What wood do I buy for a kitchen shelf?

[Diyverymuchanewbie]

I want to put up a kitchen shelf above my fridge which I’m going to paint.

what type of timber do I buy?

i don’t have a car so I’m looking at online where it seems pretty straight forward to order.

any help much appreciated

thank you!!

If you are going to paint it, pine will be fine

How big will your shelf be? Pine is light enough to carry on a bus etc if it’s not huge, and a better price than most other woods

Oh thanks!

42 cm by 108 cm

Pine or plywood - both cheap and would work as a shelf.

Mdf is fine too if you can ensure the visible edge is a precut one.

Is it a wall on both sides? If you're not putting a bracket in the middle you probably want 1.5-2.5cm thick depending on what you're putting on it.

Are you confident cutting it to size yourself? If not (and it's sitting on battons) it may be easier to cut a few narrower planks.

I think you could carry that without too much trouble it’s not massive

If it suits your style, MDF is cheap, light, strong & easy to clean

Erm. Can I paint MDF?

I’ve found out that there’s a jewson not too far away and im
hoping they have a cutting service?

i am not letting myself anywhere near cutting tools. The world is not ready for that.

Only thing mdf is good for is painting. If you're thinking of mdf furniture though that's plastic wrapped/coated, whereas you d just be buying the board.

Measure several times, don't assume the gap is square, and take off a couple of mm so you can actually get it in.

Oh thanks yes im thinking of mdf furniture

thanks all

i shall report back after hardware daytrip

Pine Furniture Board, available from Been and Queued, etc. Avoid chipboard and anything melamine-faced. MDF is heavier than furniture board, and less resistant to bending.

See if you can get a small enough piece. Standard sheet comes in 2.44mx1.22m - which is too big for your bike or bus. BnQ do smaller sizes and have a cutting service. Don't know about jewson. mdf/pine/plywood all fine. You don't want it drooping, so try the sagulator (arguably the best calculator on the internet)