Finally picked solid maple over MDF for a kitchen job and glad I did

I had a kitchen remodel in North Vancouver last month where the customer wanted shaker style doors. I was stuck between using MDF with a hard maple veneer or going all solid maple. The MDF would have saved them about $900 total and the paint finish would be smoother. But I went with solid maple because of the humidity near the ocean and the fact they have a big window over the sink. The wood moved a bit during assembly which made me second guess myself at first. After the finish coat went on and I installed them though the grain looks way better than any veneer could. The customer was happy and said they could feel the difference in weight. Has anyone else had a job where going solid instead of a composite was the right call?

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sam_scott593mo ago

900 bucks extra for not having to explain to a customer in five years why their MDF doors look like they went through a war zone? Sounds like a steal.

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miles7983mo ago

Respectfully, I've had plenty of MDF doors hold up just fine over the years if the customer isn't running them through a car wash. Solid wood swells and cracks too in the wrong environment.

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