How to Measure Kitchen Doors and Drawers

Start with a kitchen plan

Begin by drawing a plan of your kitchen showing all the doors and drawer fronts you want to replace. Check that your plan and the actual number of new panels you need tally – it's easy to miss one. When you're measuring, use a steel tape measure and check all measurements twice – mistakes can be costly! 

Measure doors not cabinets

Measure the kitchen doors – not the cabinets. Doors are generally 4mm smaller all round to allow for adjustment and clearance – for example, the door for a base unit that's 720mm high and 600mm wide will actually measure 715mm high and 596mm wide.

The profiled edges of doors can make measuring the front of a door difficult, so measure door across the rear face for greater accuracy. When you write down the dimensions, put the height first, then the width – this is the standard method for describing the size of a door. The same rules apply when measuring drawer fronts.

How to measure kitchen doors

Check the hinges. If they're worn and loose then your new doors may not fit properly. New hinges - at around a couple of pounds per door - will ensure the doors are aligned correctly and open smoothly. If you opt for new ones, take a note of how far they open - 110° hinges allow the door to open just beyond a right angle, while 165° hinges allow the door to open much further. You may wish to replace the 110° type with 165° versions to give better access to the interior of a unit or cupboard. Bear in mind that hinges are made to suit different carcass thicknesses - usually 15mm or 18mm - so make a note of this dimension as well.

Hinge location

Next you need to note the way the door opens so that the hinge holes will be on the correct sides. A door that's hinged on the left as you face it is a left hand door, one that's hinged on the right as you face it is a right hand door. We can supply doors with hinge holes pre-drilled, or left plain for you or your installer to drill. Our standard holes are positioned so that the centres are 100mm from the top and bottom edges of the door, but we can drill them in different locations if you supply the measurements. To do this, measure from the top and bottom edges of the door to the centre of the hinge hole - don't assume that they are both the same!

Measure the kitchen door hinge positions

Also consider - replacing any drawer boxes that are loose, worn or damaged. We supply a wide range of boxes, and wire or rattan baskets, with runners to match, that will greatly enhance the 'new' feel of your refurbished kitchen. Think too about fitting heat deflectors - metal strips that protect the edges of doors fitted next to ovens from heat damage.