Scribe
Scribing is the craft of cutting a piece of cabinetry to follow the exact shape of a wall, floor or ceiling that is not straight. Almost no wall is perfectly flat or plumb, especially in older homes. Without scribing, a straight cabinet would leave visible gaps against a wavy wall.
The usual method: hold the cabinet or filler piece in place, run a compass along the wall so its point follows every bump while the pencil traces the same shape on the cabinet, then trim to that line. When the piece is set back in place, it sits tight against the wall with no gap.
Scribe is also a name for the finishing pieces. Scribe moulding is a thin, flexible strip of trim, often about a quarter-inch thick, applied after cabinets are installed to cover small gaps along walls, ceilings and floors. A filler strip is a wider flat piece that closes bigger gaps and is often scribed to the wall as well. Roughly speaking, fillers close inches and scribe closes fractions of an inch.
Scribing matters most on tall, full-height cabinets, built-ins, and runs that end at a wall, where a small gap really shows. It is one of the details that separates a custom install from a stock one.
See our built-ins and closets or custom kitchens in Toronto.