Building a Home in Davao

[RBM]

22 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

You can buy sheets of laminate to change the look of the cupboards and also protect them from moisture.  Beach, oak, maple etc. It's just like wallpaper. Peel off the backing. Lay it on the doors and cut around the edges. 

Correct and in matter of months it starts bubbling and pealing. Just does not seem to work for the long term, humidity kills it.

We spent a fortune on beautiful joinery for kitchen, was laminated, lasted about twelve months before the dreaded pealing began.

[Snowy79]

2 hours ago, RBM said:

Correct and in matter of months it starts bubbling and pealing. Just does not seem to work for the long term, humidity kills it.

We spent a fortune on beautiful joinery for kitchen, was laminated, lasted about twelve months before the dreaded pealing began.

I think that's why most cupboards are made of MDF now and laminated. If it's not the moisture it's the termites.

[Mike J]

1 hour ago, Snowy79 said:

I think that's why most cupboards are made of MDF now and laminated. If it's not the moisture it's the termites.

Have purchased two MDF plus laminate CR vanity cabinets, one for in-laws and one for our rental.  Both are falling apart with delamination and MDF swelling as it absorbs moisture from the air.  Will be replaced with marine plywood cabinets. 

[Snowy79]

24 minutes ago, Mike J said:

Have purchased two MDF plus laminate CR vanity cabinets, one for in-laws and one for our rental.  Both are falling apart with delamination and MDF swelling as it absorbs moisture from the air.  Will be replaced with marine plywood cabinets. 

I'm learning as you go along, apparently there are two types of MDF, one is more resistant than the other and obviously more expensive.  I'm sure it's all down to the quality of the material also as a local restaurant I frequented in my last place build a deck out of marine ply and it never lasted a year. Not that I plan on building unless forced but I'd be treating even so called treated wood here. 

[hk blues]

Our kitchen cabinets are marine ply and we've had them for 6 years now.  One of the sink unit doors is warped but has been since the beginning so I suspect due to the carpenter not selecting a "flat" board carefully enough rather than moisture after installation.  

I also give it a coat of wipe out once a year - that's really great stuff to buff up wood.  They won't last forever but my neighbour has solid wood (supposedly) cabinets from the same supplier that aren't holding up well despite costing 2x more than ours (or more).

[Mike J]

18 hours ago, hk blues said:

I also give it a coat of wipe out once a year - that's really great stuff to buff up wood.

I am not familiar with wipe out?  Is that a brand name?

[RBM]

22 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

I think that's why most cupboards are made of MDF now and laminated. If it's not the moisture it's the termites.

When you say MDF is that particle board? Thats what we purchased  which was laminated. One year before lamination warps and comes apart  if one is lucky.

Now in the condo we bought a plastic imitation wood cabinet from Citi Hardware, 2 years on its like new. Still has the lovely click when doors shut, if ever build again (trust not) would only buy these.

 

[Snowy79]

2 hours ago, RBM said:

When you say MDF is that particle board? Thats what we purchased  which was laminated. One year before lamination warps and comes apart  if one is lucky.

Now in the condo we bought a plastic imitation wood cabinet from Citi Hardware, 2 years on its like new. Still has the lovely click when doors shut, if ever build again (trust not) would only buy these.

 

There are different qualities of MDF. Before I left Scotland I was looking at cupboards made from one type of MDF and all the skirting boards in my house was made from it.  They were made from finely ground wood mixed into a resin, depending on whether it was hardwood or softwood also makes a difference.  The sales pitch was that they'll never warp or expand but you had to be careful working with them as the dust they gave off when using a saw etc wasn't too healthy. The particles were so fine unlike chipboard cupboards that it just looked like solid wood.  I had one piece of the skirting board left on the floor in my garage for over 6 months and it was as good as new.  I had initialy bought pine skirting boards but after letting them breathe for two days before trying to install them I gave up as they had warped a crazy amount. You'll not find a new build in Scotland using real wood now.  Most common in Scotland where it has been known to rain once or twice per year is moisture resistant medium density fibre board (MRMDF). 

[jimeve]

4 hours ago, RBM said:

Still has the lovely click when doors shut, if ever build again (trust not) would only buy these.

Wish I had bought some. Mines go like clunk or bang depending what the wife's mood.

[Mike J]

21 hours ago, RBM said:

When you say MDF is that particle board? Thats what we purchased  which was laminated. One year before lamination warps and comes apart  if one is lucky.

Below you see the difference between MDF and particle board.  As Snowy post the particle of wood in MDF are much finer and more resin is used than in particle board (think sawdust versus chips of wood).  Also MDF has a much smoother finish which allows manufactures to put add laminates.  You can buy with or without the laminate.   MDF is definitely much more water resistant than particle board.  That being said my personal experience has been pi$$ poor with two laminated MDF cabinets.  I am reasonably certain that they were imported from China so it could be just a poor quality of MDF.