Standard Base Cabinet Dimensions

[Rocky]

New to cabinet making and was wondering what's are the standard base cabinet dimensions?  I'm trying to understand the 32mm system.

 

[mastercabman]

Standard base cab is 34.5" tall  and 24" deep

 

[Rocky]

Thanks for the info.

 

[tbellemare]

You should seriously consider designing your cabinet side heights in sizes divisible by 32 mm. It will work a lot easier.

Tom

 

[tjbnwi]

You do want the finished height to be 34 1/2". To conserve material use a separate toe kick.

Height of side- 30" (762 mm)

Depth of side if using face frame- 23 1/4" (591 mm) and you are "butt" attaching the frame (assumes 3/4" face frame)

Depth of side if using face frame- 23 1/2" (597 mm) if you are grooving the face frame (assumes 3/4" face frame with 1/4" deep groove)

Depth of side euro cab style- 23 7/8" (606 mm)

Toe kick frame 4 1/2" (114 mm)

By cutting to the above dimensions you will get 6 sides per sheet instead of 4. It is easier to set a separate toe kick and you do not have to cut all the toe space notches. My exposed end cabinets are built to match the front of the cabinets. Those cabinet side are handled differently. I fabricate mine with rollouts, so having the drop off from a 34 1/2" side (27" x 48" balance) for shelf material is not that much of a concern to me. 

Tom

 

[peter halle]

Tom,

Thank you for that very clear concise explanation.  You have just helped out many here.  [thanks]

Peter

 

[Jonhilgen]

Although 24" overall cabinet depth is somewhat standard, if you are integrating appliances you should check the appliance specifications first.  Some dishwashers that get an applied panel require 24 3/4 overall depth (including the panel).  Also, some cabinet companies actually go with a 34 3/4 height (4 1/2 high toe kick) to offer some allowance of scribing cabinets down while still leaving plenty of space for undercounter appliances.

I totally agree with applied toe kicks, you save a bundle on materials cost by doing it this way.

I'm waiting for Brice to poke his head in so he can post the link to the KISS system.  Should tell you quite a but about the 32 mm system.

Jon

 

[hrrb]

If you go for european style cabinets (Mass produced cabinets made of melamine laminated 16 mm chip board and without face frame)  - these are common dimensions for kitchen and bath cabinets.

Kitchens:
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Bath room:
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!!! All dimensions are cm. !!!

Kind regards
Henrik

 

[tbellemare]

Height of side- 30" (762 mm)

32 x 24 = 768 ?
Is there really anything wrong with adding 6 mm (

 

[tjbnwi]

Tom,

I always have converted 30 inches to mm. Never thought about it your way, no reason you could not use the 768. Yes, you still get 3 pieces per sheet.

Jon,

I believe the reason for the change in height is to finish out the 3 cm tops at 36". As for the depth, if you have a 24' deep box and add the door, it will finish out about 24-3/4". The biggest change I have seen over the last few years is in vanity height.

Rocky,

I neglected to mention that you should trim one long edge of the new sheet, then square a short edge.

Tom

 

[Jonhilgen]

Tom, your right.  I was building inset cabinets today and somehow you should have known what I was thinking with regards to depth. [big grin]

Jon

 

[tjbnwi]

Jon,

I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, so without pictures I'm easily dazed and confussed. If I knew what I was doing I could get a real job.

Tom

 

[JPF Woodworking]

I thought I would add a quick suggestion. When I build custom cabinets I like to increase the depth of the sink base to 26" which gives some added space between the sink and the back splash. This makes cleaning around the sink much, much easier and also allows more versatility in sink selection.

Of course these also means you will have to adjust the width of your counter tops. These days most customers are looking towards granite and other natural products for their counter tops so customizing the counters mot accommodate the added depth to the cabinets is generally no big deal.

Just my two-cents worth.

Best regards! John

 

[davee]

What I like about custom cabinets is that you don't need to use standard dimensions.  You can make cabinets to fit your specific needs and locations.  My early cabinets followed the standard dimensions, but the principles work with whatever size fits you.

 

[galwaydude18@gmail.com]

Over here in Ireland the kitchen cabinet we make are 720mm high and 570mm deep.

 

[woodguy7]

Same here, but the .720mm high does not include the legs.  I usually have the top of the carcass .870mm from the floor.

 

[tjbnwi]

This may help;

http://www.cabsystems.com/KISSII/KIIrivDe-mail.pdf

Tom

 

[android]

The KISS II document looks very useful.

I bought the Porter Cable dovetail jig to build drawers. The drawers come out best when the height of the box is N+1/4", 4-1/4", 5-1/4", and so on.

I guess I can mix and match the imperial drawers and 32mm cabinets as long as they clear, but is there a metric standard for drawer dovetails?

 

[Gregor]

Same here, but the .720mm high does not include the legs.  I usually have the top of the carcass .870mm from the floor.

What I did with my kitchen is to raise the worktop a bit (as the default felt to low for my body height) while at the same time I reduced the height of the legs to 5cm, that gave me an additional drawer per cabinet. I don't have regrets having done that.