Measuring Guide for Replacement Cabinet Fronts

There are a number of factors that go into providing us with the proper measurements and details to get your custom door order perfect. Please review the steps below carefully and refer to our FAQs for additional help. If you’re ready to order, please review the How to Order steps.

Step 1: Decide if you are reusing your existing hinges or purchasing hinges from Semihandmade.

I’m using my existing hinges - Skip to Step 4

(Important note: If you plan to use your existing hinges, your doors will come UNDRILLED and will need to be drilled onsite by you or your contractor to ensure a seamless fit.)

I’m purchasing new hinges from Semihandmade - Continue to Step 2

Step 2: Determine if you have framed or frameless cabinets.

I have frameless cabinets - Skip to Step 4

I have framed cabinets - Continue to Step 3

Step 3: Determine the amount of overlay you want.

Step 4: Measure according to your project type.

HOW TO MEASURE IF YOU'RE USING EXISTING HINGES

Measure each of your existing cabinet doors and drawer fronts—from the back side—that you want to replace.

HELPFUL HINT: Typically, a door or drawer face will be 1/8” shy of the cabinet width and height. For example, a 15” x 30” cabinet box will need a 14 7/8” x 29 7/8” door. It’s important to be very precise when entering these measurements.

Record each measurement and be sure to select “No Hinges / Undrilled” at checkout.

HOW TO MEASURE IF YOU'RE PURCHASING NEW HINGES FOR FRAMELESS CABINETS

Measure each of your existing cabinet doors and drawer fronts—from the back side—that you want to replace.

Record each measurement and be sure to select “Frameless Hinges & Drilling” at checkout. Please note ONLY doors will come pre-drilled with new hinges. Drawer fronts and panels will arrive undrilled.

HOW TO MEASURE IF YOU'RE PURCHASING NEW HINGES FOR FRAMED CABINETS WITH A 1/2" OVERLAY

There are different thicknesses to the frames on framed cabinets, so to ensure we provide you with the correct hinges, you’ll need to measure the OPENING that you want the door or drawer front to cover rather than the door itself. This is also the way you should measure if you are planning to change the overlay of your door from ½” overlay to full overlay or vice versa.

Determine the amount of overlay you need for your opening before starting to measure. The industry standard is a 1/2” overlay but many people choose to go with a full overlay for a more modern look.

For Single Door Openings & Drawer Fronts with a 1/2” Overlay:

Measure the height and width of the opening of the cabinet frame that you want the front to cover. Add 1” to the height and 1” to the width to account for the overlay.

For example, say your opening is 10” wide and 20” tall. If you wanted to put one door over this opening, you would take the 10” width and add 1/2” to the left and 1/2” to the right (1” total), leaving you with an 11” wide cabinet door. Then, take the 20” height and add 1/2” to the bottom and 1/2” to the top (1” total), leaving you with a 21” tall cabinet door. Thus, you’d order an 11” wide x 21” tall door for this single opening.

For a drawer opening that is 4” high x 19” wide, you’d order a 5” high x 20” wide drawer front for a ½” overlay.

For Double Door Openings with a 1/2” Overlay:

Measure the width of the opening of the cabinet frame you want to cover. Add 1” to your measurement to account for the overlay. Divide that measurement by 2 (for two doors). For the height—take the opening height and add 1” to the measurement to account for the overlay.

For example, say your opening is 30” wide and 30” high. If you wanted to put two doors over this opening, you would take the 30” width and add 1/2” to the left and 1/2” to the right (1” total), leaving you with 31”. Divide that by 2 (for two doors), and you would need two 15 1/2” wide doors. For the height, add 1/2” to both the top and the bottom (1” total), leaving you with a 31” high door. The final order would be two 15 1/2” wide x 31” high doors

HOW TO MEASURE IF YOU'RE PURCHASING NEW HINGES FOR FRAMED CABINETS WITH A FULL OVERLAY

There are different thicknesses to the frames on framed cabinets, so to ensure we provide you with the correct hinges, you’ll need to measure the OPENING that you want the door or drawer front to cover rather than the door itself. This is also the way you should measure if you are planning to change the overlay of your door from ½” overlay to full overlay or vice versa.

Determine the amount of overlay you need for your opening before starting to measure. The industry standard is a 1/2” overlay, but many people choose to go with a full overlay for a more modern look.

For Single Door Openings & Drawer Fronts with a Full Overlay:

Measure the height and width of the opening of the cabinet frame that you want the front to cover. Add 2.5” to the height and 2.5” to the width to account for the overlay.

For example, say your opening is 10” wide and 20” high. If you wanted to put one door over this opening, you would take the 10” width and add 1 1/4” to the left and 1 1/4” to the right (2.5” total), leaving you with a 12 1/2” wide cabinet door. Then, take the 20” height and add 1 1/4” to the bottom and 1 1/4” to the top (2.5” total), leaving you with a 22 1/2” high cabinet door. Thus, you’d order a 12 1/2” wide x 22 1/2” high door for this single opening.

For a drawer opening that is 4” high x 19” wide, you’d order a 6 1/2” high x 21 1/2” wide drawer front.

For Double Cabinet Door Openings with a Full Overlay:

Measure the width of the opening of the cabinet frame you want to cover. Add 2 1/2” to the measurement to account for the overlay. Divide that measurement by 2 (for two doors). For the height—take the opening height and add 2 1/2” to the measurement to account for the overlay.

For example, say your opening is 30” wide x 30” high. If you wanted to put two doors over this opening, you would take the 30” width and add 1 1/4” to the left and 1 1/4” to the right, leaving you with 32 1/2”. Divide that by 2 (for two doors), and you would need two 16 1/4” wide doors. For the height, you add 1 1/4” to both the top and bottom, for a 32 1/2” high door. The final order would be two 16 1/4” wide by 32 1/2” high.

HOW TO MEASURE FOR LAZY SUSANS

If Your Lazy Susan Cabinet is Framed & You’re Purchasing Hinges from Semihandmade:

Measure the width of the opening from the inside edge of one side to the corner. Add 1/2" to your width.
Subtract the thickness of the door (all of our doors are 3/4" thick) from the width measurement. This will ensure each door has enough room to fold in on itself.
Measure the height of the opening from top to bottom.
Repeat these steps for the other door from the corner to one side.
You will order these as two separate doors.

If Your Lazy Susan Cabinet is Frameless and You’re Purchasing New Hinges from Semihandmade
or
If You’re Reusing Your Existing Hinges for a Framed or Frameless Lazy Susan:

Measure each piece of the Lazy Susan door separately from the back side of the doors.
Record your height and width.
You will order these as two separate doors.

Please note: Lazy Susan doors will come in two pieces with two sets of hinges (if you selected hinges)—one set to install the door into the frame of the cabinet and one set to connect the two doors.

Helpful Tips:

Cabinet door measurements are very precise, so do not use any rounding. You will likely have fractions for each door or drawer front you’re ordering.

Most hinges are very adjustable. You have about a 1/8” adjustment in all ways. This means you can adjust the doors up, down, left, right, in, and out for the perfect fit.

Be sure that you have a 1/4" gap between doors once they are installed on the cabinet (only a very slight hairline gap is needed between a pair of doors covering a single opening). This 1/4" gap between doors will ensure that the door has room to operate freely without rubbing other doors and/or objects. See FAQS →

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