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You might be thinking that you can save a lot on the installation by doing it yourself. The truth of the matter is that unless you have all of the right cabinet installation tools, it is a difficult job, or you will end up spending more buying the tools for installation of cabinets. Aside from that, you should have ideas about modern kitchen cabinets, to make sure that your project will be a successful one.
To help you prepare for cabinet knob installation, cabinet hardware installation, cabinet doors installation and the rest of cabinet installation, our experts have created this guide. Use these tips to install your own kitchen cabinets like a pro.
Find The Floor’s High Spot
To get your base cabinet installation right, you have to make the floor beneath it level so it sits on a solid foundation. Unfortunately, in most older homes the floor isn’t flat after years of settlement in the floor joists below.
You need to do something to make sure the base cabinets sit in a level way for when you want to chop veggies or store bowls. The steps to find the high spot and then base cabinet installation are:
- Put the base cabinets in place and level them against the wall with shims.
- Mark a line on the wall where the base cabinet will be installed.
- Make sure you can adjust the heights of the dishwasher, stove and any other appliances to match the base cabinet height.
- Cut cabinets down on high spots, and shim them up on low spots to create a level base cabinet.
Once your base cabinets are all leveled and matching with the appliances, you are ready to install them permanently. This is a crucial step that will make your kitchen cabinet installation turn out much better and last longer. Aside from that, you can make your kitchen cabinets last longer. It is simply by cleaning and maintaining it in pristine condition. If you don’t have all the time to do such, then hiring maid services can surely help you out. This way, you can keep your kitchen cabinets all clean and well-maintained.
Begin With The Room’s Corners
In this stage you need to make sure that the corners are square and that the entire run of the base cabinets will fit into the room. If the room is out of square, you need to adjust the angle of the cabinets to make up for that.
When a corner is slightly greater than 90 degrees, you can make up for that by putting the longer corner cabinet against the wall, then adjusting the shorter cabinet to fit. This means you can have the shorter cabinet a little bit away from the wall to have a good fit.
In case the corner is a bit less than 90 degrees, you have to hold the long cabinet in enough that the short cabinet fits and the wall cabinets end in the correct spot. If the corners are too far out of square, you might need to shave drywall to make the cabinets fit.
On Upper Cabinets, Measure From Top Down
Upper cabinets should be measured starting where the top of the cabinet will be aligned against the wall. To find that top spot, measure from the high spot to where you want the upper cabinets to be, then snap a chalk line around the room.
Next, get the length of the upper cabinets and measure down from your top line, then snap another chalk line at that point. Building codes stipulate that you should leave at least 18 inches between the top of the countertops and the bottom of the upper cabinets.
Make sure you have that much space before moving ahead with your project. Measure all along your cabinet installation lines between the upper and base cabinets, ensuring that you have 18 inches everywhere, but you may want a little more for safety’s sake. It’s also important to look for kitchen cabinet door types that will fit in this kind of design.
Take Measures To Minimize Wall Repairs
This is a critical step if you have wiring or plumbing that will go inside of your kitchen cabinet installation project. You need to know and make the precise location of all wiring and plumbing so that you don’t end up needing to make repairs later.
It’s better to make your through hole too high rather than too low, because you can fix a hole that is too high much easier. If you aren’t totally sure of your holes, make them an inch or two high and you will save yourself some work in the end.
If you make your hole too high, you can cut a slot in the wall and slide the wire down to match the hole in the cabinets. The other way around is to leave an unsightly gouge in your wall that you will need to repair if you want the job to look professional. It’s also important to mix and match colors that will complement everything in your kitchen. There are kitchen cabinet color ideas that you can check for preferences.
Hang Uppers First During Cabinet Installation
It is much easier to hang the upper cabinets first because you can use a ladder underneath and supports if you need to. If you did it the other way around, the base cabinets would be in the way and you would risk damaging them.
You want to have a good support system in place so that your upper cabinets can be hung without dropping them. It is best to have at least two people working while hanging the upper cabinets and the work will go faster and turn out better.
Try to get a few of the most critical screws sunk into the wall first so that you can be sure the upper cabinets will stay in place. Once you have a couple of screws tight into the wall, the job becomes much easier.
Make Sure Your Cabinets Are Plumb And Level
If the walls are out of plumb, meaning they lean in or out, there should be gaps between the cabinets and the wall. You fill these gaps with strips that allow the cabinets to be tight against the wall, but still in a perfect plumb position.
Check for level often while working. If for some reason the cabinets get off, go back a step until you can fix the problem. There is nothing worse than a shelf that leans. If your living in a condo, you might as well check for some condo kitchen remodeling tips and ideas.
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