Before you go shopping for a file cabinet, measure the space where you want to put it. This might help you figure out what size file cabinet will fit in the space you have. Most of the time, a vertical file cabinet takes up less space on the floor than a horizontal one. In some cases, it can hold more files than a row of four-drawer file cabinets. This might be a better choice if you manage files for a medical office or school, which is likely if you keep a lot of records.
The standard height of a vertical file cabinet is between 29 and 60 inches (29, 40, 52, and 60 inches). Depending on how many drawers are used in the design, vertical files can be different heights. A cabinet with two drawers is 29 inches tall, a cabinet with three drawers is 40 inches tall, a cabinet with four drawers is 52 inches tall, and a cabinet with five drawers is 60 inches tall.
There are two to five drawers in these filing cabinets. Usually, the height of each vertical file cabinet is 29 inches, 40 inches, 52 inches, or 60 inches. Letter- and legal-sized papers can be kept in drawers that are made just for them.
A basic vertical file cabinet in an office is 28.12 inches deep and can hold files that are up to 27 inches long. There are also shallower cabinets, such as 25-inch-deep cabinets with 23-inch-deep drawers and 26-inch-deep cabinets with 25-inch-deep drawers. When uninformed customers compare prices, they often compare units with shallow and deep drawers by accident.
If you already have a drawer that is the right size, you can use it instead of making a new one. Follow my simple drawer instructions if you want to make a new one, but change the size to fit the files. My drawer is 14″ wide by 10″ deep. When building your cabinet, make sure to leave 1″ of space above the top of the file drawer so that the hanging file tabs can clear the faceframe or drawer above the files.
Before making a drawer into a file cabinet, one of the first things to do is to measure how big the inside is. For most hanging frame uses and to keep files from sliding, your drawer should have at least 10 “of the height inside. Also, there should be 1-1/4 “enough space above the folder tabs in the drawer so that they don’t get caught when the drawer is opened and closed. Some types of file cabinet rails, like side mount, need drawers to be about 12 “The inside is wide.
The wide but shallow drawers of a lateral file make it a good choice for filing a lot of papers. Because lateral files have short drawer extensions, they are great for hallways and other places where a lot of filing needs to be done in a small space. Most lateral files are between 32″ and 36″ wide, which is big enough to hold letter- and legal-sized papers that can be put back to front or side by side. Most units with two drawers are thin enough to fit under a work surface. There can be as few as two drawers or as many as seven drawers in a lateral file.
How tall are the drawers in a file cabinet?
Two-drawer lateral cabinets stand 28 inches tall, three-drawer lateral cabinets stand 40 inches tall, and four-drawer lateral cabinets stand between 50 and 53 inches tall. A file with five drawers is between 64 and 66 inches tall.
How big is a lateral file’s drawer?
Most lateral files are between 32″ and 36” wide, which is big enough to hold letter- and legal-sized papers that can be put back to front or side by side.
How big is a filing cabinet with two drawers?
The product measures 28.38 “H x 15″ W x 25″ D.
What should the size of a file drawer be?
letter-sized document Drawers need to be exactly 12 15/16″ wide for wood that is 1/2″ thick and 13 3/16″ wide for wood that is 5/8″ thick. Due to the thinner material, Baltic birch file drawers should be exactly 12 7/8″ for 9-ply and 13 1/8″ for 11-ply. For legal-sized files, the drawers must be 15 15/16″ deep for things that are 1/2″ thick and 16 3/16″ deep for things that are 5/8″ thick.
A vertical file cabinet or a lateral file cabinet?
Unlike lateral file cabinets, vertical file cabinets are not as big. Even though vertical file cabinets are common because they take up less wall space, most paperwork is kept in lateral file cabinets.
What sizes of filing cabinets are there?
For letter or legal size folders, these cabinets are usually 12 inches (300 mm) or 18 inches (460 mm) deep. They come in widths of 30 inches (760 mm), 36 inches (910 mm), 42 inches (1,100 mm), and 45 inches (1,100 mm), but they are usually only used in applications with 5 or 6 shelves.
How big is an A4 filing cabinet?
The typical size of an A4 file is 330mm wide and 240mm deep.
How many different kinds of file cabinets are there?
The most common types of file cabinets are vertical and lateral. The vertical file cabinet has drawers that stick out from the shorter side of the cabinet. On the other hand, the drawers on a lateral file cabinet stick out from the longer side of the cabinet.
What’s the difference between a legal file cabinet and a letter file cabinet?
In comparison, the files in legal size file cabinets are 8-1/2″ x 14″, while the most common size of paper in letter size file cabinets is 8-1/2″ x 11”.
What are the problems with the side-by-side filing system?
DISADVANTAGES It can be hard to use files from later on. Lateral files are heavy and hard to move, especially when they have a lot of papers in them. They can also be very pricey and take up a lot of space on the floor.
Can a dresser be converted into a filing cabinet?
To fit a normal letter-sized hanging filing system, which needs a dresser drawer at least a foot high, you may need to combine the bottom two rows of drawers into one unit by cutting the bottom out of the upper drawer and making a new drawer front that connects both rows.
How far does a two-drawer file cabinet go?
“The Deep 2-Drawer Metal File Cabinet was made for use at home or in a small office.”
What is the difference between a vertical file cabinet and a lateral file cabinet?
Folders are stored in systems that run parallel to the front of the drawer and are called “lateral storage.” So, the depth of a lateral file cabinet is almost the same as the length of a standard file folder. In vertical storage systems, folders are stacked vertically on the same plane as the front of the drawer.