What Your Cabinetmaker Needs to Know Before They Start (That Most Renovators Don't Have Ready)
Your cabinetmaker has a start date. And they're about to ask you a series of questions you're not ready for.
Not because you haven't been paying attention. Because nobody told you these decisions needed to be made before the cabinets could be built. Appliance specs. Sink cutout dimensions. Powerpoint heights. Rangehood clearance. Each one affects the next. Get one wrong and you're not just changing your mind — you're changing work that's already been done.
Here's everything you need to have confirmed before your cabinetmaker arrives.
Your appliance specifications
This is the one that catches people most off guard. Your cabinetmaker needs the exact dimensions of every appliance going into your kitchen before they can build a single cabinet. Not the model you're thinking about. The actual model, with the actual cutout dimensions from the actual spec sheet.
Oven cavity size, dishwasher width, rangehood depth, fridge opening — all of it needs to be confirmed and documented before cabinetry is built. Because once the cabinets are in, there's no adjusting for an appliance that doesn't fit.
If you haven't bought your appliances yet, buy them now. Or at minimum, select the exact model and download the installation guide. Your cabinetmaker cannot finalise drawings without this information.
Your benchtop overhang
Are you having bar stools, what edge profile have you've chosen, does your benchtop meet your joinery at the sides?
Your cabinetmaker need all these details and more confirmed before they set the cabinet height and depth. Get it wrong and your bar stools won't tuck under properly, or your benchtop edge sits awkwardly against your splashback tiles. This is a two-minute conversation that saves an expensive fix.
Your sink cutout dimensions
Undermount, topmount, integrated — each one has different cutout requirements, and each one needs to be confirmed with your actual sink model before the benchtop is templated.
If you haven't bought your sink yet, now is the time. Your cabinetmaker and stonemason both need this information and they need it at the same time. A sink decision made after templating means a new template. A new template means a delay and an additional cost.
Your powerpoint and switch heights
Standard powerpoint height above a kitchen benchtop is 150mm — but this changes depending on your splashback height, your overhead cabinet position, and your personal preference.
This decision needs to be made before your electrician roughs in, not after your tiles are on the wall. The same applies to any under-cabinet lighting — the wiring needs to be roughed in before cabinets go in. Which means the decision needs to be made well before that.
Your cabinetmaker and electrician need to be working from the same set of confirmed measurements. If they're not, someone will have to undo what the other has done.
Your overhead cabinet height and depth
Standard overhead cabinet height sits 600-700mm above the benchtop but this is worth adjusting for your household. Too high and shorter members of the family can't reach the top shelf. Too low and the space feels cramped.
Standard depth is 300-350mm. Go deeper and you risk hitting your head on open cabinet doors. Go shallower and you lose storage you'll miss.
Confirm these dimensions with your cabinetmaker before anything is built. They're straightforward to adjust at design stage and essentially impossible to adjust after installation.
Your rangehood clearance
Minimum clearance between your cooktop and your rangehood is typically 650mm for electric cooktops and 750mm for gas but always check your specific rangehood manufacturer's requirements because they vary.
If your rangehood is going into an overhead cabinet or mounting against a wall, your cabinetmaker needs the exact model and its installation requirements before they design that section of joinery. A rangehood that doesn't fit the cavity it was designed around is a problem that costs far more to fix than it would have cost to confirm upfront.
Your handle or handleless profile
This sounds like a finish decision, not a measurement decision. It isn't.
Your handle choice affects your cabinet depth, your door reveal, and in some cases your drawer clearances. A finger pull profile requires different tolerances than a handle-free push mechanism. Confirm your choice before your cabinetmaker finalises the joinery drawings because changing it after affects dimensions throughout the entire run of cabinetry.
Your stone templating timeline
Your stonemason will need to template your benchtop after your cabinets are installed and before your sink, cooktop and tapware go in. That templating appointment needs to be booked in advance, stonemasons are typically booked out weeks ahead.
Know your stonemason's lead time before your cabinetmaker starts. Because the sequence goes: cabinets in → stonemason templates → stone fabricated → stone installed → plumber and electrician finish off. Any delay at the templating stage pushes everything that follows.
The document that keeps all of this in one place
Every one of these decisions needs to be documented and shared with your cabinetmaker, your stonemason, your electrician and your plumber, often at the same time. That's not a conversation. That's a system.
The Kitchen Measurement Guide from Measure & Mark is built specifically for this moment. Every critical kitchen dimension, every standard to know, every question to answer before your trades arrive — in one place, ready to share.
[GET THE KITCHEN MEASUREMENT GUIDE — $39.95]
Because the most expensive mistakes in a kitchen renovation aren't the ones made on site. They're the ones made - or not made - in the weeks before anyone arrived.