Chipboard or MDF for the kitchen: the pros and cons of materials - which is better? MDF or chipboard - which is better for the kitchen: the pros and cons of the material What is better than chipboard or film

AT furniture production The most popular materials are MDF and chipboard. Their characteristics are largely similar, but there are some differences. It is not surprising that when buying these materials, many people think about how chipboard differs from MDF, which is better. To answer this question, it is necessary to understand in more detail the qualities and method of production of each of these materials.

Manufacturing features

MDF is an abbreviation that refers to the fine fraction of wood. This material is for the manufacture of which fine fraction sawdust is used (almost Usually it is logging waste. The raw material is crushed, steamed, thoroughly dried and glued. SoHow is MDF different from chipboard?

Chipboard is a chipboard, for the production of which sawdust of different fractions is used. They are mixed with synthetic or and pressed at high temperatures. A large number of resins negatively affects the environmental friendliness of the material. The advantage is that it is close to the density of natural solid wood.

How does MDF differ from chipboard in appearance

Many believe that these two building materials are similar not only in production, but also in appearance. This is not true.

The finely dispersed fraction of a tree has the following characteristics:

the surface of the plate is flat, smooth;

when studying the cut, one can note the uniformity and fine-grained structure of the material.

It also has distinct characteristics:

the surface is uneven, slightly rough;

at the saw cut, you can see pieces of chips and looseness of the material.

Differences in use in furniture production

For those who are going to use these materials to assemble cabinets, beds or decorative interior elements, it will be useful to knowWhat is the difference between MDF and chipboard in furniture.

The finely dispersed fraction is easy to cut and process. Screws can be screwed in without much difficulty. Ideal in cases where curly cutting is necessary - the cut is perfectly even and neat. At the same time, the material has a large weight and has different colour on both sides (one side is white).

Chipboard is more capricious in processing. Saw cuts often turn out to be sloppy, “torn”. When screwing in screws, chips and cracks can appear. The advantage is that the weight of the material is light and the sides have the same color.

Furniture makers are also familiar with another material - chipboard. This board, in fact, is the same as the chipboard, only slightly improved. The surface of the plates is covered with a special facing film. This cover is made from paper and melamine resin.

The film is literally pressed into the surface of the plate and gives the finished products increased strength and protection from moisture. The only drawback of this material is the high cost.

How to choose

Based on the characteristics of all of the above building materials, you can ask a very reasonable question:How is MDF different from chipboard?and for what purposes it is worth buying each material.

The finely dispersed fraction of wood is suitable for the manufacture of:

interior door panels, platbands and boxes;

decorative overlays for entrance doors and platbands;

interior partitions;

cabinet furniture (even for rooms with a high level of importance).

Chipboard will be an excellent solution for:

assembly of cabinet furniture;

finishing works;

interior partitions;

floors.

At the same time, vulnerability to a high indicator of humidity is considered a significant drawback. Laminated chipboard will be able to cope with this task.

So, the difference in the materials used and production methods affects performance characteristics plates. That is why the same product made of chipboard and fine fraction will look different and require special care. When choosing a particular material for a particular purpose, you need to take into account all thatHow is MDF different from chipboard?: weight, processing method, interaction with moisture.

With the development of technology, more and more building and finishing materials appear on the market. At the end of the last century, we got MDF. There are MDF boards that are used in construction work, there are finishing panels that can be used to decorate walls / ceilings or make furniture.

What is MDF and how is it made?

MDF appeared on our market in last years of the last century, and it was invented in the USA in the late 60s of the 20th century. You can understand what MDF is if you translate its English name - MDF - Medium Density Fiberboard. In Russian, this translates as "medium density fiberboard." That is, a Russian-language name was formed with the help of transliteration - instead of Latin letters, they put similar Russian ones. Common, for our language, phenomenon.

MDF - Medium Density Fibreboard

Manufacturing process

MDF is made from wood, ground to a state of very small chips, almost to the state of fibers. Mostly wood waste is used, so the release of this material does not harm forests.

The ground wood is cleaned of sand and other foreign inclusions, washed, dried. The prepared mass is heated, a tape of the required width is formed from it, and then pressed. Under pressure, a natural binder, lignin, is released from heated wood fibers. It is he who is the binder in this material. The final shape of the products is given in the finishing press, which squeezes out the remaining air from the mass, forming a homogeneous MDF structure.

After pressing, the cooled material is fed to grinding, where flaws on the surface are removed from the MDF, and the material is brought to the required thickness.

Not all types of wood provide a sufficient amount of binder. Then add a similar, previously isolated, lignin or other natural binder. Of all leafy wood materials MDF is considered the safest, since the binder is natural, and formaldehyde emission is comparable to wood (emission class F1, that is, it is allowed to use it for the manufacture of furniture for children's and medical institutions).

Fibreboards can be given special properties during production. Basically, moisture resistance additives increase moisture resistance and reduce flammability.

Appearance and release forms

In a "pure" form, the material has a grayish-brown color, a homogeneous dense mass on the saw cut. The exact shade depends on the type of ground wood and the amount of bark. In this form, the material is used as a building sheet - for the construction of light partitions, leveling walls.

The surface of MDF can be "ennobled". It can be painted, laminated with PVC film, pasted over with veneer or plastic. This gives quite big number design options that are used in the furniture industry, in the production of finishing materials.

Production technology allows you to form products various shapes, thickness, size. During finishing pressing, it is possible to form a certain relief, which is used in the manufacture of furniture and doors. Also made from MDF Decoration Materials- plates, panels. They make skirting boards, platbands, and other moldings from it. All of these materials can be used for interior decoration premises.

The structure of MDF is fine-fibered, dust is formed during milling, which makes it possible to produce carvings. This is used in the manufacture of carved decorative elements - panels, decorative grilles, figured furniture facades.

MDF or chipboard - which is better?

Having appeared on the market, MDF created competition. This was facilitated by its properties:

All this led to the growing popularity of the material. Even despite the fact that MDF is more expensive than chipboard. To some extent, MDF even competed with wood. For example, skirting boards, MDF trims, and finishing panels are increasingly being used. This is due, firstly, to lower cost, and secondly, to greater practicality. Wood requires regular maintenance - painting, varnishing. MDF does not require special care. It is simply wiped with a damp cloth, if necessary using a liquid detergent.

MDF boards

The manufacturing technology of the MDF board allows you to vary the density over a wide range: the minimum indicator is 760-780 kg / m 3, the maximum is 1100 kg / m 3 and even higher. A material with a lower density is used where the abrasion load is low: in the furniture industry, for wall and ceiling decoration.

High-density MDF boards are used for flooring. The material of this category has a high resistance to abrasion: one and a half times higher than that of oak (oak - 6.9, MDF - 10-11). If we add that the coefficient of distortion along the diagonal is only 1.2 mm per meter of diagonal (for plywood 15 mm), the love of furniture makers and finishers for this material becomes clear.

Dimensions and tolerances

One of the most popular forms of release is slabs of different thicknesses and formats. They can be found with the following options:

It is convenient to work with MDF boards, since this material has very small tolerances for dimensional deviations:

• the difference in thickness cannot exceed 0.2 mm (for plywood 0.5-2.5 mm);
• length may differ by no more than 5 mm;
• the run-up in width cannot be more than 2 mm.

When joining two sheets, the difference in thickness or size is very small or not at all. That's why MDF finish sheets or panels advance quickly.

Types of surface finishes for sheet material

MDF boards are produced with different types surface treatment:

If we talk about construction and repair, then they use polished MDF boards in them. When leveling walls or installing light partitions, when leveling floors and ceilings. Here is an example of their scope.

Frame mounting

If the surface of the walls or ceiling is uneven (deviations are more than 1 cm), the method of mounting sheet MDF is the same as that of drywall - on the frame. The frame is usually assembled from wooden bars, but no one forbids putting profiles under drywall. The cross section of the bars is selected based on the irregularities of the wall - they must compensate for all the difference in height. Most likely, you will need bars of 20 * 30 mm or something like that. They are stuffed horizontally in increments of 40 cm. With this step, the joints of the sheets (they exist if the ceiling height is higher than 280 cm) fall on the bar.

Under the installation of sheet panels from the same beam, vertical jumpers are installed. They are placed in increments:

• 54. 3 cm - for sheets 2170 mm wide;
• 42.3 cm or 63.5 cm for a width of 1270 mm.

The step of installing vertical jumpers depends on the thickness of the selected material. For thin sheets (3-4 mm) it should be smaller, for thick sheets (5-6 mm) you can do more.

MDF sheets / plates are attached to the assembled frame. The peculiarity (compared to drywall) is that for hidden fastening it is necessary to drill holes under the fasteners. Otherwise, fasteners will not go into a dense plate. To prevent the caps from sticking out above the surface, the hole is expanded under them using a larger diameter drill.

After installing the screws, holes remain on the surface. They are sealed with putty. If further puttying of the walls is supposed, they act as with - first, the holes are sealed with putty, immediately removing the excess with a spatula. After drying, putty places are passed with fine-grained sandpaper - in order to finally get rid of possible irregularities. Then, after dusting the surface, they begin to putty the walls.

Glue installation

If the walls are even, you can mount MDF boards without a frame - on glue. You can use liquid nails or a composition like CM-11. The order of work is this:

So that during the installation process the sheet does not move anywhere, you can make holes in the corners and, after leveling, fix the sheet. Even if the self-tapping screw will only stick in the plaster, this will help, as it is only required at the initial stage - until the glue begins to harden.

This method seems simpler and less expensive (due to the lack of a frame), but leveling bulky MDF boards is not at all easy. It is better to try on a small section of the wall. The point is that it is impossible to disassemble the installed. Only if the skin is completely destroyed. So it is worth considering which method is better.

Installation of sheet MDF on the floor

For laying on the floor, moisture-resistant MDF boards of high density are chosen (from 900 kg / m 3 and above). Sheet thickness - from 5 mm when laying on a subfloor and from 10 mm when mounted on logs. In this case, the installation method is similar to leveling the floor with plywood, only the gaps are smaller, since the wood board changes its parameters much less than plywood. The rest of the rules are the same:

After sanding the putty, the MDF floor surface is ready for painting. If you do everything carefully, you get a perfectly flat floor. This base can also be used as a base for flexible finishing materials or under a laminate.

Finishing panels MDF

Finely dispersed pressed boards serve as the basis for the production of decorative finishing panels. The front surface is covered with paper. This is the most cheap option. Slightly more expensive ones are laminated with PVC film. There are also panels covered with veneer. This is a more expensive material. There are also options with plastic, but very rarely.

MDF panel with 3D image - 3D

Decorative MDF panels are most often sheathed on walls, sometimes on the ceiling. This method of finishing saves time: the surface is both leveled and immediately takes on its final form, since additional finishing is not required.

Types of decorative MDF panels

It will not be about colors and shades, but about the shape of the intake and the type of decorative surface. The shape of the finishing panels made of pressed wood fibers are:

When choosing MDF panels, pay attention to the type of finish. Most cheap material covered with paper, on top of which a thin layer is applied protective coating. It is clear that such a surface is quickly scratched, it can only be wiped with a soft, slightly damp cloth. You can not even use a rough sponge, otherwise light spots form. Such MDF panels are good for finishing the ceiling - there is no mechanical load at all. If you install them on the walls, it is better to immediately cover with two layers of varnish. You choose the type of surface yourself - gloss, semi-gloss, matte, semi-matte ... It is important that the film is durable.

More expensive ones - with PVC and veneer - do not require additional finishing, but at a price of 2-3 times more expensive. If the budget is limited, the option described above is not bad.

Mounting methods

MDF panels are mounted either on a frame or directly on a wall using glue. The technology is described in the previous paragraph and differs only in that clamps are used for installation - special mounting plates for flush mounting. The first panel on the wall is installed in the corner. Here it is fastened through with self-tapping screws. All the rest are fixed with clasps. After the installation is completed, the corners are closed with a special corner profile. It is mounted on glue - applied in a thin layer and pressed at the installation site.

There is also a system of profiles - starting, finishing, connecting and corner (external and inner corner). But this fastening system is more expensive, it is used with MDF panels finished with veneer, square or rectangular format.

There is another subtlety of mounting decorative MDF panels on the ceiling. If you use thin sheets / strips - 3-4 mm thick - you need to install suspensions often, otherwise the material will bend under its own weight. When using plates 6-8 mm thick, suspensions can be installed less frequently. They are more rigid and do not bend. But the weight of the finish will be greater, so you will have to use more powerful guides and suspensions themselves.

Facade selection is a responsible matter. The durability of kitchen furniture depends on this, its appearance and the ability to decide on a plan for arranging furniture. Modern designers prefer the following materials for the manufacture of kitchen facades: MDF (fine fraction), laminated chipboard (laminated chipboard) and plastic. These materials have proven themselves highly, both in terms of cost-effective indicators and aesthetic characteristics. Thanks to modern technologies production, each of these types of finishes lends itself to obtaining any form of furniture.

Numerous reviews on the Internet about the material for the facade of the kitchen demonstrate that users do not prefer any type of kitchen, they are all in an equal position. Therefore, in order to make the final choice of material, you should familiarize yourself with the advantages and disadvantages of each type of kitchen.

Characteristics of MDF, its advantages and disadvantages

For more than ten years, MDF facades have been the most popular and widespread in the world. Such kitchens are painted like cars. Paint is applied to the surface of the facades in several layers, each subsequent one, after the previous one has dried, before that the surface of the material is carefully primed. After complete drying, the MDF paints are covered with a protective layer of varnish.

MDF kitchens are the most popular on the market

Such kitchens have a number of advantages:

• democratic price in comparison with more modern views facades;
• the possibility of obtaining facades of any color and texture: glossy, matte, chameleon, etc.;
• MDF kitchens are not afraid of moisture, high temperatures and chemical exposure;
• quite unpretentious in care, do not require special tools;
• variety of facade shapes: flat or curved;
• facades withstand up to four paints;
• moisture and odor resistant.

But MDF kitchens are not without drawbacks, including:

• loss of brightness and saturation of colors under the influence of ultraviolet radiation;
• the surface is easily chipped and scratched;
• if the surface of the facade is damaged, it is impossible to carry out partial painting, since it is difficult to choose a shade.

Advice. If, nevertheless, scratches appear on the MDF facade, it is not necessary to repaint it entirely, you can come up with an original pattern and apply it to the entire perimeter of the facades, thereby obtaining a completely new interior.

MDF kitchens look quite simple, so it would be more original to combine several colors in the facades and add curved lines on drawers or side cabinets, so the kitchen will look like a designer kitchen.

Characteristics of chipboard, its advantages and disadvantages

This type of kitchen facades is no less popular than MDF, but it is more often chosen for use on rented apartment, cottage or as a temporary option. Chipboard is obtained using a physico-chemical lamination process, during which chipboard sheet film is applied. The result is a smooth surface with a slight reflective effect. The advantages of this method include the following:

• cheap finish compared to any other kitchen facades.

This is the only advantage of this material.

In addition, the material has several disadvantages:

• low strength of facades, both film and chipboard are easily scratched;
• low water resistance, especially at the corners, after a year the facades can already delaminate and begin to stick out;
• due to deformations of the material, the fittings also fail, the doors may creak, not fully open or close;
• very short term operation due to poor quality of the material;
• low resistance to moisture and odors;
• facade care is too demanding, the film is easily damaged.

Attention! If you decide to buy a chipboard kitchen, plan the top tier of drawers so that they are at least 65-70 cm from the countertop surface, and even better, place them as far away from hob. In this way, you minimize the effect of steam on the facade and extend its service life.

Characteristics of plastic facades, their advantages and disadvantages

Facades made of plastic are only gaining momentum in popularity. Despite the fact that the name “plastic kitchen” has taken root among the people, this is a bit of a misnomer. Such facades are made using two technologies: according to the first method, plastic is glued to MDF, according to the second, plastic is glued to chipboard. Both methods are reliable and of high quality, but, as discussed earlier, MDF facades will be more expensive. A plastic kitchen has a number of advantages, including:

• wide palette of colors;
• attractive and expensive appearance of the kitchen;
• facades are resistant to high temperatures;
• for care, you can use abrasive products, there will be no micro-scratches on the surface;
• do not fade in the sun;
• moisture and odor resistant.
• long service life, without loss of appearance.

A weighty list of the advantages of plastic kitchens does not deprive them of their shortcomings:

• the high cost of plastic facades, but for a long service life it is justified;
• only smooth parts can be made, bends and semicircles are impossible;
• demanding in care, every fingerprint can be seen on the surface of the facades.

Advice. If you have chosen a kitchen with plastic fronts, it is better to opt for glossy surfaces, they retain an attractive appearance longer, while matte fronts are more difficult to clean and very quickly become shabby and untidy.

Recently, many craftsmen are trying to mislead the client and give out laminated chipboard for plastic. To distinguish plastic from laminated chipboard, just look at their reflection: plastic reflects everything as a mirror, while on laminated chipboard there is a light areola around the reflection.

What material for the kitchen to choose?

Before deciding which material is better to choose for the manufacture of the kitchen, you need to decide: what service life do you want to get as a result. It is worth choosing chipboard if you have a very limited budget and in a few years you are planning overhaul. As for plastic and MDF, depending on your financial capabilities, you can make any choice of kitchen material. Both of these materials are of high quality and have a long service life.

Choosing a material for making a kitchen is only the surface of an iceberg, it is important to properly plan work areas of sufficient size and in required quantity. A photo found on the Internet will not necessarily be possible to bring to life in your kitchen. Therefore, it is better to seek the help of a professional designer who will help you distribute the space in a useful way.

Which facades for the kitchen to choose - video

Choose: chipboard or mdf which is better. Wood boards are widely used in the construction and furniture industries. But which is better, chipboard or MDF, which is better and how do they differ, except for the price? Let's try to understand in detail. Chipboard or MDF which is better, we understand.

Let's decipher the terms

Chipboard, known to us under the abbreviation chipboard (or chipboard), is a material obtained by hot pressing waste from the woodworking industry (technological chips, bark, sawdust, slab, residues of substandard products). The wood pulp is pre-crushed, mixed with thermosetting resin, after which it hardens under pressure, cools and is cut into slabs.

MDF is the Russian abbreviation of the English term Medium Density Fiberboards, which translates as "medium density fiberboard". For the production of MDF, finely dispersed technological chips obtained from debarked and chopped wood are used. The plate is made by dry pressing, the binding material is paraffin or lignin (polymeric substances that release wood when heated).

How is MDF different from chipboard?

Strength characteristics

The density of MDF, on average - 720-870kg / m3. Such indicators provide comfortable use of materials, wear resistance and long-term operation. In terms of moisture resistance and mechanical properties, MDF surpasses even some types of natural wood. What is better mdf or chipboard, how to choose the right one.

The strength of chipboard depends on belonging to the corresponding group:

• low density (from 350 to 650kg/m3);
• medium (650-750kg/m3);
• high (750-800kg/m3).

Safety

The main difference between MDF and chipboard is environmental friendliness. All components of fibreboard are natural and do not emit harmful fumes. Therefore, even uncoated or MDF with a damaged surface will not become a health hazard.

High manufacturability

Raw material for MDF manufacturing homogeneous in composition and size of fractions, thanks to which the plates are smooth, even and ideally prepared for the application of facing and decorative materials. Among chipboard, only a polished plate of the P-A brand can “boast” with such a surface.

Advantages and disadvantages of materials: chipboard or mdf which is better

It just seems that MDF "wins" in all respects. In practice, more than 80% of the market for wood-based panels belongs to particle boards.

Advantages of chipboard

• availability of choice - chipboard is produced by both domestic and foreign factories, and competition, as a rule, gives rise to price cuts;
• moisture resistance compared to natural wood;
• price - if you compare boards of the same density, chipboard will be at least a third cheaper than wood fiber.

Cons chipboard

• 95% of chipboard production uses phenol-formaldehyde, urea-formaldehyde, melamine-formaldehyde resins, which evaporate harmful substances that adversely affect the nervous and respiratory systems and provoke allergic reactions. The remaining 10% are isocyanate binders, but they are not used at domestic enterprises. It should be remembered that for residential premises it is recommended to use only products of class E1 or E0 - they have minimal formaldehyde evaporation (0-10 mg per 100 g of dry composite). The entire surface of the plates (including the ends) must be carefully sealed with paint and varnish products or facing materials(laminate, veneer, paper-resin film, etc.);
• many people know that chipboard products are difficult to fine-tune, do not tolerate repeated screwing of fasteners, and do not hold fittings well. It's all about the low quality of raw materials, domestic standards for which are too loyal. For example, in European-made chipboard, the ratio of hardwood and coniferous wood (10:90) is strictly regulated, it is forbidden to use bark, knots and roots. At domestic enterprises, any wood waste is used, and the insufficient density of wood pulp is compensated by an increase in formaldehyde resins.

Advantages of MDF

MDF is easy to process, allows you to perform curly milling, paneling, rounded elements. A big plus is the high density of the material, which allows you to hold the fittings well, and moisture resistance. Therefore, MDF is most common in the furniture industry.

Cons of MDF

• high price, which makes it profitable to use MDF only for furniture and in production wall panels, in construction, chipboard remains the leader;
• predominantly imported origin of the material, especially moisture resistant;
• high flammability of the material is a significant disadvantage, it is better to avoid work near open flames.