How to calculate edge banding for furniture

Edge banding is the thing most often forgotten when ordering a piece of furniture: it gets bought by eye, and half of it is left over or you end up half a metre short. Here you will see which sides get edge banding, how to add up the metres part by part, how much extra to buy and which thickness and width to choose, with a bookcase as the example.

What edge banding is

Edge banding is the strip that covers the edge of a melamine or chipboard panel. It protects the edge from knocks and moisture and gives it the same finish as the face: white, oak or the colour of the board. It is sold by the metre, in rolls.

Which sides get edge banding

The ones you see or touch. Whatever goes against the wall or is hidden by another part does not need it.

• Side panels, top, base and shelves: the front edge. On a bookcase, the side panels also get the top edge, which is visible.
• Doors and drawer fronts: all four sides.
• HDF back panels and drawer bottoms: none.
• In kitchens and bathrooms, also the sides that may get wet: chipboard without edge banding swells with water.

The four sides of a part

To avoid mix-ups, each side has a name. L1 and L2 are the two long sides, the ones that measure the length of the part; W1 and W2 are the two short ones, which measure the width. That is how SliceLab marks them, and how many panel suppliers ask for them.

How to work out the metres

Part by part: add up the length of the sides with edge banding and multiply by the quantity of that part. Then add together all the parts that take the same edge banding, the same colour and the same thickness.

Edge banding of a part = (length × long sides banded + width × short sides banded) × quantity

An example: a bookcase

A bookcase in 19 mm white melamine, 800 mm wide, 1800 high and 300 deep, with three shelves and an HDF back nailed on behind. The side panels run from top to bottom; the top and the base go between them, so they measure 800 − 19 − 19 = 762 mm. The shelves are 2 mm shorter so they go in without forcing, and 20 mm less deep.

19 mm white edge banding: 4200 + 1524 + 2280 = 8004 mm, about 8.0 m, on 9 sides

How much extra to buy

Edge banding is applied slightly longer than the side and then trimmed. Add about 5 cm for each banded side: the bookcase has 9, so 45 cm more, and you buy 8.5 m. If you would rather not count sides, 10 % extra is usually enough.

Thickness and width

• Thickness: 0.4 mm for edges that take no wear, such as shelves and interiors; 1 mm, the most common; 2 mm for edges that get knocked: doors, drawer fronts and desk tops.
• Width: a few millimetres more than the board thickness, because it is trimmed afterwards: 19 or 22 mm for 16 mm board, 22 or 23 mm for 19 mm and 28 mm for 25 mm.
• Pre-glued or not: pre-glued edge banding has the glue on it and is applied with an iron; the plain kind needs an edge bander or contact adhesive.

Count each different edge banding separately: a unit with a white carcass and oak doors is two totals, and sometimes two thicknesses too.

Do you subtract the edge banding from the size?

With 0.4 mm edge banding you will not notice. With 1 or 2 mm, every banded side adds that thickness to the part: a 716 × 398 mm door with 2 mm edge banding on all four sides would end up 720 × 402. If you cut and band it yourself, cut the part smaller, here 712 × 394 mm. If your supplier does the banding, ask: most work to finished sizes and allow for it themselves.

The metres of edge banding hardly change because of this, a few millimetres per side: count them with the size of the part.

Work it out with SliceLab

In SliceLab you mark the banded sides of each part, and the plan gives you the metres of each edge banding, split by material and thickness, without the extra for the ends. The button below opens this bookcase with its edge banding already marked. You can also paste this into Import sheets and parts (CSV / Excel):

Sheet;Length;Width;Quantity;Grain;Material;Thickness
S1;2440;1220;0;0;White melamine;19
S2;2440;1220;0;0;HDF;3

Part;Length;Width;Quantity;Rotate;Grain;Material;Thickness;Edge L1;Edge L2;Edge W1;Edge W2;Sheet
Side panel;1800;300;2;1;0;White melamine;19;1;0;1;0;S1
Top and base;762;300;2;1;0;White melamine;19;1;0;0;0;S1
Shelf;760;280;3;1;0;White melamine;19;1;0;0;0;S1
Back panel;1796;796;1;1;0;HDF;3;0;0;0;0;S2

The whole bookcase comes out of a single 2440 × 1220 mm white sheet, and the back panel out of an HDF one.

Yours has other measurements? Enter its height, width, depth and shelves in the bookcase cut list calculator: it gives you the cut list with its edge banding, the metres of banding and how many sheets to buy.

Common mistakes

• Adding up all four sides of every part: hardly any part has them all.
• Buying the exact metres, without the extra for the ends.
• Putting edge banding of different colours or thicknesses into one total.
• Not subtracting thick edge banding on a door, which then rubs.