other materials. On the other hand, laminate, thermofoil, particleboard, and MDF are more affordable, but may not be as strong and durable as the higher-end materials.
Xylorix PocketWood is a free-to-use app where users can access information and macroscopic images of over hundreds of wood species from around the world.
Some distinctive features include grain patterning on its surface as well as joint construction. Solid wood cabinet doors will have noticeable joints where the frame was constructed. Laminate doors, on the other hand, will have a smooth, seamless finish.
Cabinets that aren't solid wood—those made of stainless steel, vinyl, laminate, engineered wood, or any other non-solid wood material—are a much bigger task to undertake as they aren't as easy to paint. Paint will not adhere to the finished cabinet surface easily and will often peel off or chip.
Softwoods usually have smooth grain patterns, while hardwoods have rougher, more porous patterns. Look at the grain and feel it with your fingertips to determine if it has the texture of a hardwood. Hardwoods come from flowering trees like walnuts, oak, and maple.
Some manufacturers will brand the inside, or outside of the drawer boxes with their logo as seen below. If you don't find a logo on the side of your drawer, remove the drawer from the cabinet base and look on the back side for a label identifying the manufacturer and order information.
Melamine is a low-pressure laminate (LPL) because it is made with a pressure of 300-500 pounds-per-square-inch. High-pressure laminate (HPL), also called Formica, is made with over 1400 pounds-per-square-inch of pressure.
At Lily Ann Cabinets, all our RTA cabinets are made from genuine wood. Our RTA cabinet face frames and doors are made from either Birch or North American Maple. Drawer and box construction features furniture-grade A plywood.
Solid wood cabinets, particularly oak, are the most durable kitchen cabinet material due to their strength, resistance to wear and tear, and ability to withstand moisture without warping. Plywood and medium-density fiberboard (MDF) are also durable, economical options.