How to measure a kitchen for custom cabinets.

How to measure a kitchen for custom cabinets is a sequence, not a single tape reading. This is the order we ask clients to work in - five passes over the room, the numbers each pass produces, and the document those numbers get frozen into before anything is cut.

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The sequence

How to measure a kitchen for custom cabinets, in five passes.

Each pass produces one set of numbers. Do them in sequence and nothing gets measured twice.

Pass	What you measure	What it decides
1 · Wall line	Each wall in at least three places, both ends and the middle; record the largest	Whether the run fits without a scribe, and how much filler the job needs
2 · Heights and level	Floor to ceiling at each end of the run; floor level across the full width	Tall unit heights, the top reveal, and whether the toe kick needs to be planed in
3 · Services	Water, waste, gas, power and ventilation: position, height and offset from the corner	Sink base and appliance positions, and which panels get cut on site
4 · Openings	Doors and windows with their swing, reveal and trim; obstructions above counter height	Where wall cabinets can hang and where they cannot
5 · Appliances	Each appliance's cut-out and clearance, from its own manufacturer sheet	Column widths and whether the run can be full-height

The three numbers

Three standard numbers do most of the work.

Number	Standard	Why it is the one to check first
36 in finished height	34½ in box height with a countertop on top (30 in and 36 in box variants exist)	It fixes the counter line the rest of the room is measured against
24 in base depth, 12 in wall depth	Shallow bases at 18 in or 12 in; full-depth wall units at 24 in above appliances	Depth decides whether an appliance stands proud or flush
18 in over the countertop	Minimum 18 in above a cooktop; wall units 30 in, 36 in or 42 in high	It is the clearance that cannot be recovered later

The full ladder - every height, depth and 3-inch width increment - is on standard kitchen cabinet sizes and depth & width chart. Nothing on this page is a new number: it is the measuring order they are collected in.

45-degree mitre joint on a cabinet carcase corner, cut and edge-banded in-house.

From measurement to millimetres

Where your numbers become ours.

A measurement becomes production only when it is written into the dimension grid: bay widths and filler allowances in millimetres, ceiling and floor reveals, and a cut tolerance of ±0.5 mm on every part. That grid is block one of the frozen spec.

Dimension gridBay widths, filler allowances, reveals in mm
Tolerance±0.5 mm on cut parts
RevealChecked by caliper before crating
VersionSigned both sides before the slot is taken

The eight blocks and the sign-off discipline: the frozen spec. The sequence it sits in: how we work.

Where it goes wrong

Four measuring errors that cost a container.

One

Measuring the middle only

Walls bow. The middle is the number that flatters the room - measure both ends, record the largest.

Two

Forgetting the service offset

An outlet 40 mm off the plan moves a sink base or forces an on-site cut. Measure from the corner, not from the door.

Three

Appliance sheets after the fact

Cut-outs come from the appliance's own manufacturer sheet, not from a retail listing. Get them before the column widths are agreed.

Four

Forgetting the top reveal

Floor-to-ceiling talls need the ceiling measured at both ends, not at one. A 15 mm bow shows at the cabinet's top edge.

FAQ

How to measure a kitchen for custom cabinets, asked straight.

What do I actually measure for custom cabinets?

Five passes, in this order: the wall line and ceiling height, the services (water, waste, gas, power, ventilation), the doors and windows with their swing and reveal, the appliance openings and their clearances, and the floor level across the run. Widths decide cost; heights and levels decide whether the run fits.

Do I measure in inches or millimetres?

Both, and write both down. US and Australian plans arrive in inches - 24-inch base depth, 12-inch wall depth, 18 inches over the countertop, 36-inch finished height - and production is cut in millimetres with a ±0.5 mm tolerance. The frozen spec records the millimetre grid; your drawing can stay in inches.

How accurate does my drawing need to be?

Accurate enough that a filler allowance can be calculated. Measure each wall in at least three places - both ends and the middle - and record the largest. Rooms are rarely square, and the largest number is the one that decides whether the run fits without a scribe.

What should be in the photos?

One wide shot per wall with the doors open, one close shot of every service outlet with a tape in frame, and one of the floor at the wall. Photos are what the factory checks the drawing against, and they are what the frozen spec's dimension grid is signed off against.

What if I measure wrong?

The frozen spec is the safety net: bay widths and filler allowances are agreed in millimetres before production, and the drawing revision is signed on both sides. Any change after sign-off is a new version with a new sample - which is cheaper than finding the error at the wall.

Where do I send the measurements?

Send the plan or the sketch and the market you are shipping to. It comes back as a 3D layout, a per-linear-foot number and a crate plan - usually within one business day.

Once the crate is on site: the cabinet installation guide - the tool list, the hardware in the bag and the numbered sequence.

Send the plan, get the millimetre grid.

A plan set or a careful sketch is enough to start: it comes back as a 3D layout, a per-linear-foot number and a crate plan.

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