Cabinets
kitchen cabinets are typically modular,
standardized, and available in different quality
levels & prices
'shop drawings'
• when a project calls for custom millwork,
or for specialized cabinetry and
installation, the designer sends design
drawings to the fabricator, who in turn,
makes 'shop drawings'.
• the shop drawings are the fabricator's
interpretation of what the design drawings
have proposed.
• the shop drawings communicate the precise,
dimensioned, and specific material character of the item.
• the designer then checks the shop drawings to be sure
that they are an accurate interpretation of the design
drawings.
• the fabricator will begin making the item after receiving
the approved shop drawings back from the designer.
each individual cabinet is identified with
a number
dimensions are coordinated with
the interior designer
a typical design drawing of a
kitchen cabinet layout
a typical shop drawing
cabinet drawers:
material, operability & joint construction = quality level
types of drawer joints
general criteria in selecting cabinets
• The box of the cabinet should look and feel sturdy. The
drawer is a good indication of the quality of construction
used in cabinets.
• Corner of wall and base should be braced with corner
blocks.
• Where there is stress or a major joint, the stiles and rails
(the vertical and horizontal framing) should be joined
with mortise and tenon or dowel joints.
• Tops and bottoms should be dadoed into the sides.
• Hinges should be strong, swing freely, and operate
silently.
• Hardware should be conveniently located and be
comfortable to the hand, e.g. D- or U-shaped handle.
• In addition to quality, if undercabinet lighting is being
considered, select wall cabinets with an apron or
recessed lower shelf large enough to cover the light.
drawer selection criteria
• Drawers should be removable, have an automatic stop,
and be of sturdy construction.
• The easiest sliding drawers have double metal tracking
on sides or bottom of the drawer with nylon and ballbearing rollers or aluminum glides with nylon rollers.
Over time, drawers that slide directly on wood will not
slide as well.
• The sturdiest drawers have dovetail or mortise and tenon
joints in all four corners and have a separate drawer head
attached to the drawer box which is made of 1/2 inch thick
wood for the sides and back and 1/2 inch thick plywood or
particle board bottom.
• Tongue and groove joints are sturdy; rabbeted and butt
joints are the least sturdy.
• Plastic is easy to clean and can have molded plastic
compartments which are useful. However, light-weight
plastic can break if heavy objects are dropped on it.
shelving criteria
• Cabinets wider than three feet should have a shelf
support in the center.
• Wall cabinet shelves should be removable and
adjustable, attached with clips or grooves.
• In base cabinets, pull-out shelves are more usable and
convenient than stationary shelves and may be vertically
adjustable.
• Open metal racks and shelving are available in
base or wall cabinets and allow easy viewing.
• Roll-out or tilt-out bins are options to standard
drawers.
• Lazy susans or blind corner swing-out shelves
make corner space more accessible.
cabinet materials
• Wood
– Wood is the most popular material for cabinets. It is
available in softwood and hardwood. Softwood
scratches and dents more easily. Wood grain of
higher priced cabinets match vertically and
horizontally. Plywood and particle board are more
often used than solid wood for large areas since large
wood pieces may warp. Exposed surface may be a
veneer over plywood or particle board.
Wood cabinets
with stainless steel drawer and door pulls.
Reclaimed wood cabinets
dovetail joints used in the drawer construction, metal ‘glides allow smooth open
and close operation.
Cabinets made using reclaimed wood
• High pressure decorative laminates
– The 1/32 inch thick decorative laminate, e.g.
Formica®, on a rigid material is highly suitable
for kitchen cabinets. Decorative laminate
cabinet doors need a backing sheet to
prevent warping.
Laminate is by far the most popular kitchen counter top. It's easy to clean,
resists stains, comes in many colors and can imitate the look of marble and
granite, wood, and stainless steel. It is also one of the less expensive kitchen
counter materials.
Some suppliers of High Pressure Laminate are Formica®, Wilsonart®,
Nevamar®, and Pionite®
Plastic laminate
multiple layers of resin soaked kraft paper, topped by a patterned
sheet of melamine (plastic) that’s subjected to heat and pressure.
The resulting 1/16-in. laminate sheet can be glued to several
different sub-strates, such as plywood, mdf (medium density fiber
board), particle board, et cetera.
• Plastics
– Polystyrene, a heavy, durable plastic is
sometimes used to imitate wood. Rigid vinyls
in sheet or roll, and low pressure decorative
laminates are laminated to a substrate or
corestock, i.e. particle board, but are not as
durable as the high pressure decorative
laminates.
Dupont Corian
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more than 30 years ago, DuPont discovered a way to blend natural minerals
with pure acrylic resin to create a product they call Corian®.
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Corian is a solid surfacing material that can be cut, routed, drilled, sculpted,
bent, or worked like a fine wood. It is currently available in more than 100
colors.
The solid color of Corian® goes all the way through the material.
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Corian
solid surfacing material
Corian used to make outdoor furniture
Nature-inspired design by Avanzini
The Leaf line of outdoor furniture was created by architect Giancarlo Zema with folding, leaf-like forms
that are soft to the touch
Bowls made of Corian
• Steel
– Steel cabinets are durable, washable, and
retain no odor.
– Low quality steel cabinets are less expensive
and may be noisy to use.
Stainless steel kitchen cabinets
Stainless steel doors with pulls
a sequence of design drawings that explore
the design of a kitchen:
this is the work of a student named Joseph Londt, Spring 2000
• This project began when Professor Rod Underwood
delivered the assignment to me: design and execute
drawings that detail a theoretical kitchen.
• With little more information than this, I set out to design a
space for the preparation and cleanup of food in a small
space, much like the apartment where I currently live.
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• I took basic ideas in space economy and filtered them
through the ideals that I hold about the use of kitchen,
and applied the understanding I've recently acquired in
my technical classes at Ball State University to create
the following drawings.
vertical section/elevation
• This one (previous sketch) shows the
relationship of a six foot tall person and the
counter spaces, which eventually evolved to be
36 inches high, as well as the wall mounted
cabinets that are placed 60 inches off the floor
plane, to accommodate a wide range of users,
from short to tall. Exploration of lighting and the
spatial requirements of the aisle was also a
component.
• This diagram shows spatial relationships of most
of the surfaces of the kitchen space, and
highlights the placement of many of the systems
that will make the space work.
• One component of the HVAC system is the
ceiling mounted cook top exhaust hood, and
some of the electrical and plumbing devices are
shown in their preliminary locations. Rough
dimensions also explain the space.
• The floor plan shows door swings for
cabinets and appliances, indicating worst
case scenarios for available walkways, as
well as distances from sink to stove to
refrigerator.
Standard kitchen cabinet units are both about manufacturing efficiency, and
about human dimension.
Anthropometrics is the study of human body measurements usually done along
side ergonomics as a component of human factors engineering .
Standard sizes of wall mounted cabinets
Poggenpohl
• “Our goal is to improve the kitchen.”
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• This was cabinet maker Friedemir
Poggenpohl's mission when he
founded the company in 1892 - a company
which today has become one of the most
well-known kitchen brands in the world.
Poggenpohl cabinets
beautifully made Danish cabinets are very expensive.
Cabinet Design and Consruction
• In framed cabinetry, wood joinery holds the parts
together. This American-style cabinet attaches a 1 ½”
wide x ¾” thick frame to the front of the cabinet box.
Horizontal rails and vertical stiles secure the door to the
box. Hinges attach the door to the face frame.
In frameless cabinetry, thicker side panels keep
the cabinet rigid without the use of a front frame.
Special hardware fittings secure the door directly to
the side or end panels of the cabinet. Due to the lack
of face frame, the cabinet doors lie flush with each other,
forming a tight reveal of 1/8” or less.
• Box materials typically contain wood chips, other wood
by-products, and synthetic additives to make them
especially strong and warp resistant. Your options
typically include particle board, plywood, and
• mdf (medium density fiberboard)
• According to the National Kitchen & Bath Association,
standard cabinet dimensions are as follows:
base cabinets, which are set on the floor, are
24” deep and 34 ½” high, including a 4” toekick.
wall cabinets, which are affixed to the wall with
screws, are 12” deep. Standard height is 30”,
but other common heights include 24”, 33”, and
42”.
tall pantry or utility cabinets are generally
84” or 96” high
Doors
• How the cabinet door fits over the cabinet box
determines its basic type
Your options for cabinet door type include:
Inset doors sit within the rails and stiles and
lay flush with the front edges of the cabinet box.
Truly inset doors are only available with framed
construction, but designers can achieve the same
look using vertical pilasters on frameless cabinets.
Note: wood may expand and contract because
of humidity, causing rubbing between the door and
stiles.
• Lipped doors are routed with a slight wooden
groove to fit over the face frame.
• Partial overlay doors conceal just some of the
face frame - there is usually a ½” to 1” space
between closed doors, allowing you to see much
of the face frame. Because partial overlay doors
are smaller than full overlay doors, they require
less material, so this choice could slightly reduce
your cabinetry’s total cost.
• Full overlay doors have less than one-eighth of an inch
between them - in effect, they fully lay over the cabinet.
By definition, all frameless cabinets have full overlay
doors. Manufacturers can attach full overlay doors to
framed cabinets as well, however, creating a similar
look. You can tell for sure whether a cabinet is framed or
frameless by opening a door and checking for rails and
stiles.
doors and drawers:
inset, slab, raised panel, recessed panel
Drawers
• The drawers will likely be made of solid wood or
medium-density fiberboard (MDF); have framed or flat
slab fronts; and be held together with either dovetail,
mortise-and-tenon, or butt joints
Drawer Slides
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Options for drawer slides include:
Full extension･
Ball bearing
Track and roller
Wood
Self closing
• Full-extension slides attach to the bottom or the sides
of the drawer and provide full access to the drawer
interior. Their ball-bearing system adds stability and
strength. Stronger versions can be used to store heavier
items, such as files or cookware.
Ball-bearing slides attach to the bottom of the
drawer sides. Usually standard on high-end cabinets,
they offer smooth, quiet operation. Their concealed
runners mounted to the bottom of the drawer donﾕt
get as dirty as those mounted on the side. They
allow for a wider drawer box with a more usable
interior space.
• Track-and-roller slides attach to the drawer sides.
Their epoxy-coated steel tracks and nylon rollers offer
quiet operation but are less stable than ball-bearing ones
Wooden slides work as slots in the drawer sides
or bottoms and move the drawer along a wood runner.
This option has fallen out of favor because the drawers
tend to stick as the wood expands and contracts.
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Stock cabinets are constructed prior to purchase. The manufacturer does
not build them to individually requested specifications, so all sizes meet
industry standards.
Stock cabinetry widths begin at 9 inches and increase in 3” increments to
48”, the largest standard stock size available. Some stock companies also
offer half-sized cabinets (13½”, 19½”, etc.).
A kitchen's dimensions may not correspond exactly to the available
increments. To accommodate sizes outside of the 3-inch increments, filler
strips are used to close any gaps between the cabinet and walls or
appliances.
SEMI-CUSTOM CABINETRY
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Partly stock, partly custom.
Includes all of the offerings of stock cabinetry and fewer limitations.
A step up from stock, semi-custom cabinets also typically come in 3”
increments but have the ability to incorporate certain custom features, such
as increased and reduced depths.
Semi-custom cabinets have a wider range of door, finish, and wood
selections than stock.
Construction begins when order is finalized, so modifications can be made
as the cabinets are somewhat built to suit. Expect to wait at least one month
for delivery.
CUSTOM CABINETRY
• Custom cabinets are restricted by only one thing - the amount of
money one is willing to spend!
• There tend to be two kinds of custom cabinets: those made by a
custom manufacturer (such as William Ohs) and those made by a
local ‘custom’ woodworking shop.
• Local cabinetmakers produce the box, frame, and drawers in their
shop. They will either fabricate the doors or order them from a
company.
• You may want to ask your local cabinetmaker how much of it is done
in-house.
Surface Materials for Cabinets
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Typical Surface Materials Include:
Wood
Wood Veneer
Plastic Laminate
Stainless Steel
Glass
Poggenpohl Cabinets
• Web page with links to many cbinet makers:
• http://www.angelfire.com/tx2/tillmill/cabinets.html
Pedini Italian Kitchens
Pedini Italian Kitchens
Typical Kitchen Layouts:
Linear, ‘Railroad’, Peninsula, Corner, Horseshoe