Expert: Jamie Yocono - 7/26/2009

Question
We want to put in some cabinets on either side of our living-room fire place with glass doors for storing books etc. We are thinking of getting them from home depots kitchen department. The problem is that the house is located a block and a half from the beach (the Atlantic Ocean). We aren't sure if these cabinets will hold up and if there is a certain type of wood that would do better with the high water and salt content in the air. Can you please advice us. Thanx.

Answer
Emily,

I'm not sure that the type of material used to build the cabinets would matter all that much when being installed in a beach-type environment. I'm sure you have a climate controlled home, right? That means heat in the winter, and AC in the summer, with an occasional "let's open the windows and let in some fresh air" day. For the most part, the humidity in your home is probably controlled, so the cabinets aren't going to undergo any MAJOR fluctuations.

I'm more worried about the quality of those Home Depot cabinets. See, they're usually made of MDF (medium density fiberboard) and are not well constructed. So when you combine a material that isn't ideal for a bookshelf with the fact that they're not well made (stapled together, not the proper thickness for a bookshelf application, and more) - well, I think you're going to get into a little bit of trouble with them.

Books are mostly heavy, and shelves sag under that weight. Now - there's a chance that if you buy the HD units and then use a solid wood shelf in place of their MDF shelf, you might be OK. But I would worry about the fact that you're probably going to be loading these up with weight, and they're not made for that.

I have a suggestion...

As I mentioned above, you could use the HD units, but replace their shelves with solid wood ones. That could be as simple as buying some solid wood, having it cut the same length as their shelves, and using the solid wood ones instead. Or ask HD if they can substitute a solid wood shelf for the ones they supply with their cabinets.

There are a ton of independent woodworkers on the east coast. If you can find one, you could take the MDF shelves to them, and have them make solid wood ones.  Heres an interesting website for figuring out what sort of shelf you need:  http://www.woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator.htm

Honestly, the only concern I have about your plan is the shelves. Figure out that part, and you'll be OK. Good luck, write back if you need more help.

Jamie in Vegas



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Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com
My woodworking blog: www.wooditis.blogspot.com