Overlay Types
Flush Overlay
Doors and drawer faces cover (or nearly cover) the body members of the cabinet, with spaces left between adjacent surfaces sufficient for operating clearance.
Flush overlay construction offers a very clean, contemporary look because only the doors and drawer fronts are visible in elevation. When specified, grain matching between doors and drawer fronts can be achieved by having all pieces cut from the same panel. Conventional as well as concealed hinges are available for a variety of door thicknesses.
Reveal Overlay
Doors and drawer faces partially cover the body members or face frames of the cabinet, with spaces between face surfaces sufficient for operating clearance.
In this style, the separation between doors and drawer fronts is accented by the reveal. The style is equally suited to either wood or plastic laminate construction. Although the detail shown here incorporates a reveal at all horizontal and vertical joints, this can be varied by the designer. It should be noted that a reveal over 12.7 mm [1/2"] may require the addition of a face frame. The addition of a face frame will change the hinge requirements. With or with-out a face frame, this style allows the use of conventional or concealed hinges.
Inset Overlay
Doors and drawer faces are inset within members of the cabinet. Gaps between the case and the doors or drawers are often dictated by the operating clearances of the fittings.
With this style of construction, all door and drawer faces are flush with the face of the cabinet. This style is highly functional and allows the use of different thicknesses of door and drawer fronts.
Conventional as well as concealed hinges are available for a variety of door thicknesses. The choice of case and door/drawer material influence the choice of hinges. Conventional butt hinges should be avoided when hinge screws would be attached to the edge-grain of panel products.
This is generally an expensive style due to the increased care necessary in the fitting and aligning of the doors and drawers.
