PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post

cmac2012 · #14 01-08-2014, 02:19 PM

I've done a number of kitchen remodels since I went independent and quite a few cabinet installs on new houses with large companies back in the day.

Have not hung any IKEA cabinets but have installed a few standing IKEA units in bathrooms. Not bad stuff all in all.

Wall cabinets can be a bit trickier. I'd suggest perusing a number of DIY videos. I've seen a bunch, one can always learn new tricks. Some of them go way into overkill IMO. The 'storyboard' thing is not that groovy from my point of view, but it works for some.

At any rate. you need to find the high point of the floor in the area where the cabs are, at least for each group that shares a countertop, the cab on that part of the floor will rest, at least on one point, on that high spot and the others will be shimmed up to get the top pretty close to level. Some people get fanatical about absolute perfection in level, which you're not going to get anyway. Get it pretty close and the countertop people (if you're having someone install it) can deal with it.

For wall cabs, good to hang a ledger board to support the back edge while you're screwing them to the wall. If I'm framing a kitchen from scratch, I'll put 2x6 between the studs at three points - the top and bottom screw mount level for the uppers and the top screw mount for the lowers - but if your place doesn't have that you'll have to hunt around for studs or whatever else may be back there for mounting. Even if you use a stud-finder, I'd use a drill or screw gun to make sure you know where the center of the stud is. I probe until I find each edge of the stud and get the center from that. It will be covered by cabinets so holes in the drywall are not a big deal. One client was so freaked about vermin that I filled all of the holes in the drywall before putting the cabs up.

Getting the faces to all line up smooth and pretty can be tricky, would be hard to talk much about it here, in short, you can shim one or the other out until it matches up with the one next to it and then find a place to screw the two cabs together in the front, top and bottom. Some advocate attaching the uppers to each other on the ground to get the faces lined up and then raising them, with help, up into place. I dunno, maybe.