[Greenbuilding] Cabinetry

[Chris Green]

Tracy wrote:
> Hi,
>   I'd really appreciate any ideas folks have on cabinetry choices for the kitchen and the bathroom..all I can think of is particleboard and I'm not very excited about this.  FSC wood is out of the question because of costs.  If not, IKEA is my final resort.
>   
Check you local woodworking guild or club to see if any of the members 
build cabinets. A lot of people operate custom cabinet and furniture 
shops out of their garages.

I built a new set for a renovation project for a neighbour out of  pine 
boards and reclaimed luan mahogany paneling a few years back. I cut the 
pine 1 x 4's down to 1 5/8" and made half-lapped frames for the cabinets 
and doors, then cut panels out of the ply and used cleats to hold them 
inside the boxes.
My intention was that the owners were then either going to paint the 
paneling and frames, or paint the frames and cover the paneling with 
cloth, but they never did.
To keep the frames that made up the cabinets square, I first built a 
plywood gig to keep the parts square.
I edge glued 1 x 4's into wider pieces for the adjustable shelving.

The whole cost of this project was perhaps $40 for the boards, and about 
$15 for hinges for each set of cabinet doors, so about $60.
The owner had  some sheet material and built a base and sub counter for 
the cabinets, then tiled the top with ceramic tiles from  a surplus store. 
Total cost about $150. Not bad for 12 feet of cabinets.
In payment, I got to use his pickup to drive into town to take summer 
classes at college. (I paid for the gas.)
While I was building these, I thought it might be cool to use screen 
door screen,  chicken wire, or stucco mesh in place of the panels. A few 
days later I discovered this is a popular choice in the mediterranean 
and other parts of Europe.

One could salvage maple or oak from pallets to make doors and door knobs 
from, as one of the members of the guild I used to belong to did.

Cheers,

Chris Green.