As with any product, what you pay for a medicine cabinet represents the quality you can expect. High-quality cabinets last longer than low-quality ones because they are made with superior materials. However, you need to find the right cabinet supplier to purchase high-quality cabinets. Check out this article to learn what to look for in a cabinet maker.
What Materials Do They Use?
One of the first steps for choosing cabinet makers is to look at the types of wood they use. Common materials cabinet companies use are:
- Solid wood: The best material for cabinets and furniture is solid, natural wood harvested from trees. This material doesn’t warp as easily as engineered wood and allows for refinishing when it needs repair. You’ll find solid wood selections in both softwood and hardwood varieties.
- Softwood: Softwoods come from coniferous trees, such as maple and pine. These woods are lightweight, sturdy, impact-resistant and easy to manipulate and stain. Certain softwoods, like pine, are resistant to humidity and fluctuating temperatures.
- Hardwood: Hardwoods are common for flooring and furniture. Professionals harvest hardwoods from oak, maple and other deciduous trees. They’re perfect for flooring and furniture that see heavy, frequent use.
- Plywood: This wood comprises thin sheets of wood veneer glued together with a strong adhesive. Plywood is durable but prone to warping.
- Medium-density fiberboard (MDF): Medium-density fiberboard is not as strong as plywood, but it’s more affordable than solid wood, easy to paint, and resists splitting and warping. This engineered wood consists of wax, resin and wood fibers.
- Particleboard: The cheapest and lowest-quality engineered wood, particle board comprises wood chips glued together and pressed under heat. Particleboard swells with moisture and is brittle, so it breaks easily.
- Stainless steel: Stainless steel doesn’t have as many style and color options as wood, so you can choose a stainless steel cabinet with a mirror or one trimmed in chrome.
- Aluminum: These cabinets give you the metallic look but are lighter than steel.
- Plastic: Plastic is a budget-friendly option for bathroom cabinets that can resist heat and moisture. These cabinets can replicate the look of wood and stone, but lack the beauty and depth of natural materials. They also don’t last as long as wood cabinets.
How Detailed Is Their Work?
Medicine cabinets come in various types and styles, with different joints, hardware and finishes. When choosing a cabinet company, pay attention to how much detail and care they put into their work.
Types
You can choose from many types of cabinets based on what you need:
- Custom: You can personalize every detail when you order custom cabinets, including the finish, style and material.
- Semi-custom: Semi-custom cabinets are made to order but have fewer customization options. Generally, you can choose the size, style and finish.
- Stock: You find stock cabinets at local stores. They come in the most popular styles, finishes and materials. Stock cabinets are usually made with particleboard and come in a limited range of shapes and sizes.
Styles
The different styles of medicine cabinets include:
- Recessed: Recessed cabinets are built into your wall to maximize space.
- Mirrored: Mirrored cabinets are a classic in bathrooms. They provide extra storage space without taking away the bathroom mirror above your sink.
- Framed: Framed medicine cabinets are designed to cover the drywall edges — where you install the cabinet in your wall — so they look sleek and polished in your bathroom.
- On-the-wall: On-the-wall cabinets mount onto the wall and extend out. These cabinets can be temporary because they don’t require you to make a large hole in your wall for installation.
- Frameless: A frameless medicine cabinet saves space in your bathroom, but offers no mirror and has a smaller storage capacity.
Joints
Joints are where panels connect. The material manufacturers use at the joints determines the durability of your cabinet. They can use:
- Butt joints: These joints are fastened with steel screws, making them very strong.
- Dovetail patterns: Also extremely durable, dovetail joints interlock along their length and are impossible to pull apart from one end.
- Mortise and tenon: Mortise and tenon joints lock together using a narrow peg on the end of one joint that fits into a hole on the other joint.
- Reinforced corner blocks: Reinforced corner blocks are common in furniture that has steel triangular braces in the corners. These blocks increase the stability and strength of the design. Poorly constructed furniture will have plastic triangular braces stapled in place. Anything held together with staples won’t last.
- Dowels and screws: These joints offer some support but are often used with particleboard, so their durability is low.
- Glue: Glue joints are strong, and manufacturers often use them with nails to reinforce wood panels when nothing else will work.
Hardware
Hardware customization options are an important consideration when picking a cabinet supplier. Features you might want to customize include:
- Handles: Decide if you want handles, touch-open construction or pulls.
- Shelving: You can add optional external shelving beneath your door.
- Mirror: Determine whether you want a mirror on your medicine cabinet.
- Lights: Extra lights increase visibility in your medicine cabinet.
- Hinges: Custom cabinet makers let you choose which side of the door you want the hinges on and how much you want the door to swing.
- Doors: Most cabinets can be doorless or feature single or double doors.
Finishes
The right cabinet company will have different stains to choose from and be able to produce a premium finish. Signs of a quality finish are:
- A smooth surface
- Even coloring throughout
- A smooth, glossy clearcoat
- Multiple finish layers
What Is Their Customer Support Like?
A good company will provide support to you any time you need it. They should answer your questions, stay in touch and ensure you feel confident about your order and the project status. Indicators of good customer support include:
- Personalization: The agent should take time to understand your needs and present relevant solutions.
- Competency: The agent must know the company and its products to address your questions and concerns.
- Convenience: It should be easy and quick for you to contact the company.
- Updates: If the company works to keep you updated and informed, it’s a sign that they care about your satisfaction.
What Do Their Reviews Say?
Always check customer reviews to gain insight into the company, but be on the lookout for fraudulent ratings. You can avoid fake reviews by:
- Reading written reviews instead of going by star ratings.
- Being wary of short reviews or overly enthusiastic ones.
- Checking the reviewer’s profile.
- Watching for overly polished or very poor grammar.
Choose WG Wood Products for High-Quality Custom Medicine Cabinets
When you invest in custom wood cabinets, you get a luxurious, unique bathroom medicine cabinet that lasts — and to purchase high-quality cabinets, you need to choose a good cabinet maker.
WG Wood Products uses only the best materials to manufacture custom, premium-quality wood cabinets. We offer an extensive range of customization options so you can design the perfect cabinet for your space. Browse our selection online or contact us to share your vision for your one-of-a-kind cabinet.
