Sibu Wet Kitchen: Designing Out the Swelling-Board Failure
Wet-run aluminium carcass + sintered-stone top
2 weeks design & spec + 3–4 weeks supply & install
The Challenge
A common Sibu situation: a wet kitchen built in moisture-resistant particleboard, where heavy wok cooking, daily washing-down and humidity had swollen the base cabinets within two years. The owner wanted a rebuild that would not repeat the same failure.
The Approach
Re-zoned the kitchen into genuinely wet and dry runs. Specified ACP / honeycomb aluminium carcasses for the wet base run with a sintered-stone top, ducted the hood to the outside, added a floor trap with correct falls, and planned ventilation gaps. Dry-zone tall units were kept on sealed E0 board to concentrate the budget where the moisture actually is.
The Outcome
Built so the wet run cannot swell or grow mould — the aluminium carcass is the part designed to outlast the kitchen. Cleaning is simpler, the hood genuinely exhausts outside, and the spend was concentrated where the moisture is rather than spread thinly across every cabinet.
Key Lessons
- →In a wet kitchen, the carcass material is the decision that lasts — finishes are secondary
- →“Moisture-resistant” board still swells under standing water; aluminium removes the failure mode
- →Spend the upgrade where it is wet; keep dry runs on sealed board to control budget
- →Hood ducting and a floor trap matter as much as the cabinet itself
*Illustrative scenario based on conditions ELS by ALUMAX plans for across Sarawak — figures are indicative and not a quotation. We are actively building our project portfolio; named, photographed case studies will follow.