Fitted wardrobes: the 2026 joiner’s guide to measuring before you quote

1. Start with what the wardrobe must hold

Ask what needs hanging, folding or storing: long garments, shoes and bulky objects need distinct zones. Establish who shares the wardrobe and what they use most often. An inspiration photograph does not establish usable dimensions or an agreed accessory specification.

Turn that conversation into a labelled elevation. Mark hanging zones, shelves, drawers and possible future adjustments. Ask which features are essential and which are options. Confirm door style, visible finishes, handles and the appearance of the junctions with the walls. Identify who chooses samples and who approves the final drawing; a missing decision should remain visible in the quote.

2. Prepare a survey sheet and a consistent reference

Bring suitable measuring tools, a level, a straightedge, a sketching method and a way to record photographs with permission. Check the instrument’s units and reference setting before recording a series. Recheck a surprising dimension independently. A laser reading against a cluttered or reflective surface should not be accepted without understanding what was actually measured.

Choose and label the reference wall, front plane and height datum. State explicitly whether the floor is finished, temporary or still awaiting a covering. If flooring, levelling or wall finishing is outstanding, record who supplies the finished position and when it can be verified. Do not subtract a remembered floor thickness from every height and call the result a final survey.

Coordinate the finished floor with the tiler’s quantity and layout survey

3. Measure the opening at several identified points

Record widths low down, midway and near the top; record heights at the left, centre and right. Add depth checks where the back wall or front line changes. Put every result on the sketch with its location, rather than keeping only a single convenient number. Inspect visible changes in level, alignment and squareness; one diagonal cannot describe the whole opening.

Sogal uses maximum width for its sliding doors, minimum width between skirting boards for hinged types and minimum height. These are product-specific conventions: retain all readings and apply the selected system’s instructions.

When readings disagree, check the datum and the instrument first. Then describe the actual difference without assuming its cause. If furniture prevents access to one corner, mark that corner unmeasured and arrange a further visit where necessary. A quote can identify a measurement dependency; a workshop should not receive an invented dimension disguised as a verified one.

Sogal — conseils de prise de mesures des portes de placard

4. Separate opening, cabinet, front and usable passage

Use different dimension lines for the building opening, the outside of the cabinet, the doors or front panels and the passage available when they open. These dimensions answer different questions. A cabinet depth does not by itself tell the customer whether a coat, drawer or basket can be used as intended.

Sketch a plan and, where useful, a section through the floor and ceiling junctions. Label end panels, back construction, plinths and any proposed infill pieces. Show which dimensions are observations and which are design assumptions. Avoid representing an irregular wall as a straight line merely because the drawing software makes it easy.

Price infills, visible ends and access panels as distinct details after checking the cabinet construction.

5. Map obstacles without altering the building

Locate skirting boards, sockets, switches, radiators, boxing, windows and nearby room doors. Record position, projection and the area that must remain accessible. A front-on photograph can hide how far an object projects, so connect useful photographs to a numbered plan or section.

Record only what you can observe. Do not infer the route of hidden services, remove electrical covers or disturb finishes to make the survey appear complete. Any proposed alteration should be identified as a separate matter for the appropriate professional.

Agree which furniture and possessions must be cleared. Mark undecided skirting treatment as an open item.

6. Check doors and drawers as a working arrangement

Draw the proposed doors in useful open positions and show the drawer fronts behind them. Check whether a handle, adjacent wall or neighbouring door occupies the same space. For sliding fronts, locate the overlap on the actual arrangement and identify the passage available to each storage zone. Ask the customer which compartments must be accessible together.

Blum’s hinge tables illustrate that a required gap depends on the hinge configuration and associated dimensions. Use the selected fitting’s technical sheet, not one universal gap.

Record the hardware reference and unresolved supplier questions. Give each alternative door arrangement its own description and price basis.

Blum — catalogue 2024/2025, charnière MODUL 100°, paramètres de jeu

7. Survey delivery and assembly, not only the final position

Walk the delivery route: entrance, stairs, landings, lift where relevant, turns and the room doorway. Record restrictions and the proposed staging area. Compare the intended package or component dimensions with the route; an overall room measurement says little about turning a long side panel on a landing.

IKEA’s PAX guidance demonstrates that assembly space can differ from finished dimensions and depends on the product and assembly method. Its figures are not allowances for a bespoke cabinet.

Record who clears and protects the route. Discuss modular construction or a different assembly sequence with the workshop when access is restricted. Finished height alone does not prove that a cabinet can be tilted upright.

IKEA — PAX, hauteur sous plafond et espace de montage

8. Convert the sketch into an itemised quotation

Build a preliminary component schedule: sides, internal partitions, tops, bases, shelves, backs, visible ends, infills and fronts. For each group, identify material, intended thickness, finish, visible edges and quantity. This is an estimating schedule, not an approved cutting list. Keep uncertain dimensions flagged until the design is settled.

Separate edging from the broad panel description. State which edges are visible and what finish is expected there. List hinges, runners, handles, hanging rails and other accessories by a checked reference or a clearly described provisional specification. Confirm supplier information when pricing rather than assuming that last month’s quotation still applies.

Add survey, drawing, manufacture, delivery, installation, protection and agreed cleanup as intelligible operations. Describe preparation by other trades and optional work separately. This allows a customer to compare two proposals without mistaking a cheaper but incomplete scope for the same wardrobe.

Use the painting survey method to clarify finishing and preparation boundaries

9. Read the numerical example as a design check

Suppose the opening widths are 2388, 2384 and 2386 mm, with heights of 2475, 2472 and 2478 mm. Keep all six readings and their positions. For this teaching example only, consider a cabinet measuring 2340 × 2400 × 580 mm externally. These proposed dimensions do not establish that the cabinet can be delivered, assembled or installed.

Assume four vertical panels, each 18 mm thick, dividing that cabinet into three equal bays. The simple width calculation is (2340 − 4 × 18) ÷ 3 = 756 mm per bay before hardware. Drawer components, the back arrangement and the front system still require their own checks; 756 mm is not a drawer ordering dimension.

The difference between the smallest recorded opening width and the assumed cabinet width is 2384 − 2340 = 44 mm. It is neither a universal installation allowance nor a promise of 22 mm on each side. The actual distribution depends on the surveyed geometry and the chosen design.

10. Close the survey before releasing manufacture

Give the survey and each drawing a date and revision number. Keep raw measurements unchanged and record design revisions separately. List unresolved points with a responsible person and a decision date: finished floor, chosen hardware, an inaccessible corner or an undecided front finish.

Before fabrication, check the approved drawing against the latest site conditions, the accepted scope and the selected technical documentation. A customer’s approval of the appearance does not fill in a missing workshop dimension. If flooring or wall work changes the opening, review the affected dimensions and the quotation assumptions.

Issue one current drawing and specification set to the workshop and installer; archive superseded revisions.

Reusable job sheet

• Storage needs, essential features and optional accessories agreed.
• Reference planes, date, units and finished-floor status recorded.
• Widths, heights and depths labelled at multiple points.
• Unmeasured areas and visible geometry differences flagged.
• Opening, cabinet, front and usable passage distinguished.
• Skirting, services and nearby openings located without intervention.
• Door, drawer and hardware arrangement checked together.
• Delivery route, staging and assembly questions recorded.
• Panels, edges, finishes and operations separated in the quote.
• Latest drawing and remaining decisions checked before manufacture.

Wardrobe survey — Project / room / revision: […]
Units and reference planes: […]
Floor condition and pending finishes: […]
Width / height / depth readings with locations: […]
Obstacles and unmeasured areas: […]
Storage layout and door system: […]
Panels / edges / finish / hardware: […]
Delivery and assembly constraints: […]
Included work / options / unresolved decisions: […]
Approved drawing and release date: […]

Want to reduce the time spent turning site notes into quotes and invoices? Discover Vocalys and prepare a draft by voice. Dictate locations, units, materials and outstanding decisions separately, then check every dimension and line against the approved project file before sending.