How to Properly Measure Custom Cabinet Doors - VIDEO
MEASURING GUIDE · 5-MINUTE READ · UPDATED 2026
How to measure cabinet doors — a 5-step guide from Canadian cabinet makers.
Ordering new cabinet doors to replace existing ones? A perfect fit comes down to five measurements per door, taken with a metal tape, in imperial units, to the nearest 1/16". Below is the exact method our shop uses for every custom order — plus the mistakes that force a re-order.
TL;DR — measure any cabinet door in 5 steps
- Pick the cabinet, label its location (e.g., "left of fridge").
- Note the type: door, drawer front, false front, angled corner, or panel.
- Measure the width at the bottom AND the top — record the smaller of the two.
- Measure the height the same way — bottom-to-top, record the smaller.
- If the door has hinges, measure from the bottom of the door to the centerline of each hinge cup. Record every hinge position, every door.
Step 0 · Gather your gear
The 5 tools you need.
16-foot metal tape measure
Cloth or plastic tapes stretch and lie to you by 1/16"–1/8" on a 30" door. Use a stiff metal tape.
Pencil (never pen)
You will erase and correct at least one measurement. Sharp mechanical pencil is ideal.
Our free Measuring Worksheet
Download our printable 2-page worksheet — 25 rows, hinge columns pre-labeled, ready to fax/email in.
Masking tape + a marker
Label the BACK of each door with its location number. This doubles as a reference when the new doors arrive.
A phone camera
Take a photo of every door in place before you remove it. Attach photos to your order — we cross-check against your measurements.
Video walkthrough
Watch the 3-minute walkthrough.
The written guide below is comprehensive, but if you're a visual learner, the video shows every measurement in real time on an actual kitchen cabinet door.
The method
The 5-step cabinet door measurement process.
- 1
Pick a starting cabinet and label its location
Start in one corner of the room and work systematically clockwise. Number every door and drawer front — including the small filler doors and false fronts. Write the number on masking tape stuck to the back of each door. If you forget which door #12 belongs to when the box arrives from us, that's a very expensive coffee.
Pro tip
Number your cabinets 1–25 (or however many you have) and label them room-by-room, left-to-right. "Kitchen · Base · #4 · Left of Fridge" is worth its weight in gold when the delivery arrives.
- 2
Identify the type of cabinet front
Note whether each item is a door (has hinges), a drawer front (attached to a drawer box on glides), a false front (fixed, no hardware), an angled corner front, or a decorative end panel. Different types have different manufacturing tolerances — a door that's 1/16" off may still fit; a drawer front that's 1/16" off will bind.
Pro tip
The most-missed type is the FALSE FRONT — that fake drawer under a sink. It has no hinges and no drawer glide, but it still needs a matching door.
- 3
Measure the width — twice
Measure across the width at the BOTTOM of the door, then measure across the TOP. If the numbers differ (they usually do by 1/32" – 1/16"), record the smaller of the two. Use imperial units and round to the nearest 1/16" — that's the standard tolerance for our CNC machines and the vast majority of North American cabinet hardware.
Pro tip
Cabinet doors are almost never perfectly rectangular after 15 years of humidity. Always measure both ends.
- 4
Measure the height — twice
Same technique: measure the height on the left edge, then the right edge. Record the smaller of the two. If the difference is more than 1/8" (very rare), the cabinet box itself is out of square — take a photo and add a note when you submit your order so we can plan around it.
Pro tip
Width × Height, always. Flipping the order is the #1 cause of a re-order. Write it as "W × H" every time.
- 5
Record every measurement + verify
Fill in the row on your Measuring Worksheet: cabinet #, location, type, width, height, hinge Y/N. Photograph each door in-place. When you're done, spot-check 3 random doors — re-measure them cold, blind to your worksheet. If they match, you're ready to order. If they don't, re-do the whole room. It's cheaper than a re-order.
Pro tip
Read every measurement out loud to a second person if you can. "Twenty-two and seven-sixteenths by twenty-nine and three-eighths" catches errors that eyes miss.
Optional but recommended
Measuring for hinge holes.
If your existing doors have European-style concealed hinges (the round cup drilled into the back of the door), you can order your new doors with the hinge holes pre-drilled to save yourself an hour of shop work per door. Our CNC drills the cups to a factory tolerance of ±0.4 mm.
- Look at the back of the door. Each hinge has a round "cup" — a 35 mm diameter recess drilled into the door.
- Using your tape measure, measure from the BOTTOM edge of the door to the CENTER of each hinge cup.
- Record each measurement. Most kitchen doors have 2 hinges. Tall pantry doors have 3–5.
- If you're not sure about hinge spec, take a photo of a hinge with a ruler next to it and add it to your order.
Most modern cabinet doors use standard European 35 mm cup hinges with a cup-center inset of 22 mm from the door edge. That inset is what our default "hinge cup boring" service produces. If your existing hardware is anything else — vintage, semi-custom, or specialty overlay — just tell us and send a photo.
Hinge cup diagram
Each hinge is measured from the bottom edge of the door to the center of its cup.
What NOT to do
The 5 most common measuring mistakes.
Flipping Width × Height
The mistake: You measured a 22" × 30" door and wrote "30 × 22". Now we manufactured 30 wide, 22 tall.
The fix: Say and write "W × H" every single time. On the worksheet, W is always the LEFT column.
Measuring just once
The mistake: Cabinet doors warp with age. The width at the bottom may not equal the width at the top by 1/16".
The fix: Always measure both ends of both axes (2 widths + 2 heights per door). Record the smaller.
Mixing metric and imperial
The mistake: Half your worksheet is in inches, half is in mm. Our CNC needs one consistent system.
The fix: North American cabinet doors are always ordered in imperial (inches + fractions). Stick to it.
Forgetting the false fronts and end panels
The mistake: You measured 22 doors but forgot the two decorative panels on the peninsula and the false front under the sink. Now the kitchen doesn't match.
The fix: Walk the entire perimeter twice. Every visible flat piece — even non-opening — needs a row on the worksheet.
Ordering without photos
The mistake: A written 22 × 30 could be any door in the kitchen. If it arrives and doesn't fit, we can't tell which door was wrong.
The fix: Take a phone photo of every door in place. Attach photos when you order. We cross-check every measurement against your photos before we cut.
Quick reference
Standard cabinet door sizes.
The tables below cover the most common cabinet door dimensions used across North American kitchens. Your existing doors won't match these exactly (custom kitchens vary by 1/16" – 1"), but they're a solid sanity-check for your own measurements.
Base cabinets (below the counter, single door)
Typical door heights: 25" – 30". Standard toe-kick sits below.
| Width | Height | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 9" | 28" | Filler door, corner |
| 12" | 28" | Small base cabinet, dishwasher-adjacent |
| 15" | 28" | Trash pull-out, spice cabinet |
| 18" | 28" | Standard base |
| 21" | 28" | Larger base cabinet |
| 24" | 28" | Standard sink base (paired) |
| 30" | 28" | Large sink base (paired) |
| 36" | 28" | Extra-large sink or peninsula base (paired) |
Wall cabinets (above the counter, single door)
Typical door heights: 30", 36", 42". Height reflects the ceiling height / space above the counter.
| Width | Height | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 12" | 30" | Standard 8-ft ceiling wall cabinet |
| 15" | 30" | Corner wall cabinet |
| 18" | 30" | Standard wall cabinet |
| 24" | 30" | Wide wall (paired) |
| 12" | 42" | Tall wall cabinet, 9-ft ceiling |
| 18" | 42" | Tall standard wall, 9-ft ceiling |
| 24" | 42" | Extra-tall wall (paired) |
Drawer fronts (attached to drawer boxes)
Drawer height is the front face, NOT the drawer box depth.
| Width | Height | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 12" | 6" | Top drawer, base cabinet |
| 15" | 6" | Top drawer, base cabinet |
| 18" | 6" | Top drawer, base cabinet |
| 24" | 6" | Wide top drawer |
| 30" | 6" | Sink-base false front |
| 18" | 12" | Deep drawer for pots |
| 24" | 12" | Wide deep drawer |
Answers
Cabinet door measuring FAQ.
How accurate do my cabinet door measurements need to be?
Do I measure the cabinet opening or the existing door?
What if my existing doors are slightly warped or the width differs top-to-bottom?
Do I need to remove my existing doors to measure them?
What if some of my cabinets are angled corner cabinets?
How do I measure for hinge holes?
Metric or imperial — which units should I use?
What's the most common measuring mistake?
Should I measure the drawer FRONT or the drawer BOX?
Can I just send you photos and let you figure it out?
Now that you know how
