Garage Cabinets

[JCasper]

I am getting ready to have some custom cabinets made for my garage. We want to get some storage space which we need very badly. Our kitchen is lacking pantry space so we planned on using some of the cabinet for that. I then came up with the idea of adding a cabinet in our laundry room and stacking the washer and dryer (they are front load).



My wife loved my idea of building a cabinet for in the Laundry room so I scored some major points with that. With the quote today I can have that done along with the garage cabinets and still save 500-700 over the other two guys.



So my biggest question is. How well does the Melamine or whatever they call it hold up. I have had 3 quotes done now and 2 of them use Pine embedded Melamine. The guy that came out today had the best price by far. His cabinets don't look quite as fancy, but this is only the garage. Anything is better then the boxes we have stacked out there now.

 

[rbattelle]

Melamine, as far as I know, is what I would call "particle board". The stuff seems to be all right, as long as:



1. You don't get it wet. I've found it delaminates and falls apart easily with water.

2. You don't put too much stress on the fasteners. Screws don't seem to hold in it very well, and are very easily stripped out. Once they're stripped, you're in big trouble.



My house is loaded with the stuff. I'm gradually replacing it because I don't like it. Nevertheless, 99. 999% of people have it because it's extremely inexpensive. I seem to be the only one I know who doesn't like it. I almost never hear anyone else complain about it.



Ryan

 

[p-Bar]

I am a custom Cabinetmaker 30 yrs exp. As Ryan says it's cheap looks good ,keep it away from water. All my cabinets in my hobby room are grey mel. just so it hides better. The pine core mel is better , cuts better less chipping, watch the spans no more than 30" side to side, any wider then they should be using 1" thick for decks and shelves. Ask them which brand hinge they are using and if they are using the system holes for mounting the doors, some hinge plates offer a third hole so they don't tear out . Are they using blind nailers? if so they should be pine, alot of guys use melamine, just my preference. Any toekicks should be made of plywood again the particle board disenegrates around moisture.

 

[JCasper]

In the garage he builds a base out of Pressure treated lumber that matches the slope of the floor. The cabinets are then set on that and attatched to the studs in the walls. The one cabinet that I will have him do in the Laundry Room will be set on the floor and it will be a Melamine in Alderwood finish.



I am pretty sure I am going this route. I would rather by the wood cabinets, but this is the garage and this is not the house of my dreams. I will eventually build my own house and do everything exactly the way I want it. But all that comes with time.



I will ask him about the hinges. He warranties them for 5 years so if there are any issues he will hopefully fix them.



And the Melamine he uses is the Pine core stuff.

 

[JPope]

melamine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamine



Isn't melamine just a thinner plastic laminate, often the finish surface with particle board being the substrata.



Melamine is often the interior finish in cabinets with true full thickness plastic laminate (colors, simulated wood finish, etc. ) being used for the outside finished surfaces of the cabinets. Melamine is typically the white material on the interiors. saves the cabinet maker money, gives a finished appearance, but not the same thickness and durability as well as plastic laminate on the outside.

 

[p-Bar]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamine



Isn't melamine just a thinner plastic laminate, often the finish surface with particle board being the substrata.



Melamine is often the interior finish in cabinets with true full thickness plastic laminate (colors, simulated wood finish, etc. ) being used for the outside finished surfaces of the cabinets. Melamine is typically the white material on the interiors. saves the cabinet maker money, gives a finished appearance, but not the same thickness and durability as well as plastic laminate on the outside.

Melamine is resin impregnated paper layed up on pine or fir core particle board. Sounds like hes doing it right (installation)



Laminate (Formica) is high pressure multi layes of paper fist used as an insulator of electricity also known as Mica, G. E. and Westinghouse were the original makers of the stuff 40's or so. High pressure laminte can be up to 1/16" thick where as melamine is one sheet of paper thick. Hope this helps

 

[JCasper]

Here is what we ended up doing

We had these installed today. They are made out of Pine Core Melamine and built up off the floor on a pressure treated base.



He is also building us a cabinet for in the laundry room that we can use for a pantry area. Our kitchen is really lacking storage space.



We ran into a slight problem today. First he ran short on time, that was good for me because I found out that you can't get a dryer cord longer then 6 feet. When I stack my washer and dryer and put them in the washer spot to make room I need a 7 foot cord.



So to do it right I am having to move the plug over about two studs. I am taking my wife to the George Strait concert tomorrow night and don't have time to fix it, so my brother-in-law who is a contractor is coming over tomorrow to move the plug.



So on Friday my wife should be happy that everything is put back together.



Thanks for everyones help.

 

[SnoKing]

Homedepot has these. SNOKING

 

[rbattelle]

I think they turned out pretty nice. Wouldn't it be easier to make a custom 7' dryer cord rather than move the outlet? Maybe not... moving an outlet is pretty easy.



Ryan

 

[JCasper]

I think they turned out pretty nice. Wouldn't it be easier to make a custom 7' dryer cord rather than move the outlet? Maybe not... moving an outlet is pretty easy.



Ryan

Outlet is moved. Moving was a little cleaner, then having one more thing running behind the cabinet. The way it is now the cabinet will just be notched for the dryer vent hose.