Cabinetry, plumbing, rocket science, these fields always have their own language. There are certain words and terms that everyone else in the field understands, but the rest of us scratch our heads when we hear them.

If you’re considering a kitchen remodel job in the future, and part of your plan is to replace your kitchen cabinets, you need to study the terms you need to know to make sure you’re speaking the right cabinet language.

First let’s look at the types of cabinets.

Stock – Stock cabinets are the types of cabinets you can find stocked on a shelf at your local home improvement store or order online.

Semi-Custom – These cabinets are part stock, part custom. There are certain things that you will be able to choose, like the finish, the color, the hardware, but you will have to deal with other things, like the shapes.

Custom – Custom cabinets are just that, custom built to your specifications, down to the finest detail.

Cabinet styles are generally one of two types:

Framed – These cabinets are a style where the entire cabinet is created and the doors are attached to the front frame of the cabinet. Most kitchen cabinets are in this style.

Frameless – Instead of having a front frame, frameless cabinet doors join the door to the shelving, so when you open the door you see nothing but the items inside. These are often called European cabinets.

Below is the cabinet hardware for drawers and doors:

Pull Handle – A pull handle is a C-shaped bracket that attaches to a door. In this type of door opener, you insert your fingers or hand into the loop and pull to open the door.

Knob – Knobs are usually round pieces that are attached to a drawer door with a screw or nail (through the middle) and gripped to open and close the door or drawer.

Now, you need to know the parts that will make those cabinets work, the cabinet hinges:

Concealed Hinges – This cabinet hinge is, as the name implies, concealed. Both sides are joined inside the cabinets and neither part is visible from the outside. These are often used in European cabinets.

Exposed Hinges – This cabinet hinge is designed to grace cabinets. All its parts are outside and can be very decorative as well as functional.

Pin Hinge – This is a fairly common cabinet hinge design. It is created by attaching two plates to the door and cabinet and using a pin to hold the two together.

Self-closing: The hinge on this cabinet has a built-in mechanism that will close the door when you’re done taking things out.

Semi-Concealed – If you just want a little decorative accent from your cabinet hinge, this may be the way to go. These hinges show one part of your hinge, while the other part is on the inside.

Creating the perfect cabinets for your home involves a lot, learning the right terms and how to describe what you want to see in your new cabinets is a big step in getting it right.