Are plywood cabinets better than particleboard?
For a kitchen, generally yes. Plywood holds hinge and drawer screws more securely and survives a leak under the sink far better than particleboard, which swells and loses its strength once water gets in. Particleboard and MDF cost less and stay flat when kept dry. J&K builds its cabinets from birch and plywood and uses no MDF, HDF or particleboard.
Water is what separates them
Particleboard is wood chips pressed together with glue. When water reaches an unsealed edge the chips swell, the board loses its strength, and it does not shrink back when it dries. A slow drip under a sink can ruin a particleboard sink base within weeks.
Plywood is thin wood veneers glued in cross-grain layers. It can take on water too, but it holds its shape much better and usually dries out without coming apart, which is why it is the preferred material for sink bases.
Hinges and glides stay tighter in plywood
Every cabinet door hangs on screws driven into the side of the box. Plywood grips a screw along its layers, while particleboard can strip once a hinge has been tightened a few times. On a door opened dozens of times a day, the difference shows within a few years.
Drawer glides work the same way. Soft-close, full-extension glides carry the weight of a loaded drawer on the cabinet side, and they need a box that will not let the screws loosen.
MDF belongs mostly in painted doors
MDF is finer and smoother than particleboard, so it takes paint well and is common in painted door panels. It is heavy and still vulnerable to water at its edges. Cabinet lines that use it often use it for the door and something else for the box.
Three minutes in a showroom tells you most of it
Pull a drawer out and look at the corners: dovetail joints are the sign of a well-built drawer box. Look at the exposed edge of a cabinet side, where the layers of plywood are easy to tell from pressed chips, and ask what the sink base is made of.
J&K lists its cabinets as 100 percent birch and plywood, with dovetail drawers on soft-close, full-extension concealed undermount glides.
Related questions
Are RTA cabinets lower quality?
RTA means ready to assemble: the cabinet ships flat and is put together before installation. Quality comes from the materials and the joinery, so compare those.
How long do plywood kitchen cabinets last?
Well-made plywood cabinets commonly last for decades. Hinges and drawer glides usually wear first, and both can be replaced.
