Gary Nealon asked:


Unless you are planning a big budget for your kitchen, solid wood cabinets are most likely not an option. For new homeowners, or people that have never bought kitchen cabinets before, it is not uncommon to get a surprised reaction when they hear that there are very few cabinet makers that use solid wood for the entire cabinet (unless you are having custom cabinets built and specifying that they use solid wood).

There are several reasons why solid wood is not used for the cabinet box anymore, but the biggest reason being that it is just too expensive. To use solid wood for the entire cabinet would put them out of the price range of just about 90% of consumers. The other reason being that there are several engineered products that are just as strong, but can be 1/2-2/3 the cost of real wood. Ofcourse, not all engineered products offer the same strength and durability, so it is important to scrutinize the materials used to manufacture the cabinets. The majority of cabinet manufacturers are still using solid wood for the face frames and doors (the most exposed parts of the cabinet), but here are some of the common materials you will find that are being used for the cabinet box.

Particleboard

Particleboard is made of exactly what is sounds like… wood particles. This usually consists of wood chips layered and pressed together using a resin or glue to hold it together. Since it is made up of smaller chips, it doesn’t offer the same strength when it comes to holding screws and nails. Screws and nail holds will have a tendency to weaken over time, even splintering apart. Particleboard is also prone to moisture damage if not protected properly.

Fiberboard

Think of fiberboard as an extra thick and more dense cardboard. It is actually made up of wood fibers tightly pressed together and held together by a wood epoxy or glue mixture. While a thick fiberboard can be a tough material, it is highly susceptible to moisture. This usually results in swelling or warping of the material, and it will retain the water. Fiberboard will also require a veneer or paper with a wood pattern to finish it off, which can have a tendency to peel away.

MDF

MDF or Medium Density Fiberboard is a heavy dense material. It is a combination of wood chips, fibers, and resin or epoxy which makes for a strong material. The biggest drawback to MDF is splintering or chipping. If thick enough, it can hold as much weight as real wood, but it is will be affected by water or moisture.

Plywood

This is my preference when it comes to cabinet construction. Plywood is a series of thinly sliced layers of wood where the grain is alternated. The layers of wood are then glued and pressed together. Plywood offers the greatest strength because of the alternating grain patterns which helps dispurse the weight. Plywood is also less likely to be affected by moisture because it doesn’t allow the water to penetrate into the bonding agent.

When it comes to overall strength and durability for your cabinets, it is highly recommended that you focus on cabinets that feature a solid plywood cabinet box. Not only will your cabinets last longer, but they will be less likely to be affected by the moisture associated with normal kitchen use.



TAD

s0ul_exp0sed asked:


A friend of mine had a huuuuuge cherry tree that was removed from his property due to its proximity with power lines.

There are some great straight sections that I was thinking about cutting up with a chain saw and them taking them to the local saw mill.

After this wood leaves the saw mill, how long will it take for the moisture level to fall to an appropiate level to use the wood for furniture?

MILO

Michael Ochoa asked:


This article contains a plethora of information and would be difficult to take in all at once. For that reason, I have broken this article into two parts.

“Caveat Emptor” is Latin for “Let the buyer beware”.

We all want to pay as little as possible for the most product we can buy. The challenge we have is to pay enough attention to what it is we are actually purchasing so as not to become let down later when we find out we did not really get what we thought we would be getting.

When it comes to outdoor furniture, Teak wood is still the standard that all other woods are compared to. Because it is in such high demand, consumers want to purchase this best quality product or something even better, for less money. If marketers can help the buyer to perceive they are getting something better for less money the buyer tends to jump on it. And therein lies the problem: Perception. There is outdoor wood furniture being advertised as teak like, better than teak, or stronger than teak for a fraction of the cost. When you look further into the advertisements, you find the product to be made of woods like Shorea or Eucalyptus. But is this wood as good as or better than teak? Does this wood weather the elements year in and year out like Teak? Do you do very little to maintain it like you do Teak? It sure sounds like it could be, don’t it?

Shorea wood.

Here is how Wikipedia defines Shorea wood: Shorea is a genus of 360 species of mainly rainforest trees in the family Dipterocarpaceae. They are native to Southeast Asia, from Northern India to Malesia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

There are marketers that are marketing Shorea wood as being closely related cousins to Teak. Teak is Tectona Grandis: It is a genus of tropical hardwood trees in the family Verbenaceae. To say they are closely related is kind of like saying all spruces are evergreens but not all evergreens are spruces. It doesn’t make sense. And because there are more than 360 species of trees that make up Shorea, some being good and some being not so good, which type are you really getting that “good deal” on?

Here are some common names being used by marketers to be “like Teak”, but are really Shorea:

Balau. This is a heavy hardwood. It comes from up to 15 different species of Shorea genus.

Almon. Also known as white luan. This wood comes from up to 5 different species of Shorea genus.

White Meranti. This is a light hardwood. It comes from up to 8 different species of Shorea genus.

Dark Red Meranti. This is also a light hardwood. It comes from up to 11 different species of Shorea genus.

Yellow Meranti. This is also a light hardwood. It comes from up to 5 different species of Shorea genus.

We can go on and on. After all, there are up to 360 different species of Shorea genus to go through. These are beautiful woods that can be used for indoor furniture as well as decorative artifacts, doors, drawers, joints and even outdoor furniture. But let us not be confused: they are not Teak wood. And the fact that marketers are trying to pass them off as Teak tells us squarely: Teak is still the best. Teak is still the wood that all others try to compare to.

Eucalyptus Genus.

There are over 300 species of Eucalyptus genus. This is a very fine wood that has been put to many good uses through the years from windbreaks, to fuel, to building supplies, to food sources in some countries. It is cautioned that this wood needs to be seasoned properly prior to manufacturing otherwise it will split, ***** and chip. Since it holds such a heavy volume of water in order to sustain its very fast growth, it is reported to shrink as much as 34% when kiln dried.

In doing research on Eucalyptus, here is what one company had to say: “When finished with a high quality penetrating oil, mixed with the stain of your choice, Eucalyptus takes on a teak-like appearance. To maintain a new look, the buyer will need to occasionally clean and reseal the furniture. This furniture can be painted as well”. Teak once again is being used as the standard.

When you are shopping for outdoor furniture this year, make sure you know what type of wood it is that you are purchasing. Don’t be fooled. Read the fine print. Thinking your purchase is Teak wood because you want the beauty of Teak, the ability for your furniture to weather the elements including termites, beetles, fungus, and wood rot, you could be sorely disappointed. In order to maintain sales volume, manufactures and marketers are offering alternative wood outdoor furniture to the consumers as prices for Teak are steep and supply is limited. Although these listed woods look beautiful and may hold up for a short period of time, they do not have the staying power of Teak wood outdoor furniture.



NEWTON

Jeff King asked:


Wood blinds are available from all major manufacturers in both the United States and in Canada. These manufacturers are Star Blinds, Aveno, Bali, Comfortex, Graber, Hunter Douglas, Kirsch, Levolor, Louverdrape, M & B and Nanik. When you search the internet to shop for wood blinds you can save between 25 and 85%. This is a new avenue for saving on window decoration.

Wood blind colors are in the following wood stains; Colonial Pine, Chestnut, English Walnut, Golden Oak, Red Mahogany and Golden Maple. Other available colors are Alabaster, Dover, Light Cream, Pure White, Sand N Beech and White White.

A custom touch such as rounding the corners of wood blinds is available in 3”, 2 ½”, ” and ” widths. The rounding of corners is not available in cordless models. You can even buy remote motorized blinds, which can raise or lower whatever window you desire. The standard specifications for wood blinds are as follows, widths from 11″ to 96″, heights from 12″ to 120″, minimum mount for inside or outside is ½”, flush mount is 1 ¾ “and headrail dimensions are 1″ x 1 9/16″.

Vertical wood blinds are extremely beautiful. They are suitable for use with larger picture windows or for sliding glass patio doors. They are extremely effective in cutting down intense light through them. This eliminates a great deal of expense in cooling in the summer. It also insulates against cold weather as well, since unless these windows and doors are composed of special glass, they will allow your home’s warmth to escape.

Wood blinds provide protection to your invaluable antiques and art. These objects fade and are adversely affected by harsh light. Wood blinds can control the light level to a comfortable level for yourself and your possessions. If you are working the night shift and want your room really dark then wood blinds are the answer. They are the hoot owls dream since they control your internal environment.

Wood shutters can be a real answer to the home decorator intent on a cheaper answer. These are even simpler than blinds in that the light level is fixed. They do not darken at the same level as blinds but can really provide a cheaper answer to wood blinds. Some other economical answers to wood blinds are discount wood blinds. There are some sites that provide up to 75% discount over internet priced wood blinds. Maybe you might want a cheaper answer than this. Faux wood blinds exist which are made by man made materials. These are imprinted with wood grain and stained in a manner that makes it difficult to tell the difference between faux wood and real wood blinds.

I know that when my Levolor blinds finally fall apart, I shall probably buy real wood blinds. We have settled on real teak wood blinds, something that will last beyond our lifetimes. Maybe like our baby blue Levolor blinds, we can bequeath our teak blinds to our son. We have not settled on red teak, ash colored teak or blond teak.



STANLEY