Expert: Jamie Yocono - 9/1/2007

Question
I live in a 1950s ranch with the standard plywood, birch cabinets that were painted some time ago.  Although old the cabinets are still in fairly good shape.  My idea is to make some modifications to them rather than ripping them completely out.  I was thinking new drawers with slides, new doors, replacing two existing base cabinets, and adding some pull out shelves within the base of remaining cabinets.  Since the cabinetry is painted what would be the best building material?  Should I go with cabinet grade plywood or MDF?  I didn't realize that MDF is strengthened with a resin containing formaldehyde and that there can be some health issues related to the formaldehyde. What are your thoughts on this?  Or am I wasting time and money on this endeavor?  Would money be better spent applying it toward the purchase of entirely new cabinetry?  I really appreciate any information you could give me.  Thank you.

Answer
Hi Lynne,

Your question is pretty broad, I get the feeling you're trying to decide if it's better to scrap the old cabinets and start fresh, or simply give it a makeover, by buying new doors, and replacing just a few of the existing cabinets.  I'm going to address your specific question individually, and then tie it all up by giving you a broad opinion. If you want, you can write back and I'll give you some sites to check out.

One more thing- the way you wrote your questions, I am assuming you know how to build cabinets. I am also assuming you have tools, and a space to built them in- like a garage or workshop. I hope I'm correct in those assumptions.

Your first questions: Since the cabinetry is painted what would be the best building material?  Should I go with cabinet grade plywood or MDF?  

Although there is a significant cost difference in MDF vs. plywood, I would still always opt for the plywood. It's superior in screw holding strength, as well as joinery strength. Since it's going to be painted, you might want to choose a shop grade plywood to use.

I just bought a few sheets of a shop grade birch plywood last week, it was $26 for a 4x8 sheet, and it was quite similar to Baltic Birch, with no voids and 13 plies. Good material, good price.


I didn't realize that MDF is strengthened with a resin containing formaldehyde and that there can be some health issues related to the formaldehyde. What are your thoughts on this?  

How much time do you have?  :)  I know there is a lot of discussion about various toxins in our environment, everything from formaldehyde to Teflon fumes, down to peanuts in our kid's lunchbox. All four of my grandparents lived to be in their late 90's, and all of them had some really bad habits, including smoking, drinking, and probably eating 1-2 dozen eggs a week. Why did they live so long, of their cholesterol counts were so high? I think it's our environment, and all the pollution in our water, our air, and our surroundings. Love that new car smell? It's probably killing us in ways we don't understand. Couldn't live without your cell phone? How's that brain tumor?

My point is- everything around us might be killing us, or it might just be that none of that is as bad as they say it is. I'm sure there are some legitimate reasons to avoid MDF because of the formaldehyde, but honestly, it wouldn't stop me from using it. Especially if it's going to be painted, and thus- somewhat sealed from emitting those pesky fumes. If I had a family member that was particularly sensitive to things, like smells or fumes, I would avoid it. But I don't - so I don't.  I hope that doesn't sound trite, but this one woodworker can only do so much to save the world. I recycle, watch my ozone output, and hope I'm doing my fair share of keeping the planet green.

Or am I wasting time and money on this endeavor?  Would money be better spent applying it toward the purchase of entirely new cabinetry?  

Well... I think it depends on you. How much time to you have, what is your budget, what are your skills, how bad are the existing kitchen cabinets? A lot of questions that need to be considered.

I will give you an opinion- I don't think kitchen cabinets HAVE to be expensive. There are some manufacturers out there that sell the various components, such as door companies, drawer box makers, cabinet box makers- put all of their stuff together and you have a kitchen. It just depends on your skills and your time frame.

Let me give you an example- I recently did a small kitchen. It was basically 22' of cabinets, uppers and lowers. The cost of all the materials- about $6100. This included everything, from cabinet boxes and doors, to the hardware.  I am probably not supposed to say this, but when I hear about the average homeowner going out and purchase new cabinets for $60,000, I want to faint. Especially when the homeowners are fairly handy and can do much of the work themselves.

The modularity of today's cabinets make assembling kitchen cabinets very easy. Cabinets based on European design are easy to assemble with basic handtools, and the hardware often presses into the pre-drilled holes, so even installing the hinges and drawer slides is a snap.

My best advice? Do it yourself, if you have tools and a willingness to have your kitchen torn up for a little while. You will save a ton of money, as well as get the job done the way YOU want it done. From the sound of it, you could simply buy a couple new base cabinets, a few new drawers, and then new doors for the whole kitchen, and you would probably be fine.  Something like that wouldn't be too costly, but of course, I'm just guessing because I don't know how big your kitchen is.

I (also) don't know what side of the country you're on- west or east coast. There are companies I would recommend for ordering various components, but it depends on where you live. Write back with your location, and I'll give you some specific companies to look at.

Hope this helped!

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com