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Thread: Mudroom built in material - melamine or plywood

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
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    West Lafayette, IN
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    Thanks Dave. A stable sheet good like melamine is nice to work with because it’s flat. I’ve had too much plywood potato chip and I have to force things together. Not good, especially for frameless cabinets with tall runs like on the side of a locker.

    Glad to hear I’m not crazy. I’ll make tradition shaker doors with poplar and ply which I’ll paint, but the boxes will be so much easier with melamine.

  2. #17
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    Sep 2013
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    Wayland, MA
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    I really like prefinished maple plywood for this sort of application. Remarkably tough stuff and much lighter and less nasty dust to deal with than with particle board or MDF. But if you want white then go with the melamine, I prefer the look of wood in most applications.

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Day View Post
    Jim, MDO?
    I've enjoyed the MDO that I've worked with, Matt. Paints up nicely for sure.

    Dave makes a good point. The specific product chosen matters.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  4. #19
    To me the primary drawbacks of melamine coated particleboard are weight, relative low strength, difficulty of cutting w/o chipping and vulnerability to water. All of these can be mitigated except weight.

    Flatness, stability, economy and finish durability are prime advantages.

    I wasn't aware of the availability of a moisture resistant core in mcp. Would definitely be a plus for sink cabinets and the like. Standard veneer core ply is not immune to water problems.

    Chipout can be solved with proper tooling. Before I had a scoring saw I got the best results with a high angle atb blade in a tablesaw. If the boxes are designed so that only one face is visible and shelves have a wide nosing chipout is less of an issue.

    Shelf deflection can be limited by keeping lengths short or adding deep solid wood edging at front and back. Shelf pin holes in the back can substitute for nosing on the back of the shelf.

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
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    Western Nebraska
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    I actually like melamine in the right places. If you mind the anti-sagging construction details and keep it dry, it can be the best material for some things. Some has thicker melamine, the thin stuff can be wiped through pretty quickly if used for something like a restaurant table. I do not know which spec or brand to get/avoid, but in my experience, borg is thin, my lumber supplier is fine, and there is actually some thicker stuff out there if you can find it.

    I cut it with a scoring saw but as mentioned above, there are ways to avoid that. The stuff is ridiculously heavy. I use a forklift to handle it in the shop but that's harder to do in the field.

  6. #21
    I avoid melamine as much as possible. It is heavy, hard on blades, and really difficult, but not impossible, to get a clean cut top and bottom without a scoring saw. One one commercial job for one of these chain juice stores, we were required to use melamine. One of the sinks had a small but persistent leak. Within six months the entire front of the cabinet had swelled 50%, from 3/4" to 1 1/8". No matter how tight the joints are, how secure the edge banding is, or how much caulk is used, all it takes is one scratch through the surface or one chip at the edge banding. Once water is introduced, it's game over. Even if the OP uses baltic birch, I would want to make sure that exterior glue was used in the manufacturing of the panels. I would much prefer to use baltic birch made with exterior glue, MDO, or exterior grade MDF over melamine. On the very rare occasion when I have had to use melamine for base cabinets, I have always used European style leg levelers and attached the rough tops from below, inside the cabinet. That way, if and when the melamine is damaged, the cabinet can be removed and replaced without sacrificing the countertop.

    Whatever the OP decides to use, I would also suggest using some kind of mat or pan at the bottom of the cabinets to insure against water damage. Weathertech makes a pretty nice rubber pad designed for sink cabinets and in the past we have even had stainless steel pans custom made to prevent water damage.

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    WNY
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    9,647
    I use biscuits and yellow glue and coarse thread wood screws. Never used Confirmat screws. Never had a Melamine cabinet come apart. I did try Roo Glue but decided it wasn't needed as long as I used biscuits, yellow glue, and screws. I made the drawers for my kitchen out of 5/8" Melamine. The corners are held together with just biscuits and yellow glue. 25+ years of daily use with regular drawer slides, not soft close, and they are still together; not one joint has opened up.

    John

  8. #23
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Alberta
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    I use Roo glue on melamine cabinets all the time. My cabinet maker friend who taught me how to build cabinets grabbed two pieces of scrap one day and glued it up with Roo, clamped it and when I left that day sent me home with the piece. His instructions were to take it to my shop in the morning and try to break the joint. I did ,the joint did not break the melamine around it gave way when I installed it in my vise and squeezed. So I have used it ever since. I also use coarse thread screws specifically for melamine from my cabinet wholesaler. I have used Confirmats some in the past but do not think they are worth the additional cost, I saw no strength advantage to them. John I am going to try a sample scrap glue up with yellow glue versus Roo with just a butt joint like my friend did for me years ago just to see what happens.

  9. #24
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    Dec 2005
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    West Lafayette, IN
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    Mike - what type of course thread screws?

  10. #25
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    May 2014
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    Alberta
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Day View Post
    Mike - what type of course thread screws?
    No name brand on the box. Described as a "#2 square drive with 4 nibs #8-9 particle board screw with 2/3 threads. " The tip has a slash in it like the one on GRK construction screws. There was also a hardness spec on the label but I can not remember what is was.
    Last edited by Mike Kees; 09-05-2021 at 6:26 PM.

  11. #26
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    Dec 2005
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    West Lafayette, IN
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    Pilot holed first of course right?

    I have the Fastcap Powerhead system already and would be tempted to use those.

  12. #27
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    Dec 2010
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    WNY
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    Mike, yellow glue doesn't stick to Melamine. That's why I use biscuits with glue, and screws.

    John

  13. #28
    Join Date
    Jul 2018
    Location
    Tennessee
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    63
    Melamine is only the outer coating. You may be able to find at a good sheet good supplier Melamine layed on an armorcore, or a product like white laminate on plywood. I've used both and had great luck, and no particle board.
    "If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door!"

  14. #29
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    May 2014
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    Alberta
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Day View Post
    Pilot holed first of course right?

    I have the Fastcap Powerhead system already and would be tempted to use those.
    Yep. Predrill and then screw.

  15. #30
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    May 2014
    Location
    Alberta
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    Quote Originally Posted by John TenEyck View Post
    Mike, yellow glue doesn't stick to Melamine. That's why I use biscuits with glue, and screws.

    John
    That is what I remembered, but thought I may have been wrong. So basically biscuits align and give some strength but the screws are doing most of the heavy lifting in the strength department.

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