Learn how to install new kitchen cabinets using purchased cabinet kits.
The do-it-yourself property owner is remodeling a cabin and installing new cabinets. He has already removed the old cabinetry, refinished the floor, painted the walls, and purchased new cabinet kits. The home improvement store where he bought the new white melamine cabinets provided him with a scale drawing showing the styles, size, and location of each cabinet to assist in visualizing the finished project.
Familiarize yourself with the scale drawing and instructions provided by the manufacturer of your cabinet kit. Assemble your tools and materials and draft a friend to help you- some portions of the installation process definitely require two people.
Lay out the position for the upper wall cabinets, placing the lower edge 54 inches off the floor. We computed this distance by adding the height of the base cabinet, thickness of the countertop, and the clearance space underneath the hanging cabinets. The base cabinet will rest on the floor and come up the wall about 34 1/2-inches. The countertop sits on top of that base and occupies about 1 1/2 inches. The bottom of the wall cabinet will start 18 inches above the counter.
Use a level and straightedge to mark the 54-inch elevation on the wall.
Fasten a temporary one-by-four along that level line for temporary support while you mount the upper wall cabinets. Leave the nails holding the one-by-four slightly extended rather than driving them flush with the wall. The protruding nail heads will make this ledger easier to remove.
Unpack the cabinet kit components on a padded work surface such as the floor in preparation for assembling all the individual cabinets. Carefully read the step-by-step instructions provided by the manufacturer to ensure that you do not miss important information.
Install the wooden dowels to help strengthen and position the parts for cabinet assembly, first applying glue to predrilled holes. Spread it around with a nail to thoroughly coat the inside surface of each hole.
Insert the dowels and tap them into place with a hammer.
Insert the posts (from the cam and post assembly system the kit uses) into their intended holes. This joinery system is a knock-down fastening system, because the cams and posts remove easily (knocked-down), unlike a glued and screwed assembly. Each pair of joining cabinet components will be locked together when the posts fit horizontally into their respective cams, and the cams pull the post firmly inside when tightened. We have to press with the side of the hammer to insert each post in its snug pre-drilled hole and then tap the post once with the hammer to seat it.
Insert the cams in the intended holes next, ensuring that the opening on the side of each cam aligns with the pre-drilled hole on the edge of the cabinet panel. Tap each cam gently with a hammer to ensure the head is flush with the white melamine surface. Be careful not to scuff or dimple the melamine with the hammer.
Fit the panel with the dowels and posts directly over the panels with the cams.
Gently turn the cams a quarter-turn to lock the pieces together. Use a Phillips-head screwdriver.
Slip the cabinet backs into precut grooves once you have three sides of a cabinet module constructed - that is, the bottom and two vertical sides.
Add the top. The pieces fit snugly, so we use a plastic mallet to tap them into place without damaging the melamine finish. Again, give the cams a quarter-turn to pull the post inward and lock the panels together.
Attach the hinges next, inserting screws in the pre-drilled holes in the correct side panel of each cabinet and in the doors. The predrilled holes make measuring unnecessary. Repeat steps 6 through 14 for each individual cabinet.
Arrange the individual cabinets that will join to make a wall unit, setting them face up on a flat surface. Our first unit comprises three cabinets. Confirm that the cabinet faces are flush with each other. If necessary, use a temporary shim (or a handy putty knife) beneath the low cabinet to raise it and make the edges flush with the adjacent modules while you join them. Easier to perform on the floor than the wall, this process also ensures that the cabinet doors are flush.
Clamp the cabinets together to maintain the flush position of the surfaces while you attach them permanently to each other with wood screws.
Locate and mark the wall studs in the corner where you are installing the unit of three cabinets. An electronic stud finder simplifies the job of finding wall studs.
Examine the back of the cabinets and note the reinforced strip along the outer perimeter of each module- as opposed to the thinner lighter particleboard in the middle. The heavier strip is a reinforced hanging strip-you must drive the screws through the hanging strip and into the wall studs marked earlier for maximum support. You will need to transfer the wall stud locations to the insides of the cabinet.
Set the bottom edge of the cabinet against the temporary ledger installed against the wall earlier. Have a second person steady the unit, pushing against the corners of the wall, while the ledger bears most of the weight. When you have it properly positioned, drive screws through the hanging strip into the studs with a power drill.
Remove the ledger strip and install it in position under the next module to be wall-mounted. Mount the other hanging wall cabinets, repeating steps 15 through 20.
Mount drawer glides (the first component of the drawer glide system) on the inside vertical edges of each drawer opening before assembling the base cabinets. Use the same dowel-, post-, and cam-assembly process on the base cabinets.
Install the second component of the glide system hardware, runners that mount on the lower, side edges of the drawer. The drawer runners will rest on the glides, moving smoothly as the drawer opens and closes.
Remove the baseboard trim from the area under the base cabinets to install the cabinets flush with the wall. Insert a putty knife between the trim and wall to protect the wall as you use a pry bar to loosen the trim. If you remove the trim carefully and without damage, you may reinstall parts of it later as necessary. This is a good time to locate and mark the wall studs, too.
Install the first base cabinet module - for us, that is the sink base. We have drilled openings in its deck for the water supply lines and the drain - you must measure and fit these for yourself. We also centered the cabinet base beneath the windows.
Use a bar level to ensure that the base is level left to right, and front to back.
Raise the cabinet on the low side if it is not level, inserting a glued, tapered shim underneath until the cabinet elevation is level.
Use a utility knife to score the shim where it protrudes at the edge of the cabinet and then break off the excess.
Attach it to the wall studs marked earlier and to its neighboring cabinets after clamping them together to hold them in position. Repeat steps 25 through 28 as necessary to attach other base cabinets.
Attach short pieces of wood (cleats) to the tops of the base cabinet units where they abut, setting them perpendicular to the wall. The cleats provide a stout surface for attaching the countertop.
Install the sink and the plumbing hardware in the countertop before your mount it.
Drive screws through the cleats and into the countertop from the bottom side.
Nail the toe kick (kick plate) on the front of the cabinets at floor level.
Trim and replace baseboards where appropriate. If they are scuffed, painting them before you reinstall them will save time and require only a dab of wood putty and paint to conceal nail holes on completion.
Slide in the appliances, taking care not to scratch the floor or injure your back. Add curtains and some kitchen decorations and your project is complete.
