Short answer: a custom wardrobe is a particleboard carcass, 16 or 18mm thick, faced with melamine on both sides and edged on every visible edge; doors in polytec’s 9mm wardrobe board (sliding), 16 or 18mm board (hinged) or mirror and glass; moisture-resistant board in laundries and garages; and aluminium tracks, ball-bearing runners and concealed hinges. Here is what each part is and why it is used.
Carcass: particleboard, melamine faced
The carcass is the box: sides, top, bottom, back, shelves and dividers. It is made from particleboard (compressed wood particles and resin), faced on both sides with melamine (a resin-impregnated decorative paper, fused to the board). The melamine is the colour and the wipeable surface.
- Thickness: 16mm is standard for carcasses and shelves; 18mm for longer shelves, tall sides and anything that carries load.
- Density: cabinet-grade board, which is stiffer than the board in flat-pack furniture.
- Back panel: 16mm board in a custom wardrobe, not the 3mm hardboard of flat-pack.
- Edging: every visible edge is finished with matching edge tape, applied by machine so it does not lift.
Hinged doors: board or MDF
Flat-panel hinged doors are 16 or 18mm melamine board, edged all round. Routed shaker and raised-profile doors are MDF (medium-density fibreboard, a finer board that machines cleanly), with the profile routed in and the whole door finished in the chosen colour.
Sliding doors: polytec 9mm wardrobe board, mirror or glass
Sliding doors need to be light enough to glide and rigid enough not to flex. polytec’s 9mm WARDROBE DECORATIVE board is made for exactly this: thinner than a hinged door, in the same colours and finishes, in an aluminium frame. Mirror doors are safety-backed mirror in a frame; white glass doors are toughened, back-painted glass.
Moisture-resistant board
In a laundry, a garage or a bathroom cupboard, the carcasses are moisture-resistant particleboard (often called MR or HMR board, usually with a green tint in the core). It resists swelling at the edges where standard board would fail within a few years. The melamine face and the doors are the same as anywhere else.
Finishes
The melamine face comes in matt, woodmatt, ravine and textured finishes across the polytec range. The finish is part of the board, not a coating applied afterwards, so it does not chip or peel the way painted or vinyl-wrapped doors do. Our colours guide and timber-look guide cover the options.
What is not used
- Vinyl wrap (a plastic film glued over MDF), which peels in heat and at edges.
- Thin board with a hardboard back.
- Plastic wheels in a floor track for sliding doors.
- Roller runners on drawers.
These are what a cheap wardrobe is made of, and they are why it does not last.
Hardware
Hardware is covered in our hardware guide: top-hung aluminium tracks with ball-bearing rollers, full-extension soft-close drawer runners, concealed soft-close hinges.
Australian Standards
Board, edging, glass and hardware used in Reflections wardrobes are sourced from Australian suppliers (polytec, ForestOne, Nikpol and Easiform) and meet the relevant Australian Standards for cabinetry and safety glass. Our colours and finishes page lists the suppliers.
Why this matters on a quote
Two wardrobes can look identical in a photo. Ask what the carcass is, how thick, what the doors are made of and what the moving parts run on. Our questions guide lists what to ask. Every Reflections wardrobe is built in these materials in our Blacktown factory and carries a 10-year workmanship guarantee.
