Are Custom Kitchen Cabinets Worth the Price Difference?

New kitchen cabinets can add value and beauty to your home. But are custom-made cabinets worth the difference in price, when compared to prefabricated production cabinets from a home improvement chain store? You decide. • Plywood Versus Particle Board Custom cabinets are made from three-quarter-inch-thick real wood plywood. Production cabinets may be made from three-quarter-inch material, but it is most often particleboard, a mixture of glue and sawdust. You can’t always tell by looking; mass-produced cabinets have a thin veneer --> of real wood or other laminate applied to the exposed edges. The quality difference becomes apparent when a door is flexed a little too hard. Door hinges attached to solid plywood will stay in place. Those in particleboard will tear out, usually making an indentation that cannot be repaired. Particleboard expands and warps when wet—a bad feature around kitchens and bathrooms. Shelves made from particleboard will also sag in a few years from the weight of ...  more