Master the Red Seal Cabinetmaker Challenge 2026 – Craft Your Future with Confidence!

The depth of a cabinet is most commonly measured in inches, particularly in regions such as North America where imperial measurements are predominantly used in the woodworking and cabinetry industries. This standard is practical because it aligns with the dimensions of sheet goods like plywood, which are typically manufactured in sizes expressed in inches.

Using inches allows for straightforward calculations when designing kitchen or bathroom cabinets, as many existing hardware and measurement tools are calibrated to this unit. Although centimeters and millimeters are used in other measurement systems, particularly metric ones, the inch remains the standard unit in the cabinetmaking trade in the United States and Canada.

While other units such as feet are also a part of imperial measurements, they are more commonly utilized for larger dimensions. In contrast, millimeters and centimeters better suit detailed measurements in more precise fields like engineering or when using specific hardware fittings, but for general cabinet depth, inches prevail as the preferred choice.