“All Wood” or "Real Wood" Cabinets?
Be aware that in the Cabinet and Furniture Industry, if you hear a reference to "Real Wood" or "All Wood",
It Most Likely Isn't So!
Unless, you consider that real wood scraps, which have been chopped up to make the plies of plywood or the particles of particleboard, are "REAL WOOD" or "ALL WOOD".
Having already made the previous correlation about which products are or are not real wood depending on who's telling it, here is a bit about the subject. The following products, particleboard, plywood, engineered wood, along with another product called wafer board have many different applications in the construction industry as well as serving many good purposes in the world in which we live. Not only do these products help conserve our natural resources by using the by products of our industries, but they also have their own unique benefits when used in their proper applications.
Plywood, for instance, is pound for pound stronger than steel and like wafer board, requires less labor and expense to manufacture and is less expensive. Which are reasons why they are used in the floors and ceilings of our homes as opposed to steel. Everything has its place, but unfortunately sometimes things are used out of place and in the wrong application and don't necessarily deserve the bad reputation which has been associated with them.
It is these references to "REAL WOOD" and "ALL WOOD" cabinets that are being "played on" in order to try to create sales, and the majority of the time consumers aren't being told the truth, as pointed out previously. Whether this is done blatantly or out of ignorance, it isn't right.
The next time you hear those words, hopefully it will send up a red flag, especially if you're really expecting "Real or All Wood Cabinets" or "Real or All Wood Furniture"!
Cabinet information, you should have when planning a new kitchen.
Particleboard or "Furniture Board" is the product used in the majority of cabinets that are manufactured and sold on the world market. It isn't a bad product for this purpose considering the cost effectiveness of the product and good construction methods used to assemble it. A lot of people have drawn a bottom line conclusion about particleboard from having seen what it can look like from getting very wet, which we all know what that looks like. Yet it is a good product to use to manufacture cabinets. The case for that is that none of us intentionally saturate our cabinets with water that would destroy particleboard if it had time to really soak in. Even plywood and real, real wood will also be destroyed "if water really has time to soak in". The particle board that we've all seen, which had been ruined, just looks a lot worse than any other manufactured woods that we have seen ruined by water and therefore is going to stand out the worst in or minds.
If you are expecting to not have any particleboard in the cabinets that you intend to purchase, you will need to request all plywood construction (if it is available). It varies greatly, but as an estimate this will increase the price of the cabinets by up to 40%, depending on where you purchase them.
It is very disconcerting that consumers have to deal with a lot of Cabinet Companies that make the claim and/or implication to consumers; that the cabinets that they sell are "REAL WOOD" or "ALL WOOD" when they aren't. One company actually takes the deception one step further with the statement of "Real Wood + Real People = Real Cabinets".