Frameless cabinets only offer one overlay style, Full Overlay. The Full Overlay of a frameless cabinet completely covers the entire box, leaving only a 2mm reveal that creates a sleek, seamless appearance, making it a popular choice for modern and contemporary styled kitchens.
Is Full Overlay the Same As Frameless? Full overlay cabinets still show approximately 1/4-inch reveal of the face frame while frameless cabinets do not show a frame reveal.
Frameless A more contemporary cabinet design, frameless cabinets are the European way of manufacturing cabinets that has become increasing popular in the American kitchen. The concept is simple - the face frame is eliminated and just the box remains.
Frameless cabinets do not have a face-frame like inset cabinets. Frameless boxes are constructed with ½” – ¾” thick sides, tops, and bottoms. The doors on frameless construction fully overlap the box and always conceal the door hinges.
Full Overlay Cabinets Defined
Full overlay cabinets have doors and drawers with extra-large fronts. These are designed to fully cover the face frame. Whereas the face frame is entirely visible on an inset cabinet, it is completely hidden on a full overlay cabinet. Hinges are hidden from view as well.
A Standard Overlay door will lay on top of (overlay) this 1.5” face frame 3/8”, leaving 1-1/8” revealed on all rails and stiles. A Full Overlay door will overlay that same 1.5” face frame 1.25”, leaving a ¼” reveal on the sides (stiles) and bottom (rail).
The main difference between these two types is the way they are built. Framed cabinets feature an extra overlaying structure to support the box while frameless cabinets don't. Both framed and frameless cabinets are used in different types of kitchen cabinetry.
The pricing difference between the two kinds is mostly in the material cost of cabinets; Frameless Shaker Door style cabinets (material and supplies only) will cost between $4,500 to $6,500 for a typical 10-by-10 kitchen, while comparable cabinets with face frame will normally cost about $1,000 less for all the ...
Frameless cabinets leave you with a sleeker, cleaner, and classier look, perfect for today's modern living. Plus, frameless cabinets provide much needed additional storage space, allowing you to declutter and put all your favorite kitchen tools, gadgets, pots, pans, dishes, and glasses within easy reach.
Frameless cabinets are less sturdy than framed cabinets. The hardwood face frame on framed cabinets serves to greatly reinforce the sidewalls to which they are anchored—an advantage that is missing from frameless cabinets.
When you open a frameless cabinet, there is no overlay around the edges and no center stile. This gives the cabinets a more open appearance and means that you can use them without doors if desired. A framed cabinet will have a visible ledge around the cabinet when open as well as a center stile.
-Frameless cabinets tend to be less durable than framed cabinets because the cabinet door is bolted directly to the cabinet box as opposed to bolted to the additional cabinet face. -Frameless cabinet doors are more likely to shift out of place after an earthquake or other natural event.
In general, installing frameless cabinets isn't harder or easier than installing framed models, but frameless cabinets tend to be trickier to install when the walls aren't flat. Installing frameless cabinets can be harder if you don't have the European hardware designed for them.
They both offer a beautiful look with clean and modern lines. The one major difference between the two is price. Inset cabinets can cost approximately 15-30% more than overlay cabinets. You can also lose some storage space for those larger dinner dishes in inset cabinets.
Double door cabinets with full overlay come with an additional benefit. They do not have a vertical face frame stile between the two doors, which allows homeowners to store larger items in the cabinet without having to work around the center stile needed in a standard overlay cabinet.
Most common are half and three-quarter overlays which, as you might expect, conceal half and three-fourths respectively of the cabinet frame.
A full overlay is a cabinet door that covers the cabinet's entire face frame. This ensures minimal gaps so that only a very small portion of the cabinet's storage area is viewable. A full overlay is a cabinet door that conceals the opening to the storage area.
Partial overlay cabinets cover most of the cabinet frame but leave space between the drawers and doors. This is typically the least expensive cabinet option and is a top choice for people who want to leave off hardware. Full overlay leaves no space between each door/drawer and thus requires hardware.
For gaps less than 1/8-inch, it's acceptable to use colored caulk or other products that come in a tube. If you plan on refinishing the cabinets, you can also use wood putty that dries hard to fill gaps or cracks. If the cabinets do not need finishing, apply color-matched caulking to the gaps.
Cabinet refacing is the process of replacing cabinet skin panels to give your kitchen a dramatic new look. Your cabinets may be scratched or cracked, or you may simply desire a change — much like replacing a perfectly good smartphone with the latest model.
Generally, they start at about $5,000 and run upwards of $15,000. High-end frameless cabinets can run $30,000 or more. Because there are fewer materials, frameless cabinets are usually less expensive than framed cabinets.
Are frameless cabinets less sturdy? No. While framed cabinets have an additional layer of hardwood and frameless cabinets are usually manufactured from engineered wood only, frameless cabinets are just as sturdy as framed cabinets because they rely on a thicker box for strength and stability.