Handle Hole Centres Explained: A UK Sizing Guide
Hole centres are the one measurement that decides whether a new handle fits your cabinets or means reaching for the drill. It's a simple number once you know where to look, and getting it right is the difference between a ten-minute refresh and an afternoon of filling and redrilling. This guide explains what hole centres are, how to measure them, and which sizes suit which doors and drawers.
What "hole centres" means
Most handles fix to a door or drawer with two screws from behind. The hole centres — sometimes called fixing centres or centre-to-centre — is the distance between the middle of one screw hole and the middle of the other.
It is not the overall length of the handle. A handle with 128mm hole centres might measure 140mm or more end to end, depending on its shape. When you're shopping for handles, the hole centres is the number to match.
How to measure your existing handles
- Unscrew one handle — it's easiest to measure the holes in the door itself, with the handle off.
- Measure centre to centre — place your tape in the middle of one hole and read the distance to the middle of the other. Measuring edge to edge on the same side of each hole gives the same result.
- Measure in millimetres — UK handles are sold in metric sizes, and a few millimetres out is enough to stop a screw lining up.
If you can't remove a handle, measure from the centre of one screw head to the other on the inside of the door.
Standard UK sizes
Most kitchen cabinets are built on a 32mm system, so handle sizes tend to step up in 32mm increments. That's why the same numbers appear again and again.
| Hole centres | Typically used on |
|---|---|
| 64mm | Small drawers, compact cup handles |
| 96mm | Cup handles, small drawers and doors |
| 128mm | Standard doors and drawers — the most common kitchen size |
| 160mm | Standard doors, medium drawers |
| 192mm | Wider drawers and doors |
| 224mm and above | Pan drawers, tall larder and fridge doors |
Older kitchens sometimes use imperial sizes. A 3¾-inch handle (95.25mm) is very close to 96mm and will often fit, but the holes differ by 0.75mm, so measure your existing holes before you order. A 3-inch handle (76mm) won't match any metric size.
Choosing a size for each door and drawer
A handle should feel in proportion with what it's fixed to. As a guide:
- Drawers — aim for a handle roughly a third of the drawer's width. On a 600mm drawer, that points to around 192mm centres. Our cup handles sit at 96mm centres, which suits most drawer fronts.
- Base and wall unit doors — 128mm to 160mm feels balanced on most standard doors.
- Tall units and wide pan drawers — go longer, 224mm and up, so the handle doesn't look lost.
Knobs and T-bar knobs fix with a single screw, so there's no centre measurement to match — they'll fit any door with one central hole.
Replacing handles without redrilling
The simplest route is to match your existing hole centres exactly. If you'd like a different size or style, you have two good options:
- Choose a handle with a backplate — the plate sits behind the handle and covers old holes or marks around them, giving you freedom to change size.
- Fill and redrill — the last resort. Filled holes can show through on painted and wood-grain doors, so it's best kept for doors you plan to repaint.
A note on screw length
Most kitchen doors and drawer fronts are 18–22mm thick, and standard handle screws are sized to suit. If your doors are thicker, or you're adding a backplate, you may need slightly longer screws — measure the door thickness and allow a few millimetres for the thread to bite into the handle.
Measure once, choose with confidence
Know your hole centres and the rest falls into place: the right size, a clean fit, and no unexpected drilling. If you're still deciding on style and finish, our guide to choosing kitchen cabinet handles walks through the options. Then browse our ranges by size to find the handle that fits — because home is in the details.