And you actually want Chinese plywood in your home for what reason?

Hollysprings,
Just did a bit more sleuthing. The article posted below explains why domestic plywood prices will increase. I am not sure that my contractor was planning on using Chinese plywood, but that prices were affected by the tariffs. I understand a little more now but nevertheless, will double check to make sure he is using domestic plywood. Thanks for your point of view!

Here is a link that might be useful: Why plywood prices will climb

If he has been or is being dishonest why would you trust him to build your cabinets?

We hired him for the whole remodel package. Our architect recommended him and continued to do so despite our concerns. My husband also wanted to proceed with him as his bid was still slightly lower than the other one we had.

The initial mistrust came when he provided the updated costs for the job after his first bid and our decision to go with him. The prices had increased dramatically with no discernable explanation. He claims he "mismeasured" the cabinetry.

We made a stupid mistake by paying him a second large deposit before we had the final contract signed. He put off giving us a hardcopy to sign for almost a week after showing us a version on his computer and then adding a few more thousand in the meantime. Without hiring a lawyer or going to court, I did not think we would be able to get our money back. Of course, in hindsight, I would not have paid him the second deposit, but my husband is a very trusting sort, unlike me.

Everything has been demolished and the floors are in. We are just waiting for the door, window, cabinets and countertops now. We have already had a long talk with him about his lack of integrity, playing good cop/bad cop to keep him motivated to do a good job. He is a bit younger and on the artistic side and we didn't just want t cookie cutter job. We have yet to see his work as a subcontractor did the flooring (which turned out gorgeous). We are still crossing our fingers that there won't be any more shenanigans.

Sorry, this was a long, involved explanation but it was cathartic. I never thought I would be in this position but, here we are. I will now be less judgmental of others when they arrive here.

Just an FYI, you can check to see that your contractor is using domestic plywood, but expect an increase in the per sheet price. I don't know what species you are using or if you are even going with a stain grade panel but you will find a significant hike in price to go domestic. Believe me it is worth the price for the quality but if money is already a concern on this job, you may need go with import. This has gotten better in the last few years so it's not the end of the world to use import. Just be aware of the quality difference that comes with the lower price point. Also I don't know any places that require you to buy 80 sheets at a time. As a wholesaler we don't sell 5 sheets at a time, but even then we do orders for 10-20 sheets from time to time. BTW, glad you found that article helpful.

"quality plywood coming in from China" is an interesting concept, dare I say oxymoron. Without looking carefully I recently bought some birch ply at the Borg and discovered to my horror when I cut it that they veneered right over numerous huge voids, rendering the material useless.

No quality plywood comes from China. For $48 a sheet, you can buy domestic birch plywood. Find another cabinet guy.

My sentiments equal that of aidan. Chinese plywood sucks from my past experience!

I have to say I agree that you will get a far superior product from a domestic supplier. I would insist that your contractor use domestic. It is ridiculous to skimp on the most basic of building materials that can lead to problems down the road.

On a side note after reading that article I am thoroughly dissheartened that US manufacturers are not taking great atvantage of the restrictions the US government is placing on Chinese manufacturers and keeping their prices lower, cutting the Chinese out of the picture, and re-claiming the industry as is the ENTIRE point of countervailing and anti-dumping duties. All they are going to do is encourage another country to come along and undercut our new higher rates. The countervailing and soon to be anti dumping will only be against China. Any other country can come along and start importing. When I worked for a furniture manufacturer and the US imposed anti dumping on furniture on China, they simply moved production to Vietnam within a year. It won't be long before the same happens for plywood.

Good quality materials come from Europe and the Americas. Russian Birch ply is maybe the best quality plywood for the price. The ply's are Birch all the way through. Expand your options, you live near a major shipping port, Puget Sound JJ, why not look into all available choices?

I would NEVER use any cabinet contractor that used Chinese ply. NEVER. That would make all of his work suspect. Will he spray the cabinets on site, including all of the bugs and dust too? Run from this hack!

My feathers are ruffled enough that I did address this issue with my contractor. He said he is not using the Chinese plywood, although he usually does. He said that the Chinese plywood is made by US manufacturers and uses the same processes and is just as good as domestic. Hmmmmm. I held my tongue when he said this.

He said he is using plywood that has flawed veneer, such as being too thick, on one side but that the other side is just fine. I did contact my architect to help me deal with this. I have known her for over 20 years and trust her to advocate for me. She has now spoken to contractor and he stated that the plywood he will be using is Maple instead of Birch so it is of higher quality. Still...it is not top quality so I am a little miffed.

My husband and I are planning on addressing this issue further with the contractor. Thanks for all your comments. They have sufficiently riled me up and gotten me to learn more.

Maple is NOT higher quality than birch. Certainly not in Plywood.

This guy is not a real custom cabinetmaker, based on his own admission that he usually uses chinese ply.

Maple does not stain evenly. What is the finish schedule, and who will do the work? Demand him to requote the entire job for 1. Domestic Birch plywood case construction. 2. Russian Birch plywood case construction.

There are two reasons you need to take this approach. First, to make him understand that you want quality, and know your materials. Second, make him prove he knows his stuff.

Any real cabinetmaker, in a major metropolitan area, should know where to source these materials. If they can't, they aren't for real.

The contractor is building the cabinets himself. He is planning on painting them white (Sherwin-Williams' Snowbound). He has a shop with a paint room in it. Do you think it matters that he will be painting the maple - that the paint will cover it evenly? I know he has done a few other sets of kitchen cabinets. This guy has only been in construction on his own for about 4 years. He is trained as an engineer. As to his schedule - I have no idea exactly what it is. He is supposed to finish up with masonry and sheet rocking here before the cabinets are installed. I know he just ordered the cabinet supplies a day or two ago.

Sounds VERY VERY iffy if you ask me. Have you actually seen examples of his work? What type of joinery does he use for the cases? The doors? What brand of hardware? How is he finishing the carcasses?

Not that contractors can't have had a previous life, but the market for engineers right now is exploding, with good compensation. It's a little strange that he would prefer being a contractor unless he's managed to have enough business and time freedom to really make a good living. And those type of guys don't make their own cabinets. It's not time effective. They either specialize and make cabinets only, or they're a GC and hire a cabinet maker or buy from a cabinet company.

GreenDesigns, our architect is going to take us over to see some cabinetry that he has done for one of her other clients. They haven't had any problems with it so far.

The contractor specified that he will use rabbit joints for the drawer bottoms, not sure what he uses for the cases but I will check.

He is purchasing the doors and drawer fronts from a cabinetry company and is painting them himself. They will be flat panels with a 11% bevel on all sides - the style is somewhat modern.

He specified in the contract (our request) that Salice and Blum hardware will be used for the hinges and slides respectively.

I am not sure what the carcasses are but think you may be referring to the inside and/or outside of the cabinet boxes? He is going to install panels to match the shape of the fronts on what little of the outside boxes that are showing. It will probably just be the painted box under the 12 inch counter overhang. He was planning on just varnishing the inside of the cabinets.

It's amazing how little we have thought about the cabinets themselves in this whole remodel process, though they were the main reason we are going through this. That, and to update our 1962 Frigidaire Flair oven!

Just to note, he studied geological engineering. He also fabricates stone which is what he loves to do most. (We have picked out a beautiful white macaubas vein cut quartzite for our countertops). He got into the cabinetry and general contracting aspects to support the fabrication aspect of his business.