# How to determine door sizes?



## siouxdawgs0409 (Dec 5, 2009)

I am going to build some recessed flat panel doors and I know the inside opening of the hole I am going to fill with the door. I will be using a 3/8 inset and lip. How big do I make the door? I could simply add 3/8 to the sides but that leaves a pretty tight fit. So I am curious on how much "space" I should leave for a good fit? My hole size to fill is 17 5/8 by 15 5/16.


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## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

Just went thru something like this, myself, and there were some comments here.

One thing to take into consideration are the hinge type/mounting so you get an even reveal all the way around the door.


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## siouxdawgs0409 (Dec 5, 2009)

I want to use inset hinges that you can see the barrel part. My door is a single unit, just one door.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Overlay or lipped doors, usually 3/8". This allows some play for
use with cup hinges.

If you're doing a real inset door, 3/8" looks bad. Try for 3/32" on
each side, for 3/16" total.


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## siouxdawgs0409 (Dec 5, 2009)

Well the door is not flush with the front…The stiles and rails are 3/4 stock….When the door is finished and closed you will see 3/8" . Not the full 3/4. Then also the door will contain a lip that is a little larger than the opening, this will hide any gap. I am not familiar with the terms. Inset to me is the depth the door "insets" into the opening, my case 3/8. The lip is the amount the door overlaps the frame, my case 3/8. I can figure out the rail and stile lengths but I am curious if I should do exact or if I should leave a little "gap" between the inset and the face frame? If so how much. Just so the door does not bind when opening and closing.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Depends on the type of hinges you'll be using. Cup hinges
are available in all sorts of configurations that allow doors to
do cool tricks.

A half or full-cranked cup hinge will clear the frame in the
application with a gap on the hinge side as little as 3/32". 
You do have to pay attention to the hinge mount. Different
hinge mounts compensate for having the wrong hinge 
crank and vice versa.


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## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

With this type of door, you really need to start the size process with the hinges. Most hinges for this type of door use a 3/8×3/8 rabbet- creating the "lip". Different hinges may need to have a little "fussing" to get the precise dimensions but I start with the door being 1/2" larger than the opening- in both directions.

Here are a couple of sites with some hinge and cabinet door information

http://www.cshardware.com/

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=5827

http://howtodoafewthings.com/html/measureforcabinet_doors.html


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