‘Test-Drive’ Kitchen Cabinetry
When shopping for kitchen cabinetry, take time to really “test-drive” cabinet products by looking for important features.
Top-of-the-line wood cabinets have doors made of solid wood or plywood. Hidden sides, backs, shelves and drawer parts can be particleboard; it’s a good choice for humid kitchens, particularly when sealed with plastic or wood veneer.
For less expense, you’ll find doors and frames of plywood, veneered particleboard, or wood-grain laminate. A wood effect printed on hardboard indicates lesser quality.
Inspect the wood grain. On quality cabinets, the grain on the doors will match the grain on the frame.
With any material, door and drawer edges should be smooth to the touch.
Drawer construction indicates overall quality. If you pull a drawer out about an inch and let go, it should close itself. Self-closing drawers are mounted on a pair of balanced metal slides with ball bearing rollers.
These are stronger and smoother than nylon slides or the roller mechanisms installed beneath drawers. It’s best to purchase drawer slides rated to support 75 pounds or more per pair. When the drawer is fully extended, there should be no side-to-side wavering.
Next, remove a drawer. Quality indicators: Drawers assembled with screws and dowels rather than glue and staples. Another quality fastening method is called dovetailing, or the interlocking of joints.
Quality drawer bottoms are made of a material as thick as the sides. Bottom panels in drawers should be glued into grooves in the drawer sides, not just stapled to butt them.
With the drawers out, peek inside the cabinet. Check for corner gussets or blocks in the stress points, such as corners just below the countertop.
Check knobs and door pulls to be sure the shank of the pull is long enough to accommodate your grasp. Short shanks increase the likelihood of fingernail scratches.
Self-closing hinges can be partially visible or hidden. Be certain that hidden hinges are adjustable up and down, right and left, in and out, to keep doors aligned.