How a cabinet is built determines how it looks and functions. Hinges, shelving, and even finishing options can vary greatly depending on the type of cabinet construction and materials used. These basics will help you determine what cabinet construction type is best for you.
We want you to have all the details.
Some homeowners want to know just two things about cabinetry:
- StarMark Cabinetry uses only quality hardwoods to build doors, cabinet boxes, drawers, and roll trays.
- The side panels are 3/4″ thick hardwood plywood, which is more than strong enough to support granite countertops.
But other homeowners want all the details.
We love to talk about cabinetry! This website contains all of our construction information and is found here in the Cabinetry Comparison Workbook.
+ Cabinet Box Construction
From top to bottom, only quality material is used in StarMark Cabinetry cabinet construction.
Cabinet Side Panels
- The side panels are 3/4″ thick hardwood plywood.
- Side panels are called “end panels.”
- Several options are available, including:
- Beaded flush construction
- Flush construction
Cabinet Back Panels
- For Overlay Cabinets: The back panel is 1/4″ thick hardwood plywood.
- For Inset Cabinets: The back panel is 1/2″ thick hardwood plywood.
- Options include:
- 3/8″ thick beaded back panel
- 3/4″ thick flush back panel
Cabinet Bottom
- The top and bottom are 1/2″ thick hardwood plywood.
Cabinet Interior
- The interior is natural birch melamine.
- Options include:
- Veneer that is stained to match the exterior color
- Natural maple veneer
Cabinet Shelves
- Shelves are 3/4″ thick hardwood plywood.
- The shelves in the base cabinets are two-thirds deep.
- Full-depth shelves are available in base cabinets.
Toe Kick
- The toe kick is fully enclosed.
+ Cabinet Door Construction
Technically, our doors are grouped into three simple cabinet construction types: Slab, Mitered, and Cope-and-stick.
- Our mitered doors have a concealed mortise and tenon joint for additional strength and durability.
- Some doors have Applied Moulding, a decorative trim around the center panel. We install applied moulding by hand.
- Mitered doors and cope-and-stick doors have a center panel. On some doors, the panel is “raised.” On other doors, the panel is flat.
- StarMark Cabinetry scales its doors to fit each cabinet. Not all cabinet manufacturers do that.
Slab
Slab doors are created from one piece of wood. Since one piece of wood is used to create one door, there are no joints.
Mitered
Our mitered joints have a concealed mortise-and-tenon joint for added strength.
Cope-and-Stick
A cope-and-stick door has very durable joinery.
Applied Moulding
Applied moulding is decorative trim placed around the door’s center panel and sometimes the drawer header.
+ Cabinet Drawer Construction
Imagine this describes the drawers in your kitchen:
- Full extension for easy access
- No glide hardware showing
- A whisper-quiet self-close.
StarMark Cabinetry brings that vision to life with the best standard kitchen cabinet drawer available. We also construct our roll trays this way.
- 5/8″ thick birch hardwood or optional walnut hardwood
- Dovetail joinery
- Soft close glides extend fully and are under-mount
- The bottom is “captive,” not just glued on
Dovetail joinery, solid birch, and concealed glides make an attractive drawer.
Silverware is heavy! We route the sides of the drawer box and slide in the bottom panel, making it “captive” and much stronger than a bottom panel that is simply glued on.
Want to learn more?
Download our Cabinetry Comparison Workbook or explore our Frequently Asked Questions page.
Warning: machining, sanding, sawing or drilling this product may produce wood dust, a substance known to the State of California to cause cancer. California 93120 Compliant for Formaldehyde.