Overheard my buddy saying solid wood is always better than plywood and I can't decide if he's right

I was at a shop talk last week and this old timer swore up and down that solid wood panels are the only way to go for cabinets, said plywood is just sawdust and glue. But I've been using 3/4 inch birch ply for my last six jobs and it hasn't warped or split once, even in a humid bathroom I did back in March. Solid wood looks great but I've had clients call me about cracks after one winter with the heat on. On the other hand, plywood edges can look cheap if you don't band them right and some guys won't touch it for face frames. I'm leaning toward ply for box construction but solid for doors and drawers. Has anyone else gone all plywood for a whole kitchen and regretted it?

2 comments

2 Comments

lucasking24d ago

...and honestly I think you already nailed it with mixing materials for different parts of the job. Solid wood for doors and drawer fronts gives you that look people want, but plywood for the boxes is just smarter long term. I've got a buddy who went all plywood on his own kitchen five years ago and he still stands by it, says his wife dropped a full cast iron pan on the counter and the plywood box didn't even dent. The trick is getting good quality ply with nice core layers, cheap stuff will let you down every time. But yeah, I wouldn't do ply for raised panel doors or anything fancy, that's where solid wood earns its keep.

charlesanderson23d ago

Oh man @lucasking, does your buddy think that cheap plywood would've held up the same way?