With these basic techniques, you can learn how to install kitchen cabinets straight, solid and true.
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Install kitchen cabinet base, wall and peninsula using professional techniques. Hanging cabinets is easy and you'll save on your next kitchen remodel.
Learning how to install kitchen cabinets may seem intimidating, but the techniques are really quite simple. Think of it as screwing a series of boxes to the wall and to one another in the proper sequence. If your cabinet plan is correct, your main job is to find the best starting point and keep everything level.
Here, we’ll show you how to install kitchen cabinets and master these key steps. We’ll tell you how to lay out the cabinet positions beforehand to avoid missteps. Then we’ll show you how to install the base cabinets so they’re perfectly aligned and ready to be measured for the new countertop. Last, we’ll show you a simple method for installing the upper wall cabinets. The entire project typically takes less than a day. Depending on how large and elaborate your kitchen is, you’ll save at least $500 (and probably much more) in installation charges.
You only need a few basic tools to do a first-class job. You’ll need an accurate 4-ft. level, a screw gun powerful enough to drive 2-1/2-in. screws and a couple of good screw clamps that open to at least 8 in. Buy a 1/8-in. combination drill/countersink bit for predrilling the screw holes. You’ll also need a block plane or belt sander to fine-tune the cuts to fit. A 1-lb. box of 2-1/2-in. screws and three bundles of shims will be enough for nearly any kitchen full of cabinets.
The cabinets shown in this project are called “face frame” cabinets, meaning they have a 3/4-in.- thick frame surrounding the front of the cabinet box. “European” style (also called “frameless”) cabinets are simple boxes without the face frame, and they require a few special installation steps that we won’t cover in this article.
We won’t cover planning and ordering your cabinets here. Just about any home center or lumberyard that sells factory-built cabinets will help you custom-design your kitchen cabinet layout. All the staff needs is a drawing of your existing kitchen floor plan, complete with exact appliance locations and room dimensions.
But before you finalize the order, closely examine the computer screen and/or printout to make sure doors swing in the right direction, end cabinets have finished panels on the ends, and toe-kick boards (1/4-in.-thick strips of finished wood for trimming cabinet bases) and filler strips are included. We highly recommend that you order at least two extra filler strips for backups in case of miscuts. Keep a copy of the printout; you’ll need it to guide your installation.
When your cabinets arrive, open the boxes immediately and confirm that each cabinet matches the one on the plan, all the parts are included and there’s no damage. A single mistake can delay the entire project. In our order, one cabinet was 6 in. undersized, the toe-kick trim boards were missing, and two of the cabinets were seriously damaged. Believe me, it happens!
