Colored Thermofoil Cabinets
In this article about thermofoil cabinets I mentioned how hard it was to find thermofoil cabinets in something other than white and off white. After some googling I found webinetry.com . They had quite a selection of thermofoil. One phone call later (and a couple of very quick follow up emails) and I had some answers from Michael.
What exactly is thermofoil, as opposed to laminate? I think sometimes these terms are used interchangeably, and I’m guessing that it’s incorrect a lot of the time.
By definition, thermofoil is a laminate but not a high pressure laminate like Formica. Thermofoil is typically a vinyl top material (PVC) bonded to a substrate through heat and pressure (laminated).
You folks seem pretty unique in the array of thermofoil cabinet door styles you provide. Why doesn’t everyone else have this big a selection in thermofoil cabinets?
Thermofoil lends itself to contemporary design particularly because it is available in a rainbow of colors (gloss and matte finish). There are American manufacturers who use thermofoil to apply through a vacuum and heat process to MDF panels routed to look like framed wood doors. This in an attempt to create a lower price point than painted wood doors with a similar look. We, on the other hand, have a mission statement to “Make Luxury Affordable For All” and offer this contemporary product line “Beyond” at a fraction of the cost of the European brands and allow designers and home owners to create the trendy minimalist look. We only do slab type doors, either with matching PVC edge banding or aluminum trim and also offer a door with the thermofoil vacuum formed over the edge so there is not a separate edge treatment needed.
Are there any advantages or disadvantages to buying thermofoil cabinets over wood cabinets?
Thermofoil styles that mimic traditional wood joinery would most likely be less costly. As in any product there are different levels of quality in the market place. In the really budget products you will see bubbling and delamination as well as “yellowing” of the material over time. All thermofoils are sensitive to high heat, such as that produced by the self cleaning cycle of a modern oven and either need to be protected with heat shields or removed from adjacent cabinetry during the cleaning cycle.
What’s the difference in price between, say, a 24” base cabinet in birch, and the same cabinet in thermofoil? Figure two finished sides made of particleboard.
If cabinet box and mechanicals are identical, the price difference between a quality theromofoil slab door and that of a slab birch door are minimal.
Some of your doors in the laminates section have a wood grain look to them. What have you got for solid color thermofoil cabinets?
We offer Thermofoil in ten colors (two door styles Luminous and Plasma)currently. Actually, thermofoil material is made in every color of the rainbow and many wood look-alikes as well.
What happens if the thermofoil cabinet gets damaged? Is there the equivalent of a touch up pen for thermofoil that will seal things up against moisture?
You could use a paint touch up pen but it will usually not be an invisible repair. In most cases the atmospheric/ambient moisture in a home will not cause a damaged door to deteriorate further but liquids could affect the material negatively. As with any material that is exposed to light for a period of time, there will be subtle (sometimes not so subtle) changes in color which depending on the time in service may make replacement a challenge in that the color may no longer match precisely.
We thank Michael at webinetry.com for helping us and our readers better understand thermofoil cabinets, and for providing so many different colored thermofoil cabinets.
Written by:
Craig
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