# Cabinet Face Frames - Overhang



## GreyhoundGuy (Mar 18, 2017)

I'm thinking about making some upper cabinets for my garage. This would be my first time trying cabinets, so it'll be nice to practice in the garage where they don't have to be perfect prior to working on redoing our kitchen.

I'm seeing that most cabinet face frames have an overhang of 1/4" on the outside of the cabinet. When two adjoining cabinets are put side by side and the two 1/4" gaps come together, there's a gap of 1/2" between cabinet boxes.

Can someone explain to me the need for the gap between boxes? Or is it an aesthetic for the portion of the face frames that we see?

As always, thanks in advance!

-Joel


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## freedhardwoods (Sep 7, 2008)

I install for many different cabinet shops. Some use 1/8", some 1/4",and some 3/8" reveal past the box.

From an installing point, that is used to make the cabs fit where they are supposed to. The people that measure the rooms for cabs usually do pretty good, but mistakes happen, and the installers have to make the cabs fit without them looking like something wasn't right.

I've had some house wall corners so out of square that the back corner of the cab was in the wall corner, and even with a 3/8" reveal, there was still a 1/4" gap I had to hide with trim.

Also, there has been many times the cabs were wider than the space they need to fit into. We gained 2" one time by planing down that reveal on a row of cabs and got them to fit where they were supposed to.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

GreyhoundGuy said:


> I'm thinking about making some upper cabinets for my garage. This would be my first time trying cabinets, so it'll be nice to practice in the garage where they don't have to be perfect prior to working on redoing our kitchen.
> 
> I'm seeing that most cabinet face frames have an overhang of 1/4" on the outside of the cabinet. When two adjoining cabinets are put side by side and the two 1/4" gaps come together, there's a gap of 1/2" between cabinet boxes.
> 
> ...


The 1/4" is so box store cabinets can be used with that side going against a wall. Usually there is a build up of drywall mud in the corner of a wall and the 1/4" lip allows the faceframe to touch the wall so there isn't an gap when the back corner reaches the corner. Custom made cabinets where the builder knows where the cabinets will be going make the exposed side flush.


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## freedhardwoods (Sep 7, 2008)

There are 80+ custom shops (mostly Amish) within 20 miles of me. Even the ones that do $100,000+ kitchens put that reveal on hidden, *non-finished* sides.

Maybe it's just an Amish thing, but if that wasn't there, installing would be a real pain.


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## GreyhoundGuy (Mar 18, 2017)

Thanks @freedhardwoods & @Steve Neul. To make sure I'm understanding, the 1/4" gaps would where the cabinets have side faces that meet, but NOT on end pieces where the side of the cabinet is exposed.

To make sure that I'm REALLY understanding, if I'm making a 30" cabinet, I'm actually going to be making a 29.5" cabinet so that the 1/4" lip that hangs over the side EXCEPT on an end cabinet, which would be 29.75" since the lip that hangs over will only be on one side.

Whew!


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## freedhardwoods (Sep 7, 2008)

I will say, yes, you are understanding what we said, but there isn't really one "right" way to make cabinets. If you think it looks good, that's what matters.


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## Toolman50 (Mar 22, 2015)

The overhang is to compensate for walls that are out of square. 
I once measured a utility wall to build a cabinet above the washer and dryer. 
I made this cabinet about 1/8” narrower than the wall to wall measurement. 
When I started to make the install I learned the wall measurement was narrower at the back. Since my cabinet was only 12” deep, I was able to force (and I do mean force) the cabinet into place. The cabinet was so tight, I think I could have hung it without even screwing it to the wall. Ha 
I did not need any trim molding. 
If I had made an overhang on each side of my cabinet box, it would have made the fit easier and kept me from panicking when I originally thought I didn’t have a fit.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

GreyhoundGuy said:


> Thanks @*freedhardwoods* & @*Steve Neul*. To make sure I'm understanding, the 1/4" gaps would where the cabinets have side faces that meet, but NOT on end pieces where the side of the cabinet is exposed.
> 
> To make sure that I'm REALLY understanding, if I'm making a 30" cabinet, I'm actually going to be making a 29.5" cabinet so that the 1/4" lip that hangs over the side EXCEPT on an end cabinet, which would be 29.75" since the lip that hangs over will only be on one side.
> 
> Whew!


You're understanding it but the 1/4" lip can be any dimension. On a side that goes next to a wall I normally put the side panel in the center of the stile. The 1/4" lip is just so someone can use the cabinet in the middle of the wall or up against the wall on either side. It also helps if you put two cabinets together and the wall is bowed. This could make a gap between the stiles if the sides were flush.


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## JIMMIEM (Oct 12, 2014)

GreyhoundGuy said:


> Thanks @*freedhardwoods* & @*Steve Neul*. To make sure I'm understanding, the 1/4" gaps would where the cabinets have side faces that meet, but NOT on end pieces where the side of the cabinet is exposed.
> 
> To make sure that I'm REALLY understanding, if I'm making a 30" cabinet, I'm actually going to be making a 29.5" cabinet so that the 1/4" lip that hangs over the side EXCEPT on an end cabinet, which would be 29.75" since the lip that hangs over will only be on one side.
> 
> Whew!


 Might be easier with less head scratching if you make the face frame with stiles that are the same width and then after the face frame is put on the cabinet trim the side overhang(s) as needed. If you don't need any overhang on either side a router with a flush trim bit will remove the overhang easily. You can trim down an oversized face frame but would have to start over if you made it undersized.


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## Toolman50 (Mar 22, 2015)

JIMMIEM said:


> Might be easier with less head scratching if you make the face frame with stiles that are the same width and then after the face frame is put on the cabinet trim the side overhang(s) as needed. If you don't need any overhang on either side a router with a flush trim bit will remove the overhang easily. You can trim down an oversized face frame but would have to start over if you made it undersized.


If undersized you would add trim molding at each side.
But I see new homes in the $450,000 range where the cabinet over the potty is centered with about 8-10” of space on each side. This would not have been acceptable 20 years ago.


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