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I am a big IKEA fan and work to dispel the myth that the furniture is cheaply made. If you take halfway decent care of it, the stuff really lasts.
I'm on the verge of doing a few minor upgrades in our bathroom, including a new sink and vanity for the sink to sit on. This is the one room I have concerns about in terms of IKEA quality. So much of their stuff is particle board and I worry that in a moist room, the vanity will start to swell. I also worry that in the event of an accidental flood, it would be ruined for good.
I'd love to hear from people who have had long-term positive experiences with IKEA furnishings in bathrooms.
You have to go with what works for you, but engineered fiberboard is radically different from the particle board you may remember as a kid. Today's engineered products are usually more stable than natural wood. And many bathroom lines, even high-end ones, use engineered bases for their exotic (and expensive) veneers. Would the products survive a flood or even standing water? I have serious doubts. But, I doubt that solid wood would either.
And, this is not a new product. IKEA has sold thousands, if not millions, of bathroom cabinets around the world quite successfully without any real indication that this is a problem. Literally, The World has had long-term positive experiences with IKEA furnishings in bathrooms. Just for fun, I did separate searches of this forum for "moisture," "damage," and "swelling" and found nothing.
But, go with what makes you feel comfortable. You can't really enjoy the space if you don't feel good about your choices. Thinking back, I have had engineered, veneered or laminated cabinets in two of my last four bathrooms, but never IKEA. However, that has always been a style choice, not a fear of product durability. I have just never been enamored of the look of any of the IKEA bathroom vanities. But, that's just me.
There are hundreds of great choices out there, including IKEA. Good luck with yours.
__________________
The best thing about being a pessimist is that
I'm always either right or pleasantly surprised.
FWIW
, I have a 30 year old formica covered particle board 72 in wide vanity in my bathroom. It's very ugly and much too low, but it's just fine structurally after all that time.
There are also a couple "overengineering" things that you can do to help provide some extra insurance, and that many of us do in sink bases within the kitchen.
1: If you have to drill holes in the base of the cabinet for plumbing, paint the exposed wood with a good deal of polyurethane (it'll drink it up). We had a leak under our sink that resulted in slow drips that got "caught" by the particle board and caused a VERY SMALL amount of swelling. It actually went away after we fixed the problem, although there is still a slightly noticeable discoloration. Might as well protect any exposed holes that you make!
2: Some of us run a bead of clear caulking all around the inside bottom edge of the cabinet as well. This is mainly to buy you some time to discover a large leak if it occurs (you'll probably notice the water dripping out the front of the cabinet).
I had almost an inch of standing water in an upstairs bath this last winter (toilet tank cracked), and my solid wood, very old cabinets now have a lovely warped and discolored line around the base. So I definitely agree that solid wood is no guarantee of safety!
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