Wet kitchens builtfor Sarawak moisture.

In the wet zone — the wet-kitchen base, the sink run and laundry areas — specify ACP or honeycomb aluminium, supplied and fabricated by ALUMAX. Aluminium does not swell or delaminate when it stays wet. Moisture-resistant board can be used on the dry side, away from direct water. The rule is to choose by moisture zone, not by budget.

No. Moisture-resistant is not waterproof. The E1, E0 or ENF marking on a board is a formaldehyde emission grade — it tells you about indoor air quality, not about how the board behaves under standing water. A board rated E0 can still swell in a wet kitchen. For the wet zone, you need aluminium, not a better emission grade.

Sarawak wok cooking produces heavy steam and oil mist. If the hood recirculates or vents into the ceiling void instead of outside air, that grease and moisture settle on cabinets, walls and hardware — feeding corrosion, swelling and mould. ELS plans the duct route, size and bends to outside air, with the shortest run, before the ceiling is closed.

Drainage falls are the slight slope in the floor that carries water to the floor trap. If the floor is flat or falls the wrong way, mopping and splash water pools under the cabinets — the worst place for standing water in a humid climate. The fall and trap position have to be coordinated with the wet-cabinet layout before tiling, because fixing it afterwards means breaking up the floor.

The Design + Specification track starts from RM1,500 (excl. SST), depending on scope. Site measurement is from RM300 in Sibu, RM500 outstation, and is creditable on confirmation. That fee covers the specification and coordination — the final build cost is confirmed after measurement, material selection and an approved scope. Prices exclude SST.

Waterproofing, floor drainage civil works and mechanical ventilation systems are coordinated by ELS on a project basis, because they are multi-trade. The cabinet products — wet-base aluminium, worktops, hardware — are ALUMAX-direct. ELS specifies the whole wet kitchen as one approved scope and runs QC, so the trades and ALUMAX build to the same plan rather than their own assumptions.

Yes — for a simple product job, like a single cabinet run with no water-path, ducting or drainage to coordinate, you can go to ALUMAX directly. The ELS layer is for when the wet kitchen needs the material, ducting, drainage and ventilation decided and coordinated as one scope before fabrication. If you are unsure which you need, the free Pre-Check tells you.

Once a board carcass has swollen or delaminated from standing water, it does not recover — the structure has failed. The honest move is to replace the wet base in aluminium and fix the underlying cause: where the water came from, whether the floor falls to the trap, and how the hood and ventilation handle steam. Replacing the box without fixing the water path just repeats the failure.