Cost of 1 Piece MDF Cabinet Doors from Cutting Edge
Are 1 piece MDF cabinet doors right for you? Can you afford them? Learn how much 1 piece MDF doors cost and what affects the cost.
Painted kitchen cabinet doors are a popular option at the moment. If you are considering painted doors, you have likely heard 1 piece MDF cabinet doors mentioned as a good option.
However, before you decide, you must know how much they cost. Are they an option you can afford?
At Cutting Edge, we make and sell 1 piece MDF cabinet doors. We know how much they cost and understand what factors affect the pricing.
So, if you need to learn how much they will cost, this is an excellent place to start. In this article, you will find:
Cost of 1 piece MDF cabinet doors from Cutting Edge
At Cutting Edge, we produce custom-sized cabinet doors. Thus, we don’t have a catalogue of prices per size – as you can imagine, it would be incredibly long. Instead, we provide you with a square-foot price.
You can easily use a square foot price to calculate the cost of your cabinet door. First, figure out the area of your cabinet door in square footage – width in inches multiplied by height in inches, divided by 144.
Then, take the result and multiply it by the square foot cost.
Now, 1 piece MDF doors have a minimum price per piece because they take a minimum amount of material and labour.
Finally, all the pricing in this article is retail. If you have a contractor discount set up, apply that discount to this pricing.
Raw-backed MDF doors - minimum of $29.98/piece
Raw-backed MDF cabinet doors are the most common choice. Just as it sounds, raw-backed doors have a raw (or ready-to-finish) back.
Therefore, you must paint all sides of raw-backed MDF doors – the front, edges, and back.
Raw-backed MDF doors cost $19.98 per square foot; the minimum cost per piece is $29.98.
| Door Size | Price |
|---|---|
| 12" by 6" | $29.98 |
| 12" by 12" | $29.98 |
| 12" by 24" | $39.97 |
| 12" by 36" | $59.95 |
| 18" by 36" | $89.93 |
Melamine-backed MDF doors - minimum of $30.73/piece
Typically, you would choose melamine-backed MDF cabinet doors if you need to cut costs slightly. They have a melamine back that doesn’t require finishing.
Thus, you only have to apply a painted finish to the front and edges of melamine-backed MDF doors.
Melamine-backed MDF doors cost $20.48 per square foot; the minimum cost per piece is $30.73.
| Door Size | Price |
|---|---|
| 12" by 6" | $30.73 |
| 12" by 12" | $30.73 |
| 12" by 24" | $40.97 |
| 12" by 36" | $61.46 |
| 18" by 36" | $92.19 |
1 piece MDF cabinet doors are a routered door
You might be wondering what 1 piece MDF doors are. If you already know, jump ahead to the next section!
Here’s a quick explanation if you are new to 1 piece MDF cabinet doors.
Most cabinet doors are 5 piece doors, meaning they have five components. Typically, those five pieces are two stiles, two rails, and a centre panel.
On the other hand, 1 piece MDF cabinet doors have (can you guess?) only one part. That is a ¾” thick MDF slab.
We lay that slab on a machine that cuts into the centre section. We machine the centre section down until it’s flat and recessed, but leave the outer edges at ¾” thick.
Once the machining is complete, the door has an outer frame and a centre panel and looks like a 5 piece door.
1 piece MDF cabinet doors don’t require much manual labour thanks to the complex machinery available. Our team has to teach the machine how to make the requested door by creating a program, but once the program is complete, the machine does the majority of the work by itself.
Factors that affect the cost of 1 piece MDF cabinet doors
Thanks to the simplicity of 1 piece MDF doors, they are a cost-effective option compared to 5 piece cabinet doors. Thus, there are limited factors that affect the cost.
MDF selection
The main factor that affects the cost is the MDF option you select. Raw-backed MDF doors are slightly less expensive than melamine-backed MDF doors.
Finishing
Next is the finish. As you’ve already learned, you must paint raw-backed MDF doors on the front and back. Thus, raw-backed MDF doors require more paint and labour, which increases the cost.
Alternatively, melamine-backed MDF doors take less paint and labour, which reduces the finishing cost.
Hinge drilling
Cabinet doors from Cutting Edge do not come pre-drilled for hinges unless you request it. Hinge drilling costs $1 per hinge location. Most cabinet doors require two hinge locations; thus, your cost increases by $2 per door.
Customizations
As we’ve mentioned, 1 piece MDF cabinet doors are easy to make once the machinery knows how to produce them.
However, custom doors or profiles take a bit of work to set up. Our team has to create a new program to your specifications, which takes at least one hour. Most new programs cost between $50 and $75.
Factors that don’t affect the cost of 1 piece MDF doors
Now, 1 piece MDF cabinet doors are less complex than the 5 piece alternatives. Thus, two factors don’t affect the cost.
Stile and rail width
You can choose any stile and rail width for 1 piece MDF cabinet doors without changing the door cost.
Profile
You can choose from any of our preprogrammed profiles without changing the price. Having said that, we consider any customizations to existing profiles a custom program. It takes just as much (and sometimes more) effort to tweak and correct an existing program as it does to create a new program.
Price out your 1 piece MDF cabinet doors
When it comes to kitchen cabinet doors, there are a lot of options. While appearance and durability both matter, in the end, it might come down to your budget.
Can you afford the cabinet doors you want to buy?
At Cutting Edge, we understand that sticking to your budget is vital. So, we want to empower you to make the right decision for you and your budget. Now that you understand the basics of 1 piece cabinet door costs and what affects the pricing, you might be ready for more in-depth information.
If so, it’s time for you to visit our ordering platform and price out your 1 piece MDF cabinet doors!
