Question on kitchen cabinet replacement

[boblon]

Not quite sure this is the right forum but a friend of mine has been shopping for kitchen cabinets.

He looked at some cabinets made in China that he said were made with 1/4" plywood.

He asked me about if this construction would hold up and have comparable load bearing capacity as other cabinets?

I know nothing about this so I figured I would post it here and see if anyone else has experience with cabinets made with 1/4" ply or if this is a new trend.

Thanks,
BobL.

[jziegler]

The carcass is made from 1/4" plywood (not 1/2" - 3/4")? No solid wood frame to go with it, I take?

Never heard of that, but I'd run screaming away if I saw something like that. 1/4" ply is not a structural material. I use it for the backs and the door panels on my cabinets, and that's it. It doesn't have much strenght at all, I could easily snap a small piece (a few inches across) with my hands.

In making my own cabinets, I've been using 3/4" ply, which is what most of the books and magazines reccommend. Goin a little thinner might be possible, but no way would 1/4" work.

Jim

[boblon]

It is face frame construction but no other internal framing elements, just a couple of stips on the back of the cabinet to screw it to the wall.

BobL.

[SHADOWFOX]

I've never seen a cabinet carcass thinner than 1/2" ply or veneered particle board. I would think that 1/4" would buckle once you load up stuff to it.

I guess if the frame was made of solid wood and the 1/4" ply is burried in screws and glued to the skeleton/frame. Even then I don't know if that will hold up.

[jackellis]

Never heard of that, but I'd run screaming away if I saw something like that. 1/4" ply is not a structural material. I use it for the backs and the door panels on my cabinets, and that's it. It doesn't have much strenght at all, I could easily snap a small piece (a few inches across) with my hands.

In making my own cabinets, I've been using 3/4" ply, which is what most of the books and magazines reccommend. Goin a little thinner might be possible, but no way would 1/4" work.

Jim

It sounds a bit funny because there's no way 1/4" wood anything is going to have sufficient strength. Did he actually measure thickness or could he have the dimensions wrong.

If the stuff is really made with 1/4" ply, I wouldn't necessarily scream, but I sure would run 'cause about all those cabinets could safely hold is air.

[RayintheUK]

I simply cannot believe that anyone would offer 1/4" carcasses. How would you support the shelving? Where is the lateral strength? A face frame will not make up for shoddy construction, neither will a couple of strips on the back.

Ray.

[bigsteel15]

It is face frame construction but no other internal framing elements, just a couple of stips on the back of the cabinet to screw it to the wall.

BobL.

Run away screaming...very fast and very loud.
If $ is a concern and you don't want to make them for him I would suggest a local cabinet surplus shop.

[jAngiel]

Run away screaming...very fast and very loud.
If $ is a concern and you don't want to make them for him I would suggest a local cabinet surplus shop.

Or maybe recommend a cardboard box, it could save him some money. Takes paint really well, can use smaller boxes for shelving and pull out drawers. Has all the basics of cabinetry.

[boblon]

It sounds a bit funny because there's no way 1/4" wood anything is going to have sufficient strength. Did he actually measure thickness or could he have the dimensions wrong.

If the stuff is really made with 1/4" ply, I wouldn't necessarily scream, but I sure would run 'cause about all those cabinets could safely hold is air.

I questioned him about this dimension too and although he didn't measure it he swears it was approx. 1/4". In fact at one point he said it was just a little thicker than luan!

Thanks for the input guys I will pass this along. My thoughts were to stay away, but I don't know much about cabinet construction so I thought I would ask. Knew you guys would come through.

Thanks again
BobL.

[JimD]

The only way I see this working well is if the sides of the cabinet are made like a flat panel door with a 3/4 solid wood frame. That would give you enough thickness in the joints and for shelving supports. It seems a bit wastefull to me but when I've seen these sort of cabinets discussed, the builder typically installs these sort of "door sides" over top of a 3/4 plywood cabinet. That would certainly be sturdier. I might try using essentially flat panel doors for the sides of a cabinet without the 3/4 plywood box but I would not use the 1/4 ply by itself.

Jim

[drumpriest]

Yeah, using flat panel doors as sides should work well. It's traditional frame and panel construction.