Cabinet Box: Plywood VS Particle Board

Behind every intricate or plain face of your cabinets is the star of your storage: the cabinet box. It is the main build of your kitchen cabinets without the doors, the hardware, and the trim. Also, it consists of a toe kick (for base cabinets), floor, sides, shelves, back, and top rail. If you’re looking to replace your Las Vegas kitchen cabinets, take time to choose what materials to go for. With the suitable material, your cabinets will perform better and last longer. Here, we lay out the difference between two of the most popular materials used for box cabinets: plywood and particle board.

Plywood

Generally, people consider plywood the better product for cabinets because it has superior construction longevity. It also has the ability to efficiently hold screws, hardware, and any mechanical fastener. Moreover, it boasts excellent tensile and shearing properties, allowing it to resist excessive pulling forces and sideways movements.

Also, some woodworkers claim it has a slight advantage over other materials regarding compressive strength. As for weight, plywood weighs less than particle boards, making it great for large upper cabinets. It can also hold glue joints better than particle boards. Lastly, it is much more reliable in terms of resisting dents and scratches. 

Particle Boards

Despite plywood’s superiority over particle boards, the latter still does have its advantages like greater dimensional stability. In addition, its material composition helps prevent it from warping due to temperature fluctuations and other changes in the atmosphere or environmental factors. Also, it’s worth noting that particle boards are more affordable than plywood, but that does not make particle boards unreliable. In fact, numerous manufacturers of particle boards use plywood leftovers in their products. By choosing to go for particle boards, you can save from 8% up to 12% on the cost of your kitchen cabinets. 

Overall

Particle boards rely on the size of their particles, the glue that binds them together, and their overall density. And since it contains various wood waste, its quality is not consistent every time. What you need to look for are the ones with smaller particles since these are of better quality, denser, sturdier, and heavier. Also, if you get laminated ones, you no longer have to deal with gouging and scratches. 

If the cost is not an issue, plywood may be a good option since it is reliable and superior. On the other hand, particle boards are not too shabby either, especially if you choose good ones that fit your lifestyle. That being said, particle boards are not a bad way to go if you’re on a tighter budget and would like to save a few bucks without compromising quality.