[LoneCrow]

Hey all!

I was wondering why IKEA's kitchen cabinets don't use that green coloured particle board to make their frames. The green particle board is meant to be water resistant. Does that mean IKEA kitchen cabinets are not water resistant ... in case of leaking plumbing!?!?!

I was informed that they don't use the green particle board because;
1. Very toxic chemical to make the board water resistant
2. Material is recycleable

How does that work with the formaldehyde issue in a previous post???

Comments

[DulcineaK]

what formaldehyde issues?

in a perfect world people clean up water rather than letting it sit on ANY cabinetry in the case of leaks that are allowed to sit for long times, yes there is some bumping or raised areas. that would be true with the vast majority of cabinetries.

i've actually never heard of "green board" particle board, only green board sheetrock for walls. but if that particle board requires heavy chemicals and can't be recycled, well, that would sort of answer the question.
ikea keeps tight control of the environmental impact of the kitchen cabinets. i guess certain users having large leaks in one cabinet does not outweigh the greater number of cabinets used in the marketplace.

if you are truly concerned about a future leak in your sink cabinet i'm sure there is something you could do to waterproof the inside of your cabinet.

[LoneCrow]

Yes, IKEA has a RATIONELL base cab tray which is a molded plastic tray that fits nicely in sink base cabs. Its a bit bothersome to fit if your drainage runs to the floor though.

Actually "greenboard" melamine is used as a standard in the Australian kitchen cabinetry industry. This is how the competition plays down the quality of IKEA kitchen cabinetry. Somehow they never seem to mention the fact that IKEA kitchen cabinets use 18mm melamine (as opposed to the standard 16mm) and that it costs a fraction of the price and is available on the same day of ordering.

Just wanted to see if anyone had any other comments about it.

[DulcineaK]

we don't have the base tray in the NA market...

as for the green board, i would assume it's cause we don't have a lot of frameless cabinet choices in the NA market either, something like 80% of our kitchens are face frame... live and learn. glad to know more about the Aussie market

[suskyre]

I wonder why they don't carry the base tray in the US? It sounds like a great item to put in the bottom of the sink cab. Since I'm going to start my kitchen remodel this summer, right after getting back from visiting my family in Germany, I'm wondering if I should just pick one up while I'm there.
Would the European base tray fit in a US cabinet?