How to Install Kitchen Cabinets

Installing kitchen cabinets can be the best of times,and the worst. Best, because it marks the completion of an arduous task; worst. because installation of perfect cabinets in an imperfect kitchen is sure to put your cabinetmaking skills to the test. Until now, you have worked on paper and in the relative calm of your workshop, carefully crafting your cabinets one by one. But a kitchen is not a workshop. When you bring your cabinets on site and start installing them, you may find yourself dealing with problems you had not anticipated, often working against the clock.

For example, no matter how painstakingly you have executed your story poles and built your cabinets to their specifications, there will undoubtedly be gaps between the carcases and the walls, floors, and ceilings. This is because the walls of a room, unlike your cabinets, are rarely straight. Fortunately, out-of-plumb walls can easily be straightened by adding additional rails to the end cabinets and scribing them. The scribe rail can then be planed or sanded to conform to the wall.

The chapter that follows guides you through the steps and techniques necessary to install your kitchen cabinets and make sure they are plumb and level. A general review of installation techniques outlines several options for installing both lower and upper cabinet runs.

Pinpointing irregularities in kitchen surfaces is covered. Lower cabinet runs are usually installed first, followed by the upper cabinets. Some cabinetmakers, however, install the upper cabinets first, arguing that it is easier to do this task with the lower cabinets out of the way. While either option will work, stand-alone kitchen peninsulas and islands are best installed last, as they can create traffic jams during installation, no matter how well they are expect to worked in the finished kitchen.

Placed on levelers, plinths, or their own integral bases, the lower cabinets are shimmed from behind so their faces are plumb and aligned flush with each other, then the cases are fastened to the wall studs. Utility hookups such as hot and cold water supplies, drain pipes, and electrical outlets require special planning. Before installing cabinets around such hookups, check with a professional plumber and electrician to ensure that the pipes are sound and the wiring is in good condition. Upper cabinets are mounted using nailer rails, European-style supports, or beveled wooden support rails. As in the lower cabinets, variations in the length of a cabinet run may call for filler snips to bridge gaps between cabinets. The final touch is decorative crown molding, which dresses the joint between the cabinets and the ceiling.

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