Most commonly used cabinet materials in the United States

🌕Solid Wood / Solid Wood
Solid wood is one of the most popular materials for kitchen cabinets, it is natural, carved and painted.
✅Advantages
Durable
Long life
Easily customize cabinet door styles
Can be restrained or painted to change the appearance
❌Disadvantages
High cost and high maintenance
Some types are prone to warping or shrinking and expanding
May fade or darken due to light
Need to sand and primer to repair solid wood

🌕Plywood / Added layer board / Multilayer board
Vinyl wood + glue
It consists of layers of thinly sliced ​​wood (flitches), layered in opposite directions and bonded together with adhesive. Plywood is often covered with decorative wood veneer to give the cabinet box the appearance of wood. It is the strongest of engineered wood, making it the best choice for cabinet boxes, drawer floors, shelves and frames.
✅Advantages
High strength
Strong stability
Reasonable nail holding ability
Affordable price
❌Disadvantages
More expensive than other engineered woods
Not as flat as particleboard and OSB
Not as strong as solid wood
Low-quality plywood can easily break down and fragment
🌕HDF/ MDF/ Density Fiberboard
Using wood fiber or other plant fiber as raw materials, after fiber preparation, applying synthetic resin (glue), and pressing it under heating and pressure to form a board.
✅Advantages
The most affordable type of engineered wood
Easily designed into the desired style
Easy to paint and relatively light
❌Disadvantages
Cannot fix screws or nails
Cannot be sanded
Sensitive to high temperatures
Warp and expand when wet
🌕Particleboard/ Chipboard/ Particleboard
Particleboard is a low-density fiberboard made by pressing wood particles (sawdust, wood chips, etc.) into a heated board with resin (glue). It is usually topped with veneer or laminate to create a finished cabinet look.
✅Advantages
Cheap price
Appearance diversity
❌Disadvantages
The least durable wood product for cabinets
Will dent under heavy basin countertops or electrical appliances
Easy to crack or break and not moisture-resistant
🌕OSB/ European Pine Board
The upper and lower surface layers arrange the glue-mixed shavings longitudinally according to their fiber direction, while the core layer shavings are arranged horizontally to form a three-layer structural board embryo with a regular internal structure rather than a scattered directional structure.
✅Advantages
Stable structure
No deformation Good nail holding ability
Good processing performance, waterproof and moisture-proof
High cost performance
❌Disadvantages
The price is higher than particle board
🌕Laminate / Melamine/ Laminated board
Melamine is not a board, it is just a type of lamination, that is, Melamine is pasted on the board. Many melamines on the market are pasted on MDF/HDF or Chipboard, which are called melamine board. Laminated board is a resin combined with paper with the desired design, color or pattern, and pressed together with heat. It is a surface material on plywood or other fiberboard attached to the body of the cabinet.
✅Advantages
Cheap
Easy to clean
Resistant to scratches and stains
Resistant to heat and moisture
Resistant to warping and ripples
❌Disadvantages
If cut or cracked, it cannot be repaired