You can't tell from your photos. Which part do you think might be mdf? The panel?

if you don't mind destroying them, you could sand one of the inside corners on the inside and see if it looks like mdf.

Thanks for the responses. I’m wondering if the frame is MDF. The center definitely is MDF but the frame is supposed to be wood. I could sand it but I’m embarrassed to ask how will the MDF look and how will wood look?

Also, I can post a different photo if you let me know what Is helpful to photograph.

Based on your topic "deceptive cabinet maker" did you ask him??

My contractor asked him- and after many requests and his arm was twisted-he admitted that the drawers which were supposed to be wood are MDF. So, my thought is if he is deceptive on the drawers he can be deceptive on the cabinets as well. Fool me once, shame on him. Try to fool me twice-ask Houzz!

Remove one of the back screws for the handle, you should be able to see if it's MDF or wood.

So the drawer fronts are MDF and were supposed to be hardwood. Is this in writing? Is the cab maker making new hardwood drawer fronts for you? You were charged for hardwood and but bought MDF. You likely have MDF rails on your door fronts too. . .

The styles and rails (outside pieces) are most probably hardwood. It's just too much work and hassle to build doors out of MDF and the seams wouldn't show or would look different. The center panel being MDF isn't going to affect the performance of the door and will probably not warp or twist if they're properly finished. They should have used 1/4" plywood though. Are you sure they're not plywood?

When he says the drawers are MDF, does he mean the drawer fronts or the drawer boxes?

Carolina - its actually quite easy to build cabinet doors out of mdf - all of the 'big companies' have machines that churn them out quite easily, so it very well could be all-mdf!

I didn't say cabinets, I was referring, pretty clearly, to the doors. Maybe I should have said stile-and-rail doors are pretty hard to make out of MDF. It doesn't join together very well.

Oh wait, that's what I said to begin with!

I removed a screw and took a photo. Probably, next to impossible to tell. Regardless, I thought I’d post.

Not my expertise but maybe you can glean some info off of this article if you find out they are MDF and whether you want to keep them or not.

http://kitchenstoronto.com/mdf-vs-wood-kitchen-doors

The splinters at the top of the hole look more like wood than MDF to me.

I was hopeful that the splinters meant wood too.

MDF for painted cabinets is ok, but not if you paid for wood. Hard to tell from that photo but a professional can look and tell. At first glance I thought MDF because it is kind of crumbly when you open an area. But their also appears to be some shredded splinters of wood on outside edges so it could be a plywood of some type. Take that door to a cabinet company nearby and they can assess quickly for you. Then have a serious discussion with GC or whomever holds their contract. I sure wouldn’t pay for wood and get MDF. GOOD LUCK.

You could go to where he manufacturers them. But I would't pay for solid if I got MDF.

Take off the handle and peek into the screw holes. If any sawdust is coming off in the process, look at it closely, too.

Constine see above photo from OP

...looks like wood splinters to me...20 years plus working with wood...

Is the cabinet maker falling under the category where you hired him or the GC? If it is the GC, I think the GC should be the one figuring this out to your satisfactions AND he shouldn't be relying on twisting the arm to get what may or may not be the correct answer. Why did it take twisting of arm to get an answer?

Are the cabinets painted? Not an expert, but I don’t think MDF cabs are painted. Usually covered with a laminate or something like that. Have to look it up…thermofoil… couldn’t think of the word.

There is nothing wrong with MDF..think engineered hardwood floors…it holds up well.

However, if you contracted for solid wood, you should have what you asked/paid for...

I am on Cape Cod…(why do we say “on” Cape when I wouldn’t say ‘on” Boston? )

I spent too much money on wood high end cabs and, like any wood in a damp area, the joints split. Also. my hardwood floors cupped…and the HVAC central unit was running 12 months a year.

Bottom line, I should have done engineered hardwood floors and MDF cabs.

A bit off of subject but since Judy mentioned it. My hubby's parents have high-end thermofoil cabinets and they are a mess as they don't humidify the air in the winter. In the early stages some of the thermofoil was replaced and it didn't match. Now more is peeling off and they were so disappointed by the initial repair they are living with it. I'm waiting for the problems to start on their all through the main floor wood flooring which in not engineered. Though even with engineered wood you still need to. People just don't understand with their wood finishes that they need to humidify the air properly.

There is no “savings” on a 5 over door from MDF vs paint grad wood. The creation of the pieces and the paint process itself are where the money goes for either.

The better performance of painted MDF will just be a bonus if you got that over wood. Even better are the new laminate wrapped 5 pc doors that are tougher than any paint coating ever thought about being. And indistinguishable from painted wood. They aren’t cheap though.

MDF is superior to wood for painted doors; not even debatable. It should be an upcharge.

Real wood moves - warps - twists - cracks at the joints. MDF don't. Painted MDF doors don't show the joints as the wood expands and contracts, because MDF is dimensionaly stable and does not expand or contract. And in a situation like a hurricane or flood, ALL wood gets destroyed.

In all of this discussion about MDF, the issue of where it's being used in the cabinet hasn't been very clear. You have doors with a framework (stiles and rails), a flat recessed panel, raised molding around the panel, drawer fronts and drawer boxes. This is about quality, not about what your were promised:

1. All the stiles and rails should be hardwood. I've never seen a cabinet door that has raised molding made totally out of MDF.
   2) The recessed panel would be acceptable in either MDF or 1/4" plywood, although in my 20+ years experience I've only ever seen 1/4" plywood.
   3) The molding around the framework should only be hardwood.
   4) The drawer fronts should be hardwood.
   5) The drawer boxes are acceptable in hardwood or MDF, that's an issue of what you were promised vs what was delivered.

I think that wherever that screw is from, it's hardwood, not MDF.

Does your contract stipulate all-wood cabinets? Does it say wood drawer boxes? Hardwood doors? It's time for you to get it out and look at the contract for the cabinet specs.

BTW, I like the cabinet pulls. Good choice!

Thanks everyone for the responses. Turns out I was WRONG! Cabinets are wood.

Carolina cabinets-the pulls are schaub.

Judy G- My dream is to one day say, “I summer on the Cape.” I will happily take the cracked cabinets and cupped floors that go with it!

Thanks again!

You're welcome! I'm glad you're happy!

Just as a sort of guide to tell mdf........it looks like (or is) compressed sawdust..........wood is usually softer and breaks more stringy splintery .........can’t believe your contractor can’t answer this question........as to the overwhelming favoritism for Mdf........I personally love solid wood......with all its long term flaws....also hate how heavy mdf is...how over time the coating may peel and how there are no options to change the cabinets finish if you want a change in the future....

Oops.....my post got delayed....glad you are you have a happy result....

Thanks RitaSJ: The reason I like wood is due to the formaldehyde in MDF

My biggest problem with MDF is screws strip out of it and there is no fixing that.

Flo, fill with glue and sawdust. I've done this.

The middle is usually MDF, the sides (frame of the door is solid wood)

@Godswood - thanks, I have tried that and it is semi successful.

AJRMCR….come on down to the Cape….another day in paradise (even when it is 5*).

Godswood, if the hole's small enough, try glue and a toothpick.