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I'm constructing a cabinet that has doors that are flush against the adjoining wall/cabinet. (technically, another cabinet in an RV)

If I use the "full overlay" version of these hinges, how do I know how much of a gap to leave between the door and the adjoining cabinet? The two cabinets are flush. (See illustration below)

Similarly, if I have two cabinet doors as shown in the illustration below, how much of a gap do I need between them?

I'm doing a Sketchup of my design and I need to know how much space to leave so I cut the doors to the right size. I tried checking the installation instructions for the hinges, but I couldn't find the necessary information.

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Update: Below is a diagram from the installation instructions for the hinges. I feel like I should be able to find the information I need here, but the key measurement I need doesn't seem to be included... Or, maybe it is?

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With those types of hinge, you do not need any clearance between doors.

My kitchen cupboards use that type of hinge and mostly have a 1/4" gap.

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In one place there is no gap at all. I just trapped a piece of paper there with the door closed, when I opened the door the paper fell out. The door opens and closes smoothly. The hinge movement pulls the hinged end of the door inwards away from adjacent cabinets or walls.

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At the other end I can wedge in a wooden spatula, I can still easily open the door with no noticable resistance.

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I'd allow a gap so a solid wood door can expand as humidity changes seasonally. Other than that, there's no need for any significant gap.

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  • Awesome. What about between the doors? I suppose I could do the math to calculate how much of a gap I'll need, but as you mentioned, there's some interesting geometry going on with these hinges that might cause my calculations to be off.
    – rinogo
    May 27 '15 at 7:41
  • 1
    I've updated my answer to cover the questions in your comment.
    – RedGrittyBrick
    May 27 '15 at 13:24

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