There is a method in which to build Kitchen Cabinets and have them as near to Termite Proof as it gets, the carcasses are made with steel studs and then a 4.5mm Hardiflex is screwed on to that both sides, the only wood involved is inside the steel at the front to enable me to screws the hinges on and to have a second crack at it if the first screws fail, you can rely on the metal by itself to fix the hinges on to but in event of a failure it means you have to reposition the hinge on the door and carcass. There is 8 units in total 3x 1000mm units, 2 x 500mm units, 2 times 300mm and one full drawer unit, 2x600mm spaces for a free standing Cooker and Fridge. the wood that was added was soaked in Solignum and the cavity in the partitions had some Borax and Boric acid added to them to give assisted protection to the wood inside, I will attach a few pics of this to give some idea how it looks half way through the job, total cost up till now is P15K I expect another 5to7K will see the job done? Also there will be one of a simple ladder 11ft high which cost P2250 to make myself, this is as strong as you can buy here with closer than normal treads ong as anything you can buy here with closer than normal treads.
Something that I forgot to mention is; I have lived in around 4/5 houses here and all Kitchen Cabinets stink, the wood goes mouldy and that what mostly creates the smell, my Cabinets will all have a vent to the backs kind of like a letterbox through the wall they are attached to and some Mosquito mesh fitted in to a small frame around these on both sides, I have a pic of a piece on MDF board that has been on my site for 6 weeks and remained dry all this time but just look at the affect the damp air has had on that, green mould.
Swap the wood for polished titanium? Termites don't much care for that and mold will be easily cleaned off the polished surface. It will probably last a really long time as well.
Is this a practical suggestion or some kind of Joke? I do not know what Polished Titanium is, or if it is even available here, sounds like it would be expensive? If you read my text carefully you just may understand I have taken every precaution to preserve the wood from Termites, considering it is not readily available to them to start with, encapsulated inside a steel stud frame which is covered with Hardiflex, to get to this wood is a lot of effort for the little shits, much easier for them to go next door to my neighbour and eat his Mahogany swept head doors (which seem to be standard for everyone here and it is their favourite food) also if you fully understand that the proper cabinet door hinges have one inherent problem the cannot be easily moved like a standard flap hinge, so screwing them into metal is a one of and there is no second chance to get this repaired easily, with wood you just fit a longer screw or add fillers, perhaps even epoxy resin. So I am confused is this a cost effective practical suggestion of yours, have you some experience of the advised material to back this up? or like many other great recommendations here in DI? just not practical or even applicable here in the Philippines?
Actually Hardiflex is made from wood that is added to the cement mix. Because wood has such a bad reputation the Hardiflex marketing folks refer to it as cellulose fibre. Mixed with so much cement and fine sand the result is more like concrete than wood. http://www.kirii.com.hk/kirii/catelogues/JH-HardieFlex.pdf We agree that it is a good idea.
I agree that it is an excellent idea but why is it on the COVID-19 page. Before i read it i thought there had been a discovery that termites were carrying the dreaded virus and it was not safe to go into the kitchen (joke lang)