The carcass

The carcass is the box. Doors, drawers, tops and hardware all hang off it, so every number on the front of an elevation starts as a number inside the box. Draw the box wrong and nothing downstream closes.

Two ways to build a box

The standard names two construction types and defines them by one edge.

Type	AWS definition	What the front edge of the box looks like
Frameless	"the front edge of the cabinet body components are edgebanded"	Sides, top, bottom and shelves show a banded edge. The doors cover almost all of it.
Face frame	"the front edge of the cabinet body components are overlaid with a frame"	A solid timber frame is glued to the front of the box. Doors hang on or inside the frame.

The first edition called these Type A and Type B, and called the door interfaces Style 1 and Style 2. The Woodwork Institute's sample set, drawn to an older WI manual, fills in W.I.C. TYPE: 1 STYLE: A on its specification sheet. Older specifications use older labels, so check what each label meant in the manual the specification cites.

What the choice changes on your drawing

• The section. Frameless: the side runs to the front and carries a band. Face frame: the side stops behind a frame at least 3/4" (19 mm) thick in solid stock (AWS 10.4.7, rule 27.4).
• The ends. The standard's minimum end thickness is 3/4" (19 mm), except 1/2" (12.7 mm) at face frame construction in Economy Grade (rule 10.2).
• The hinge. The AWS hinge guide lists the butt hinge as "typically used in conventional flush with face frame application" and the European hinge as "typically used in conventional flush without face frame and reveal or flush overlay application". The construction type decides the hinge family before anyone opens a catalogue (chapter 15).
• The reveals. The gap rules differ by construction (chapter 14). At frameless construction, fronts sit 1/8" to 1/4" (3.2 to 6.4 mm) below the countertop. At face frame construction that reveal runs 1/4" to 1" (6.4 to 25.4 mm) (AWS 10.1, 14.6.3 and 14.6.4).
• The joints. A face frame adds its own joints: mortise and tenon, dowel, metal dowel screw, pocket screw or biscuit spline, all glued (rule 27.4.4). At Premium Grade, exposed nailing is not permitted and exposed corners are shoulder mitred, lock mitred, spline mitred or mitred with a biscuit spline (rules 27.4.5.2 and 27.4.5.3).

Who decides

The standard says construction "shall be the manufacturer's choice, unless specified otherwise". If nothing is specified, the default is "Custom Grade, frameless construction with adjustable shelves and Flush Overlay doors" (AWS 10.3). Two consequences follow for a drafter.

• If the specification is silent, the shop may build its own way. A design drawn face frame can come back frameless in your set, legitimately. Say so on the cover sheet so the reviewer sees it, instead of discovering it at install.
• If the specification names a type, your set must show that type. A shop that builds one way and draws the other is making a substitution. The Woodwork Institute sample puts it plainly: changes from the original specification go to the architect "in a separate document signed & approved by the architect prior to fabrication".

The parts of the box

Learn the names first. The shop floor uses them, the standard's rules are filed under them, and a section drawing labels them.

Part	What it does	AWS 2nd Ed. rule (Section 10.4.7)
Ends (sides)	Carry everything. Exposed ends are "integral", not applied	Minimum 3/4" (19 mm). Exposed ends rabbeted or plowed to take the back. Horizontal members do not run past an exposed end (rules 10.2, 10.3)
Divisions	Split a box into bays	Drawer compartments separated from shelf compartments by a solid vertical division, unless design prevents it (rule 10.8)
Top and bottom	Square the box; the bottom carries load	Minimum 3/4" (19 mm), design permitting. Unsupported wall cabinet bottoms no wider than 46-1/2" (1181 mm). At least 1" (25.4 mm) thick when particleboard or MDF core and 42" (1067 mm) or longer, in Custom and Premium (rules 11.1, 11.2)
Stretchers	Replace a solid top on base cabinets that take a separate countertop	Front and back. Solid stock or veneer core plywood at least 3/4" × 2" (19 × 50.8 mm), or particleboard/MDF at least 3/4" × 5" (19 × 127 mm). Or a full-depth panel instead. An intermediate front stretcher where a drawer bank's total opening exceeds 30" (762 mm), Custom and Premium (rule 13)
Back	Keeps the box square and closes it	Custom and Premium: required, at least 1/4" (6.4 mm). At least 1/2" (12.7 mm) where the back is an exposed exterior. Screwed at 4" (101.6 mm) centres maximum where not dadoed in. Where plowed in, a shoulder of at least 1/2" (12.7 mm) (rule 14)
Anchor strips (nailers)	Take the screws into the wall, so the thin back does not	Solid stock, plywood, particleboard or MDF, at least 1/2" × 2-1/2" (12.7 × 63.5 mm). At the top and bottom of the back. An intermediate strip on cabinets over 60" (1524 mm) tall. Not required where the back is 1/2" (12.7 mm) or thicker (rule 20)
Toe base (kick)	Lifts the box off the floor and leaves room for feet	Separate or integral, manufacturer's choice. At least 4" (101.6 mm) high and 3/4" (19 mm) thick. Sleepers at separate toe bases 48" (1219 mm) centres maximum (rule 15)
Shelves	Carry the contents	At least 3/4" (19 mm). Fixed shelves at least 1" (25.4 mm) when particleboard or MDF core and unsupported for 42" or more, in Custom and Premium. A fixed shelf at about mid height in cabinets over 72" (1829 mm) tall unless they abut a wall or cabinet at both ends (rule 16)

The Woodwork Institute sample fills in the same parts on its specification sheet for its own job: core 3/4" PARTICLEBOARD, DOWEL CONSTRUCTION, backs 1/4" WHITE MELAMINE, anchor strip 3/4" PARTICLEBOARD, toe base 4" BASE/ FIN BY OTHERS, and FULL SUB-TOPS (OR STRECHERS). That sheet is a good model. Every carcass part gets a line, even the ones nobody sees.

Height, depth and the toe

The standard gives typical dimension ranges and says it is "the responsibility of the design professional" to adjust them for accessibility, appliances and storage (AWS 10.1, 14.5). Treat them as the envelope a designer is likely to have drawn in, not as numbers to pick.

Cabinet	Height	Depth (front of door to wall)
Base, stand-up counter	34" to 36" (864 to 914 mm) to top of countertop	22" to 30" (559 to 762 mm)
Vanity	31" to 38" (787 to 965 mm)	as base
Sit-down counter	28" to 32" (711 to 812 mm), clear knee space 24-1/2" (622 mm)	as base
Wall hung	12" to 48" (305 to 1219 mm) including light apron	12-1/2" to 14" (318 to 356 mm)
Tall storage	72" to 96" (1829 to 2438 mm) to cabinet top	12-1/2" to 30" (318 to 762 mm)

Accessible work is a separate set of limits. See chapter 22.

Floors are never flat. The standard accepts shimming of the toe base up to 1/2" (12.7 mm) and calls toe base height variance from floor variation "not a defect" (rule 14.12). It also says walls, ceilings and openings out by more than 1/4" (6.4 mm), or floors out by more than 1/2" (12.7 mm), in 144" (3658 mm) are not acceptable for installation, and the installer is not responsible for scribing past that (rule 14.2). Put a toe height on your section and a note that it may grow by shimming. The Woodwork Institute sample's elevation sheets say exactly that: 4" HIGH TOEKICK MAY INCREASE W/ SHIMMING DEPENDING ON JOB SITE FLOOR CONDITIONS.

Worked example: a base cabinet that closes

Blum's Process 32 manual (Blum, Inc., 2003–04) sets out one base cabinet in full. It is a manufacturer's drawing, in millimetres, and every dimension adds up. Read it the way a checker reads your section.

Item	Blum value	Note
Toe base	102 mm (4")	Meets the AWS 4" minimum
Box side	775 mm (30-1/2")	Top of toe to top of side
Box to floor	877 mm	102 + 775. Blum labels the cabinet "34-1/2"" (876 mm)
Panel	19 mm (3/4")	The manual says 3/4" or 5/8" panel "can be used"
Depth	610 mm (24")	"Standard 24" base cabinet"
Front hole line	37 mm from the front edge	Ø5 mm holes at 32 mm centres. See chapter 15
Door	765 mm (30-1/8")	10 mm (3/8") reveal at the top

Now close the string against a 36" (914 mm) counter, the top of the AWS stand-up range. 914 − 877 = 37 mm left for the countertop and anything under it. If the design calls for a 30 mm stone top on a 19 mm sub-top, that is 49 mm, and the counter lands at 926 mm. Twelve millimetres over is a question for the designer on day one, not a surprise at template. Note also who owns that sub-top: the standard lists "fillers, build up, or sub tops for countertops, including tile and natural stone" among casework exclusions (AWS 10.2, 3.3), so the drawing must say who supplies it. The residential submittal in hand shows why this matters: it dimensions a 3CM STONE TOP at 1-1/4" and an overall height of 36" on the same section, so the reader can check the stack.

The front closes too. Blum's door is 765 mm and its top reveal is 10 mm: 765 + 10 = 775, the side height. The three-drawer version reads 10 + 157 + 3 + 285 + 3 + 317 = 775. Every elevation you draw should close like that, vertically and horizontally, and the numbers should appear on the sheet so a checker can redo the sum.

Wall cabinets and the wall

A wall cabinet hangs from its anchor strips. The Woodwork Institute sample draws two details for it, UPPER NAILER @ WALL, with a #14 X 3" TR.HD. SELF TAPPING SCREW FULL THREAD PHILLIPS through the nailer, and a note to SEE APPENDIX FOR SEISMIC REQ. Its anchorage sheet shows the same cabinet screwed into 2x6 FLAT BLK'G (BY GENERAL CONT.) in a timber stud wall and 6"x 16 GA. CONT. (BY GENERAL CONT.) in a metal stud wall.

Note the words "by general contractor". The standard says in-wall blocking and backing "are not to be furnished or installed by the architectural woodwork manufacturer or installer" (AWS 10.1, 14.1). The drafter's job is to show where the blocking must be and at what height, so the trade that owns it can put it in before the wall is boarded. Chapter 18 covers the fixings themselves (chapter 18).

Three more wall-cabinet details the sample set draws, and why:

• Upper cabinet bottom. 1" REQUIRED FOR SPAN OVER 42". That is the AWS rule for particleboard or MDF bottoms, drawn on the detail where the shop will read it.
• Light fascia. The bottom is exposed from below. The standard makes the underside of cabinet bottoms more than 42" (1067 mm) above the floor an exposed exterior surface (chapter 12).
• Scribe to ceiling. A 3/4" scribe, 1 1/2" MAX. Scribe fillers over 1-1/2" (38.1 mm) wide are outside the standard's rule for Custom and Premium work (rule 23.2.1).

Appliances, sinks and openings

A carcass is often a frame around something the woodworker does not supply. The standard's typical exclusions include "special equipment housed in cabinets", plumbing and electrical fixtures, and sink rims (AWS 10.2, 3). The opening is still yours to size. The residential submittal in hand shows the pattern well. Its beverage cooler section gives the clear opening as 21 3/4 CLEAR wide and 34 CLEAR high, with a note to VERIFY FITMENT. That is the right move: dimension the hole, not the appliance, and flag it for verification against the appliance's own installation sheet.

At a sink, the base cabinet usually has no full top. The standard allows stretchers at sink compartments to run front to back instead of side to side (rule 13.1.1). The Woodwork Institute sample adds NOTE CUT-OUT FOR SINK MUST BE SEALED on its bullnose edge detail. Sealing a cut edge is a note, and it belongs on the sheet where the cut is drawn.

What a carcass section must show

A carcass section answers the shop's questions without a phone call. Check yours against this list.

1. Construction type, frameless or face frame, stated in words once on the set and shown in every section.
2. Every panel's material and thickness: ends, divisions, top or stretchers, bottom, back, shelves, nailers, toe (chapter 11).
3. How the back is fixed: dadoed, rabbeted or screwed on, with its inset from the rear edge.
4. Toe height and recess, and whether the toe is integral or separate.
5. Overall height, depth and width, with the countertop drawn and dimensioned so the stack can be added up.
6. Fixed shelf positions, and adjustable shelf supports: line bore or standards.
7. Anchor strip positions and the blocking they need, with who supplies the blocking.
8. Scribes and fillers, with maximum widths.
9. Openings for anything supplied by others, dimensioned clear, marked to verify.
10. The joint method at each corner, or a general note that says what it is (chapter 13).

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Sources

• Architectural Woodwork Standards, 2nd Edition, 1 October 2014, © AWI, AWMAC, WI. Full text hosted by the Woodwork Institute (woodworkinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2ndEdAWS_SmBkMrkd_141001.pdf). Section 10, Casework, printed pp. 288 and 291 (construction and hinge terminology), 297–299 (interface default, industry practices, dimension ranges, floor and wall tolerances, toe shimming, reveals), 301–302 (typical exclusions, default stipulation), 316–318 and 321–323 (ends, tops and bottoms, stretchers, backs, toe bases, shelves, anchor strips, joinery tolerance, scribes). Superseded for jobs bid under later editions; see chapter 19. Primary (superseded edition).
• Architectural Woodwork Standards, 1st Edition, 2009, Section 10 excerpt hosted by the Woodwork Institute (WI_AWS_sec10NM.pdf), rules 1.2.17 and 1.2.18: the Type A and Type B construction names and the Style 1 and Style 2 interface names. Primary (superseded edition).
• Blum, Inc., Process 32, drawing BUS0126, pages 1–3, dated 2003–04, hosted by WOODWEB (woodweb.com/knowledge_base_images/ms/Process32_041204.pdf). Base cabinet side height, toe height, depth, panel thickness, hole line, door and drawer front heights and reveals. A manufacturer's drawing for its own system; old, so check a current Blum document before relying on a hardware position. Primary.
• Woodwork Institute, Sample Shop Drawings, 26 sheets, watermarked, fictitious names. Specification requirements sheet (case body lines, substitution note), typical joinery detail sheets 4–6 of 10 (nailers, upper cabinet bottom, scribe, sink cut-out), anchorage sheet 7 of 10, elevation sheets (toe shimming note). Document.
• A residential millwork submittal, 16 sheets, revision 0, section sheets 09 and 10: stone top and overall height, cooler opening dimensions and verify note. Not reproduced: live job. Document.

Two things in the outline for this chapter are left out for lack of a source I could open: what each construction type costs, and typical stock box widths. Neither goes up until a published price list or a manufacturer's range sheet is in hand.