Last Updated: October 2026 | Reading time: about 8 minutes
Short verdict: kitchen cabinet edges swell because water gets past a bare edge or a weak glue line, and the band material alone does not decide that. In our 2026 Bengaluru BOQs a 1 mm PVC band is Rs 35 per running foot and a 2 mm Rehau PVC band is Rs 62 per running foot. Choose 2 mm and a named glue for the sink base, dishwasher side and hob panel, and ABS only where heat or knocks are the worry. Share your kitchen drawing and our team will list every edge that needs a band.
What this guide covers
- Why kitchen cabinet edges swell, and what PVC or ABS changes
- 1 mm or 2 mm PVC: the per foot rates in our quotes
- EVA or PUR: the glue line you cannot see
- Sink base, dishwasher side and hob panel
- A swollen door: re-band it or replace it
- Seven edge banding lines to write on the quote
- Frequently asked questions
Why Kitchen Cabinet Edges Swell, and What PVC or ABS Edge Banding Changes
A laminated kitchen shutter is a core board laminated on both faces, with four cut edges left open. Greenply, writing in July 2026, calls cut edges where plywood is most vulnerable to moisture; once water enters, layers swell and laminate loosens. Edge banding is the strip that closes those four edges, and the glue holding it is the actual seal.
So the honest answer to PVC versus ABS is that it is a second-order choice. Rehau, the brand in our own kitchen BOQ, says both materials suit kitchens and both passed its 24 hour domestic cleaning agent test. The difference it does give is heat: its data sheet lists PVC as softening at about 72 C and ABS at about 85 C, and calls ABS the tougher of the two. So ABS earns its place beside a hob or oven panel, while PVC is sound where the worry is a mop or a leaking trap.
What decides whether a kitchen is still tight in year four is less glamorous: whether every edge was banded, how thick the band is, and which glue was used.
My observation: homeowners spend a week on shutter colour and approve the edge band in one word, "matching".
- Edge banding
- A thin strip of PVC or ABS glued onto the cut edges of a laminated board to seal the core and finish the edge. In our 2026 BOQs it is priced per running foot: Rs 35 for a 1 mm PVC band and Rs 62 for a 2 mm Rehau PVC band.
- 1 mm PVC band: Rs 35 per running foot in our Sarjapur Road TV unit BOQ, 180 ft for Rs 6,300.
- 2 mm Rehau PVC band: Rs 62 per running foot in our HSR Layout kitchen BOQ, 240 ft for Rs 14,880.
- 2 mm instead of 1 mm on the same 240 ft adds Rs 6,480, our arithmetic.
- PVC softens near 72 C and ABS near 85 C, according to Rehau's technical data sheet.
- Re-banding a 600 by 720 mm door is about Rs 537 in material and application at Rs 62 per ft, against Rs 1,953 to replace the door leaf at Rs 420 per sq ft.
1 mm or 2 mm PVC: What Our Kitchen Quotes Show per Running Foot
Two published myNivasa quotes give a clean comparison. Our HSR Layout kitchen table lists Rehau Germany 2 mm PVC, colour matched, at Rs 62 per running foot for 240 ft, which is Rs 14,880. Our Sarjapur Road TV unit table lists 1 mm PVC, matched, at Rs 35 per running foot for 180 ft, which is Rs 6,300. Different jobs, so the gap is not pure thickness, but these are rates you can hold a quote against. See our HSR Layout kitchen guide and our Sarjapur Road TV unit guide.
| Edge band | Source | Rate per running foot | Total on that job |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 mm PVC, colour matched | myNivasa Sarjapur Road TV unit BOQ | Rs 35 | 180 ft, Rs 6,300 |
| 2 mm Rehau Germany PVC, colour matched | myNivasa HSR Layout kitchen BOQ | Rs 62 | 240 ft, Rs 14,880 |
| All four edges on a wardrobe shutter | myNivasa wardrobe range | Rs 40 to Rs 70 | Per running foot, no total |
| 0.8 mm gloss PVC, 22 mm wide (E3) | Material Depot retail listing, 21 Oct 2026 | Rs 5.78 (Rs 18.96 per metre) | Tape only, not applied |
| 2 mm Rehau uPVC uni band, listed as 45 by 2 mm | Material Depot retail listing, 21 Oct 2026 | Rs 30.20 (Rs 99.08 per metre) | Tape only, not applied |
| ABS band, any thickness | No myNivasa rate published | Not stated | Ask your factory for it as its own line |
A 2 mm Rehau tape at Rs 30.20 per foot is roughly half of our Rs 62 line, and the rest is the edge bander, glue, trimming and finishing. At 240 ft, moving from 1 mm to 2 mm costs Rs 6,480 extra on our numbers (Rs 14,880 against Rs 8,400), less than the Rs 14,820 the same HSR table shows for 52 Hettich Sensys soft close hinges.
A plausibility check, my own arithmetic: 52 hinges at two per door is about 26 leaves, and a 600 by 720 mm leaf has about 8.7 ft of perimeter, so roughly 225 ft against the 240 ft banded. A quote that bands far less than door count times door perimeter is worth questioning.
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WhatsApp UsCall +91 94499 00222EVA or PUR: The Glue Line You Cannot See on a Quote
Two kitchens with the same Rs 62 band can age very differently if one is bonded with EVA hot melt and the other with PUR. Wurth Machinery, a supplier of edgebanding equipment, rates EVA as moderate for moisture and heat resistance and PUR as high, and says a PUR glue line is thin and nearly invisible while an EVA line is noticeable. Both are sellers, so treat the ranking as direction, not a test result.
I have no published myNivasa rate for a PUR glue line, so I will not put a rupee figure on the upgrade. Ask for the glue type in writing, as you would a hinge brand. A factory that uses PUR will say so, and "standard glue" usually means EVA, which is acceptable on a dry wall cabinet but not what I would want at the sink or near steam.
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WhatsApp UsCall +91 94499 00222Sink Base, Dishwasher Side and Hob Panel: Where the Band Fails First
Edges do not fail evenly. Three spots in a kitchen take the punishment, and each wants something different from the band.
The sink base. Door bottoms and the carcass edges at the trap stay wet. Here I would specify 2 mm, PUR glue and a band on every edge including the ones nobody sees. If the base unit also stands on the floor, read our kitchen plinth guide, because the bottom edge fails by a different route there.
The dishwasher side and the oven tower. Steam leaves a dishwasher whenever the door opens and settles on the neighbouring cabinet edge. Rehau's data sheet puts PVC near 72 C and ABS near 85 C, so ABS beside a dishwasher or oven has more heat margin. I have not measured temperatures at these panels, so treat the margin as a spec comparison.
The hob panel. Radiant heat and splatter. Here ABS is the one place I would recommend it on heat grounds. Dry wall units can stay at 1 mm PVC with full edge coverage, as in our TV unit BOQ.
A Swollen Door: Re-band It or Replace It
If a shutter has already started to lift at the edge, there are two routes, and the arithmetic favours neither by default. Re-banding is cheap, but it only works while the board underneath is still flat and firm. A core that has soaked up water does not shrink back, so the new band would be glued onto an edge that no longer sits true. When the board has moved, the door leaf is the thing to replace.
| Door leaf size | Area | Perimeter | Re-band at Rs 62 per ft | Re-band at Rs 35 per ft | Replace leaf at Rs 420 per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 450 by 720 mm | 3.49 sq ft | 7.7 ft | Rs 476 | Rs 269 | Rs 1,465 |
| 600 by 720 mm | 4.65 sq ft | 8.7 ft | Rs 537 | Rs 303 | Rs 1,953 |
| 800 by 720 mm | 6.20 sq ft | 10.0 ft | Rs 618 | Rs 349 | Rs 2,604 |
Rs 420 per sq ft is the HDHMR with PU laminate shutter line in our HSR Layout BOQ. Both exclude labour to remove and refit the door. Replacement costs about three to four times re-banding, so catching a lifting edge early is the cheapest repair in the kitchen.
At the quote stage the choice between 1 mm and 2 mm is Rs 27 per foot. After a wet season it is a door replacement. What else a quote leaves out is in our kitchen quote exclusions guide.
Seven Edge Banding Lines to Write on the Quote
Here is the guide as a list to hand a designer or carpenter, each line with its figure.
| # | Quote line | What to write and the figure behind it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Name the band material | PVC or ABS written on the quote line, not just 'edge band'. PVC softens near 72 C, ABS near 85 C (Rehau data sheet). |
| 2 | Name the thickness | 1 mm at Rs 35 per ft (Sarjapur TV unit BOQ) or 2 mm at Rs 62 per ft (HSR Layout kitchen BOQ). |
| 3 | Name the glue | EVA or PUR. PUR is rated higher for water and heat (Wurth Machinery). No myNivasa PUR rate is published. |
| 4 | Band every cut edge | Front, back, sides and the bottom edge of sink base doors. Wardrobe range Rs 40 to Rs 70 per ft. |
| 5 | Match the band to the face | Same colour code as the laminate. Our 'edge banding upgrade' line is Rs 3,500 to Rs 8,500. |
| 6 | Count the running feet | HSR Layout kitchen: 240 ft at Rs 62 per ft is Rs 14,880. Ask for your own length. |
| 7 | Ask what a swollen door costs | A 600 by 720 mm door is 4.65 sq ft, Rs 1,953 at our Rs 420 per sq ft HDHMR line, against Rs 537 to re-band. |
Line 4 is where site carpentry usually differs from a factory. Our carpenter versus modular wardrobe guide explains why front-face-only banding is the common shortcut on site-built units. For drawer systems see our tandem box versus drawer channel guide, and for the whole quote our kitchen cost by layout guide.
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WhatsApp UsCall +91 94499 00222Frequently Asked Questions About Kitchen Edge Banding
Is ABS edge banding better than PVC for a kitchen?
For heat and knocks, yes. Rehau's data sheet lists ABS as softening near 85 C against about 72 C for PVC, and describes it as tougher. For water, glue and full edge coverage matter more. I have no myNivasa ABS rate, so ask for it as a separate line.
Can a swollen cabinet edge be repaired without replacing the door?
Only while the board is still flat and firm. Once the core has absorbed water and moved, replace the leaf: Rs 1,953 for a 600 by 720 mm leaf against Rs 537 to re-band, before labour.
Do I need 2 mm band on every kitchen cabinet?
No. Use 2 mm at the sink base, dishwasher side and hob panel, and 1 mm on dry wall units. The gap is Rs 27 per running foot between our Rs 35 and Rs 62 lines.
What glue should I ask the factory to use on edge banding?
Ask for it in writing. Wurth Machinery rates PUR above EVA for water and heat, and a factory using PUR will usually say so. EVA is acceptable on dry wall cabinets, weaker near steam and the sink.
How can I check the edge banding after the kitchen is installed?
Run a fingernail along every glue line and check for gaps at corners, then look at the bottom edge of sink base doors. Then compare the BOQ banded length with door count times door perimeter.
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WhatsApp UsCall +91 94499 00222Limitations: the Rs 35 and Rs 62 figures are single lines from two published myNivasa quotes on different jobs, not a quote for your kitchen. Retail tape prices are one Material Depot listing each, read on 21 October 2026. The 225 ft check is my arithmetic, assuming two hinges per door, not a site count. Softening temperatures are Rehau specification figures. This guide has no myNivasa rate for ABS banding or PUR glue.
Sources
These sources informed the guide: Greenply on preventing plywood swelling, July 2026, Rehau edgeband technical data sheet, Wurth Machinery on EVA versus PUR edgebanding and Material Depot retail listings for Rehau 2 mm uPVC edge band. Greenply, Rehau and Wurth Machinery sell what they discuss, so treat their comparisons as directional.
Final Word
Write the band on its own quote line: material, thickness, glue and running feet. For related reading, see our HSR Layout modular kitchen guide, our kitchen plinth guide and our carpenter versus modular wardrobe guide. To see band and laminate samples, visit us at 2nd Floor, Sapthagiri Complex, 265/1, Kaggadasapura Main Rd, Vignan Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560075, call +91 94499 00222, or write to [email protected].
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