Cabinet installation, where the measuring decides everything

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.

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

Seeing something not on this list? Browse cabinets problems by symptom →

How cabinet installation actually works

1. 1

   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 forA 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.

2. 2

   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 forA 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.

3. 3

   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 forInstallation 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.

4. 4

   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 forBase 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.

5. 5

   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 forCabinets 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.

6. 6

   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 forShims 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.

7. 7

   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 forA 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.

8. 8

   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 forDoors 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.

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 →

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