Want to know what the best kitchen cabinet material is? In this video, we
talk about MDF versus solid wood. That's coming right up.
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So today I'm joined by Deborah Armstrong, Senior Interior Designer with Brookfield
Residential and the question we're gonna answer today is -
What should you use: MDF cabinet doors
or solid wood cabinet doors? so I guess
the first question is: What exactly is MDF?
MDF is a medium dense fibre board. It's
made out of real wood that's been ground
down into little fibres and then molded back into a board
using, you know - glues.
And why would you use this type of fiber board
versus something else?
People use MDF a lot, especially when you're painting, you know and that's very
very popular right now. We're seeing, you know - whether they're because all the
cabinets or just that a perimeter and then the island being wood, being painted.
What the advantage of it is gives a very
very smooth, grainless surface and with
real wood you usually joined pieces
whereas this can be molded, you can
actually route it out to get the shape
and you're not gonna get cracking
in the paint.
And why would this be - I guess - better than plywood?
It's better because it's a lot smoother than
plywood. Plywood's generally used when
you're doing cabinetry if you're gonna
veneer over top of it. Veneer with either a laminate product or a veneer wood you
know, rather than a solid wood door to keep the cost down but get the same look.
So is MDF actually more expensive than plywood?
Oh yes it is, it is and
very heavy. So again, sometimes you
might want to use a plywood if you're having
very, very large cabinet doors because it's
much lighter, it's cheaper and lighter. So would you use - could you have like
somewhere with like the frame of the cabinet would be MDF and then the doors
would be plywood? You could, yeah. Most people don't use
plywood though for the outer part of your door. It's usually veneered.
Okay, so what would be the best material
to use I guess in general for kitchen cabinets?
So for kitchen cabinets, you want to use an MDF if you're gonna paint, you want to
use a real wood if you want to stain.
You cannot stain MDF. there's no grain, it's not porous.
So it's just one color? Yes, you'd paint it whatever color you
want to have it painted. It's usually lacquered, if you're buying cabinets from my cabinet
supplier, they're usually done in a spray booth. Beautiful finish on them, whereas
stain is rubbed on - you know, it soaks into the grains and you get a
totally different look between the two. And how about maple - like what is - what's
the appeal of maple I guess over MDF?
Because I would think for MDF, I would
want to use MDF for everything unless it's cost prohibitive.
Again, you'd use maple if you want to stain. For stain color and you want to see
wood grain. Maple is a very hard wood, it takes the stain okay,
there's better woods like cherry or alder that will soak in a little bit
better but people like maple cause it's a little harde. It's a little
heavier door, it's gonna have less dense scratches, etc.
And so for an MDF, obviously in terms of
durability - it's pretty durable?
It's very durable, the only thing you want to make sure is when
you have an MDF board, that it is
completely sealed with the paint. If that
paint is wearing off and you're starting to see the fibre board, you want to make
sure you get it repainted. If it does get
wet, it will swell and there's nothing
you can do once it's swollen because it
gets down into the fibres and it just puffs up.
So that means you'd have to - say that again, you'd have to reseal it?
If you reseal it, every how many years would you have to do that?
Well it's only on wear and tear, you may never have to do it but if you've got a
certain area where you're constantly wiping it and wiping and you've worn
down that paint or that lacquer layer,
you'll want to have that door completely repainted, you don't want any
exposed MDF to water.
So do you anything else to add in terms of MDF, plywood, maple,
in terms of kitchen cabinets? Not really, just you - you just want to make sure
that if you are going to paint the cabinets, that MDF is probably your best choice.
You don't want to see the grain, you want a very smooth surface but if you want to be
able to stain it, make sure you use a good quality wood. It could be a solid
wood cabinet or veneer. Perfect, and the question of the day
I have for you is: Do you use MDF wood
and what is your experience with it?
Let us know in the comment section below.
Thank you very much for joining us and we'll catch you next time.
That's another edition of Homebuyer's School.
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