More on Measuring | cabinetbargains

More on Measuring for Cabinets

In order for cabinets to fit properly, the designer must have accurate measurements of your kitchen. You’ll need paper and pencil and a good metal tape measure. Graph paper is helpful but not necessary. Record your measurements to the nearest 1/8th inch and write your measurements in inches only (Not feet and inches). The drawing you submit doesn’t have to be pretty but it does have to have the right information clearly written on it. Basically, you will make a bird’s eye drawing of your kitchen. (" = inches)

Make a reasonably proportional drawing of the walls in your kitchen. Include doors, windows, walkways, corners etc. Label these on your floor plan.
Working left to right, measure the total length of each wall on which cabinets will be placed. Mark these dimensions on your floor plan sketch. In this kitchen, 3 walls will have cabinets on them. I've labeled them 162" (on top), left side 147" and bottom 88 1/2".
Go around the room again to measure each segment like corner to door, width of door, door to window, etc. When measuring doors and windows be sure to include the casing in the size of the door or window. So, a 32” door might be 39” wide when you include the casing. (please see the drawing for more clarification). Be sure to measure each segment and check to be sure the total of all segments equals the length of the entire wall. If not, go back and find where the mistake is.

Go around a 3rd time to include location of pipes under sink, stove outlet, vents and anything else that will affect where cabinets are placed. When identifying location of these items record measurements from the nearest wall corner to the item. In this drawing, the sink is going on the 162" wall centered on the window. The plumbing is already there. I've drawn 3 small circles to represent the supply and waste lines. I've drawn my arrows to show distance from the left corner to the start of the hot water supply as just over 54" from the corner and in this case the waste line is to the right at just less than 64" from the corner.
For Windows, measure the distance from the floor to the bottom (here = 46"), from window bottom to the top (= 54"), and again from the top of the window to the ceiling (7 1/2")
Measure the distance from floor to ceiling in 3 or 4 spots as there is often some variation.
Indicate where you wish to place the appliances. Exact location is not needed for the appliance but the location of the electric, plumbing or gas outlet is. Vents, radiators and electric panel boxes if present should also be included as well as soffits.
If your layout includes an island, indicate the desired location, length and width. Include any walls that come within about 6 feet of the proposed island. Even though these walls may not include cabinets it’s good to get at least a gross measurement of each segment here as well. It will help in determining the final size and position of the island.