Kitchen Cabinet Materials
Cabinet Interiors
The inside of the kitchen cabinets are constructed from Melteca. This is a product manufactured from a wood bi-product core sandwiched between two layers of melamine material. Melteca is the accepted industry standard for cabinet construction because it is durable, easy to clean and reasonably priced.
Door and Drawer Fronts
When it comes to door and drawer finishes you have a number of choices that vary in price and durability.
Melteca
The greater percentage of kitchens installed in New Zealand still consist of coloured Melteca doors and drawer fronts. The product is extremely durable provided that the right board and edge banding options are supplied.
Melteca kitchens are not only durable but also very cost effective. This makes them the natural choice for families, landlords or anyone wanting a hard wearing, economic kitchen.
When buying any kitchen it is very important to ask the company what type of board they use. You should be looking for a supplier who uses MDF rather than Particle Board. The particle board (chip board) version of Melteca can easily soak up moisture to significantly reduce the life of your kitchen.
At Villa Joinery we only use MDF which we source from three major suppliers: Prime Panels, Bestwood and Melteca. These New Zealand companies combined give you a choice of over 150 colours in a variety of finishes.
Vacuum Formed Vinyl
The next doors finish to consider Vacuum Formed Vinyl of which Designatek and Aborline are the main suppliers. The product is a vinyl skin that is vacuumed on to the face of a water resistant mdf door. The process has been around for over fifteen years and has the advantage of having no visible line around the edge of the door. Vinyl gives you the ability to specify a patterned door in a product that is well proven and very durable.
Spray Painted Lacquer
Lacquer is a two-pot paint finish, somewhat similar to the paint on your car. It has the advantage that you can specify any colour and degree of gloss giving you almost limitless possibilities. Doors are available in a wide variety of patterns.
Lacquer is more expensive than the other two options but has a very definite place in more expensive homes. It does require more care than other products and we tend not to recommend it for rental properties or families with busy children.
Other Door Options
Other door options include timber veneer and solid timber. A large range of genuine timber veneers are available and they do make for a beautiful looking kitchen.
Timber veneer can be used for the whole kitchen or as a highlight when combined with other finishes. Solid timber doors are available but it is a small part of the overall market as the cost is higher than most kitchen buyers are prepared to spend. New Zealand kitchen buyers tend to specify native timbers such as Rimu or Kauri and these timbers are becoming scarce and expensive.