What’s the actual difference? Does it really matter a lot if the cabinets are made making use of plywood or melamine? Here are a few facts-
The way it looks-
When you see a veneered piece of plywood and a piece of melamine for construction of cabinets, after examining construction quality, depth and the strength of plywood, 9 times out of 10, they seem to be more inclined towards plywood made cabinets than the melamine.
When the melamine cabinets get wet or damp, they start swelling and come apart. Does it really make any sense? Bathroom, kitchen and laundry cabinets are placed in the wet areas. As a result, melamine cabinets smell very musty and get disintegrated, while stopping the doors and drawers even from getting closed properly. On the other hand, the cabinets made from high quality 19mm marine plywood do not show such an unfavourable behaviour.
As far as light-weight melamine is concerned, you will find it ridiculous. It breaks, chips, splinters and de-laminates very easily with not-so-strong ability of holding a screw or nail, and is also very thin.
Given below are some drawbacks of melamine in totality when compared to plywood-
- Traditional melamine is really very heavy
- It smells very unpleasantly
- Chips very easily when cut, in case the blade is not very sharp
- Very difficult to work with just opposite to plywood
- Basically, melamine strips with glue on them are firmly attached to cover the particle board (saw dust) between the melamine sheets making use of high degree of heat.
- De-lamination issues are the most serious concerns. The melamine gets separated from the particle board that’s between the melamine sheets
- Surface easily breaks while using screws
- Sub-materials also deteriorate over time and the joints loosen
- Hinges also loosen over time
- Does not hold mouldings very efficiently without high quality glue or nailers
Why plywood scores heavily over melamine
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Stronger
Although melamine as your cabinet construction material may be strong, best quality plywood in India tends to be stronger, making your cabinets more sturdy and durable.
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Hinges
Hinges show the tendency of breaking away a lot in melamine made cabinets when compared to plywood cabinets.
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Drawers
Drawers also tend to easily break away in melamine cabinets in comparison to plywood cabinets.
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Screws
Melamine does not have the ability to hold screws as well as plywood, and tends to chip away when screwed.
Selecting melamine cabinets or plywood cabinets is a decision that is up to you. There are pros and cons associated to each of these materials. After comprehensively reviewing the summary of all the pros and cons of both plywood and melamine, you can make your choice accordingly.
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