Measuring for Kitchen Cabinets

Joined
Mar 5, 2007
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274
Hi,

The cabinetry and millwork company I work with does site measures with a tape, level, paper and pencil.  Those in the business do you have a better approach ?  I see Leica has a nice system.

Thanks.
 
Before I demoed my kitchen I made an eight foot stick and marked out the rails stiles face frames etc called a
story stick. 
Not used much anymore but I like it and you can use all sides, it's very helpful. 

Similar to the picture below, found in public domain from Fine Woodworking. 

View attachment 1
 

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I "might" see that in small residential kitchens, but it would never fly in the huge spaces in the commercial market. I would think that they would use a laser measurer at bare minimum, even if the still recorded those measurements by hand/on paper. This looks far more professional to the client and that alone has value.
At the shop where I work, that kind of thing is done with lasers and recorded on a tablet, which can be imported to other devices. I have no idea what brand they use though, not my thing. I only see the end result. Counter tops on especially long walls can be pre-shaped in the shop, saving time for the installers. This also applies to curved or angled walls too.
Many times these types of things are called out on the drawings as 45 degrees, but can be as much as a degree off in real life. The framers don't get it right, but it "looks" like what was specified. You run 12 or 15 feet away from an origin point of an angle that is a degree off and see how far out of shape you would be...

A guy with a tape measure is never going to see that. He would have to rely on templating by hand.
Yes, it works (to some degree anyway) that's how it was done for decades, but there is a better way.

I don't cut radius wall plates with a trammel and a router anymore either  [wink] for the same reason, there is a better way.
 
The Leica system is over 25K, it integrates directly with the design software we use. Leica and Cabinet Vision are owned by Hexagon.

At the very least you should be using a digital tape measure. Bosch makes some really nice ones at a resonable cost. Whichever one you choose make sure it reads in faction inches, easier than having to convert decimal inches. If your all metric milimeters are avalabile on all of the ones we have.

A tape measure and sometimes a folding rule with the adustable tongue can save the day.

A level and a square are a must. Even on new builds we find out of plumb, out of level and out of square. As long as we know we can make up for these in the shop.

Tom
 
tjbnwi said:
At the very least you should be using a digital tape measure. Bosch makes some really nice ones at a resonable cost. Whichever one you choose make sure it reads in faction inches, easier than having to convert decimal inches. If your all metric milimeters are avalabile on all of the ones we have.
Tom

I've got the Bosch 1.2m digital level and it has proven absolutely invaluable over the years. I couldn't recommend it highly enough for studs, door jambs,etc. Incredibly useful tool!
 
It's wise to validate the automated measuring with a tape measure.  Don't ask me how I know.
 
No matter how I accurately I measure, I always allow 20mm for my backs, but actual thickness is 16mm, so a 4mm void for bumps etc.
I leave 16mm voids in the corners.
 
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