The kitchen is the heart of many peoples homes. After Hurricane Harvey, we found the kitchen sink and kitchen cabinets were often the last item replaced in the house even though it was the most needed.
Programs like FEMA PREPS would install 8′ of kitchen cabinets and counters, but those were constructed of composite wood materials, that were highly susceptible to mold if they had any moisture on them.
Instead of low-grade composite material, we decided to construct them from metal. We used a mixture of metal and wood to produce attractive, low cost, functional kitchen cabinets. Below is our attempt at metal kitchen cabinets for a residential home. After a flood they would simply be cleaned and could be used again immediately.
Our metal kitchen cabinets feature open cabinets, sliding drawers, doors to cover the plumbing, and tile countertops. All wood in the first addition was cabinet grade plywood.
The second iteration featured metal grates for the bottom shelves, to reduce the amount of wood used in assembly.
The 3rd version had very sleek shelving, well cut hardwood door faces, and tile countertops.
Costs
Home Depot/Lowes off-the-shelf composite kitchen cabinets and countertops are about $150/linear foot not installed. These metal kitchen cabinets are about $225/linear foot and require no installation. Also consider that composite cabinets are susceptible to mold and warping with any amount of water damage, which is very likely to happen in a kitchen. Metal kitchen cabinets will last a lifetime and are very resilient to water from leaks to floods.