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Here is a section of a FAQ I wrote for atlantacabinets.com go check it out!

Seems like everything is GREEN these days! I was in the store the other day and a bottle of Chlorine Bleach had a GREEN label on it! Upon further inspection the only thing green about it was that the bottle was made from recycled plastic!

All that to say that just because something has a GREEN label on it does not necessarily mean it is green. While just about all of the lines we carry have the KCMA ESP certification, some are truly more GREEN than others. Wellborn is probably the most truly GREEN line we carry with Quality Cabinets in a strong second place. I encourage everyone who is interested in purchasing a GREEN cabinet investigate for themselves the steps the manufacture is taking to protect both the environment and their families from bad IAQ Indoor Air Quality . You can find out if the manufacture you are interest in has the KCMA ESP certification on the Greencabinetsource.org website under the Certified Companies link, here are some links to a few Wellborn Green Quality Green Kraftmaid Green

If you are concerned about dangerous chemicals and toxic finishes in your home, just STAY AWAY from imported or Chinese cabinets!! If they paint childrens toys with toxic chemicals who knows what they are finishing their cabinets with! Not only do imports have questionable finishing chemicals on them, the warranty issues they present make buying imported cabinets a lot like playing Russian Roulette! You can read more about imported cabinets on The GREEN Cabinet Guys blog here

How can you tell if you are looking at an imported cabinet? The first red flag to spot an imported cabinet is if you are being offered an All Wood, Beautiful Door style with a glaze finish, and cushion close drawers for a price that is ridiculously less than all the other quotes you have received… there is a REASON imports are offered at what seems like double the cabinet for half the money!

Sitting in my final class to become a CERTIFIED GREEN PROFESSIONAL from the National Association of Homebuilders, an interesting discussion came up about the GREENNESS of Bamboo.

While the plant bamboo itself may have some green “cred”. The sudden rise of the Green movement may have caused Bamboo to become an unlikely victim of the green revolution! So before you go out and buy those new bamboo cabinets or install a bamboo floor to offset the carbon emissions of your Hummer, consider the following…

Domestic FSC Wood vs. Bamboo
Round 1- Location, Location, Location

Just like real estate, location is everything in the world of green.  If you live in Atlanta, is an organic apple grown in the North Georiga mountains just as green as an organic apple grown in Chili? No! Just because the pesticides were eliminated on both sides of the equator does not mean these apples are equally green on both sides of the equator. Think about the environmental impact of transportation.  What is true with organic apples is true with wood products, here in the Bible Belt it is much less damaging to use Appalachian timber than Ho Chi Minh bamboo .

Round 1 Winner: KO Domestic FSC Wood

Domestic FSC Wood vs. Bamboo
Round 2- Processing

Being a Georgia boy , I have had the good fortune of visiting many timber mills and have seen the processing of wood from Tree to Cabinet. Besides the pollution from heavy equipment, logging trucks, and enegy needed to harvest and process the timber there are very few other “un-green” elements to turning a domestic FSC tree into a cabinet.

I have yet to see with my own eyes how bamboo gets processed from stalk to cabinet, or even  bamboo bikini briefs for that matter, but from my research into the subject, I think there are some questionable practices in both of these areas.

Bamboo Cabinets:

It is difficult to find solid info regarding the Greenness of adhesives used Bamboo wood products. From what i gather many of the mills use adhesives made right there in the mill that may contain formaldehyde that may off gas into your home and poorly resist water.

Bamboo Bikini Briefs

In the interest of full disclosure, I do not yet own a pair of bamboo bikini briefs so I will let the good folks at greencottonblog.com give you the skinny : “This is also a great site for ways bamboo can be Green”
Round 2 Winner: TKO Domestic FSC Wood

Round 3: I’m off to the NARI meeting tonight… I will finish this post later tonight

Our main warehouse has a LOT of what we call “Boneyard” cabinets. For many different reasons (none of them my fault), these cabinet just sit around taking up space until someone comes along and buys them for their garage, laundry, hobbyroom, workshop, etc. From time to time we will have a huge cabinet sale, and you really can’t beat the deal you can get on these cabinets!

But most people don’t realize the cool stuff you can do with cabinets. They see a cabinet and think “kitchen” I see a cabinet and think “furniture”!

Here is a project I worked on over the weekend to jazz up my entryway for a superbowl party!

Step 1: Buy some cabinets from The Cabinet Guy for a ridiculously good deal…

Step 2: Relieve your 401k looking more like a 201k frustrations by abusing new cabinets with sandpaper. Breathe deeply. Now close your eyes and imagine you are that guy on PBS with the Fro that paints the “Happy Trees” pictures. While keeping your eyes closed, dip your your brush into the paint and make some magic happen.
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Step3:Attach cabinets together with the fastening device of your choice (preferably screws), build countertop with MDF shelf from Big Box store of your choice (preferably Lowes), and finish your painting (preferably with eyes open)

Step4: ( Note: many items in step 4 can be avoided if you think ahead) Level cabinets on wall, yell to your beautiful Fiance’ to bring drill in from outside, ask beautiful Fiance’ to hold cabinets in place while you run around looking for your masonry drill bits, assure beautiful Fiance’ you have almost found them as she yells “These things are getting heavy!”, wonder if beautiful Fiance’ is having second thoughts about her future unorganized husband, find drill bits, attach to wall, kiss beautiful Fiance’.

Step 5: Have Beautiful Fiance’ decorate your new work of cabinet art!

Step 6: Have friends OOOOOhhh and AAAAhhhh at the sweet creation that YOU made!