How a Lighthouse cabinet is built.
A breakdown of the materials, joinery and hardware you can expect inside every box — across every style and color.
Lock-spec wholesale cabinets — by design
The biggest hidden cost in cabinet specifying is variance: an “identical” cabinet ships with thinner plywood, a friction hinge, or a stapled drawer box, and a contractor finds out after install. Because Lighthouse owns and runs the factory, we can lock the construction spec on every order, every batch.
Below is the spec we lock — the same on a $79 base cabinet and a custom-sized 36″ sink base.
The Lighthouse build, layer by layer
Solid birch hardwood door, frame and drawer face
Doors, face frames and drawer fronts are 3/4″ solid birch. Birch is a tight-grained, stable hardwood that sands cleanly and takes paint or stain without raising grain — a far better paint substrate than MDF, and stiffer than soft maple or rubber-wood substitutes.
1/2″ plywood cabinet box
Top, bottom and side panels are 1/2″ plywood. Plywood holds screws better than particleboard, doesn’t crumble when wet, and is dramatically lighter — a meaningful difference on the install crew’s back.
5/8″ plywood back and drawer box
Back panels are 5/8″ plywood, recessed and stapled into a captured groove for racking strength. Drawer boxes are also 5/8″ plywood, joined with traditional dovetail joinery rather than glue-and-staples.
Soft-close hinges and full-extension slides
Six-way adjustable soft-close hinges on every door. Full-extension soft-close slides on every drawer. No upcharge, no “upgrade kit.”
Full-depth 3/4″ plywood shelves
Adjustable shelves run the full depth of the cabinet, in 3/4″ plywood, so they don’t sag under load and don’t leave a visible shelf-pin telegraph in the front edge.
Color-matched panels and toe-kick
End panels, exposed sides, shelves and toe-kick come color-matched to the door — so installs that show end-grain or kick board don’t need an on-site paint touch-up.
What this build actually means on the job site
- Stronger screw retention. Plywood holds cabinet-to-cabinet and cabinet-to-wall fasteners far better than particleboard, especially under loaded counter weight.
- Better moisture tolerance. Plywood doesn’t crumble at the edges if a leaking dishwasher or a wet sink supply gets to it. Particleboard does.
- A stable paint surface. Solid birch doors don’t telegraph joint lines under paint the way MDF can over time.
- Quieter day-to-day use. Soft-close hardware on every cabinet eliminates the slammed-door / slammed-drawer feedback that drives clients’ punch-list calls.
- Lower freight cost per box. RTA flat-pack ships denser, with less damage exposure than fully-assembled cabinets.
| Door & frame | 3/4″ solid birch hardwood |
|---|---|
| Drawer face | 3/4″ solid birch hardwood |
| Box panels | 1/2″ plywood |
| Back panel | 5/8″ plywood |
| Drawer box | 5/8″ plywood, dovetail joints |
| Shelves | 3/4″ plywood, full-depth, adjustable |
| Hinges | Soft-close, six-way adjustable |
| Drawer slides | Full-extension, soft-close |
| Finish coverage | Door + frame + side panels + shelves + toe-kick |
| Shipping | RTA flat-pack with assembly instructions |
Need a construction spec sheet?
We can send a printable PDF spec sheet for your project the same day.