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Kitchen cabinet door thickness

Steve Maskery

Steve Maskery

Old Oak
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87290 Laplagne, France
I've made some kitchen units, they are ready to hang.

I'm having enormous difficulty in procuring some MRMDF for the doors. It does exist over here (MDF Hydrofuge), but nobody seems to stock it. I can order it online and pay a fortune for delivery, but I really just want to roll up with my trailer and lug it home. I have a couple of places to try in Limoges tomorrow..

However, I'm mulling the options for door thickness. These are going to be painted, smooth, flat, plain doors and I am wondering would I be better buying 22mm over 18mm? Would it look better, or is it just more money for no real benefit ? (MRMDF is a LOT more expensive over here than it was when I left the UK - nearly €80 a sheet for 18mm, (although it is 2.5m long rather than 2.4m), and delivery is on top of that).

So, those of you who make kitchens regularly, what would you do?
S
 
I'm not in the kitchen making business Steve but... what came to my mind was the weight difference between the two... Google came up with:

AI Overview
A 22mm Moisture Resistant (MR) MDF board is significantly heavier than an 18mm MR MDF board, with an approximate 22% increase in weight for the same sheet size.

For a standard 2440mm x 1220mm (8ft x 4ft) sheet:
18mm MR MDF: Weighs approximately 37.5 kg – 39 kg per sheet.
22mm MR MDF: Weighs approximately 46 kg – 48 kg per sheet (based on a 720-750kg/m3 density).

Weight Comparison Table (Approximate)
Thickness Density (Avg)2440x1220mm Sheet Weight
18mm MR MDF~720-750kg/m³~38 kg (83.8 lbs)
22mm MR MDF~720-750kg/m³~47 kg (103.6 lbs)

Key Takeaways
Weight Difference: Switching from 18mm to 22mm adds roughly 9-10kg per full sheet.
Handling: 18mm is already considered heavy (often requiring two people), so 22mm is significantly more cumbersome to manage.
Usage: 22mm is often chosen for better rigidity and reducing sag in shelving or larger furniture pieces without the extreme weight of 25-30mm boards.
Density: MR MDF generally has a consistent density, meaning the weight increase is almost entirely linear based on the added thickness.
 
I could ask Google which would be more suitable for kitchen doors but I've got a feeling it would say 18mm because of the weight difference
 
That is a very good point. I do work alone, but neighbours are very accommodating. I can get another pair of hands for unloading.
S
 
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I made mine in 18mm and moulded the sections to match the commercial doors. No problems. I might have even put a wip on here eons ago.
 
RogerS said:
Why do you want MRMDF.? Why even think about doors that thick? I don’t get it.
Click to expand...
I was thinking the same, but I am not a professional cabinet maker. Last year, I helped a friend renovate his rental, and he replaced all of the kitchen cabinet doors and drawer faces with 15mm MDF. I was concerned the recesses for the Blum hinges would blow through the front of the doors, but they didn't.

He primed and painted the panels on-site for a quick facelift. All of the supplies came from the local hardware store.
 
RogerS said:
Why do you want MRMDF.? Why even think about doors that thick? I don’t get it.
Click to expand...
MRMDF is a MUCH better material to work with. It's a lot less fluffy and takes a paint job much better, especially on the edges.
The 18mm/22mm issue is just one of aesthetics.

Andy, I used to have a nice little Dewalt cordless saw. I could buy my sheets, find a quiet corner of the carpark, unload my trestles and cut them down to size before loading. I no longer have that saw :(

But tomorrow I have to go to Limoges for eye stuff, so I'll call in and ask about a cutting service.. If not, I do have a handsaw...
S
 
Hi Steve,

The 2800 x 2070 sheets are standard boards in the Trade, both here in the UK and in Europe.....Dont even contemplate trying to lift those sheets by yourself....Without stating the bleeding obvious, they are SO much heavier than a 2400 x 1200 sheet
Do you already have a cutting list for the doors etc that you want to make...?
If so, as previously suggested by AndyP, cut the sheets oversize to more manageable sizes before transporting them home...👍

Regards, Tim.
 
Steve I use 22 mm MR-MDF for traditional paneled doors, and 19 mm for flat doors.
I believe 18mm is UK and US sizes and 19 mm for Europe.
I did do some fitting for SieMatic and they used 16mm for flat doors, and now I see it is fashion to go thinner with 10mm flat doors, not seen the hinges.

So if you’re doing flat doors I would not use 22mm because of the weigh, I would stick to 19 or 16mm
Remember to paint both sides with equal coats of paint to balance it as in some situations it will move if not balanced.

The big sheets are not good for one person to handle……the link you gave refers to them providing a cutting service which, I would use as normally it’s not expensive and to have everything cut to the exact size makes life super easy……..if you use this service remember that there will be off cuts which you will need to take away, make sure theses are manageable sizes……I use opticutter to see what I’m up against.
 
John Brown said:
I'd make frame and panel doors, if it was.my kitchen,
Click to expand...
Well I could do that, John, I do have a selection of matching cutters, but there is a lot of F&P work in this house, all of it done badly, I'm sick of seeing it. I want sleek, clean (and easy to keep clean). And quick. F&P doors are not quick.
John Brown said:
and I'm not 1/9 the woodworker you are.
Click to expand...
Well thank you, but I'm not 1/9th woodworker I used to be, either.
And that's a very odd fraction to choose! :)

S
 
But there is a battery and charger on top of that. Looks like a handy little saw, though.

I did think about upgrading my Festool TS55 for the newer, cordless model. But it is a lot of money and although a project of this size could, just about, warrant it, I'd still have the vac hose to deal with. It would be great for the trestles-in-the-carpark moments, though.

Am I right in thinking that I can have it cordless or with a scoring blade, but not both?
 
Simon of Oryx design used to buy a lot of his sheet material ready cut to size, I’ve started doing this in-fact I’m off to Boughton today to pick up an order I placed last week. It’s so much easier to have someone else do the donkey work, they have the machinery for the job & the cost is less than I could do it for if I take in to consideration my labour plus wear & tear on blades etc.
A quick google suggests there are companies offering similar services in France so it might be worth a look, also if you’re going for slab doors have you thought of 2mm lipped MFC doors? Harder wearing than paint & a lot less hassle
 
Steve Maskery said:
I did think about upgrading my Festool TS55 for the newer, cordless model. But it is a lot of money and although a project of this size could, just about, warrant it, I'd still have the vac hose to deal with. It would be great for the trestles-in-the-carpark moments, though.

Am I right in thinking that I can have it cordless or with a scoring blade, but not both?
Click to expand...

The TSC55 comes with a dust bag which actually works very well!👍( Not as good as a vac & hose, but it captures about 85% of the dust)

The TSV60 has the additional scoring blade, but it's not available in cordless unfortunately.
 
+1 for a shed with cutting services. It's the one thing that persuades me to visit B&Q. Five cuts free of charge and dead accurate. Is there nowhere in your neck of the woods that offers a cutting service?
 
The company Steve gave a link to looks like they do cutting edging and CNC work so everything for a kitchen project.



Also if there images are anything to go with them they have state of art edge banding machines, beam saws which I have not seen in the local big sheds.
My local Leyroy Merlin does a cutting service but unfortunately the finish cuts are not clean or accurate enough for my style of work
 
RogerS said:
Why do you want MRMDF.? Why even think about doors that thick? I don’t get it.
Click to expand...
Looking at you tube and looking in some books because I am knocking up some doors it seems a common method is Tulip wood for the stiles and rails with either a ply or mdf panel. The other method which I am not going for is an MDF panel with the stiles and rails just glued to the face.
 
Spectric said:
Looking at you tube and looking in some books because I am knocking up some doors it seems a common method is Tulip wood for the stiles and rails with either a ply or mdf panel. The other method which I am not going for is an MDF panel with the stiles and rails just glued to the face.
Click to expand...
Exactly how I made my door
 
I went to Barillet today. Eventually. My SatNav idn't recognise the street name at all, but the search engine built in found it fine.

What a find! A proper timber yard (depot du bois). Tree trunks cutt T&T and stickered and stacked properly, outside but with a bit of protection. Oak, ash, beech, Douglas. Probably other stuff too. Pin de nord (what we would call Swedish redwood, I think) inside, along with a wide range of board material, doors without pre-drilled holes, sheets of plastic laminate, worktops, you name it. And the staff were helpful and accommodated my limited French.
But with a bit of Franglais, we understood each other.

They are going to send me a quote "soon". For the cutting, I order it one day and colletc the next. Fine by me.

I am a happy bunny.
S
 
Re the SatNav Steve... I used to have issues with my built in one in finding places. I now use Google Maps and have no trouble finding the places I am going to. Don't know which mobile phone you use, Android or iOS...
 
I have Google maps on my phone, but it gives me verbal directions only in the UK not in France. So, as I can't hold it and drive, it's not a lot of use.
 
I have a translation app, but it's not actually very accurate, especially in conversation mode. I recently bought some translator ear buds, but they went back, useless.
 
Steve Maskery said:
I have Google maps on my phone, but it gives me verbal directions only in the UK not in France. So, as I can't hold it and drive, it's not a lot of use.
Click to expand...
I've mine in a holder attached to an air vent in my car but there are ones for the dashboard or windscreen.
 
Google Maps voice directions supposedly work in France (I have no personal experience, just did a search to find out). Suggestions to get it to work better include setting the voice language explicitly, downloading map data before leaving home, or using Waze instead.
Steve Maskery said:
I have Google maps on my phone, but it gives me verbal directions only in the UK not in France. So, as I can't hold it and drive, it's not a lot of use.
Click to expand...
 
My google maps works in France, Spain, Portugal and in Uk, all talking to me in English…..don’t ask me how, my wife and children take care of setting it up
 
Although I use a GPS app (Copilot Gps - nothing to do with copilot AI), we also Google maps which and works over here in either language.
 
Hmm, it seems I need to check my settings.
I did have a most very excellent phone holder on my previous car. but it was bonded to the dashboard, so I let it go.
S
 
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Accipiter said:
Re the SatNav Steve... I used to have issues with my built in one in finding places. I now use Google Maps and have no trouble finding the places I am going to. Don't know which mobile phone you use, Android or iOS...
Click to expand...
Waze is by far the best of the phone based SatNav's, IMHO. I've extensively tested it v Google Maps and there's been only one single occasion where Google has chosen a shorter/faster route than Waze.
 
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