# Options for 2-door cabinet with no center stile



## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

I'm working on designing the new cabinets for my kitchen. The existing ones are at the end of their life, literally peeling, broken slides, etc, and for the most part, I'm doing a one-to-one replacement. Also convinced the wife to let me buy an Earlex and a PC dovetail jig.

We do have a 27" wide cabinet, and I'll be adding two new sections at 30" each, that I will be building. I would like to build these without a center stile, but with two doors. The cabinets will have face frame, probably 1.5". My question is, what are my options for the space between the two doors on a single cabinet, with no stile? I know I could leave a gap (but I don't want to), or I could attach a strip to one of the doors, and that door would have to be closed first (kind of annoying, but not as annoying as the center stile or the gap).

Are there any other solutions out there that I don't know of? At this point, I think I would add the strip to one door, and probably put a thin strip of foam or something on the back, so it would not damage the other door if the one with the strip was not closed first.

I think the only cabinet that will have two doors with an actual center stile is the 36" wide sink base, for structural support.


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

I went with the gap, much handier and if it's the same width (1/16") as the one at perimeter of the doors, it's not distracting. You may have to bevel the edge of the doors where they meet so they clear when being opened/closed but I still like that better than an astragal (is that what it's called?) or a stile. BTW, you can do that on the sink base as well, just make the front rail thicker (or double it up, on the inside). It's really handy where you have to get in for plumbing stuff.


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## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

Thanks for the input, Fred. I should have mentioned that I am planning on 1/2" overlay doors, so there will be no gap on the perimeter of the doors.


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

Oops, I can see why you don't want the gap. That centerpiece (astragal?) may be your only option. My doors were inset. It's still a good idea, those center stiles are a PITA.


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## Woodmaster1 (Apr 26, 2011)

I am in the process of making my cabinets with a center gap as tight possible. Aim using a half inch overlay and bevel edges. I will post pics when I get them done.


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Could your doors be inset inside of the face frame and use

European hinges?


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Small center gap is very common, and is of no concern for most. I hate the center stile too.
Bill


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## felkadelic (Jun 12, 2011)

I just checked the cabinet I have under my kitchen sink that's setup like this (no center stile, overlay doors). There's a small gap (maybe 3/32") between the doors. I've never even thought about doing this another way, so obviously it doesn't stand out as improper.


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## hotbyte (Apr 3, 2010)

You could get fancy and replicate the mechanism on French door fridges where either door can be opened or closed first. No idea how to implement on a cabinet.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

I've played with rare earth magnets a lot, including using them to make removable panels (e.g., wainscoting) to hide things. From that, I've wondered why I couldn't use them to solve this problem.

It would be a simple task to flush mount three magnets in each door and the center strip (nine magnets total). If positioning blocks were installed at the top and bottom of the doors, where they meet, pulling on only one door would leave the strip tied to the other door, and it closed. That would, of course, apply to either door.

You would not want to use heavy pull magnets. On a wild guess, only a couple pounds each, at most.

The other option would be, as noted by hotbyte, to do it like they do the double door fridges of the last decade. Pulling one door forces a peg to follow a path, flipping the "center board" to flip ninety degrees so the door can open and close.


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## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

Woodmaster, definitely post pictures when you're done, I'd like to see it.

I do not want to do inset doors. I could possibly redesign to cut the reveal around the doors/drawers down to 3/4" or so and minimize the size of the astragal I need to use is, so I don't have such a large gap to fill.


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## skipj (Mar 6, 2012)

I do a lot of kitchens for my son in law,he is a contractor. If I would put a center stile in a sink
base he would shoot me and then grab a saw and cut it out.


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## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

Skip, how do you handle that gap when you have overlay doors with a reveal?


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## skipj (Mar 6, 2012)

I use blum adjustable hinges and get the gap as close as I can. All my doors are overlay.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

I installed a center style under my undermount sink, but used pocket screws, so it can be easily removed when the time to swap the sink arrives.



> I do a lot of kitchens for my son in law,he is a contractor. If I would put a center stile in a sink
> base he would shoot me and then grab a saw and cut it out.
> 
> - skipj


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## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

I think for the sink, I'm going to use an extra wide upper rail, doubled up, and attach a false drawer front. That should be sturdy enough. We keep cleaning supplies, sponges, etc down there, and we can never get to the stuff in the back, so I will probably put a full size (well, approx. 30" wide) pull-out in there with 100# full-extension slides.


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

To utilize space you can make a storage in the false front as well.


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## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

Ya know, Waho, I'd glanced over a description of those and dismissed them. But now, seeing them in action, and that the hardware is only $20…that might be something I add on and let my wife be pleasantly surprised by after installation.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

I have done both - gap and gap with cover piece from behind. We haven't had any problems with either method.

No center stile under the sing. I made a single door only.

Gap between doors…









The doors over the microwave and the refrigerator have a piece of 1/4 inch birch attached to the inside of the left door.

















Single door under the sink.









Hope this helps.
Mike


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Good idea Ed, enjoy the install should be a good one.


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## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

Wow, Mike, nice work! That kitchen makes my project look simple. I don't have any angled cabinets, or corners to deal with.

Going to wrap up the design this coming weekend, and I'm trying to source about 150 board feet of soft maple. Hardwood dealer has it for $3+ per board foot S2S. Trying to find it locally from someone for a fraction of that. Seems like when I'm not looking, someone has a few hundred feet at $1 per bd ft. Now that I actually have a need and the budget has been OK'd, the stuff disappears.


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## KE4NYV (May 25, 2014)

I just recently built this cabinet for my shop. No stile in the middle, just euro hinges to keep everything in line. Grant it, this is not the same style your talking about, using a face frame, but if you build it tight enough, the slight gap between the doors is almost not even seen.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

@Ed, just remember, don't crowd your dishwasher. I made sure to add a little filler strip so the door under the sink would have room to open without hitting the DW door.


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## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

Luckily, we basically just have cabinets on two opposite sides of the kitchen, so everything just opens out to the center, and I don't have to worry about cabinets at angles interfering with one another.

Today I get to order the Earlex, already excited to get it and start playing around with it.


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## hotbyte (Apr 3, 2010)

I picked up an Earlex 5500 near end of last summer and love it. I had tried cheap pneumatic guns (HVLP conversion and regular) and had no success. It often looked like I took a dripping brush and just splattered the surface. With the Earlex, applying a nice, smooth coat is easy.


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## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

Great to hear. I ordered mine a few hours ago from Woodwerks ($299 w/ free shipping, comes with the 1.5 & 2.0 needles) and got the shipment confirmation. I'm leaning towards EM6000 for the cabinets, as I can pick up 5gallons right now for about $170 shipped. Haven't fully decided yet.


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

It's all a matter of how accurately you can build the doors and the carcass. If everything is nuts on square and parallel, there is no reason why it won't come out perfect. I am not a cabinet maker, but even with my meager woodworking skills, I can produce good results. Patience and not rushing is all you need.


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

Euro hinges make it easy.

Put a bevel on the edges of the door and you can get that gap down to almost nothing when viewed from the outside. If for some reason a person were to get inside the cabinet then close the doors he'd see a large gap.


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