Your experience with past desks as to durability / stability - according to how large it is, etc.?

I have never had a built in desk done before. This will be 64” wide and 23” deep with 4 cabinets up above. and a desk below with two drawers on either side of the 30” opening. It will be built a nook with those dimensions.

I am not a pro but my choice would be maple. I would not want the off gassing of formaldehyde.

I’m not sure I would want a painted desktop, especially MDF. The front edge at the top of the desk is vulnerable to nicks. Personally I would want maple frame 3/4” thick just a little proud of the desktop to protect the edge of a sheet of high definition laminate (Wilsonart HD for example). Or find a nice Corian or other solid surface for the desktop.

mdf doesn't expand and contract like wood does. all that movement could cause the paint to crack or get tiny hairline fissures. Doesn't mean it will happen, it's a benefit to mdf. it also stands up better to heat and humidity. the other is price. mdf is cheaper. It will work fine as long as it doesn't get wet. now if the price is the same for both materials, then the mdf guy is over charging. most center panels on kitchen cabinet doors are mdf.

(oh, and once it's encapsulated w/paint, you don't have to worry about off gassing. if you're that concerned, buy American. they have tougher EPA requirements. but really, lacquer off-gases, poly, carpet, any flame retardant material on your furniture,,all off -gas. If you aren't directly workin w/mdf and breathing the sawdust fumes from sanding, you'll be fine)

I'm doing a super-simple built-in desk (really just a top), and it'll be made of a piece of butcher block counter top from the Ikea scratch and dent room. It cost $15.

Thanks, The doors and drawer fronts would be MDF. And the crown molding The inside shelves are maple plywood. I’m just Leary as the other 4 estimates all used mple for the doors.

The top will be a quartz material, also

Ask to see a sample of both materials painted up, then decide.

MDF is the standard from knowledgeable makers for painted cabinets of all kinds. It is smoother, more stable, paints better, and is denser and will wear better. Wood snobs not withstanding.

If this is a painted surface, MDF will be the preferred material. If it is to be stained, then maple would be the best material. The boxes can be made of MDF, too. It's not necessary to specify plywood. Times have changed and materials change. MDF won't warp. The last set of maple doors that I bought from a very good cabinet maker warped. None of my MDF cabinet doors have ever warped. Bottom line, select the material that is appropriate for your application.

I would use a good hard clear finish on the maple.

It's a shame to paint maple.

And yes, I'm in the land of the maple leaf : ) .

All the desks in my office are 1 1/2" x 3ft x 8ft baltic birch plywood. Its wonderful to see the bare tops when I have time to clean up. I would post a photo but they are currently hidden.

There are different grades of MDF and plywood. It is impossible to give a recommendation as without seeing what is being built how do you expect an intelligent answer? MDF is terrible at load bearing spans but does have application that require dead flat panels that stay that way. By the way they do have moisture resistant MDF and regular MDF requires ALL edges to be sealed to prevent moisture swelling. Ever see MDF moldings in a bathroom? People don't understand that ALL sides need to be coated with an oil based paint not just their faces.

Maple is a a very hard wood that is used for furniture/cabinet face frames for that reason. I would not want an MDF desk top even if edged in wood. I would rather have a quality plywood one with a wood edge.

Each product is good at one thing and possibly bad at another. I will assume anyone who actually builds a desk will understand that it wouldn't be built in its entirety in MDF. A balance of MDF and maple would be fine. By the way most painters will charge extra fro MDF as edge fuzz and coverage can be issue outside of using a cabinet specific paint.

Post a pick of what you are building and a better answer can be given.