Cabinet door size calculator
Door sizes follow from three things: the carcass, the gap you leave, and whether the door sits over the carcass or inside it. Get them right once, and every door in the job is the same.
How the sizes are worked out
Full overlay
The door covers the carcass front. Width = carcass width − 2 × edge gap; two doors also lose the centre gap and share the rest.
Inset
The door sits inside the opening. Width = carcass width − 2 × board thickness − 2 × gap.
Gaps
A 1.5 mm edge gap and 3 mm between doors are common starting points; follow your hinge maker’s figures.
A worked example
On an 800 mm carcass with two doors: 800 − 2 × 1.5 − 3 = 794 mm, shared between two doors — 397 mm each. Height is the carcass height less the edge gap top and bottom.
Drawer fronts in a stack
Fronts in a column share the carcass height. Take off the edge gap at the top and bottom and a gap between each front, then divide what is left.
Deeper bottom drawers are common: size the top ones first and give the rest to the bottom front. The calculator’s width is the same as a door’s.
Before you cut
- Check the hingeOverlay and gap depend on the hinge and its mounting plate.
- Mind the grainDoor height runs along the grain on woodgrain boards; tick grain so doors are never turned.
- Add edgingIf the door is edged after cutting, decide whether these are finished or pre-edging sizes.
Questions
What gap should cabinet doors have?
Around 1.5 mm at the edges and 2–3 mm between doors is common, but the hinge and its adjustment decide it.
Are drawer fronts sized the same way?
Widths yes; heights are shared between the fronts in a stack, less a gap between each.
Can I add hinge holes?
Yes — open the doors in the optimiser and add hinge cups in the machining editor.
Plan your cut list now
Free, in the browser, with no account. Layouts, edging totals and machine files from one list.