How to Measure For Cabinet Refacing

At Cabinet Doors 'N' More, we serve everyone from contractors performing large-scale remodels to homeowners saving money with their first DIY repair. Whether it's your first time working with cabinets or you need a refresher, we've prepared a simple guide for getting the right size cabinet doors. Using these steps, you can take measurements using a current cabinet door, or measure the cabinet opening to create a new door with the correct overlap and order the right cabinet door hinges for framed or frameless cabinetry. 

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MEASURING CABINET DOORS

To measure cabinet doors for the kitchen, bath or any room, you need a good tape measure and something to take notes on. Measure to the closest 1/16 of an inch for both width and height for doors made in just the right size. We recommend measuring at least twice for accuracy as our doors are custom made to the specific measurements you provide.

 

Determine the cabinet door/drawer front "overlay"  

• The cabinet door overlay is how much you want the cabinet door to "overlay" on the cabinet opening or cabinet frame and also determines the size of the hinge you'll use. The most common overlays are 1/2" for partial overlay cabinet doors and 1 1/4" for full overlay cabinet doors.
• The overlay dimension is measured from the edge of the cabinet opening to edge of the cabinet door as it lays in the closed position on the cabinet.
• The easiest way to figure out the size of your overlay: With your cabinet door closed, place a piece of masking tape vertically on the face frame and line up to the edge of the cabinet door. Open the cabinet door and measure from the edge of the tape (inside edge) to the edge of the opening of the cabinet. 
• As an example, if your cabinet door overlays your face frame 1/2" on all four sides, then you will need a 1/2" concealed overlay hinge. To order a cabinet door for a 1/2" overlay, you would add 1" to both the width and height of the door.

Partial Overlay is what you generally find in a home with builder-grade kitchen cabinets. This overlay leaves 1” of the face frame exposed around the doors/drawers.

Full Overlay is a more modern style for upgraded kitchen cabinets. The cabinet doors and drawer fronts cover most of the cabinet’s face frame, leaving ¼” of the cabinet frame exposed. 

HOW TO MEASURE AN EXISTING CABINET DOOR/DRAWER FRONT

If you want to replace your current doors with a new updated style, and plan on using the same size hinges you have today (most common sizes are 1/2" and 1 1/4" overlay hinges), open your cabinet door or drawer front and measure using the backside of the cabinet door/drawer front for accuracy. Take the width first and then the height and be sure to measure twice. We need the actual measurements of the cabinet door down to 1/16". 

        

Fraction/Decimal Chart:

 

HOW TO MEASURE USING YOUR CABINET OPENING

Measuring to fit a cabinet opening includes a few extra steps to get the doors made in the right sizes for your remodel or renovation: 

1. Measure the inside edges: When measuring the width, measure from left to right, starting with the inside edge of the left stile (vertical part of the face frame) to the inside edge of the right stile. When measuring height, measure from the inside edge of the bottom rail (horizontal part of the face frame) to the inside edge of the top rail. We build to 1/16 inch increments, so be precise.
2. Add space for door overlay: Cabinet doors for framed cabinets must be larger than the cabinet opening to look right and close properly. We refer to this as an "overlay". The industry standard for most cabinet doors is a 1/2 inch overlay around the cabinet door. To create a 1/2 inch door overlay on all four sides, add 1 inch to your total height, and 1 inch to your total width. 

Cabinet Opening (for both cabinet doors and drawer fronts)

Example from the above image: If you're measuring a cabinet opening 15 inches wide and 27 inches tall and wanted to achieve a 1/2 inch overlay, you would add 1" to the width and height of cabinet opening and order a cabinet door 16 inches wide and 28 inches tall. Your desired door overlay may vary, so please take that into account when calculating your overall measurements.

If you want to reference our Cabinet Door Configurator to help, it's quite simple to use:

Plug in the width of your cabinet opening, then the height of the cabinet opening and then add the cabinet overlay you would like for your cabinet doors. Once the overlay is chosen, the dimensions of the cabinet doors are shown. If you change the overlay, the cabinet door dimensions will change.

Use Our Measurement Calculator

 

HOW TO MEASURE FOR DOUBLE CABINET DOORS

Double doors add utility and visual appeal to any set of cabinets. If you would like to install double cabinet doors over a single cabinet opening, we will help you get the perfect fit. We recommend using the following calculation based on the most common 1/2 inch door overlay. If you want a more significant overlap (overlay), be sure to account for it in your math. 

To get accurate measurements for double doors over a single opening: 

1. Measure the cabinet opening: Measure in the same fashion as for a single door, getting the total width and height from the inside edge of the cabinet opening.
2. Add space for door overlay: Add 1 inch to the height of the opening. For the width, add 1 inch to your total width and then divide by 2. If using european concealed hinges, you should be able adjust the hinges in/out so the doors do not rub and properly align. If your hinges do not have multiple adjustments, then you might want to subtract 1/16" for your door width to make sure they fit and properly align.

For example:

If you want double doors on a cabinet opening 24 inches wide by 30 inches high and using 1/2" overlay, here are the measurements:

• Add 1" to the height: 30" + 1" = 31" height
• Add 1" to the width: 24" + 1" = 25" width. Divide the width by 2 and you get 12 1/2" width for each door. 
• Order two doors at 12 1/2" W x 31" H

HOW TO MEASURE FOR INSET CABINET DOORS

To measure for an inset cabinet doors - doors that are 'inset' to the cabinet frame - measure the cabinet opening and then subtract 1/8" from both the width and height of the cabinet opening so the doors have a proper gap.

INSET CABINET DOOR EXAMPLE:

Formula: Width - 1/4" x Height - 1/4"
Cabinet opening measurement of 16" W x 34" H
Inset cabinet door sizes: 16" W - 1/4" x 34” H - 1/4" = 15 3/4" W x 33 3/4" H

Note: Inset cabinet doors take a specific inset hinge that CDNM does not offer.

IKEA Cabinets/Cabinet Doors

IKEA cabinets is a company with several stores in the USA that makes European or frameless ready-to-assemble (RTA) kitchen cabinets. Cabinet Doors 'N' More replacement cabinet doors will fit with IKEA cabinets but you must use a specific IKEA cabinet hinge (UTRUSTA) that will work with the frameless cabinet box and our cabinet door hinge boring. 

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Hinge Boring

Our hinge drilling procedure is meant for Concealed European style hinges. The center recess measures 35mm in diameter and is bored into the back of the cabinet door. The custom made cabinet door will be drilled at the standard placement based on its size. Hinge boring will always be on the height side of the cabinet door.

If you are looking at the front of the cabinet/door, keep in mind on you will open the cabinet door. If the cabinet door swings to the left, the hinge hole will be bored on the left side of the cabinet door. If the cabinet door swings to the right, the hinge hole will be bored on the right side of the cabinet door. 

Note: "Square" panel cabinet doors can take either right or left hinge boring as the door can be flipped to fit either side of your cabinet.

Note: If you are ordering arched or cathedral raised panel cabinet doors, you need to specify specifically for left or right hinge boring. 

  

 

 

 

 

Wood Cabinet Doors 

• 3" from top and bottom of cabinet doors 
• No custom hinge boring available

Rigid Thermofoil (RTF) Cabinet Doors

• 3" from top and bottom of cabinet doors 
• No custom hinge boring available

 

   

Hinge Boring Special Information:

Solid Wood Cabinet Doors

• Doors with a height of 42" or less will receive two hinge bores.
• Doors with a height of 42 1/16"-72" will receive three hinge bores,
• Doors with a height of 72 1/16" or larger will receive four hinge bores.

Rigid Thermofoil (RTF) Cabinet Doors

• Doors with a height of 8” up to 13” will receive two hinge bores (Note: placement will be 2” from top and bottom of door).
• Doors with a height of 13” up to 36” will receive two hinge bores
• Doors with a height of 36” up to 60” will receive three hinge bores (Note: middle bore centered on door)
• Doors with a height of 60” up to 84” will receive four hinge bores (Note: equally spaced on door)

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MEASURING CABINET DRAWER FRONTS

Just like a cabinet door, taking accurate measurements for cabinet drawer fronts is simple, with processes similar to those above. If you plan on replacing a existing drawer front with a new style or wood species, all we need you to do is measure the backside of the drawer front for width and height to the nearest 1/16th. 

Existing cabinet drawer fronts may not always be available. With two simple steps, we'll help you get precise measurements for an attractive fit. Drawer overlay is the amount of material that extends beyond the cabinet opening and rests against the cabinet surfaces. In the industry, 1/2 inch is standard. Learn how to measure the size of a drawer front using an empty space in two simple steps: 

• Get your width and height: Measure the inside edge of the drawer opening for the width and height. 
• Compensate for overlay: Add one inch to each measurement, creating 1/2 inch overlay on every side.  

If you want to check your numbers before placing your order, give us a call and we'll be happy to help. 

PLACING AN ORDER

With accurate measurements, you're ready to place your order. We've streamlined our process for fast and simple product customization. To order new cabinet doors: 

• Find a style: Browse our selection of cabinet doors to find the right design, and select the style you want to use. 
• Select a material option: Choose from oak, maple, paint-grade hard maple, cherry, medium-density fiberboard (MDF) or rigid thermofoil (RTF).
• Enter your size: Enter the width and height to 1/16-inch increments and select a quantity. 
• Add hinge boring: If ordering a cabinet door and want to add hinge boring, select the box, and we'll take care of getting the number and pattern right.  
• Add Cabinet Hinges: Select either our 1/2" or 1 1/4" Blum soft close concealed hinges.

At Cabinet Doors 'N' More, we manufacture in the U.S. and ship factory-direct straight to you, with most orders shipping out in approx. 20 business days.

NOW OFFERING FASTER SHIPPING OPTION (10-15 BUSINESS DAYS TO BUILD/SHIP). THEN ALLOW A FEW DAYS TO ARRIVE BASED ON YOUR LOCATION. 

For help taking measurements, or to speak to an expert about placing an order, please contact us or call 844-915-1150.

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