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We paid to upgrade cabinetry to all plywood construction.

Wall cabinets arrived with mdf back panels.

When we called Kraftmade customer service they told us that this is how they make them and that they are allowed to use MDF as a layer in the plywood.

MDF with microscopic layers of veneer on one side and paper on the other side is not plywood.

Be warned you will get MDF when you pay for plywood construction.

They had us cornered - when cabinets arrived we had no choice as as we demoed old cabinets.

I do not think that I really need you to tell how I feel about paying thousands and finding out that I got not what I paid for.

Reason of review: Bad quality.

KraftMaid Cons: Product does not match specification.

Location: Pennsylvania, United States

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Guest

Thanks. Cancelled my Craftsmaid order of bathroom vanities.

Guest

The backs of KraftMaid cabinets are of a hybrid plywood. The hybrid plywood is then recessed approximately 3/16" to allow for shimming. KraftMaid would not and will not call out material that is not plywood.

Guest

As an independent KM dealer for many years I have personally addresses this complaint. First of where where did you buy the product?

If you purchased from a home center...that's your problem. Working with inexperience sales people who think they are designers but have no design background whatsoever.

Secondly, KM's APC all plywood construction is all plywood. The back side of the box is recessed approximately 3/16" to allow for the placement of shims.

This type of construction is the norm in semi-custom cabinetry.

Your pissed because one was not informed "educated" about the construction options offered. This is the failure of the the sales person.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1144075

Kraftmaid used to have ALL plywood construction, and changed to these MDF backs in 2013.

I have a problem with term "ALL" and that it is not 100% of what you expect. If they changed the term to "Mostly Plywood Construction" then I would understand *way* better without having to review the fine print.

Less than 100% is bait-and-switch / fraud.

Guest

I used to work for KraftMaid on the assembly lines as a "builder." I assembled the cabinet carcasses and placed them on the assembly line. Unfortunately, ALL of their wall cabinets have 1/8" backs (with the exception of a few cabinets that have "V-groove" 1/4" backs,) and that's the main issue here.

Kraftmaid SHOULD be using at least 1/4" thick plywood for their All-Plywood Construction (APC) wall cabinet backs, but they take the cheap route at every turn and use the exact same machine templates for all cabinet parts, and just use different materials depending on the order. I agree -- that MDF-core backing material is pretty horrendous and shouldn't be used on their "high end" cabinets, but they don't care. It has super thin wood veneer on either side, so it's TECHNICALLY plywood, right? Honestly, I've never heard of 1/8" plywood that doesn't have MDF at the core, but it might exist out there somewhere.

Still, I'd imagine at that thickness, it'd be a warped mess and would probably be prone to cracking. If KM wanted to do things right, they'd honor the fact that their customers want real plywood, and they'd use thicker back panels for their wall cabinets.

We used to have a heck of a time getting those APC backs inserted into the end panel grooves when building the cabinets, as they would often come to us warped horribly and would sometimes snap in half when we tried to bend them to their intended shape. I kid you not, on more than one occasion, I saw 1/8" MDF-core plywood in the staging carts that were warped so badly, they formed a full circle.

I'm really sorry for your experience on that kitchen.

Overall, the All Plywood Construction cabinets were typically lighter and obviously more durable than the rest of the cabinets we built, but they had their shortcomings.

Shame that they can't just give people what they pay for and expect.

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