Glossary of Cabinetry Terms

4-sided (drawer box): A dovetailed solid-wood drawer box that, even without a drawer front attached, has all 4 sides. (In the Cabinet Systems Catalog, "4-sided" refers to cabinets where drawer boxes, if any, will be of this type.) Note: 3-sided drawer boxes, where the drawer front is routed to slide onto the open front of the drawer box, are no longer offered.
5-piece Door (or Drawer Front): Any door or drawer front that consists of a frame (two horizontal rails and two vertical stiles) and a panel (raised or flat).
Advantage line: Conestoga's "All Wood Series" of cabinet boxes that are manufactured from veneered plywood with solid wood face frames.
Appliance Panel: A variation on a door that is mounted on a refrigerator, dishwasher or other appliance. Depending on the appliance manufacturer's specifications, these panels may or may not require detailing around the edge in order to work with the appliance's mounting mechanism.
Beaded Inset: A variation of Flush Inset (see below) where the Face Frame surrounding the opening is routed with a rounded bead (groove) as a decorative highlight.
Butt Doors: A pair of doors that are sized to cover a wide opening without a center stile between them. Typically, a 1/8" gap is allowed between the butt doors.
Carcass: The body or box of a cabinet, excluding the face frame. Face frames are required for assembly of Conestoga cabinets.
Colourtones: Conestoga's standard line of gorgeous, durable, catalyzed paint finishes. These finishes are applied in a dust-free booth using airless spray equipment and coated with a clear, non-yellowing coat of conversion varnish.
Concealed Hinge: A hinge that is not visible when the door is closed. These are also known as cup hinges; some variants are called Euro hinges.
Dishwasher End Panel: The equivalent to one side of a base cabinet box with its corresponding single-piece face frame (a 1.5” or 3" wide stile). Used primarily when a dishwasher or other appliance is at the exposed end of a run of cabinets, but has uses in other instances, too.
Distressing: A finishing technique whereby the items being finished are intentionally nicked and dented to give the appearance of aged or pre-used wood. Three distressing levels exist.
Edge Profile: The shape (often a round-over or chamfer) around the outside front edge of a door or drawer front. This is sometimes called the “Lip.”
Embedded False Door (EFD-R/EFD-L): An option by which the cabinet side is recessed by 3/4" so that a door can be tucked in behind the frame without expanding the frame. This gives the appearance of a door or wainscot panel on the side of the cabinet, but does not impact the cabinet width. This option is not recommended with mitered doors and is not available on a cabinet with flush inset hinges or with an adjustable pull-out tray system. Also called "Prep False Door".
End Skin: A 1/8" or 1/4" veneered plywood that is typically pre-finished to match the cabinet face. These are used to cover an otherwise unfinished cabinet side, especially when the face is made from a less-common wood specie.
Exposed (EXP-R/EXP-L): (Different than a "standard" or "flush" side). An exposed side has the same configuration as a standard cabinet side, but with a matching veneer or finish on the outside. As with a standard cabinet side, the face frame will extend 7/32" beyond the exposed side. Exposed sides are pre-finished if the cabinet is ordered as pre-finished.
Extended Stile (EXT-R/EXT-L): Adds 3" to the outside of either the left or right stile (or both) on any face frame. Thus, a 24" cabinet with a extended right stile will have a 27" wide face frame with a 4-1/2" wide right stile. Extended stiles can be trimmed or scribed to a wall prior to installation.
Face Frame (or Front Frame): The front of the cabinet, made of solid wood, consisting of (typically) 1-1/2" wide horizontal rails and vertical stiles. The use of face frames makes for a strong and durable cabinet that won’t sag over time.
Flat Panel: A variety of 5-piece door or drawer style, often referred to as "Shaker" style (though Shaker door styles are a subset of flat panel door styles), where the front center panel is flat from side to side. Depending on the door design, these panels may be made from solid wood, MDF, or from a veneered plywood.
Flush Inset: A configuration of cabinets where the doors and drawer fronts are sized to be mounted inside the opening of the face frame, making the front of the door flush with the front of the face frame.
Flush Side (FL-R/FL-L): (Different than a "standard" or "exposed" side). A flush side has all the characteristics of an exposed side, except that it is made with 11/16" thick plywood so that the reveal (where the face frame extends beyond the side of the cabinet) is virtually eliminated. Flush sides are typically pre-finished if the cabinet is ordered as pre-finished, though unexposed flush sides can be specified.
Flush Toe: A variation on base cabinets where the bottom rail of the face frame is extended straight down to the floor, removing the toe kick notch.
Frame-only: An option for doors that will omit the center panel. The door frame will be routed along the interior back to accept glass or other material. (See "Mullion")
Framing Bead: The profile of the front, inside edge of the frame (rails and stiles) on a 5-piece door or drawer, usually where it meets the center panel.
Left-side Upgrades: In QuoteBuilder, this refers to selections with regards to the left-side of the cabinet (as you face the cabinet). A standard cabinet side will not be finished, regardless of whether a finish color is selected for the project. (See definitions for other selectable options, including exposed ends, false doors, and flush ends, within this glossary.)
Glaze: An optional finish coat designed to highlight corners, beads and grooves on a door, usually applied on top of a stain or Colourtone finish before the clear topcoat.
Hinge Boring (or Hinge Drilling): The option of creating cup holes (35mm diameter, 13.5mm deep) to fit concealed, Euro-style hinges. Some hinges have wood screws above and below the cup for which we do not pre-drill. Some hinges have a plastic or rubber plug (often called inserts or dowels) above and below the cup for which we can optionally drill.
Hybrid Door: A door with a wood frame and an MDF panel, often a good option for painted doors. MDF does not seasonally expand and contract as much as wood.
Matching Interior: An option on that results in the interior of the cabinet, including the shelves, having a veneer or finish to match the wood of the face frame. These interiors can be unfinished or finished to match the face frame. This option is not available in all wood species.
MDF: MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) is a wood composite made with real wood and adhesive. It is a nice and cost-efficient option for painted products.
Moulding: The way we prefer to spell "molding", such as crown or cove. Both spellings are correct.
Mullion: Like a frame-only door, mullion doors have no center panel and are routed to accept glass. Mullions are narrow strips of wood that form a design where the panel would be. The blank areas created between the mullions and the frame are called "lites" (similar to panes in an exterior window). Standard mullion doors allow for a single pane of glass to be inserted behind the mullions. "True-lite" mullion doors require individual panes of glass to fill each lite.
Overlay: The amount by which a door or drawer front covers the face frame on each side of the opening. For example, a single door with a 1/2" overlay is 1" wider and 1" taller than the opening. Common overlays are 1/2" (exposing 1" of the frame on all sides) and 1-1/4" (exposing 1/4" of the frame on all sides), but many others are valid. An overlay of 1-1/4" or more is considered a "full overlay". (Care should be taken to understand hinge specifications on full overlay doors to make sure enough room is allowed to open adjacent doors or doors in corners.) 1/4" overlay doors are considered "partial overlay" and are typically used with a rabbeted edge profile on the door.
Panel Raise: The transition, typically measuring 1" to 1-1/2" wide, from the narrowest part of the door or drawer panel (where it meets the frame) to the widest part (in the center). On raised panel doors, this panel raise is shown in the front. On flat panel doors made with solid wood panels the "reverse" raise is visible only from the back.
Premium Grade: Wood which contains less of the natural material characteristics and is produced within a much narrower color range than standard grade. Premium products will contain fewer and smaller mineral streaks and pin knots.
Prep for False Door: See "Embedded False Door"
Prism Paints: Identical in quality to Colourtones finish, these are Sherwin-Williams paint colors, ranging mostly in the SW6xxx and SW7xxx Sherwin-Williams color codes. These are considered custom colors and are therefore more expensive than Colourtones paint colors.
Pull-out Trays (POTs): Shallow drawer boxes (2" exterior height is standard) and hardware that fit inside a closed door cabinet. With the doors open, the adjustable trays can be pulled out to full-extension. Available only in certain cabinet depths. See catalog for details.
Rail: A horizontal piece of the face frame or door frame. A typical door has a top and bottom rail. A typical 3-drawer cabinet’s face frame, for example, will have top and bottom rails along with rails between each drawer.
Raised Panel: A variation of 5-piece door or drawer front where the center panel is thicker than the outside edges of the panel. Typically, the center of a raised panel door will be flush with the frame of the door.
Refrigerator End Panel: The equivalent to one side of a tall cabinet box with its corresponding single-piece face frame (a 1.5” or 3" wide stile). Used as an option when the sizes of the Tall Refrigerator cabinets don't meet your particular sizing needs. See also “Dishwasher End Panel.”
Retainer Moulding: Pieces that are included with frame-only or mullion doors to hold glass in place. The standard retainer moulding, for 1/8" thick glass, is made of a clear rubber and snaps into the rout on the back of the door. For other glass thicknesses, a variety of wood retainer mouldings are offered.
Right-side Upgrades: In QuoteBuilder, this refers to selections with regards to the right-side of the cabinet (as you face the cabinet). A standard cabinet side will not be finished, regardless of whether a finish color is selected for the project. (See definitions for other selectable options, including exposed, embedded false door, and flush, within this glossary.)
RTA: Ready-to-Assemble. All Conestoga cabinet components are shipped flat-packed and need to be put together prior to installation. You can find assembly instructions under the “Contact Us” tab on our site.
Short-grain Plywood: Veneered plywood in which the grain goes across the width of the board (opposite that of typical plywood). Excellent for use on the back of kitchen islands, since the grain pattern matches most doors and panels.
Side Toe Space: The recessed bottom 4" of a base cabinet can optionally be continued down the right and/or left side. Commonly used on kitchen islands or on the last cabinet of a run of cabinets.
Soft-close: A popular option on drawer slide and hinge hardware that keeps the drawer or door from slamming shut.
Stile: A vertical piece of the face frame or door frame. A typical door has a left and right stile. A two-door cabinet may have a center stile (unless it has butt doors).
Toeboard Strip: A plywood strip, finished or unfinished to match the cabinet faces, that covers the recessed toe kick for a seamless look.
Toe kick (Toe): The bottom 4" of a standard kitchen or vanity base cabinet that is recessed by approximately 3" to allow greater comfort to a person who is standing at the cabinet.
Undermount Notching: Pieces that are cut from the back of the drawer box, beneath the floor of the drawer box, to allow for undermount slides to be attached.
Veneer: Very thin sheets of wood, usually 1/32" or 1/16" thick, that can be used to change the appearance of an existing piece of wood. Often, pre-finished veneers are attached to unfinished cabinet sides. Veneers can be cut and applied to old cabinet components as part of a "re-facing" job.
Wainscot Panel: A door or a variation on a door which is designed as a decorative element to be applied to a wall or a cabinet side. Large wainscot panels may have several rails and or stiles with raised or flat panels between each.