MDF or PLYWood for wardrobe doors? help pls!

[1234]

I want to build wardrobe sliding doors.
What is better to build with mdf or plywood.

The doors are 2.5meter in height and 1meter in length.

Would mdf be too heavy? .....is plywood good for doors?
What is the minimum thickness for a sliding door?
any information regarding mdf or plywood would be much appreciated.

[rod1949]

Go for 18 to 20mm thick MDF and moisture resistant MDF would be better

[1234]

Go for 18 to 20mm thick MDF and moisture resistant MDF would be better

hey, thanks for the reply:). I was thinking of using 18mm thick mdf but then i thought maybe i should use plywood instead because it would lighter and stronger or from what i've been told. any thoughts?

by the way the wardrobe will have a 10cm trim around with a mirror in the middle does that make a difference?

thanks again.

[rod1949]

I don't think you'll get ply at 2.5m long unless you did a special order. Also ply can have a natural tendancy to bow/bend whereas MDF is a stable board.

No the mirror won't affect the MDF but it will have extra weight which you'll need to consider when selecting a suitable track/roller system, assuming they'll be sliding doors.

[linkdong]

Hello 1234,

Plywood would be a good choice. If you use core such as poplar the density is only about 550KG/CBM. The regular size of plywood is 2440mm*1220MM*thickness. So it's not easy to get a 2.5M long board. However some countries such as Japan require plywood in size 2500MM*1250MM*thickness. So it is still possible to get plywood like that. Your mirro will not effect much on the strenth of the board.

[linkdong]

oh and don't forget about the glue type. E0 may be suitable for indoor furniture making.

[carlow]

G'day 1234. I would suggest that you go and see the supplier of the mirrors you are thinking of using and talk to them about your needs.I have sliding mirrors [3metres high]and they are surrounded with an aluminium frame,no backing just the mirror.IF you want to still put them on a backing i would go for13mm mdf,the extra thickness of the mdf you are thinking of using would only make it heavy at no extra gain.A timber frame around the mirrors might be all that you need,as i said go see the experts they will set you straight good luck
CARLOW
p.s. on rereading your post and that you only want to put the mirror in the middle might i suggest 13mm plaster board as your backing,most wardrobes doors are made with plaster board easy to paint.

[pal]

Go to G.James glass and give them your measurements they will make the doors out of vinyl (select the color you want) coated plaster board and also the mirror one and supply the tracks and rollers.

Harold

[nrb]

What ever you paint those doors with make sure you do both sides equally,otherwise you will run the risk of the MDF bowing.
Cheers :2tsup:

[Wongo]

Agree with what everyone said. MDF doors will bow like mad without a doubt. Most cases the doors cannot close properly.

[1234]

WOW more replies! this is great. Thanks everyone for the advice. OK, after much thought I've decided to go with MDF (MR) and obviously it will be painted all over so hopefully it wont bow. Now to decide the thickness 13mm or 18mm..
Whats the best way to attach MDF together?, meaning the 10cm trim to the base board

thanks again for all the replies.

[Master Splinter]

Paint it with anything you like - the doors will still bow under their own weight, as MDF is not terribly structural, especially in that sort of size.

It'd probably be better to hunt up some hollow core doors to keep the weight down and the rigidity up or make your own torsion box style doors.

[clear out]

Paint it with anything you like - the doors will still bow under their own weight, as MDF is not terribly structural, especially in that sort of size.

It'd probably be better to hunt up some hollow core doors to keep the weight down and the rigidity up or make your own torsion box style doors.

i did about 8 metres of doors for our bedroom and upstairs living room.
Used hollow core internal doors (maple?) limed them (FeastWatson)and used brass track and Courdry? wheels etc. Even scored some teak pulls worked out a treat. MDF isn't stable old style solid core is best but good luck finding it nowadays.
H.

[Andyh77777]

I suppose the tendency for MDF to bow would be greater when running on bottom rollers, compared to doors suspended from top rollers.

[Bushmiller]

A sheet of MDF or Ply by itself is going to bow. The trick is to laminate two sheets together.

I have also purchsed from G James Glass ready made doors and fittted them to the wardrobe I have built.

The house I currently live in has two wardrobes of which the doors are made from mdf, but they are both about 32mm thick (two sheets glued together). This does make them weighty and you need to check your door hardware is up to the job.

The disadvantage is that the doors are going to be more expensive, but the doors have a better feel and to my mind look better too. It also gives the opportunity to make a pannelled look if you wish.

I will try and post some pix, but the camera just played up on me.

Regards
Paul

[Bushmiller]

OK. I worked out what was wrong with the stupid camera, but I don't want to talk about it:-.

Another wardrobe issue is that the tall doors are not really that practical quite apart from the difficulty of obtains the materiuals. The doors for the wardrobe in the previous house were tall (2500mm from memory as the ceilings were 9'), but I had them made by James Glass.

I went another way for the present house because the ceilings are 10'. I put small doors at the top. The panelled wardrobe doors replicate the style of doors in the house, which was built in the 1920s.

As the wardrobe is quite wide, I put in place a central wall to support the top cupboards. The internal shelf units were bought as I find the making of such things tedious and can hardly buy the materials for the cost of the complete unit.

The last picture shows a smaller wardrobe in another room. Still two boards laminated, but made in a different style.

I have made wardrobe with the doors hangings from above, but I prefer them on runners. They seem to be more satisfactory, but that is a subjective view.

There is still some painting of the room to be completed so apologies for the interim state.

Regards
Paul

[Debmanks]

Hi 1234,

I'm thinking of doing the same (18mm mdf doors on wheels) did you ever make them and did they work out okay?
Thanks
Debbie

[Bushmiller]

Hello Debbie and welcome to the forums.

Unfortunately the Forums experienced a glitch during a reformatting exercise a while back and the pictures posted were all lost.

These two threads may give you some idea of making wardrobe doors from two sheets of mdf. I really don't think a single sheet will be stable enough.

http://www.woodworkforums.com/f108/woman-cave-189592

http://www.woodworkforums.com/f245/studio-181897

The pix are still there on these threads as they were later.

If you are still keen to use a single sheet of mdf I would hang the door from a track at the top rather than rollers on the bottom of the door.

As another alternative I would also investigate Master Splinter's suggestion in post #12 of using hollow core doors.

Regards
Paul