A salesperson told you the cabinets are all wood, and you are trying to find out whether that was true. Solid wood cabinets in Jacksonville, FL are part of the wood cabinetry we build, and that phrase gets used loosely. A well built cabinet is not solid wood all the way through, and it should not be.
The carcass is better made from quality plywood than from glued up boards, because plywood does not move with the seasons the way a wide solid panel does. Solid wood belongs where you see and touch it: face frames, door stiles and rails, drawer fronts and exposed end panels.
So when a shop says all wood, ask which parts. That question sorts a good bid from a bad one fast.
The label all wood cabinets is marketing language, not a spec, and it can cover a particleboard box. Solid wood means lumber sawn from a log and milled, not a sheet good made from veneer or fiber.
In a cabinet, that lumber shows up as narrow pieces: a 2 inch face frame stile, a 2.25 inch door rail, a 3/4 inch drawer front.
Where you do not want it is a 30 inch cabinet side. A 24 inch solid panel can gain or lose close to 1/4 inch of width between a wet August and a dry January. Screw it down at both edges and it splits. Plywood does not, because alternating veneer layers cancel out.
Spec a kitchen component by component. Treating solid wood vs plywood cabinets as one yes or no question is the wrong question.
| Component | Best material | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Carcass sides and bottom | 3/4 in plywood | Stable, holds screws |
| Face frame | Solid hardwood | Takes hinge screws |
| Door stiles and rails | Solid hardwood | The visible frame |
| Raised door panel | Solid wood, floating | Free to expand inside the frame |
| Painted shaker panel | MDF | No grain under paint |
A raised panel is solid wood, but it floats in its groove and is never glued at the edges. That is the old joinery answer to wood movement.
With solid wood confined to frames and fronts, hardwood cabinets come down to a species decision. Hardness matters most at doors and drawer fronts.
| Species | Grain | Janka (typical) | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poplar | Bland, green streaks | 540 | Lowest | Paint grade frames |
| Soft maple | Near invisible | 950 | Low | Paint grade doors, boxes |
| Red oak | Open cathedral | 1290 | Moderate | Traditional stained |
| Cherry | Fine, darkens | 950 | High | Warm stained cabinetry |
| Hickory | Wild color swing | 1820 | High | Rustic, high traffic |
Red oak is the one people either love or want to bury under paint. Its open pores telegraph through paint unless filled, which is why we steer paint jobs to maple or poplar.
Solid wood cabinetry splits into two buying tracks before you pick a species. Paint grade means the species is chosen for a smooth closed surface, because the color comes from a can. Poplar and soft maple are the workhorses.
Stain grade is the opposite. You are buying grain, so boards get selected and more of each gets thrown away. That yield loss is half of why cherry and white oak cost what they do.
One trap: hard maple blotches under stain without a conditioner or dye. Our cabinet refinishing crew sees blotchy maple constantly.
Real wood cabinets move more here than in a dry climate. Indoor humidity in Jacksonville commonly sits between 45 and 60 percent with air conditioning on, and far higher in a closed up house.
Wide painted panels crack at the joint if glued rigid, which is the hairline you see at the corner of a shaker door. Unconditioned spaces need different specs, which is why we build garage cabinets from materials that tolerate 80 percent humidity. Doors that fit in December rub in August if reveals were set too tight.
We set a 1/8 inch reveal on overlay doors and closer to 3/32 inch on inset, which is why inset cabinetry is harder to get right here. Older Riverside and Avondale walls are rarely square, so scribe stock matters as much as species.
We start at your house with a tape and a laser, because the room sets the box sizes. Then we put the carcass material, face frame species and door construction in writing. A bid that will not name those three has told you something.
Boxes and doors are finished in our shop, which beats spraying in a kitchen. Install runs two to four days, with scribing and hardware setting on site.
| Scope | Typical installed range |
|---|---|
| Painted poplar or maple, plywood boxes | $650 to $950 per linear foot |
| Stained red oak or birch | $750 to $1,050 per linear foot |
| Cherry, hickory or white oak | $900 to $1,400 per linear foot |
| Doors and drawer fronts only | $250 to $500 each |
Species is the third driver behind door style and finish, and inset adds roughly 15 to 25 percent over full overlay. These are typical Northeast Florida ranges rather than a quote, and a real number takes a look at the space.
4.8 ★
Klein Carpentry holds a 4.8 star average across 51 Google reviews. Homeowners keep mentioning the same things: fast replies, crews who show up when they say they will, and attention to detail. Every solid wood cabinets project gets a written quote, a clear schedule and a daylight walkthrough at the end.
Humidity
Wood gains and loses moisture with the air around it, and the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Wood Handbook shows how much it swells and shrinks as a result. We plan every solid wood cabinets job for that movement: stable sheet goods, acclimated lumber, moisture-resistant material near slabs and wet rooms, and joints with room to move.
3 Heights
Jacksonville homes range from plaster and concrete block to square new construction. We measure each opening at the floor, mid height and ceiling before building, then scribe the finished work to the wall. Depending on the piece, it is built in our shop and brought in finished or built on site in your home, so the fit stays tight either way.
4.8from 51 Google reviews
Very happy with the professional work done by Klein Carpentry. We had wood accents done for the entrance way, great room and master bedroom. Fantastic craftsmanship and took the time to make it look perfect. Also had ceiling beams placed in the great room and master bedroom. They really complete both rooms. Lastly had wood accents for the half bath in the living area. Made a noticeable difference. Would highly recommend Klein Carpentry, highly detailed and professional.
Mike C · a month ago on Google
The level of quality Klein Carpentry has is next level. Their service is incredible and are very responsive and knowledgeable. They do all kinds of work. Highly recommend them for any projects you may have coming up!
Vladimir Orgunov · 4 months ago on Google
Very professional and high quality work. Done a wonderful job with the mantle, floating shelves, ship lap, crown and base board! Totally recommend if you’re looking to finish up a home project.
Alec Lambert · 11 months ago on Google
Reviews from Google
For the box, no, plywood is better. It resists the seasonal swelling that makes wide solid panels cup or split. Solid wood is the right choice for face frames, doors and drawer fronts, where you see and touch the cabinet.
Soft maple or poplar. Both have tight pores and take primer without grain showing through the paint. Red oak is the one to avoid unless the pores are filled first, which adds labor.
Open a door and look at the inside edge of the cabinet side. A layered edge means plywood, a smooth brown core means particleboard, and continuous grain means solid lumber. The door frame is usually solid even when the box is not.
Properly built ones will not, because the wide parts are engineered to move or stay put. Trouble comes from glued rigid panels, unfinished backs and doors hung with no reveal.
We can, but we change the recipe. An unconditioned Jacksonville garage swings from dry to very humid, so we use moisture tolerant sheet goods, catalyzed finishes and coated hardware rather than standard kitchen parts.
Where these specs get applied.
If the boxes are fine and the doors are tired.
The door style most of these species become.
To change color on wood you own.
Furniture grade freestanding pieces.
Everything we build in cabinetry.
Call Klein Carpentry at (904) 759-4988 and we will come look at the space, take measurements and give you a written quote.
Get A Free Quote Today
