Quick answer: for the cabinet box, choose plywood. It holds screws better, carries shelf loads well and copes better if water gets in. MDF is the better surface for painted doors with routed profiles, because it is smooth and has no grain. Moyisi, a custom cabinet factory in Foshan, China, builds its kitchen carcasses in multi-layer plywood by default.

What is the difference between plywood and MDF?

Plywood is made of thin sheets of wood glued in layers, with the grain of each layer turned at a right angle to the one next to it. MDF (medium density fibreboard) is wood broken down into fibres, mixed with resin and pressed into a flat panel with no grain at all.

Both are engineered boards, and both are normally covered with a face: a wood veneer, a melamine paper, a laminate or a painted lacquer. The face is what you see. The board underneath decides how the cabinet carries load and how it reacts to water.

Which is better for the cabinet box?

Plywood. The box carries the worktop, the sink and everything on the shelves, and it is where hinges and drawer runners are screwed in. Plywood's layered core gives those screws more to grip.

No wood board is waterproof. Plywood, MDF and every other wood product swell or shrink a little as their moisture content changes. In a kitchen, the cabinets that fail are rarely ruined by humid air. They fail where water reaches a raw edge: the cut-out for the sink, the bottom edge near the floor, a hole drilled for a pipe. That is why the edge banding matters as much as the board. We band edges with PUR glue, which bonds more strongly and resists moisture better than standard EVA hot-melt.

When is MDF the better choice?

MDF works well on fronts rather than on the box:

• Painted shaker doors and other doors with routed profiles, where a perfectly smooth surface matters.
• Decorative wall panels and fronts in dry rooms.
• Projects where the designer wants a lacquered finish with no trace of grain.

For a sink cabinet or anything near a dishwasher, plywood is the safer choice for the box.

What does Moyisi use for kitchen cabinets?

Our main line is made-to-order panel cabinetry for kitchens, wardrobes, bathroom vanities and whole-house projects, and the default carcass board is multi-layer plywood, cut and built in our family-owned factory in Foshan. Moyisi builds cabinet sides and shelves at 18mm, and door panels at 18mm or 22mm.

For veneered cabinets, the plywood is faced with real oak or walnut veneer and then lacquered. In Chinese trade usage, "solid wood board" usually means plywood with a veneer face like this.

We also work with OSB, and moisture-resistant particleboard at 18mm is available as a budget option.

Moyisi supplies its boards at ENF grade, with formaldehyde emission at or below 0.025 mg/m³ under GB/T 39600, the top grade in that Chinese standard; E0 and E1 boards are also available. The cabinetry carries a 3-year warranty.

What if your drawings specify moisture-resistant MDF?

Some tender drawings name moisture-resistant MDF (often written MR MDF or HMR MDF) for the carcass. When they do, we quote moisture-resistant particleboard in its place and mark the line on the quote as a substitution.

Does plywood or MDF change New Zealand's biosecurity requirements?

Not for the import health standard on woodware, as long as the whole cabinet is made of engineered board. New Zealand's import health standard for woodware exempts items made wholly of manufactured wood, such as plywood, particleboard, OSB and fibreboard, from its certification and inspection requirements. A plywood carcass with a veneer face stays inside that exemption.

What takes a cabinet out of it is solid timber: a solid wood door frame, edge trim or worktop lip. If your design has any of those, say so when you ask for a quote, because treatment and certificates then apply. Our longer guide to plywood, MDF and particleboard for Australia and New Zealand covers this and the formaldehyde and fire ratings in more detail.

How do you get a quote on the board you want?

Write the board on your drawings part by part: carcass, shelves, back panel, doors. Our guide to melamine or wood veneer helps with the face, and material samples let you check the board and the edge in your hand.

See what to send for a quote, then email thomas@moyisihome.com, message us on WhatsApp at +86 13302428306, or use our contact page.