Joinery glossary

Terms you'll meet in the planner, the cut list and the calculators. Many planner fields have a question mark next to them — it leads here.

32 mm system: A standard of hole positions in cabinet sides every 32 mm. It lets hinges, runners and shelves fit together without measuring by hand.
Built-in appliances: Appliances fitted inside cabinets (oven, dishwasher, fridge). The planner reserves a space sized from the manufacturer's instructions; the appliances themselves are not in the cut list or the cost.
Cabinet legs: Adjustable legs under floor cabinets. Their height sets the plinth height and lets you level the units on an uneven floor.
Carcase: The box of a cabinet without its fronts: two sides, a bottom and a top (or rails), a back and shelves. Doors hang and drawers run on the carcase.
Concealed hinge: A furniture hinge set into the door in a 35 mm hole. The number of hinges depends on the door's height and weight — the hinge calculator works it out.
Confirmat screw: A furniture screw for joining board panels at a right angle, e.g. a side to the top panel.
Drawer runner: The mechanism a drawer runs on (e.g. Blum, GTV). The type of runner sets the sizes of the drawer's sides, back and bottom.
Edge banding: A narrow PVC or ABS strip glued onto a panel's edge to cover the raw chipboard and protect it from moisture. The cut list shows which edges are banded and how thick (e.g. 0.8 or 2 mm).
Filler: A strip of board that closes the gap between a cabinet and a wall, the ceiling or another cabinet. It lets the fronts open and makes the units look fitted to the space.
Front: The visible part of a cabinet: a door, a drawer front, a flap. Fronts often have a different decor from the carcase.
Grain direction: The direction of the wood pattern on a decor. With wood-effect decors the grain must run the same way on neighbouring fronts, so such panels can't be rotated freely when cut.
Hardware: Everything that isn't board but makes the furniture work: hinges, runners, lift mechanisms, handles, legs, connectors. The hardware list is your shopping list for the hardware supplier.
HDF: Thin (usually 3 mm), hard fibreboard. Used for cabinet backs and drawer bottoms.
Lift mechanism (e.g. Aventos): A mechanism for fronts that open upwards on wall cabinets. It is chosen by the front's weight and height.
Melamine-faced chipboard: Chipboard faced with a decor (a colour or a wood pattern), usually 18 mm thick. The basic material for carcases and fronts of made-to-measure furniture.
Nesting: A plan of how panels are laid out on a board to waste as little as possible. The supplier does it when cutting, or nesting software does.
Panel: A single piece cut from a board to a specific size, e.g. a cabinet side 720 × 560 mm. The cut list is the list of all pieces to cut, with sizes, material and edge banding.
Plinth: A board covering the legs of floor cabinets at floor level. Usually set back a few centimetres behind the fronts so your feet don't catch it.
Splashback: A wall panel between the worktop and the wall cabinets. It protects the wall from water and grease; it can be board, glass or compact.
Tall unit: A tall cabinet from the floor almost to the ceiling, e.g. for a fridge, an oven or as a larder.
Top and bottom panel: The horizontal pieces of a carcase at the top and at the bottom that join the cabinet's sides.
Worktop: The working surface on base cabinets: laminate, compact, stone or wood. It has cut-outs for the sink and hob, and at corners it is joined butt or mitred.