cabinet door types Here's the basics of cabinet door types.  All cabinet doors fall into three types, depending on their physical relationship to the cabinet face frame.  The face frame is the solid wood facing that, along with doors and drawers, makes up what you see when you look at the front of the cabinet. The three basic door types are: (F=face of cabinet, D=door) full overlay -- These doors completely "overlay", or sit on top of, the face frame.  They are the easiest to install and fit, since there can be a variance in positioning that will not detract from use or appearance. lip -- Also know as "partial overlay".  These doors have a lip on them, often 3/8" x 3/8".  This lip part of the door edge (1/2 of the door thickness) sits on top of the face frame, while the other 1/2 of the door thickness is inside the front plane of the face frame. flush -- These doors are "flush" with the front surface of the face frame.  They are the hardest to install and fit, since there is no slop allowed when sizing and fitting.  Of course, time is money, and since these take much longer to fit, they always cost more. Doors can be further defined by their appearance.  The simplest, often used for a modern look, are slab doors.  These are simple 3/4" thick plywood rectangles.  They are generally edged in some manner. The simplest edging is a genuine wood tape that is glued to the edge, giving the appearance of a solid piece of wood.  Another technique is to edge these doors with a thin (often 5/16" or so) solid wood edging.  This solid wood edging can be done in the same wood as the door to blend in, or is often done in a contrasting wood to provide a decorative feature to the doors and drawers. Lip doors can be fairly plain (a variation of a simple slab door, except with a rounded-over lip), a style common in older homes.  When done in this manner, they are often painted to disguise the laminated ply edge.  They can also be made to resemble a panel door by the application of molding around the edges of a plain slab door.  The molding forms the lip of the door and comes in a variety of shapes and sizes.  This can be an economical method of providing a new look for an older kitchen, by re-using the existing doors (they would be cut down and the molding applied -- generally with new hinges and pulls). Another major door style is the panel door.  These doors have a solid wood frame into which is set a panel.  This panel can be a flat (generally 1/4") panel, which invokes an old-fashioned feeling (this panel can also be of glass, to make a glass door with a wood frame).  Or it can be what is called a "raised panel", which has a more refined, elegant look.  The raised panel is made from thicker glued-up solid wood, with beveled edges that make the "raised" portion.  These doors require the most work and are generally the most expensive.

§  cabinets:    about  §   portfolio  §   design  §   contact  §

§  home  §   about  §   news  §   misc.  §   art gallery  §   cabinets  §   web design  §   computer basics  §   compost  §   gourds  §   back pages  §   contact  §   links  §

©  1998-2006 Rancho Mondo Productions  (www.ranchomondo.com)   All rights reserved.