Kitchen Cabinet Construction Methods

Cabinets come in a variety of styles, from classic, country, or contemporary, and in a variety of colours and finishes to suit any decorative scheme. Different styles of doors, drawer fronts, and hardware give cabinets their individual character and personality. Although cabinets are available in a wide array of shapes and finishes, their overall basic construction is similar. As is the case in the purchase of all furniture, good design coupled with expert workmanship and a durable finish should be the first criteria in selecting kitchen cabinets. Styles and colours should be ones that can be lived with for many years. The colours that are “in” today can and should be used in the kitchen but should be limited to wall areas and decorative accessories that can be replaced easily and relatively inexpensively tomorrow.

Framed construction

Framed cabinets provide kitchens with a traditional look. With framed cabinets, the doors are mounted on a frame, which is then mounted to the front of the cabinet box. They have openings that are completely surrounded by face frames made of stiles (vertical side members) and rails (cross pieces). Better cabinets have adjustable hinges that allow door realignment. With the exception of full overlay doors, the frame is visible from the front of the cabinet and can be seen as edges around doors and drawers. Full overlay cabinetry features oversized doors and drawer fronts built around the frame.  The frame takes up space; it reduces the size of the door opening, so drawers or slide-out accessories must be significantly smaller than the width of the cabinet. The interior size of drawers or roll-out accessories is usually 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 cm) smaller than the overall width of the cabinet.

Although some hung cabinets may not have quite the interior storage space of frameless design they are much easier to install, therefore saving you time and your customer installation costs. Unlike frameless cabinets, framed cabinets have some base cabinet units that are only cabinet fronts. These are most commonly used as sink base where the back of the cabinet would interfere with plumbing rough-ins at the back wall. They offer somewhat more flexibility in irregular spaces frameless; the outer edges of the frame can be planed and shaped, which is called scribing, to conform to unique discrepancies.

Frameless construction.

Frameless cabinets, sometimes referred to as European style, provide a more sleek, contemporary styling. With frameless cabinets the doors are mounted directly to the sides of the cabinet box. Core material sides  to 3/4 inch (1.5 to 1.9 cm) thick are connected with either mechanical fastening system or a dowel method of construction. Because of their thickness, these case parts form a box that does not need a front frame for stability or to be flush. The hinges on frameless cabinets are screwed directly to the inside of the cabinet, eliminating the need for face frames (hinges are hidden, providing a cleaner look). Because they have no face frames, frameless cabinets offer slightly more storage space than framed cabinets—for example, they permit easier access for storing larger items, such as platters—and feature a continuous surface of drawers and door fronts. A simple narrow trim strip covers raw edges; doors and drawers usually fit to within an inch (0.6 cm) of each other, revealing a thin sliver of the trim. Interior components, such as drawers, can be sized larger, practically to the full dimension of the box.

Door hinges are mortised into the sides and the doors usually fit over the entire front of the case flush with each other and with drawer fronts. This method dictates a very tight reveal, usually 0.5 inch (.3 cm) or less. Frameless cabinets typically have a separate toe space pedestal, or plinth, which allows counter heights to be set specifically to the home owner’s liking, stacking base units, or making use of space at floor level. Because of absolute standardization, every component (shelf supports and connecting hardware) is inserted into standard 32-mm (1.4-inch) on-centre pre-drilled holes. The terms System 32 and 32-millimetres refer to the basic matrix of all these cabinets: all the holes, hinge fittings, cabinet joints, and mountings are set 32 millimetres apart. The sizes of European styles differ slightly from those of standard cabinets. The depth of the wall cabinet may vary from the 12 to 13 inches (30 to 33 cm) of the standard units.