- All cabinets must be fully enclosed with backs, bottoms, sides, and tops on wall cabinets; and backs, bottoms, and sides on base cabinets, with certain specified exceptions on kitchen sink fronts, sink bases, oven cabinets,and refrigerator cabinets.
- All cabinets designed to rest on the floor must be provided with a toe space at least two inches deep and three inches high.
- All utility cabinets must meet the same construction requirements as base and wall cabinets.
- Doors must be properly aligned, have means of closure, and close without excessive binding or looseness.
- All materials must ensure rigidity in compliance with performance standards.
- Face frames, when used, must provide rigid construction.
- For frameless cabinets, the ends, tops/bottoms, and back shall be of thickness necessary to provide rigid construction.
- Corner or lineal bracing must be provided at points where necessary to ensure rigidity and proper joining of various components.
- All wood parts must be dried to a moisture content of 10 percent or less at time of fabrication.
- All materials used in cabinets must be suitable for use in the kitchen and bath environment where they may be exposed to grease, solvents, water, detergent, steam and other substances usually found in these rooms.
- All exposed plywood and composition board edges must be filled and sanded, edge-banded, or otherwise finished to ensure compliance with the performance standards.
- All exterior exposed parts of cabinets must have nails and staples set and holes filled.
- All exposed construction joints must be fitted in a workman-like manner consistent with specifications.
- Exposed cabinet hardware must comply with Builders Hardware Manufacturing Association finishing standards.
- All shelves and bottoms are loaded at 15 pounds per square foot, and loading is maintained for seven days
to ensure that there is no excessive deflection and no visible sign of joint separation or failure of any
part of the cabinets or the mounting system.
- Mounted wall cabinets are gradually loaded to 500 pounds without any visible sign of failure in the
cabinet or the mounting system.
- To test the strength of base-front joints, a load of 250 pounds is applied against the inside of
cabinet-front stiles for cabinets with drawer rail, or 200 pounds is applied for cabinets without drawer
rail, to ensure reliable front joints that will not open during stress in service or during installation.
- To test the ability of shelves, bottoms, and drawer bottoms to withstand the dropping of cans and other
items, a three-pound steel ball is dropped from six inches above the surface.
After the test the drawer
must not be damaged and must operate as before the test with no visible sign of joint separation or
failure of any part of the cabinet or mounting system.
- To test the ability of cabinet doors and connections to withstand impacts, a 10-pound sandbag is used to
strike the center of a closed cabinet door and repeated with the door opened to a 45-degree angle.
The door must operate as before the test and show no damage or sign of separation or failure in the system.
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- To test the ability of doors, hinges, and means of attachment to withstand loading, 65 pounds of
weight is applied on the door. The weighted door is slowly operated for 10 cycles from 90 degrees
open to 20 degrees open and returned to the 90 degree position. The door must remain weighted for 10 minutes,
after which the door and hinges must show no visible signs of damage, and connections between
cabinet-and-hinge and door-and-hinge must show no sign of looseness.
- To test the ability of doors, door-holding devices,hinges, and attachment devices to operate under
the stress of normal use, doors are opened and closed through a full 90-degree swing for 25,000
cycles. At the test's conclusion, the door must be operable, the door-holding device must hold the
door in closed position, hinges must show no visible signs of damage, connections between cabinet-and-hinge
and door-and-hinge must show no sign of looseness, and other specifications must be met.
These tests create, in accelerated form, the cumulative
effects of years of normal kitchen conditions
of pre-finished cabinets. Cabinet finishes are inspected to ensure that stringent
standards of appearance
are also met.
- To test the ability of the finish to withstand high heat,a cabinet door is placed in a hotbox at 120 degrees
Fahrenheit and 70 percent relative humidity for 24hours. After this test the finish must show no appreciable
discoloration and no evidence of blistering, checks, or other film failures.
- To test the ability of the finish to withstand hot and cold cycles for prolonged periods, a cabinet door is
placed in a hotbox at 120 degrees Fahrenheit and 70 percent relative humidity for one hour, removed and
allowed to return to room temperature and humidity conditions, and then placed in a coldbox for one hour
at -5 degrees Fahrenheit. The cycle is repeated five times. The finish must then show no appreciable
discoloration and no evidence ofblistering, cold checking, or other film failure.
- To test the ability of the finish to withstand substances typically found in the kitchen and bath,
exterior exposed surfaces of doors, front frames, drawer fronts and end panels are subjected to vinegar,
lemon, orange and grape juices, tomato catsup, coffee, olive oil, and 100-proof alcohol for 24 hours and
to mustard for one hour. After this test, the finish must show no appreciable discoloration, stain, or
whitening that will not disperse with ordinary polishing and no indication of blistering, checks, or
other film failure.
- To test the ability of the finish to withstand long periods of exposure to a detergent and water solution,
a cabinet door edge is subjected to exposure to a standardized detergent formula for 24 hours. The door edge
must then show no delamination or swelling and no appreciable discoloration or evidence of blistering,
checking, whitening, or other film failure.
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