Cabinet Door Size Calculator: Overlay, Inset and Frameless Doors and Drawer Fronts

How it works

Overlay: door width = opening + 2 × overlay, height = opening + top + bottom overlay · inset or frameless: width = opening − 2 × gap, height = opening − 2 × gap · pair: each door = (total width − center gap) ÷ 2 · stile = door height · rail = door width − 2 × stile width + 2 × groove depth · panel = rail length − 2 × gap by door height − 2 × rail width + 2 × groove depth − 2 × gap

Measure the opening, choose how the door mounts, and the calculator returns the door or drawer-front size. An overlay door on a face-frame cabinet is larger than the opening by the overlay on each side, usually 1/2 in for standard overlay and 1 1/8 to 1 1/4 in for full overlay; the hinge you buy fixes this number, so match them. An inset door sits inside the opening and is smaller by a small reveal, about 1/16 in on each edge. A frameless (European) door covers the whole box, less a small gap so that doors on neighboring cabinets do not touch. For a pair, the width covered is split in two after taking out the center gap. Under More options you can set different top and bottom overlays (for a drawer above the door), the number of identical openings and the parts of a five-piece Shaker door: two stiles as long as the door, two rails that run between the stiles plus a tenon into each groove, and a panel cut a little small so solid wood can move. Results come in inches as fractions to the nearest 1/32 with decimals, or in millimeters, with a cut list, a hinge count and the length of stile and rail stock. This is for building or ordering cabinet doors; to see whether a piece of furniture fits through a house door, use the furniture door fit calculator. Always check one door against the opening before cutting a full set.

Worked example

A face-frame opening is 15 in wide and 30 in tall, with 1/2 in overlay on all four sides. The door is 15 + 2 × 1/2 = 16 in wide and 30 + 1/2 + 1/2 = 31 in tall, and a door that height takes 2 hinges. For a Shaker door with 2 1/4 in stiles and rails and a 3/8 in groove, the two stiles are 31 in long, the two rails are 16 − 2 × 2 1/4 + 2 × 3/8 = 12 1/4 in long, and the panel is 12 1/4 − 2 × 1/16 = 12 1/8 in wide by 31 − 2 × 2 1/4 + 2 × 3/8 − 2 × 1/16 = 27 1/8 in tall. The frame needs 2 × 31 + 2 × 12.25 = 86.5 in, or 7.2 linear feet, of stock.

Sources: Inch Calculator: Cabinet door calculator (overlay, two-door, rail and panel examples) · Salice: Concealed hinges for the cabinet (recommended number of hinges per door)

Frequently asked questions