There is not much clutter if you have high-quality cabinet drawers that can help you keep your things organized. Cabinet boxes are an essential part of every home either at the bedroom, the kitchen, or the bathroom. A kitchen, especially, can be very messy with all those cooking tools just lying around without them having a proper storage place. With the aid of cabinet boxes, you can be able to maintain a clean-looking kitchen.
There are kitchen cabinets with high-quality so to give your kitchen a fabulous look without having to compromise functionality. With high-quality cabinet boxes, you can have them in your homes to last for about twenty to thirty years depending on how well you take care of these kitchen cabinets.
Although there are common cabinet problems like crooked doors, or sagging plus deteriorated drawers, scratch and dented areas, loose hinges, and warped boxes, these mainly are because the cabinet was really made out of low-quality materials.
One must be very careful in purchasing cabinet boxes so as not to waste your money on buying low-quality things. As a prudent buyer, you must thoroughly check the exterior and joints of these cabinet boxes to avoid functional and aesthetic issues. This type of defects can also lead to a higher than usual installation cost because you’ll have to get it uninstalled and then reinstalled again, and a higher than usual costs in maintaining because of its low quality.
The following characteristics will help you identify a cabinet that is well-built and of high-quality:
1. Constructed entirely out of plywood
Most of the cabinet boxes are constructed from either of plywood or particleboard. The cabinets with the strongest build are installed with full plywood backs and sides so that it will not get warped during transit or delivery and most importantly during its installation. The cabinet should be able to handle the weight of the heave countertops and resist damage that can be brought about by moisture. There is a cheaper alternative that is the particleboard. But this type of material is highly susceptible to damage from moisture and crushing. Particleboard is also difficult to repair in terms of blowouts at screws and joints.
To distinguish the two materials:
• All-plywood
The plywood material has a more holding power as incorporated with its screws, fasteners, and glue as compared to particleboard. It is even stronger than particleboard because it is made out of layers of wood that runs both lengthwise and crosswise. Plywood also has a higher tolerance in terms of moisture as compared to the particle board material. This feature is really essential because this means that considering the possibly damp area because of the sink and water splashes that is surrounding it; this means that a plywood-constructed cabinet box can be more resilient from damage.
• Particleboard
Particleboard is alternatively known either as medium density fiberboard, or engineered board, or hardboard, etc. Nevertheless, this material is commonly known as particleboard which is made out of pressed wood with its particles hold together by glue with a high temperature. This type of material does not have the same resilience as with plywood and is more susceptible to damage.
2. It has back panels with full-height
The cabinet considered to be the strongest is one which is made out of an all-plywood, full-back panel. Although there are cheaper methods by using thin panels, this might result in falling cabinets. You must always choose to use a plywood back construction to keep your cabinets durable.
A cabinet with solid and full-height plywood and a full-back panel allows the cabinet to be directly installed to the rivets of the wall at whichever point on the cabinet’s back. With this type of material, there is no longer the need for hanging rails since the strength of the plywood encompasses from the top to the bottom and from one side to the other. Should you ever need to make a cut to accommodate either wiring or plumbing, the back will maintain its integrity without any additional reinforcements.
3. Cabinets with soft-close hinges
The hinge of every cabinet is one of the most important components of a kitchen cabinet because, without these hinges, it would be impossible to open and close the door. If the cabinet has been installed with defective hinges, this can cause stiffness or uneven doors, or doors that are hard to close.
The soft-close, steel, 6-way adjustable hinges is a good quality cabinet hinge that as a soft close mechanism built into the nickel-plated, hardened steel hinge. There should be six ways to adjust the hinge so that the hinges can be accustomed when cabinet doors expand and contract.
4. Cabinets with under mount, soft-close drawer glides
It is important for a high-quality drawer glides to be able to support the smooth and silent movement of your cabinet drawers over the years of continued use. The additional weight that your drawers carry comes with it the greater need for heavy-duty glides. If the glides are not strong enough, it can result in sagging, loose, or stick cabinet drawers.
For cabinets that have an under mount, steel, and soft-close drawer glides, this should be able to extend to provide full access to the whole drawer. The ball bearings and its steel guides provide for a smoother operation and longer wear.
5. Cabinets with a hardwood dovetail drawer boxes
A solid hardwood drawer box with dovetail joints and heavy plywood bottom set the standard for a good quality cabinet because this makes the cabinet have long-lasting durability along with the beauty of the joint.
6. Cabinets with an I-beam construction
With I-beams fortified into the upper sides of base cabinets, this offers for long-term strength and these keep cabinets square during shipping and installation. These I-beams are locked in a dado joint that captures all of the four sides of the cabinet to give the cabinet a long-term strength.
There are a lot other criteria that will help you in determining whether you have chosen the cabinet that is worth of your money. As long as the cabinet have the basic features that will help it withstand the basic wear and tear without having to sacrifice its functionality. Then you know that you already made a good choice out of it.