highfigh,
just as you don't read minds, the cabinet guys don't read minds. They think they're asking a question that will define the opening you need. You think they're asking... what? Someone has to define what extra space is needed, and it should have been both you AND the cabinet guy. If you've got a guy pulling wire for you, do you tell him how much should hang down from the ceiling, or do you let him possibly just run the wire two inches into the room? When I'm working with someone else, I tell him how long the wire should be in the room, even if it's the same guy I worked with last week. Read the part of my signature about communication.

It's simply something I've learned: people speak about what they understand. The cabinet guy wants stuff to fit, so he asks how big it would be. We know how big our stuff is, so we tell him. The reality is that both we and the cabinetmaker are at fault if neither one of us recognizes that extra space is needed. I mean, nobody's going to want a cabinet where the components will fit if you grease their sides and shove them in.

If you have a receiver that's 6 1/2" high and the cabinet guy asks how tall the (oops, TALL, there's another dimension) receiver is, will you tell him 6 1/2" or will you think about how much air space you need above it and tell him you need ten inches clear?

That's another one -- tell him CLEAR to get him to think about whether something he's building will get in the way of the dimension you're calling out. and yes, I learned this by getting too small of a space, and asking the cabinet guy what would have told him what I really needed.

Rough depth or finish depth? Finish depth. I am not going to specify what the cabinetmaker does when he's halfway through his process. I'll specify the dimension at the end of the process. And now you've taught me to say "finish depth."

Re your electrical circuit issue, we're working, on and off, on a 1930s house right now. A camera that had been working stopped working some time ago, but the camera system was apart so we didn't notice when it happened. We determined that the flooring guys cut the wire when they redid a floor, so walls and floor have to be opened if that's to be fixed. We were able to locate the hidden end of the wire with our toners, so we KNOW what happened.

As for strong or short, those are descriptions of how exact to be. They're not names of the actual dimension. I was going for the "wide" of a dimension, not "how wide." I did forget "tall," though, and I've been quoting that for a dozen years! Also, words like that should NEVER be used because they hand the cabinet guy an excuse for any dimensional mistake he makes. What if his concept of strong or short isn't identical to yours? NEVER give approximate dimensions!!!! Again, read my signature. That's my signature because I find communicating to be crucial and difficult, even when we think we are being totally clear.

The reason this pissed me off so much -- What was it that pissed you off? The bold print makes it look like you're pissed off, but you're not actually SHOUTING... but after all the things you wrote, I can't tell what "it" is.