I belive you need a filler on the right that is wider than the thickness of the trim. You need the drawers to clear the door trim when the drawers are open. I have thick trim, so I had 2" added to the stile on that cabinets (I have framed custom cabinets). In your case, you probably need at least 1 1/2" there. You also need a filler on the left side, but I am not sure what thickness since I don't have frameless cabinets.

You will need a filler near the fridge. Additionally, I noticed you have pocket doors. Do the pockets extend behind where cabinets will be? If so, make sure there are no install issues. For example if the in-wall pocket extends behind the pantry (13), they can't attach it to the wall until they are at the header height.

I think most fillers are 2" or 3", depending on what they're needed for.

I think you'll need 3" b/w the refrigerator and wall (you might be able to get away with 2"). You want to be sure you can open the refrigerator wide enough to remove drawers for cleaning.

You will definitely need 3" filler b/w the pantry and the wall to allow the doors to open fully--unless it's a pullout (I can't tell from the picture). If it's a pullout, you may only need 1.5 to 2 inches.

You may also need 2" or 3" on the upper right cabinets b/c you need to be able to open the doors of the upper cabinets and, to keep the upper & lower even, the same filler on the base cabinets. If you don't care about keeping them even, then 1.5" to 2" will probably be fine in the base cabinets...I'd go for at least 2" though, just to be sure.

Ditto for the upper left cabinets.

BTW...the lower right corner... If you're open for suggestions...have you thought about putting in a baking center or a beverage center? If you closed up both doorways just a little, you'd have a nice area in that corner...say 48"W by 30"D. Or, how about a message center? It would fit in that area w/o changing doorways...36"W x 24"D. Just a thought!

Perhaps one of the KDs that frequent this site will weigh in on the fillers...you need definite answers here!

Thanks to you both !

For folks who have bought from buycabinets.com, do they figure out the fillers for you, or do I have to make sure I have that in my plan before ordering ?

Wow 2" is more than I was planning for ... maybe I'll have to change the left-hand 18-incher to a 15-incher.

Buehl, a while back I had played with the idea of running cabinets around that top left-hand corner, to give a good landing space for the fridge. But the kitchen (and house !) are too small for dedicated beverage/baking centers, I think ... counterspace is precious. I am also not really fond of corner cabinets, and the top run of cabinets will have 30" counters, so that would be a deep, cavernous space under that corner ! I thought about accessing that space from the powder room side instead, but that didn't seem like optimal use of the space to me. Instead I will use a freestanding butcher block table as landing space for the fridge, some extra counterspace, and an informal eating area. And I will enjoy the openness of the space !

sue36, thanks for the headsup re the pocket door/pantry ... that wall is a thick "lolly wall" through the centre of the house, and when the pocket doors are framed in I'll make sure there is blocking to fasten the pantry to.

Would love to hear from other buycabinets.com folks ...

For the pantry next to the fridge, you'll need to find out if it will have a full back. Not all cabinet brands have a full 3/4" back; some just have bands of supports and a thin backing. Without a full back, you won't be able to attach the over the fridge cabinet unless you order a full length panel to go between the pantry and the fridge cabinet. Ask me how I discovered this odd tidbit...

From your picture, I'm not convinced that you need any fillers. Typically you need fillers in corners of Ls so that a drawer can pull out without banging into your range handle, for example.

With regard to your fridge, it depends how far out the wall next to it and the pantry extends. If the fridge hinges extend beyond them you may not need any fillers. Your pantry may or may not require a filler next to the wall.

I don't know what buycabinets.com will do for you, but you do need someone with experience and with ALL the measurements for your appliances and the type of cabinets you're ordering to review your plan.

You've got 2 straight runs - typically straight runs don't require fillers.

Weissman is right (almost) - 2" to 3" of filler?!?!?! Wow, no way, man! If you sum all the filler I have in my kitchen, it may total that. You should not need ANY filler between cabinets - now I'm not cabinet-maker so check with buycabinets for whatever style of cabinets you will be getting - but I can safely tell you that all drawers and doors are designed to open without fillers thanks to the new hinge designs. (Now, I wouldn't waste the space on any cabinet design that calls for filler between cabs, but that's just me).

Generally (again, for the sorts of cabinets that I know about) you want filler at the ends because walls are seldom straight and angles are seldom 90degrees - even in brand new construction - so you want filler so that the entire cabinet can fit in and drawers don't scrape etc. and you can accommodate a fully open door, door handle protrusion and all.

So, a safe thing to do would be to account for 1" of filler on either side of the South wall. (This is why I said Weissman was almost right as I think a little wiggle room to accomodate walls etc. is a good idea). You shouldn't need any fillers between cabinets.

For the fridge, check the fridge door spec to see how much overage the door needs for it to open fully. Here because the wall ceases to exist before it can obstruct the door opening, full access shouldn't be a problem BUT you should ensure that this is the case.

Oh yes, one other thing - I was motivated to have the least filler I could get away with because every fraction of an inch I could protect from filler,

The width of your fillers will depend on the type of cabinet construction, the wall you're running up against, and the appliances around them.

If you are using frameless, you hardly need any filler if your cabinets run up to a smooth wall. The frameless construction drawers are meant to fit smoothly up against the side walls of the cabinets. And the hinges of the upper cabinets pull the door in and away from the wall, so you can mount an upper cabinet directly against a wall and still open the door. If your wall is smooth and true, you won't need any filler at all. Some folk put in about 1/16-1/8 inch strip of wood matching the cabinet as a filler just to be sure drawers can open with no rubbing. Sometimes wall are not completely straight the entire length that the drawer will be opening.

Some people will also put a filler consisting of a full length of wood matching the cabinet next to the dishwasher (this is usually 5/8-3/4 inch, depending on the wall construction of your cabinets). This is for soundproofing, to help deaden the dishwasher if it's against a hollow base like a sink base or lazy susan.

If it's against your fridge, you may need some filler to ensure you have enough clearance to open your fridge door. Usually the built-in cabinet housing your fridge is sufficient, again if it's made from 5/8-3/4 inch wood. It also depends on the brand, and whether it's a cabinet depth or built in model. Be sure to check the specs on your fridge.

Oven cabinets are usually built bigger than the oven by an inch or so all around to ensure adequate ventilation. This also acts as a filler, enabling you to open the oven door as well as any drawers/doors in the adjacent cabinets.

If you're going with semi-custom to custom, you can usually omit any filler, as you'll be able to get your cabinets made down to the 1/8 or 1/16" specification. If you're using stock or IKEA, which comes in 3" incrememts, you're going to have to use some filler somewhere, unless your wall width magically adds up to a variable of 3.

We have semi-custom cabinets in a U shape, 22 feet by 10 feet. We have no fillers, except for a 1/8" strip I asked for by a short wall, to make sure the 3 deep drawers in the base cabinet would be able to be opened without rubbing against the wall. Everything else was measured out exactly to specs.

Short answer to your question...depends on the brand of cabinets.

How about doing a search for "Buy Cabinets" or starting a new thread? I wouldn't want to use a company that I didn't have any recommendations for.

Without the right fillers, in the right places, the kitchen won't fit!
The filler must be enough for clearance for handles of doors, drawers or appliances on either side of a corner.
The cabinet run needs 1/2" filler at wall, but more if clearance is needed for roll-out shelves.
A cabinet run that meets a blind corner wall cabinet needs a filler so door handles don't hit.
A base cabinet run that meets a wall needs a filler so the door can open more than 90 degrees and a roll-out shelf will not collide with it.