Questions about setting cabinets...

[NM_Shooter]

I am going to be setting base cabinets soon.  Some questions...

1)  The faces of the cabinets are extended off to the sides slightly, such that when they are joined up with the cabinet next to it, the sides of the faces touch, rather than the sides of the cabinet.  Do I place a shim between the cabinets at the rear to keep them spread by the same amount, or is this not required? 

2)  Do the kitchen base cabinets screw directly to the studs behind them, or do I place some sort of nailer board to the wall first?   

Thanks,

-f-

[Bill Houghton]

You mount the uppers to the studs and screw the face frames together.  After they are anchored to the wall, clamp the face frames together and drill from one face frame into the one next to it. The screws keep the face frames nice and aligned, even with some movement of the wood and wall.  I have never shimmed between the boxes where the space is (my experience is only two kitchens so others may advise differently)  The bases screw into the wall studs as well.  There is a filler usually along the top back that makes the back flush with the wall.  The screws go throuugh that strip (I have anchored lower too, but you get a bit of bow if you place a screw where there is no filler strip) You may have to shim the bases up from the floor to level or even shim behind to have them line up right.  The face frames on the bases also are screwed one to the other like the uppers.  Hope this helps.

   ---- Bill

[Bill Houghton]

oops, I see now you didn't ask about the uppers.   

[cbc58]

i would bet there is some kind of youtube video on this showing the step by step process....

[MartyM]

Bill Gave a good how to answer as long as the room is close to square and plum it will easy ..

When the walls start getting wavy and the floor isnt level and then throw in a corner thats not even close to square, or if someone miss measured the cabinets by an inch or so then it gets more interesting.

But you didnt ask about any of this so lets hope you have a nice straight forward install..

[PEG688]

   Pre-drill thru the FF before you start installing , There's way more to installing than I can share here.

  But what I do is stage all the cabinets along a wall , or the wall , and I decide where I can hide the screws best. Or some time which cabinet it will be easier , or some time even possible to get the screw gun and drill into, narrow cabinet need to be the one that get screwed into , from a wide cabinet to it's left or right.

So I pre drill with a slightly bigger size drill than the screws I use , for two reason , one if you try to drive a screw in to small a pre drilled hole the screw will push the other cabinet away vie the screw action , so if the pre drilled hole is just over sized the screw becomes a very effective clamp , I generally drive three screws  near the  top , middle , near the bottom. Keep the screws running straight into the other cabinet , not at a angle so stay just far enought away from the rails to drive the screws straight , or level into the other box.

reason two for the slightly over sized bore is for final adjustment you can use a dead blow mallet , wood block , rubber hammer handle to bump the F/F flush. I also use quick clamps to hold the F/F together before I screw them together.


  Yes use a spacer in the back to account for the difference that the F/F hangs over. They do that so you can add a 1/4" ply finished end panel where required and it also helps with getting the F/F tight where F.E. panels are not required.


Screw the bases to the wall studs , you ill have to shim in spots where the walls bow , I try to level and screw together two boxes some times three at a time , so a "unit" so to speak.



Depending on appliances I generally start  centered on the sink window , and go outward from there .  But every "set" is different in where to start . Corner cabinets are another place to "work to" and then out of corners , good luck.














         

[NM_Shooter]

Thanks to all for the help.

My cabinets are all craigslist rejects from a couple of sources.  I'm hoping to get my sink unit centered under the window, but I am afraid it is going to be offset in order to get the most cabinet space / countertop I can fit in the cabin.  I'm going to try and not be haunted by this for the rest of my life 

Can you just use sheetrock or deck screws to screw the FF together?  I saw yesterday that some of them are drilled for screwing the FF together.  I should make sure that I have all the holes where I need them in the order I will have the cabinets. 

How do you best determine how much / where to shim the cabinets from the wall.  Let me ask that a different way... how do you determine the low spots on the wall?  Scoot them agains the wall, and stretch a string across the face?  This is just a 11.5' single line of cabinets....

I suspect that for a hunting shack I am over-worrying about this.  But I'd like to do it as close to "right" as possible. 

[rocking23nf]

since I saw this thread, it got me thinking, whats a good way to mount the lowers on a a-frame wall? Should I build some sort or vertical wall against the A for a solid screwing surface?

one of the many challenges of owning an A frame

[Onkeludo2]

Try to use anything but a deck or drywall screw for screwing face frames together.  They sell special screws but I use the screws from my kreg pocket screw kit mainly because they have a flat (pan) head, are self-drilling so I only have to drill one side and I already have the long skinny bit to drive them.

As for mounting cabinets to an A-frame...you try to mount it to an end wall or partition wall so that this is not an issue.  Barring that, I would build my own cabinets so I could take advantage of that space.  In particular the lowers, I would build a rhomboid cabinet (flat-topped triangle from the side view) with pull-out trays at the bottom level.  Most likely, if you live in an A-frame, you need all the storage you can get!  Yes, building a pony wall is the traditional way to mount cabinets to a sloped wall...sheet one side with 3/4 ply, topped with 1/4 drywall if you want, so you do not have to worry about hitting studs.

Mike

[rocking23nf]

i guess i have to build a little wall then, because my cabinets are going in the corner, so half of them will be in the A portion.

Storage isnt a problem, our a-frame is quite large, 24x24 with a 12x12 extension on the back A.

And the cabinets are pre-made from homedepot, got them at a truckload sale, couldnt beat the price.

[PEG688]

I use my laser jamb to find the high point are start my setting from there. It's easier to shim up the cabs than to scribe fit the toe spaces.

You could use a water level to get a baseline , or a long level , or a level and a straight edge.  Ideally you have 34 1/2" to the top of the top stretcher on the cabinets. If you have a dishwasher that's a good number to work to. D/Wer's are more forgiving as they have adjustment up and down from 34 1/2" , depending on brand you can go 34" to maybe 35 1/2" with some brands. Compactors are a issue as they have no adjustment  so if you add finish flooring after wards , or decide to change flooring you can get in a pickle    with the compactor fitting. It's highly unlikely you'd be using a compactor , but some one else reading this thread might have that issue.


 

[PEG688]

I use the gold "Grabber" brand screws. With a bugle head and I use a countersink to set the screw flush with the surface. The gold colored screws look good IMO and I've never had a complaint using them. The screw in the back of the cabinet that go into the partitions I use stick on  white caps if the interiors are white melamine. Make sure you select a length that doesn't go all the way thru and out the other side.     

  Cheaper Home Despot / Borg / Blowes cabinets generally have 1/2" thick partitions and can be a   issue as the stuff is so thin it's hard to get a screw to "bite" right.

   I use 3" Grabbers to attach to the wall studs , generally, there are reasons to use longer and shorter screws in places , pocket doors are one , not a good idea to screw the door open / trapped in the pocket. Never done it myself , but I've seen it done by others.


Again Good luck.

[Onkeludo2]

Peg,

I guess my concern with bugle head screws is based on the fear that a DIY'er like myself might overdrive them and split the face-frame.  Granted, that is what the clutch is for on the screwgun but I have caught myself failing to reset my cordless drill after drilling the hole back to a lower clutch setting.

Mike

[PEG688]

Pre-drill and develop some "touch" with your cordless, sort of a Zen thing