Thursday, August 15, 2013

Installing a Kitchen Cabinet

Installing a Kitchen Cabinet

Preparing the Wall or Floor

    Installing your own kitchen cabinets can save you a lot of money, and it's really not that hard to do. If the preparation is done correctly, you will have a nice level cabinet to hold your dishes or food.
    It's important to check the wall or floor for level before you begin. Unfortunately, most are not level and you must take steps to correct it. Use a level 2-by-4 board and a carpenter's level to check the wall or floor. You can either use shims, a floor leveler compound or scribing of the cabinet to make the cabinet fit level. Walls can have the sheetrock scraped or sanded, if needed, or shimmed if you level the wall out. Another important step is to find your studs and mark them above or below where you will install the cabinet. This way you will be able to see the mark when the cabinet is in place. Once you have done this, you are ready to line up the cabinet for installation.

Installing a Base Cabinet

    If you are installing just one cabinet into the base, run a line from the top of the other cabinets over the area where you are placing the new one. Dry fit the cabinet by setting it into place and checking for level and plumb. If it needs to be shimmed or planed to be level, you may have to take it out and put it back in a few times to get it level. This is necessary though, to keep your countertop and door fitting properly. Once you have the cabinet level, you can attach it to the wall by screwing into the stud. Then you can screw a 2 -inch deck screw from the face frame of the new cabinet into the face frame of the adjacent cabinet. The holes should be pre-drilled to avoid splitting the wood on the cabinet, and clamps can be used to hold the two cabinets together while fastening. All that's left now is finishing with shelves, a countertop and a kick plate. If this is an addition to the rest of your cabinets and you can't match your countertop, you can always use a chopping block top.

Installing a Wall Cabinet

    Use a laser level or a carpenter's level to draw a line for the top of your cabinet. If you are installing more than one wall cabinet it may be easier to fasten a few together on the floor and then raise them all at once to attach to the wall. There are several ways to hold the cabinets on the wall while attaching them. One is a hydraulic bottle jack. This is probably the best way, but if you don't have access to one, then you can stack things on the counter below and shim at the top of the stack until the assembly is level. You can also have a couple friends hold it in place, but unless they can hold it really steady, then this method won't work. Use 3 -inch screws to screw the cabinet into the studs in the wall. Then attach to the adjacent cabinet in the same manner as the base cabinet, if there are any adjacent cabinets. Make sure you hit the studs in the top of the cabinets as that is where the weight will try to pull the cabinet down. If in doubt, add another screw and never use nails as they will pull out much easier than screws. Place your shelves in the cabinet and install the door on the hinges. To finish, adjust the door at the hinges and make sure it is level and shutting properly.

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