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Plywood for Kitchen Cabinets or Counters-Is it necessary

September 24th, 2009 Leave a comment Go to comments

What is the biggest drawback about having particleboard cabinets, they can get water damaged easier than plywood cabinets, right? We had flake-board cabinetry for many years without any problems, why would it be necessary to have plywood cabinetry?

It’s OK to have particleboard core doors and cabinets everywhere accept where they get exposed to water. Really the most important areas of the kitchen that need to have either pine or plywood are the toe base areas. It’s also a good idea to have the sink cabinet fabricated out of ply-wood too.


All of the rest of the cabinets really do not need to be fabricated using anything other than Melamine.

Why wouldn’t kitchens just be fabricated using the better material?

It’s all about saving a lot of money. Plywood cabinets can cost up to three times more to fabricate than particleboard styles. The materials cost more and there is more labor involved in preparing plywood to be used on the inside of kitchen cabinets.

Plywood Countertops

Having plywood countertops is preferable to particleboard styles. Oftentimes when you see plastic laminate cou8ntertops that were not sealed properly at the seam area there is major water damage that has occurred. For an average kitchen of twenty three feet the difference in cost is minimal to upgrade to having plywood tops.

In any event the backsplashes should always be fabricated using ply-wood, pine or spruce. Because the seam area where the splash meets the top is a vulnerable area for water to create problems, the backsplashes should always be fabricated out of some type of durable wood. Particleboard backsplashes are not acceptable.

So, based on my experience of twenty seven years, plywood cabinets in all areas of the kitchen are not necessary. Only in areas that may be exposed to water is where plywood must be used.

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