Carpentry and Built-In Cabinets in Singapore

How carpentry is measured

Carpentry is quoted by the running foot or running metre of cabinet, separately for base units, tall units and top-hung units, because each has a different carcass depth and hardware count. Two quotations for the same kitchen can differ substantially simply because one measures the corner unit as a full cabinet and the other measures it as a filler. TO FILL: carpentry per running foot by unit type

Carcass, front and hardware are three separate decisions

The carcass is the box: commonly moisture-resistant plywood or high-density board, and its specification matters most in the kitchen and near wet areas. The front is what you see and what drives cost: laminate, acrylic, sintered surface, spray lacquer or veneer. The hardware is hinges and runners, where a soft-close mechanism from a known manufacturer is the difference between a cabinet that still shuts properly in year eight and one that does not.

Aluminium carcasses and where they belong

Aluminium kitchen cabinets — sold locally under both the aluminium and aluminum spellings — use a metal carcass instead of board, which is why they are chosen for the wet end of a kitchen and for open service yards. The trade-off is a harder, colder feel and a narrower range of front finishes. TO FILL: aluminium cabinet per foot run

Where wardrobes go wrong

A built-in wardrobe fails most often at three points: a top box that cannot be reached without a stool and therefore stores nothing useful, drawer runners loaded past their rating, and a swing door that collides with the bed. Sliding doors solve the last problem but cost internal depth.

Kitchen cabinets and the wet environment

Singapore's humidity is the constant load on kitchen carpentry. The details that decide longevity are the edge banding under the sink, whether the carcass base is raised off the floor, and how the cut-out around the sink and hob is sealed.

Formaldehyde and board selection

From 1 January 2026 the National Environment Agency requires interior paints sold in Singapore to contain no formaldehyde, with in-can content below 0.01% weight by weight (NEA). That rule covers paint. It does not regulate the adhesives used in composite wood, so if low-emission carpentry matters to you, ask for the board's emission grade in writing and keep it in the quotation.