To properly measure the dimension of cabinet doors, an understanding of the way that the cabinet door interact with the cabinet frame is required. Cabinet doors are precision component that interact with the cabinet frame, the hinge, and an specific amount of empty space within the cabinet. The style of the cabinet frame must first be determine in order to calculate the size of the cabinet door.
Many home in North America use face frame construction for their cabinets. Face frame construction include a solid wood border around the cabinet opening. For face frame construction, you must account for the thickness of the wood border when calculating the size of the cabinet door.
How to Measure Cabinet Doors
Alternatively, the cabinets may be construct with frameless or Euro style construction. Frameless construction dont include a border of wood for the front of the cabinet opening. Frameless construction allows the cabinet door to cover the majority of the opening in the cabinet, leaving only for a small gap between each cabinet door.
The measurement of cabinet doors also depend upon the concept of overlay. Overlay is the amount of the cabinet frame that the cabinet door will cover. For full overlay, the cabinet door will cover the majority of the cabinet frame.
Half overlay will leave the remainder of the cabinet frame visible. Cabinet doors can also be of the inset style. With inset doors, the door is flush within the cabinet frame.
Furthermore, inset doors requires high levels of precision in there manufacture and in their measurement; if the measurement of the inset door is not correct, the door may either rub against the cabinet frame or leave a gap between the door and the frame. The material of the cabinet door can impact the function of the door within the home. MDF is a common material used to construct cabinet doors, as MDF does not readily bend and takes paint well.
Solid wood is another material that can be used for cabinet doors. However, solid wood can expand and contract within the home due to the reaction of the wood to the humidity within the environment. Finally, acrylic material is another material that can be used to construct cabinet doors; acrylic material reflect light off the doors well.
However, the acrylic material will exhibit fingerprints more easy than other materials. Different styles of cabinet doors can serve specific function within the home. For instance, Shaker cabinet doors are common in many homes.
Alternatively, raised panel doors are used in more formal environments within the home. Finally, louvered cabinet doors allow air to pass through the cabinet doors, which help to minimize moisture in locations in the home like the laundry room. The dimensions of the cabinet door can be calculated with the width and height of the cabinet opening being know, as well as the amount of overlay that is to be use with the doors.
The dimensions are calculate by adding the overlay measurement to the width and height measurements of the opening. For instance, the overlay will be added to both the left and right side of the opening to calculate the width of the cabinet door. The overlay will also be added to both the top and bottom of the cabinet to determine the height of the cabinet door.
The measurements of the opening should be taken at three different locations on the cabinet opening; the smallest measurement should be used when calculating the size of the cabinet door, as a larger measurement may make the size of the cabinet door too large for the opening. Finally, hardware is require for the proper functioning of a cabinet door. Most moddern cabinet doors use 35mm cup hinge.
These hinges can be adjusted to accommodate for the level of the cabinet. Another common hardware component for cabinet doors is a soft close damper. These components prevents the cabinet door from slamming shut.
Thus, the measurement and hardware of the cabinet door are components that must be consider together to ensure that the cabinet doors will function as intended.
