So, you've decided to remodel your kitchen and you are starting with your cabinets? Or maybe you are looking at installing kitchen cabinets in your new home. Whatever the case may be, you want to ensure that the installation goes smoothly. To ensure that this is the case, here are a few kitchen cabinet installation tips that relate to the layout:
Tip #1: Locate the High Spot
The first thing you will want to do is to utilize a laser level as well as a tape measure to find a high spot. After all, most kitchen floors – unless you are living in a brand new home – are not perfectly level and you will not be able to simply place your kitchen cabinets on the floor and be done.
You will then measure up the wall the height of the cabinets and create a mark on the wall to determine where the top of your cabinets will be. From this mark, you can snap a level line on the wall all around the kitchen so that you will know exactly where the top of your cabinets should rest based on the high spot of the floor.
Tip #2: Work from the Corners Out
To ensure that you don't find yourself in trouble as you are placing the cabinets, you will want to start in the corners and place your corner cabinets first and work your way towards the middle. You can then use filler strips to make up for any gaps and adjustments.
The only time you will want to place a different cabinet first is when you have a sink cabinet that needs to be centered in front of a window or something similar.
Tip #3: Measure Upper Cabinets from the Top Down
When you go to determine the height of your upper cabinets, you won't necessarily want to use the ceiling. Instead, you will want to go back to that high spot that you located earlier and use it. For example, if you have a nine-foot ceiling, then you will probably want to go up about eight feet from your high spot, depending on your exact preferences. Measure up from that spot on the floor and snap a line on the wall where your upper cabinets should fall. Next, come down the height of your upper cabinets and snap another line on the wall.
Tip #4: Hang Upper Cabinets First
When installing kitchen cabinets, you should always install the upper cabinets before the lower cabinets. This helps to minimize the chances of any damage occurring to the lower cabinets while the upper cabinets are being installed. Plus, when you begin work with the upper cabinets, they go in a lot easier and faster because the lower cabinets aren't in your way when you are trying to align and secure the them.