Reading a Cabinet Box Before You Order Custom Work in Austin

By the time the delivery truck unloads in the driveway, the construction of the box is long past changing, and a sample box turned over on a bench shows what the order is made of, as the notes at custom cabinets austin protostar engineering describe. A custom cabinet order in Austin, TX tells its story in the back panel, the shelves and the edges.

The back panel

A thin quarter inch back stapled to the rear edge lets the whole carcass rack out of square. A half inch or three-quarter inch back, set in a groove or glued and screwed, locks the box. Plywood is the better choice, and a back that is cut to fit the full opening keeps the case rigid on its way to the wall. On a frameless box the back is doing even more of the structural work.

Shelf thickness and span

A shelf that is three-quarter inch plywood and under about thirty inches wide stays level under a normal load of dishes. A shelf in particleboard or a wider span with only five-eighths material starts to sag within a couple of years, and the sag does not return. Adjustable shelf holes should be drilled clean, and shelf pins should be metal. Thicker shelves or a front stiffener are the cure on a wide span.

Edges, glue and fasteners

Look at the visible edges first. Edge banding on a plywood box should be thick, well glued, and trimmed flush with no gap. Inside, check that the glue at the corners is continuous and that dados hold the sides to the floor. Pocket screws, dowels, or biscuits all work when the glue is right. A box held only by staples will let go the first time it is lifted at a sink base.

The finish inside

A sealed interior, whether it is melamine, a clear coat on birch, or a prefinished sheet, resists the spills and damp cloths that cabinet interiors take. A bare, unfinished edge soaks up water at the toe kick and around the plumbing. An interior finished to the same standard as the outside is a sign that the maker cares about what a buyer never sees.

Setting boxes on uneven ground

Many Austin houses sit on a slab over shrink swell clay, and the floor in a kitchen is seldom dead flat. The east side of town sits on clay that moves, and the west side climbs into limestone. A box installed without leveling and scribing racks as it settles. A good installer shims the base, ties the cabinets together at the face, and fastens through the back into studs. That work is as much a part of the construction as the sheet goods.