What is it?
A base unit is the floor standing cabinet that forms the lower tier of a kitchen and carries the worktop. It is a simple box, known as the carcass, usually built from 18mm melamine faced chipboard (MFC), with two side panels, a base, a back panel and a rail across the top that the worktop sits on. The standard UK carcass height is 720mm, and the unit stands on four adjustable legs of around 150mm, so the finished worktop lands at a comfortable working height of roughly 890 to 910mm.
Carcasses either come rigid, assembled at the factory, or flat packed for building on site. The side panels are drilled with a line of holes at 32mm centres, the System 32 standard, which take the pins the shelves rest on and provide fixing points for the hinges and drawer runners. Doors hang on concealed hinges and drawers run on concealed runners, both of which can be adjusted once the unit is fitted.
- 1Base Unit
- 2Plasterboard
- 3Socket
What does it do?
Storage and organisation
The base unit provides most of the storage in a kitchen, holding everything from pans and food to bins and integrated appliances. The inside can be fitted out with adjustable shelves, drawers or pull outs to suit whatever it needs to hold.
Carrying the worktop
The worktop sits on top of the base units and screws down from underneath, which also ties the whole run of cabinets together into one solid line.
Holding the doors and drawers
Doors hang on concealed hinges, sometimes called cup or European hinges, which tuck inside the cabinet when the door is shut. Unlike a surface fixed hinge such as a butt or piano hinge, these can be adjusted in three directions after fitting, so every door in a run can be lined up neatly on site. Most now have a soft close action built in.
Where is it used?
Base units line up along the walls to form the run of a kitchen, giving a continuous worktop and the bulk of the storage.
Placed back to back or on their own, base units form islands and peninsulas, finished with end and back panels where the sides are on show.
The same cabinets are used in utility rooms and boot rooms, and often in fitted furniture elsewhere in the home, such as media units or home offices, as a cost effective base.
Types
Base units come in several configurations depending on what they hold and how you get to them. The carcass is much the same across all of them. It is the fit out inside and the arrangement of the front that changes.
Standard door base
A single or double door cabinet with one adjustable shelf inside. The most common and economical base unit, used for general storage. Single doors go up to around 600mm wide, and wider cabinets use a pair of doors.
Drawer line base
A door cabinet with a single shallow drawer across the top, known as the drawer line, giving handy quick access storage above the main cupboard. A common default in UK kitchens.
Pan drawer base
A stack of deep drawers, usually two to four, in place of a door, for pans, crockery and food. It runs on strong soft close runners and is a popular choice for easy pull out storage.
Corner base
Turns a corner in the run. It can be a plain blank corner, an L shaped unit, or fitted with a rotating carousel or pull out mechanism such as a Le Mans or magic corner to reach the otherwise dead space.
Sink and appliance base
A cabinet built to carry a sink or house an appliance under the worktop. Sink bases, often 800 to 1000mm wide, change the top and shelf to clear the bowl and plumbing, while appliance housings are sized to fit integrated dishwashers, washing machines and the like.
Typical sizes
Base units follow standard UK sizes, which keeps them interchangeable with worktops, appliances and doors.
| Dimension | Standard UK figure |
|---|---|
| Carcass height | 720 mm |
| Adjustable legs | around 150 mm |
| Finished worktop height | around 890 to 910 mm |
| Carcass depth | around 560 to 570 mm |
| Nominal widths | 150, 300, 400, 450, 500, 600, 800, 1000 mm |
| Board thickness | 18 mm carcass |
How to specify
Base units are usually chosen as part of a full kitchen range from one supplier rather than one at a time, so the carcass colour, board and hardware all come together as a set.
Range and carcass
Pick the kitchen range, which sets the carcass colour, the board, the back panel and whether the units come rigid or flat packed. Rigid units are stronger and quicker to fit but cost more and need somewhere to store them on site.Layout and configuration
Set out the run and choose the type and width of each unit, from plain door to drawer line to pan drawer, along with the corner solution and the sink and appliance positions. Match the unit widths to the appliances and coordinate with the worktop joints.Hardware and finish
Confirm the hinges and runners and whether they are soft close, whether the doors have handles or open by push, the height of the legs and plinth, and any pull outs or organisers inside. Check the guarantee covers the moving parts.
Other considerations
- Adjustable legs take up any unevenness in the floor, but check the range of adjustment against the worst point in the run.
- Allow for pipes, waste and electrics inside sink and appliance units, as some backs are cut on site.
- Hardboard backs are cheaper but less rigid than a full thickness back, which matters where units carry heavy loads.
- Base units screw to each other and to the wall, and the worktop ties the run together across the top.
- Units next to ovens and dishwashers may need protecting from heat and steam.
- Integrated appliance widths need to match the cabinet widths around them.
Interacting elements
The base unit sits at the centre of the kitchen and works with several other elements.
- Worktop sits on the units and locks the run together.
- Doors and drawer fronts mount to the carcass and give the visible finish.
- Hinges and runners the concealed hardware that lets the doors and drawers move and be adjusted.
- Plinth clips onto the legs to hide the recess at the floor.
- End and back panels finish any carcass sides that are on show.
- Wall and tall units line up with the base units in finish and position.
- Sink, tap and appliances sit within particular base units and decide which cabinets are used.
Popular manufacturers
Howdens
The UK's largest trade only kitchen supplier, making its own cabinets, fronts and laminate worktops in Yorkshire and Cheshire. Sold only to trade account holders through local depots, in both rigid and flat packed ranges.
Benchmarx
A trade only kitchen and joinery supplier, part of Travis Perkins, sold through trade counters. Cabinets come rigid with a lifetime guarantee covering the drawer boxes, runners, hinges, legs and shelf supports.
Magnet Trade
The trade arm of Magnet, manufacturing pre built kitchen cabinets, worktops and joinery in Darlington and selling only to trade account holders. Cabinets come with soft close hinges as standard and a lifetime guarantee.