# What Wood To Use For a Painted Cabinet



## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

I need to build a cabinet for a basement playroom area. It doesn't need to be fine furniture grade. It will placed on the floor in a corner and its purpose will be to hide some mechanicals. It will have a door to access the mechanicals. It will be 24" W X 24" D X 36" H. It will be painted. I would appreciate some suggestions as to what wood to use. I do not want to use MDF or Melamine.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Popular or Pine/Fir.... easy to get, easy to work, takes paint well and afforadable...


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

*Wood for Painted Cabinet*



TwoSkies57 said:


> Popular or Pine/Fir.... easy to get, easy to work, takes paint well and afforadable...


Thank You. I like using poplar and recently made some closet shelving with it. Any thoughts on using a paint grade plywood? Wide panel glue-ups aren't my favorite thing to do.


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## DonkeyHody (Jan 22, 2015)

JIMMIEM said:


> Thank You. I like using poplar and recently made some closet shelving with it. Any thoughts on using a paint grade plywood? Wide panel glue-ups aren't my favorite thing to do.


The big box stores will have something they call sandply or paraply. It takes paint nicely. I'd recommend oil based paint, at least for the first coat because waterbase will raise the grain and you'll be sanding to get it smooth again.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

JIMMIEM said:


> Thank You. I like using poplar and recently made some closet shelving with it. Any thoughts on using a paint grade plywood? Wide panel glue-ups aren't my favorite thing to do.


paint grade is fine as in Birch w/ poplar for frame work......


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Ply is fine if thats what you like to use. Or a combination of the two (solid wood & ply) for the construction. Either use a filler on the exposed edges or some trim to cover em up


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

Personally, I love poplar. We can get wide boards here pretty cheap.

If you don't want to do glue ups, there are a couple of makers of sanded laminated pine panels out there. They are a great compromise between 'real wood' and plywood or MDF.

They came in real handy for a bookcase project I did for our church in a hurry. I didn't have to glue up any panels.

Shop Edge-Glued Panels & Rounds at Lowes.com!


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Doug; I second that!


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

Our Lowes carries panels up to 4, maybe 6 feet in length and up to 24 inches wide. One is paint grade and the other is stainable. That is what I made the last toy box out of.

I like Stick's idea of birch plywood and poplar face frame. Or even the white pine looking wood should work. It is soft though.

I don't have a basement so I gotta ask. Do you have any problems with moisture? I read somewhere they say to put down treated wood on the concrete floor so the moisture wont seep in.

That might be as simple as putting some 2x4 blocks in the corners and middle under the box. You could add a base moulding to the box to hide tha blocks. 

Well, heck, Doug already provided a link to those panels. Good job, bud. Bad job Mikey for not reading the post.


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## paduke (Mar 28, 2010)

The only thing I will add -----Durhams wood putty and paint makes us what we aint The stuff is great for blems knots and plywood edges


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

paduke said:


> The only thing I will add -----Durhams wood putty and paint makes us what we aint The stuff is great for blems knots and plywood edges


Durhams on plywood edges...hmmmmmmmmmmmmm now that may be an idea worth giving a go...


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

TwoSkies57 said:


> Durhams on plywood edges...hmmmmmmmmmmmmm now that may be an idea worth giving a go...


It works...
so doesn't grain filler... everywhere...


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

*Wood For Painted Cabinet*



MT Stringer said:


> Our Lowes carries panels up to 4, maybe 6 feet in length and up to 24 inches wide. One is paint grade and the other is stainable. That is what I made the last toy box out of.
> 
> I like Stick's idea of birch plywood and poplar face frame. Or even the white pine looking wood should work. It is soft though.
> 
> ...


The basement had a water problem. The concrete was jackhammered and a perimeter drain was installed leading to a sump pump in a corner. This purpose of this cabinet will be to hide the sump pump piping which comes up out of the floor and exits through the wall. The floor will be carpeted. If there is another water problem any damage to this cabinet will be the least of the problems.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

JIMMIEM said:


> The basement had a water problem. The concrete was jackhammered and a perimeter drain was installed leading to a sump pump in a corner. This purpose of this cabinet will be to hide the sump pump piping which comes up out of the floor and exits through the wall. The floor will be carpeted. If there is another water problem any damage to this cabinet will be the least of the problems.


do not use MDF or the like for anything in your cabinet...
when you do install the cabinet put nail on nylon feet on the bottom to stand it off of the concrete...
concrete is not waterproof and with your water issues you need to protect the cab from the perpetual dampness of the CC...
air flow under the cab will be your friend...


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## chessnut2 (Sep 15, 2011)

*reply about Durham's*



TwoSkies57 said:


> Durhams on plywood edges...hmmmmmmmmmmmmm now that may be an idea worth giving a go...



I agree. Must try.


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

*Wood For Painted Cabinet*



Stick486 said:


> do not use MDF or the like for anything in your cabinet...
> when you do install the cabinet put nail on nylon feet on the bottom to stand it off of the concrete...
> concrete is not waterproof and with your water issues you need to protect the cab from the perpetual dampness of the CC...
> air flow under the cab will be your friend...


My router table top and fence are MDF. A water leak from above (dishwasher) ruined the fence. The table top had lots of coats of poly and was undamaged. Just read an article by Marc Adams where he made an entire router table out of MDF....if you sweat, sneeze, or bleed on it there will be problems......or a stray dog wanders into the shop and uses the table leg as a fire hydrant.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

I recently made a couple of matching bookcases with painted surfaces. Just used some maple faced ply from HD. Used pocket screws to assemble it, and poplar for the face frame. The maple took the water based paint far better than oak with very little swelling. The pocket screws made it very strong and if you cut the pieces a perfect 90 and use clamps properly, it will be perfectly cubical. If I were doing this, I'd make a ply door and use some 3/8 thick trim around its perimeter to match the face frame. This will help prevent warping over time. I agree with Stick on the nail on nylon feet so moisture doesn't wick up into the ply. I'd also apply some sort of water resistant coating on the interior and to the exposed ply edges. 

Or, you could just make a cubical unit without a bottom or back, and just lift if off if you need to get inside. Put a wood bar across the back on the bottom for bracing to add strength. Put a cushion on it and you have a seat. Make it taller and put a nice rectangular or semicircular top on it and you have an extra table. If you do the open bottom/back thing, you could simply apply stick on door gaskets to the bottom and back ply edges for a light seal that won't damage carpet or wall. Glue a small quarter round to the wall fitted exactly to the top of the unit and it will hold the box in place-heck, drill a couple of holes through the quarter round into the box top and you can pin it in place with loose nails, covered by the cushion.

Lots of variations on these themes using fake face frames on front or sides to hide exposed edges.


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

DesertRatTom said:


> I recently made a couple of matching bookcases with painted surfaces. Just used some maple faced ply from HD. Used pocket screws to assemble it, and poplar for the face frame. The maple took the water based paint far better than oak with very little swelling. The pocket screws made it very strong and if you cut the pieces a perfect 90 and use clamps properly, it will be perfectly cubical. If I were doing this, I'd make a ply door and use some 3/8 thick trim around its perimeter to match the face frame. This will help prevent warping over time. I agree with Stick on the nail on nylon feet so moisture doesn't wick up into the ply. I'd also apply some sort of water resistant coating on the interior and to the exposed ply edges.
> 
> Or, you could just make a cubical unit without a bottom or back, and just lift if off if you need to get inside. Put a wood bar across the back on the bottom for bracing to add strength. Put a cushion on it and you have a seat. Make it taller and put a nice rectangular or semicircular top on it and you have an extra table. If you do the open bottom/back thing, you could simply apply stick on door gaskets to the bottom and back ply edges for a light seal that won't damage carpet or wall. Glue a small quarter round to the wall fitted exactly to the top of the unit and it will hold the box in place-heck, drill a couple of holes through the quarter round into the box top and you can pin it in place with loose nails, covered by the cushion.
> 
> Lots of variations on these themes using fake face frames on front or sides to hide exposed edges.


I think Tom has it all figured out. :yes4:

Sounds to me like for a burger and a beer, he would come build it for ya! :lol:


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

For a concrete basement floor, particularly one that has been "patched", it may be better to have adjustable glides on the bottom and adjust them out so that the cabinet bottom is just above the carpet. 

A little off topic, but I have been making risers out of vinyl trim for outside projects where the wood would sit directly on the ground, particularly for end grain where the water would soak in. Shown is a platform I made to support some containers for growing vegetables last summer, cut pieces of a vinyl 1" x 2" are nailed to the ends of the treated legs.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

MT Stringer said:


> I think Tom has it all figured out. :yes4:
> 
> Sounds to me like for a burger and a beer, he would come build it for ya! :lol:


Darn near. One of the things I like about woodworking is figuring out practical solutions.:dance3:


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Nicely done,Tom!


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## tbahorski (Nov 11, 2014)

You could try medium density overlay plywood (MDO). It has a waterproof facing and is used for outdoor signs. Takes paint well and is smooth. You might have to hunt for it, some lumberyards carry it and a few big box stores. My second choice would be birch plywood. Just my opinion.

Tom B


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

*Wood for painted cabinet*

I had planned on using Poplar and gluing up the panels myself. I saw some glued up Aspen panels in Lowe's. Anybody have any thoughts or experience with these?


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

JIMMIEM said:


> I had planned on using Poplar and gluing up the panels myself. I saw some glued up Aspen panels in Lowe's. Anybody have any thoughts or experience with these?


Were they different size panels called project panels or something like that. The ones at our store look like what I have always called white pine. I used them to build a toy box. It sure saves a lot of time gluing up the panels and sanding them.

Here are a couple of the pics.
Mike


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

They had some like you have pictured. They also had some in the same aisle that were Aspen. Some dimensions were the same and some were different. Yes, it would save lots of time cutting, gluing and sanding.


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

The new owner looks very happy with the result.....that endorsement says it all!!!


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

I took your advice and bought the glued up panels. Got the project done very quickly. Thanks again for the advice....much appreciated.


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