Tips in Choosing Kitchen Countertops and Cabinets

Kitchen refacing cabinets, Alder wood advantages and disadvantages are part of a series of articles I have written recently to help homeowners improve their homes. Today I want to combine the two i.e. cabinet refacing and using alder wood. I suggest you read the article right to the end because there is really a lot to learn.

There are many reasons why you would choose alder wood over other types for your cabinets. Let me show you some of these benefits.

Advantages

· It is cheaper than most wood. For example, compared cabinet price to cherry, maple or walnut alder is the cheapest.
· It almost looks like cherry but it’s cheaper. So if you like cherry then you’d like it as well.
· It is a generic hardwood. Not as hard as maple or oak but compared to pine or fir it really is hard enough.
· It is generally easy to handle
· It cuts quite well especially when using a combination blade.
· It does not feather.
· It has nice wood grain but is not too wide

Disadvantages of kitchen refacing cabinets with Alder wood

· It dings very easily
· It is not terribly soft but you are likely to get more dings within the next few years than you would get with harder wood.
· It has some difficulty taking stain. You might have to use a sealer or gel stain.
· It is not the best in quality. If you want a harder wood go with Maple, Oak or any other wood.
· It isn’t good if you have kids running around the house.