Kitchen Graphic Standards – Standard sizes and practices in residential construction

Kitchen Cabinets

Typically cabinets widths are made in 3” increments.  A custom cabinet shop will make any width you desire.  A semi-custom shop will make only certain modifications.  The smallest unit is usually starts at 9” wide, used for trays. Then they increase to 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39, 42, 45, and 48 inches.  The most common sizes are 18” through 36”.  A 36” base cabinet will accommodate a standard double sink, that is 33” x 22”.  Under 24″ wide, most cabinets have only one door.  At 24” wide the cabinet may have one or two doors.  You will have to specify which option you want.  Any larger than 24″ wide and the typical cabinet will have two door.

There are three basic types of cabinets in a kitchen.  The base cabinet that sits on the floor, the wall cabinet that is attached to the wall studs, and tall cabinets, sometimes called pantry cabinets that sit on the floor and may extend to the top of the wall cabinets.

Base cabinets are typically 34 1/2” high and 24” deep.  That is from the back to the front face of the frame. Doors extend beyond that if they are overlay door.  If they are inset doors, then they may have exposed hinges and the door is flush with the front of the face frame.  Desks are sometime only 21” deep.

Wall cabinets are typically 12” deep.  The most common heights for wall cabinets are 30”, 36″ and 42” high.  A 42″ cabinet wall touches an 8′ ceiling.  Sometimes a soffit is built over a 30″ or 36″ high wall cabinet, especially when you don’t want a “dust collector” on the top.

The space between the countertop and the bottom of the wall cabinets is approximately 18”.  This may vary slightly due to ceiling height and the size of the crown you may be using.  An 18” space will accommodate most countertop appliances, such as coffee makers, blenders and small microwave ovens.

Tall cabinets may start at 72” high, 84” or up to 96”. A 96” may come with a detached base (approximately 4” high) so you can stand the cabinet up in the home, then place the base under it.   You can stack various base cabinets and wall cabinets and make a lot of variations.

So a typical elevation in an 8’ ceiling kitchen is 34 ½” for the base cabinet, 1 ½” countertop (granite is usually 1 ¼”), 18” space, and a 30” wall cabinet either open above or with a 12” soffit, or a 42” high wall cabinet reaching to the ceiling, equaling 96”.

Doors and drawers come in many styles.  I won’t attempt to name them here.  I’ll merely mention the basic types of doors. Doors may be mounted flush with the face of the cabinet frame, called an inset mount.  These will be hung with either an invisible hinge or a decorative exposed hinge, looking like fine antique furniture. If they are mounted on the face of the frame then they are called overlay doors.  The less expensive cabinets use a partial overlay door, that does not extend to the outer edges of the frame.  A full overlay door extends almost to the edge of the frame, so that you will hardly see any of the frame.  Sometimes this is called a European style.

Framed vs. frameless – I’ll touch briefly on this on-going debate.  An American traditional cabinet is usually a framed cabinet, while the European or modern cabinet styles are made framelessly.  A framed cabinet has a box, and on the outside of the box a frame is attached.  The frame members may be 1 ½” wide x ¾” thick, and surround the entire perimeter of the box.  There is a frame piece between each door and drawer.

A frameless cabinet has a box, but has no frame attached to the face.  Instead the box edges are “banded” or covered with either a melamine strip or wood veneer.  Both are good designs, and each has advantages and disadvantages.  Don’t dwell on it too long unless you are planning on building cabinets.  If you are, think long and hard.  The edge-bander for frameless is quite expensive, but once you set up you can start a really good production process.  Framed, on the other hand, does not have a lot of start up costs, yet is labor intensive.  Also you have to look at what is acceptable in your neck of the woods.

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www.RemodelerBiz.com is published by Randall S Soules, a 37 year construction veteran. The intent of this web site is to help builders, remodelers and those in the trades, create a rewarding career and lifestyle.  At Remodeler Biz you’ll find helpful articles on niches, marketing, graphic standards and the design-then-build field.