DIY Kitchens material

thor

I'm investigating the possibility of replacing my kitchen this summer and am looking at diy kitchens for the components. I believe that their cabinets are made from Melamine

faced chipboard. How durable is this material? I know they are cheaper than solid wood but is it worth it if the cabinets only last half the time?

Doozergirl

Most kitchen units are made from that.  

You won't find too many solid wood kitchens.  When they are, they're usually of a rather particular style and definitely more expensive than a DIY kitchen.  

Any half decent kitchen unit (which I'd sat that DIY kitchens provide) always seem to long outlive any kitchen trends.  

My in laws kitchen is 25 years old and that's
just an ordinary developer kitchen put into a new build at the time.  We've ripped out many,
many much older kitchens than that and not many newish ones so I think if you want a kitchen to last, they do.  They key is usually in the fitting.  

grumbler

thor said:

How durable is this material?

It's very durable except against moisture, and the bottom of a sink cabinet is the most volnerable part. Make some effort to seal the edges if you want it to last.

Also, some kitchens don't have legs - avoid.

cranford

My Diy-Kitchen is 10 years old and as good as new. I varnished all the exposed areas around the sink area mainly the worktop where the cut out had been made. Also the plinth edges but I used plastic feet on the plinths (from DIY-Kitchens). 
The units from this supplier come ready assembled but you can have then supplied dry so that you can make adjustments such as in my case in a corner where there was a service pipe.