Mudroom built in material - melamine or plywood

[Matt Day]

I am building a pretty extensive built in for our mudroom to clean it up and organize it. I had planned to use 5x5 Baltic birch and spray it white, but the thought occurred to me how much easier it would be to A) skip the painting step and B) have a durable and easily cleanable surface especially in a MUD room with 2 kids. I would buy it from a reputable lumber supplier, NOT the BORG.

Ive worked with melamine before and know how finicky and easily it chips, and I know it’s heavy, and I have all the edge banding tools. Besides that, am I overlooking any negatives about the material? I know some will say melamine is plastic-y, which it is but it’s a mudroom.

Eliminating the painting step is a pretty huge benefit as I can just build and install rather than dealing with setting up my paint booth in the garage and dealing with fumes and wait times, etc. I’d plan to build shaker style doors out of poplar and ply and spray them, but once I’m at that point the cabinets would be useable and I’d have less pressure to complete them.

Thoughts, suggestions?

[Ron Selzer]

Melamine all the way and very small bead of caulk at all corners

[Jamie Buxton]

When you say "melamine" do you mean "particle board with a thin layer of factory-applied melamine"? If so, I wouldn't put it where it is likely to get wet. Particle board turns to mush if it gets wet. I'd use plywood.

[Matt Day]

Yes, that’s melamine. But the big box store carries sub par material. Plywood retailers sell a better product with thicker melamine.

I’d put a light bead of caulk in the corners like Ron suggested.

[Von Bickley]

I don't use particle board anywhere. I would use 4X8 sheets of birch plywood.

[Matt Day]

I don't use particle board anywhere. I would use 4X8 sheets of birch plywood.

Why? Seems like it has some good qualities.

[Ron Selzer]

all shelving in garage is melamine from Lowes about 20 years old
some is showing damage from liquids, none has been repaired or replaced
1/3 has been overloaded from get go, still hanging on wall
none has finished edges or doors
held together with biscuits and 2" screws, fastened to wall with 3" screws into studs, some walls are drywall, some are 1" foam board
cheap melamine is rugged stuff

[Von Bickley]

Why? Seems like it has some good qualities.

It will lose all of it's good qualities as soon as it gets wet.

[John TenEyck]

Melamine is great stuff for all the reasons you cited. I made my kitchen out of Borg Melamine more than 25 years ago and geez, against all odds from what the critics said, it's just fine. No finishing, much tougher coating than any paint, really easy to clean. Yes, it swells if the underlying particle board gets wet so the key is to keep it from getting wet. Key to that is setting the cabinets on a separate ladder base, not directly on the floor. Sink cabinets get caulked joints.

Personally, I would not use Baltic birch if I wanted painted cabinets. I'd use PlumaPly HD which has a plywood core and 2 mm of HDF on one or both sides. It's good structurally and paints much better than plywood. Still, a lot more work than Melamine and I have not found any paint as durable.

Melamine? Go for it.

John

[Jim Becker]

THe melamine coated product is perfectly fine and valid for this kind of project for the reasons you surmise. What you may want to do is talk to a sheet goods distributor that caters to cabinet makers, etc., (most will sell to individuals, too) and see what other alternatives they sell for pre-finished white. The guy who lives across the street from our previous residence swears by a product that I cannot remember the name of at this point that is really nice but based on plywood core rather than particle board, which means no special confirmat fasteners are needed, etc.

[Matt Day]

Great to hear John. I appreciate your input. I will likely caulk all seems that will see a dirty/wet shoe or a wet jacket.

Do you suggest using Roo glue? I’d use confirmat screws where they are hidden, and on the exposed faces I’ll pocket hole and glue. Glue every joint or are confirmat screws alone good enough?

[Matt Day]

Jim, MDO?

https://www.sfsignsupply.com/shop/pr...d-enamel-prime

[Edwin Santos]

The box retailers mostly stock a lower quality cold rolled melamine product. What you would want is thermofused melamine which not only gets you a better melamine coating, but in my experience, the PB core is denser too. A good lumber supplier will stock it and it shouldn't cost much more than the cold rolled stuff at HD or Lowes.

With regard to chipping, a project like this might justify purchasing a good melamine blade. The one I use is the Forrest Duraline HI-AT. With it I get nearly chip free cuts. Occasionally a small chip will sneak in here and there. If it were a critical cut, you could always consider a shallow scoring cut first.

I personally prefer biscuit joining or doweling PB cases over pocket holes or confirmats. But if you are anchoring the cabinets to walls, then confirmats should be fine. I have not had great results with Roo Glue as much as I wanted to love it. I have not tried the Titebond Melamine glue product, but people say it's good.

Hope this is helpful

[Matt Day]

Good advice Edwin. I do have a melamine blade and normally do a scoring cut - the raising lowering of the blade side gets old though! It’ll
Make sure to do a full table saw alignment before I start cutting. I’ve used it before for a couple projects so I know what I’m getting into. Thx

[Dave Sabo]

You can buy crap plywood that turns to cardboard when it gets wet too. But y’all love you some plywood now don’t ya ?

You can order melamine with waterproof glue that can remain submerged in water for a very long time before degrading.
It’s all about the material you specify and how up you assemble it. Melamine is not inherently bad nor is plywood inherently good.

For the melamine I get , cut on my saws - I get better results with a Freud laminate/ melamine TCG blade than I do with a Forrest Duraline.