Plywood Vs Particle Board: Which is Better for Your Kitchen Cabinets?

Plywood Vs Particle Board

“What is the best material for my kitchen cabinets? Will it withstand my everyday coffee spills and oil stains? Will it serve me for long years? How pricey will it be?…… ” – most probably these are the queries and questions that occupy your mind when your kitchen goes for a major upgrade or complete overhaul. Though there are several options, the two materials that steal the limelight for cabinet construction are Plywood and Particle board. And each material has many bright sides to consider. However, if you are a first-time shopper, you might be finding hard deciding between these two materials for your kitchen cabinets. So, here is everything that will help you make the best choice.

What is Plywood?

Plywood is an engineered wood made of three or more fine layers of wood bonded together with an adhesive. Based on the type of wood and adhesive used, the manufacturing process and the usage or application, there exist 18 different types of Plywood. Amongst all, moisture resistant grade plywood, Marine grade plywood or Boiling waterproof plywood, boiling water resistant grade plywood and fire retardant plywood are some of the prime plywood choices that are suitable for kitchen cabinets.

What is Particleboard?

Quite like Plywood, particle board is also an engineered product; made by gluing together wood chips, sawdust, and sawmill shavings. It is available in a variety of finishes and hence referred by various names like Laminated Particle board, Veneered Particleboard, Melamine Particle board, etc.

Plywood Vs Particle board

Plywood	Particle board
Has higher strength	Has lower strength
Has good screw and nail-holding capacity	Has poor screw and nail-holding capacity
More durable	Less durable (comparatively)
Its surface is relatively less smooth	Has a more smooth surface
Comparatively costly	Comparatively cheap
Exhibits good moisture resistance	Exhibits poor moisture resistance
Less environmental-friendly	More environmental-friendly

Pros and Cons of Plywood

Pros of Plywood	Cons of Plywood
As plywood is strong and durable, the cabinets carved out of it have a very extended and long life.	Plywood is comparatively more expensive than Particle board.
Compared to particle board, plywood holds screws and nails well and hence it is easier to handle.	As its surface is relatively less smooth, plywood prevents finish materials like decorative laminates or veneers from being distributed evenly on its surface. Thus plywood fails to match the kind of surface smoothness and look that particle board provides.
Due to the light-weight nature of Plywood, the hanging cabinets made out of it never run into the risk of collapsing under its own weight.	For its production, plywood requires veneer from fresh timber. This demands extra cutting of trees and hence they are not so environmentally friendly.
As plywood exhibits good moisture resistance, the cabinets can stay away from structural issues like warping, twisting, shrinking, cracking, swelling and other dimensional instabilities

Pros and Cons of Particle Board

Pros of Particle Board	Cons of Particle Board
The surface of the particleboard is usually smooth and hence the finished cabinets look more stunning.	When compared to plywood, particle board is soft, brittle and less strong, which makes it less resistant to damages and deformities.
Particle boards are created using wastes of other lumber products and require no extra cutting of trees. Hence, they are friendly to the environment.	Because of its poor moisture resistance, particle board swells and expands easily when exposed to moisture.
As particle boards are less expensive, they don’t squeeze one’s wallet.

Who is the winner?

It really comes down to what you need and what you can afford. Usually, most people turn to plywood for their kitchen cabinets because of its superiority over particle board in many aspects. However, on the other hand, for many, particle board becomes a reasonable choice because of the limitations they have on their budget. So, ultimately, deciding between the two, plywood and particle board, depends on your requirements and budget. And if you are still confused about making the right choice, check out the below table. It will surely make your selection process simple.

Criteria	Winner
Strength	Plywood
Light weight	Plywood
Smoothness	Particle board
Long life	Plywood
Budget-friendly	Particle board
Environmental friendly	Particle board

Before picking one, be sure to ask yourself the following two questions – “Will the material offer long-term benefits? and Will it serve me better for my kitchen habits?”

We hope you have found the right material!