Full Overlay Vs Partial Overlay Cabinet Doors

This is the first cabinet door type and has been around for centuries.

Full overlay vs partial overlay cabinet doors.

Partial overlay is a style of cabinet drawer and door that refers to the amount of frame visible on a cabinetry run. Partial overlay cabinets are the most common and least expensive option for your kitchen. They do not have a vertical face frame stile between the two doors which allows homeowners to store larger items in the cabinet without having to work around the center stile needed in a standard overlay cabinet. Plus this style means about an extra inch of space inside the cabinets since the doors aren t closing into the cabinet like inset ones do.

The correct determination for full overlay is typically 3 4 inch on all sides. If your cabinets are designed for full overlay it means that the doors completely overlap the opening on all four sides. The quality of the partial overlay door is equal to a full overlay door but less wood is used in its construction as it does not have to cover the full cabinet. The aesthetic disadvantage of partial overlay doors it that they can sometimes seem to be dotting the surface of your cabinets rather than defining them.

The spacing between the doors and drawer fronts of a cabinet run are the most visible and defining detail which is why most generally manufactured cabinets are divided into these two categories. The reveal or the exposed cabinet face is less than 1 8 inches. Full overlay is common on frameless construction where. The pros of full overlay cabinets.

The door sits on the cabinet face leaving a gap of usually 1 1 inch between the doors allowing the face frame of the. Here are pictures of full overlay cabinet doors. Inset door overlay is shown in the left image. Double door cabinets with full overlay come with an additional benefit.

Full overlay cabinets also present a unified front since the overall look is smooth this is different from the partial overlay cabinets popular a few decades ago which showed the face frame in the spaces between doors and drawer fronts. With only 1 4 th of an inch between cabinet doors pulls or knobs are needed. The cabinet door is actually set within the frame so it s completely flush on. Full overlay cabinets take less skill to install and are therefore less expensive.

The full overlay door is going to be more expensive than a partial overlay. Partial overlay doors often provide a good amount of storage space although the vertical stiles needed between doors can be restricting compared to full overlay. Full overlays are typically found on custom made cabinets and give the cabinetmaker leeway to conceal less than perfect cabinet box edges. The partial overlay cabinet has been around for years and is a less expensive door and drawer option because the door and drawer fronts are smaller than full overlay doors and drawers.