Without question, the most important component, in the process of designing a kitchen, bathroom, or other room, for which you will need to purchase cabinets, is an accurate set of measurements for the space to be built, installed, or remodeled.

Although it is not, by any means, a difficult process it is critical that this step is executed properly, if not perfectly. The consequences of inaccuracy can be very costly in both money and time.

Bad measurements can result in the ordering of cabinets that fit the design, but will not fit the ACTUAL space they were intended to fill.

    In the case of RTA cabinets, you can return cabinets that are unopened and undamaged but will incur not only restocking fees but also the full cost of shipping the unwanted cabinets back to their warehouse of origin. You cannot, however, return fillers or trim pieces.

You will then need to purchase additional cabinets to correct, in the actual space, errors that were made, in the virtual space. These errors can be easily avoided by measuring and sketching accurately.

The following guidelines may be helpful.

Before you begin taking measurements you will need to draw a rough sketch of the “footprint”, or shape of the room(s) including all windows, doors, and obstacles, such as chimneys or heaters.

You will want to measure the overall length, width, and height of not only the room you are designing but the rooms that are adjacent to this space.

    Measuring other rooms is especially important when designing in open layouts in which there are no walls dividing spaces such as kitchen, dining, and living rooms. If designing for an area that is segmented from surrounding rooms, by walls and doorways, and you are not planning to remove walls, you may not need to measure other areas. It is a good idea, however, to make a note of what is in these areas, just in case they would affect your design or the “flow” of the space.

    When measuring the room, it is necessary to take multiple measurements at different locations and heights. For example, if you measure from one corner to another, with the tape rule against the wall, you may have a different measurement than if you were to measure 2 feet away from the wall, which would be where the front face of the base cabinets will end up. This can be caused by the walls being out of square, or not being plumb. Make sure to record the shortest distance.

    It is equally important to measure ceiling heights in a number of places. Especially in older homes, the floor is likely to have sagged over time. You will generally find dips in the floor that become more pronounced the further you move from foundation walls.

    You must take very accurate measurements when marking the placement of doors and windows. Always remember to include the casing as part of the window or door. Starting in a corner or other permanent reference point, a measure to the outside edge of the casing. This is the edge of the casing that is farthest from the actual window. When measuring the width or height of a window or door, be sure to measure from the outside edge of the casing on one side to the outside edge of the casing on the other side.

    If you are measuring for a “pull and replace” kitchen, (no change in layout, or location of appliances) you must also measure the exact placement of each of the appliances. Again, start in a corner or permanent point of reference and measure to the outside edge of the appliance, then measure the appliance width.

If the project is going to be a remodel in which layout is to be completely changed, this information may not be needed.

If you want a “cabinet for cabinet” replacement, you will have to measure the height, width, and depth of each individual cabinet.

After your design is complete, it is also very important to measure the space and compare it to your design to make sure that everything will work out as planned.

    The expert designers at Cabinets at Wholesale will definitely have your back.If it looks like you may have missed anything, neglected to add required information, or if the dimensions simply don’t make sense we will contact you for clarification. If you have any questions regarding your measurements, you may also feel free to contact us with questions.