Cabinets · Service

Cabinet installation, where the measuring decides everything

The boxes are the easy part. Level, plumb, scribed to walls that are none of those things — that is the job. We match you with vetted local installers and tell you when new cabinets are not what you need.

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In short

What is cabinet installation?

Cabinet installation is the process of setting and securing cabinet boxes to walls that are almost never square, level or plumb, and then making the result look as though they were. On a typical kitchen it takes two to four days once the boxes are on site. The visible quality of the finished job comes almost entirely from three things: an accurate field measure before the order was placed, a level reference line, and how the fillers and scribes are cut where the run meets a wall.

Triggers

Signs you need cabinet installation

Doors and drawers that no longer align, on boxes that were never installed level to begin with
You are changing the layout — moving a run, adding an island, taking a wall of cabinets out
The cabinet boxes are particleboard that has swollen and crumbled at the sink base
You have bought or been given cabinets and need someone to fit them
A kitchen where the wall cabinets are at a height that nobody in the household can reach comfortably
A remodel where the flooring, countertop and appliances are all being sequenced around the cabinets
Existing cabinets whose interiors are sound but whose layout wastes obvious space — deep dead corners, no drawer bank

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The job

How cabinet installation actually works

Field measure the room, after demolition where possible

A field measure records wall lengths, ceiling heights at several points, window and door positions, and where the plumbing, gas and electrical actually come through. It is done with a level and a laser, not a tape alone, because what is being recorded is how far out of true the room is.

Watch for: A measure taken over existing cabinets or before demolition. Walls behind old cabinets are frequently not the walls the designer drew, and every error found later becomes a filler.
Confirm the plan against the appliances and the plumbing

Appliance specifications set opening widths, heights and clearances, and every one of those is a hard constraint. The sink base has to accommodate the actual drain position; the range needs its stated clearance to the wall cabinet above.

Watch for: A layout drawn before the appliances were chosen. A range hood or a counter-depth refrigerator specified late is one of the most expensive changes possible once boxes are ordered.
Inspect and prepare the room

Walls are checked for plumb and for high spots, studs are located and marked, and the floor is checked for level across the whole run. Any wall repair, blocking or electrical relocation happens now, while everything is accessible.

Watch for: Installation over flooring that has not been decided. Whether flooring runs under the cabinets or stops at the toe kick affects height, dishwasher clearance and future replacement — decide it deliberately, not by whoever turns up first.
Establish a level line and find the high point of the floor

The whole installation references one level line drawn around the room from the highest point of the floor. Everything — base cabinet height, wall cabinet height, the gap under the toe kick — derives from it. Get this wrong and nothing later can rescue it.

Watch for: Base cabinets set to the floor rather than to a line. Floors slope; a run that follows the floor produces a countertop that visibly falls, and it cannot be corrected once the tops are templated.
Hang the wall cabinets first

Uppers go up before the bases, so the installer is not working over them. They are joined to each other face frame to face frame, clamped and aligned so the fronts sit in one plane, then screwed through the hanging rail into studs.

Watch for: Cabinets fastened through the back panel rather than through a hanging rail into a stud. Loaded wall cabinets are heavy, and this is the failure that ends with a run on the countertop.
Set and shim the base cabinets to the line

Bases are levelled front to back and side to side with shims, joined to one another, and fastened back to the wall. Corners are set first because everything runs away from them. The tops must be a single continuous plane for the countertop to sit correctly.

Watch for: Shims left proud, or a base run that is level along its length but rocking front to back. A countertop fabricator templating over an unlevel base run will tell you — at the point where it costs a week.
Scribe fillers, panels and toe kicks to the walls

This is where the job either looks built-in or looks delivered. Fillers between the run and the wall are scribed — cut to follow the wall's actual contour — rather than left with a tapering gap covered by caulk. End panels, light rail and toe kick are cut the same way.

Watch for: A wedge of caulk filling a gap that widens toward the ceiling. It is the single clearest sign of a rushed installation, and it is the detail most homeowners notice for years afterwards.
Hang doors, fit drawers and adjust everything

Doors are hung and then adjusted at the hinge in three directions until the reveals — the gaps between doors — are even across the whole run. Drawer fronts are set to match. Hardware is fitted last, to a jig so the spacing is identical.

Watch for: Doors left as hung. Every European hinge is adjustable and a run that is not adjusted shows uneven gaps that catch the eye immediately. Ask specifically that reveals be set before final payment.

Money

What does cabinet installation cost?

Cabinet installation labour is usually priced per cabinet or per linear foot and is separate from the cabinets themselves. Demolition, disposal, filler and panel work, and any wall or electrical alterations are typically extra. The cabinets cost guide breaks out labour against the boxes and against refacing.

See the full cabinet installation cost guide — by material, size and region →

Straight answer

When cabinet installation is the wrong call

Everyone else ranking for this is paid when you say yes. Here's when you shouldn't.

The boxes are sound and only the doors look dated. If the carcases are plywood, square and firmly attached, you are proposing to throw away the expensive, still-good part of the kitchen. Refacing, new doors or a repaint address the appearance for a fraction of the disruption.
The layout is the problem and nobody has redesigned it. New cabinets in the same positions reproduce the same dead corner and the same walk between sink and range. If the kitchen does not work, the answer starts with the plan, not with the order.
You are selling within the year. A full cabinet replacement is one of the larger discretionary spends in a house and it rarely returns its cost at sale. A clean, well-repaired existing kitchen usually presents nearly as well for a small fraction of the outlay.
The problem is storage rather than cabinetry. Deep base cabinets you cannot see into, a dead corner and no drawer bank are retrofit problems. Pull-outs, drawer conversions and corner hardware solve them inside the boxes you already own.
There is an unresolved water or structural issue. A leaking sink supply, a soft subfloor or a wall with a damp problem must be fixed first. New cabinets installed over any of them are being scheduled for removal.
Your appliances have not been chosen. Appliance dimensions and clearances are constraints, not preferences. Ordering cabinets first and selecting appliances afterwards is the most reliable way to end up with a modification that cannot be made.

Your options

Types of cabinet installation

Stock, semi-custom or custom

The buying decision behind every cabinet order — lead time, sizing increments and what can be changed.

Box and door materials

Plywood, solid wood, MDF and particleboard age very differently, particularly at the sink base.

Layout planning

Corners, islands, tall runs and upper-to-lower balance, decided before anything is ordered.

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Before you sign

What to check when hiring for cabinet installation

Who takes the field measure, and are they liable if the order does not fit?

The most important commercial question on the job. Measurement liability sits with the supplier, the designer or you, and it is often unclear until something is wrong.
Is the price per cabinet, per linear foot, or a day rate?

Determines what happens when the job grows. A per-cabinet price with a separate filler and panel allowance is the most transparent structure.
Are fillers, end panels, light rail and toe kick included?

This is the trim work that makes the run look built in. It is also the standard exclusion, and it is a meaningful amount of skilled labour.
Does the flooring go under the cabinets or up to them?

Affects cabinet height, dishwasher clearance and what happens the next time the floor is replaced. Get it decided before the level line is drawn.
Who is responsible if a box arrives damaged or wrong?

Damaged and misordered items are routine. The question is whether the installer manages the replacement or downs tools while you deal with the supplier.
Is demolition and disposal of the old cabinets included?

A full kitchen produces a surprising volume of waste, and skip hire and haulage are commonly excluded from an attractive-looking quote.
Will door reveals be adjusted before you consider the job complete?

Hinge adjustment is the last hour of work and the first thing a visitor notices. Making it an explicit deliverable is the easiest quality control you have.

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Local pros

Cabinet Installation near you

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Related work

Often done at the same time

Custom Cabinet Installation

When the cabinets are built for the room

Cabinet Refacing

Keep the boxes, replace the fronts

Cabinet Organization Systems

When storage, not cabinetry, is the actual complaint

Cabinet Repair

Deciding whether the run has really reached its end

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FAQ

Cabinet Installation — questions people ask

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How long does cabinet installation take?

An average kitchen is two to four days of installation once the cabinets are on site and the room is ready. That is the small part of the calendar: the lead time on the cabinets themselves is usually the long pole, and countertops are normally templated after the boxes are set and fabricated afterwards, which adds a further wait before the kitchen is usable.

Should flooring go in before or after cabinets?

Both are done and both are defensible. Flooring first gives a continuous surface and simplifies replacing the floor later, but it raises the whole run and can compromise dishwasher clearance if not planned for. Cabinets first uses less flooring material and keeps appliance openings at full height, but means the next floor has to stop at the toe kick. The wrong answer is not deciding, and letting whichever trade arrives first choose.

Do cabinets have to be attached to studs?

Wall cabinets, yes — through the hanging rail into framing. A loaded upper cabinet carries a lot of weight and drywall anchors alone are not an acceptable substitute. Base cabinets are primarily supported by the floor and are fastened back to the wall to hold position, so they are less critical, but they still need something solid. If the framing does not fall where a cabinet needs fixing, blocking is added before the run goes up.

What are fillers and why does my kitchen need them?

Fillers are strips of matching material that close the gap between a cabinet run and a wall, a corner or an appliance. They exist because cabinets are made in fixed width increments and rooms are not, and because walls are not straight. A good installer scribes the filler to the wall's actual contour so it disappears. A visible tapering gap packed with caulk is the same problem handled badly.

Can existing cabinets be reused or relocated?

Sometimes. Well-built plywood boxes with face frames often survive careful removal and can be re-set elsewhere — a garage, a laundry, a workshop. Particleboard carcases usually do not; the fasteners tear out and swollen material never regains strength. If reuse is the plan, say so before demolition, because cabinets removed with a pry bar and a deadline are not reusable.

Is cabinet installation something I can do myself?

Physically the boxes are straightforward, and a single vanity or a garage run is a realistic project. A full kitchen is a different proposition, and the reason is not lifting — it is that the whole job hangs on a level reference line and on scribing to out-of-true walls, both of which are unforgiving skills to learn on your own kitchen. The mistakes are visible permanently and the countertop fabricator will find them.