Melamine Kitchen Cabinets Need a Record for Future Repairs

Before you compare quotes, map the parts

Walk around the kitchen and identify each separate door and drawer front, rather than writing down only the total cabinet length. A 600 mm sink-base door and a 450 mm drawer front need different replacement dimensions, even when they sit in the same run. Give each one a simple label, such as B1 for a base-cabinet door or D2 for a drawer front, and mark whether its hinge is on the left or right.

Pay particular attention to fronts that are knocked or handled often: the bin cabinet, the door beside a dishwasher, and the drawer where cutlery gets put away. Note whether neighbouring doors meet at a corner or have handles close enough to collide. This map helps you spot which fronts may need the clearest record and avoids treating a whole cabinet run as one interchangeable piece.

• Record each front’s width and height separately; don’t assume two doors that look alike are identical.
• Photograph each cabinet with its doors open so you can identify the location and hinge side later.
• Mark unusual shapes, such as a narrow filler front or a door cut around a pipe boxing.

Keep the finish identity with the panel dimensions

A colour name like “warm grey” is not enough to order a matching front. Ask for the finish or décor code, the panel thickness, and a note of which parts use that finish. Door fronts, exposed side panels and cabinet interiors may have different surfaces, even when the overall kitchen looks coordinated.

Write down the edge treatment too: for example, whether the visible edge has a contrasting band or a band chosen to blend with the face. A replacement door with the right colour but a different edge can stand out from across the room. If you receive a physical sample, keep its label with your cabinet schedule; a loose offcut without a code is much harder to identify later.

One detail people often skip is that a matching code does not guarantee the same appearance years later. Décors and production batches can change, so ask how a future match would be identified and whether a retained sample would help. That answer gives you a realistic sense of what “matching” means before you commit.

Check the hinge pattern before choosing a replacement front

Two doors with the same outside dimensions may not be interchangeable if their hinge positions differ. Record the hinge make and model where available, the number of hinges, and the distance from each hinge cup to the top or bottom edge. Also note whether the door sits over the cabinet side or fits within the opening; those positions use different hinge geometry.

For a drawer front, record the fixing method and the spacing of the screw holes behind it. A replacement can look right from the front and still be awkward to attach if its fixing points do not line up. Take a clear photo of the back of one door or drawer front before installation hides the details, and keep it alongside the label and measurements.

The useful comparison is not just “same size.” It is same size, same edge orientation, and compatible drilling or fixing points. Ask the supplier how these details will be documented for your particular order.

Use the drawing as a visual index

A 3D view is handy for recognising which front belongs beside the fridge or below the sink, but it may not show the hinge-bore dimensions or finish codes. Pair the visual with a separate schedule that gives every front an ID, its finished width and height, finish identity, edge note and hardware position. That makes the drawing useful years later, not just during the selection stage.

Future Kitch’s stated process includes a price quotation, budgeting and 3D drawings. As you review those materials, ask to keep the numbered panel schedule with the final set of documents; the schedule is what connects a recognisable view to the details needed for a replacement.

At handover, save what a catalogue cannot tell you

Before the kitchen is filled, take a few straightforward records: a full-room photo, a close view of each unusual front, and a photo of the hinge or drawer fixing from the inside. Store them with the finish code, dimensions and the final panel schedule. A phone album named “kitchen cabinet parts” is more useful than trying to remember which picture showed the narrow door beside the fridge.

Ask whether an exact replacement front can be ordered later, what information the supplier would need, and whether availability or cost can change over time. This is a practical purchase question, not a promise that every décor will remain in production. If you care about future repairability, keep the answer and the supplier’s contact details with the cabinet record.

Frequently asked questions