Why we don't use particleboard

Particleboard is cheap, stable, and completely adequate for plenty of applications. But it fails in kitchens. The problem isn't the core material, it's what happens when water gets in — and in a kitchen, water always gets in eventually.

Structural plywood swells when wet and then dries back. Particleboard swells and stays swollen. The edges crumble. The hinges pull out. The cabinet is ruined. We've been called in to replace enough particleboard kitchens to know that the saving at purchase isn't worth the cost at replacement.

We use structural plywood for every carcass. It's heavier, harder to work, and costs more per sheet. The resulting cabinet will outlast particleboard.

The other thing nobody talks about: particleboard has a nasty habit of degrading formaldehyde into kitchen air for years after installation. Structural plywood isn't perfect on this front either, but it's substantially better, and there are low-emission options we specify when air quality is a concern.