Kitchen wall cabinet installation questions

[branimal]

1. I’m installing wall cabinets on top of wall cabinets. So 18” above the counter I’m installing a 42” tall cabinet & on top of the 42” cabinet I’m installing an 18” cabinet. Do I screw the 42” cabinets vertically to the 18” cabinets?


2. My wall oven cabinet (pictured) is level on all three planes (side, front & top) but the wall isn’t plumb, creating a small gap b/w the left edge of the wall. Do I just live with that? Or do you caulk it? There is no room on that wall to install a filler to the left of the wall oven.

Thanks







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[DieselNut88]

I would screw the wall cabinets through the face frame. For the gap if there is enough wood you can scribe it to the wall. If there is not enough you can make a filler piece and install it on the cabinet then scribe.

 

[GarageLogic]

Slightly off topic, but I don't understand the cabinet - I assume there is a wall oven that fits in it somehow - does the center area get removed to install the oven? Drawers below make sense, and assume a double door at the top for storage.....

Back on topic, if the gap is small enough, caulking will work fine. If wider, and there is enough trim on the left side, you can scribe as mentioned above. In a similar situation, I scribed and used a belt sander to remove the material for a perfect fit.

 

[Toolfool]

If there's 3/8" or more gap at the widest point I will normally rip a tapered filler. And, it's a LOT easier to do your oven cutout with the cabinet laying on the floor before you screw it to the wall.

 

[branimal]

The gap is about 5/16” at the top (8’) and fades to nothing at the bottom. Is that scribable? First time scriber but love new tools.

Center area is cutout space for a wall oven and microwave oven. Or double oven.




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[branimal]

If there's 3/8" or more gap at the widest point I will normally rip a tapered filler. And, it's a LOT easier to do your oven cutout with the cabinet laying on the floor before you screw it to the wall.

Gap is 5/16” at the top.

Yep I’ve heard it’s easier, but I don’t have the oven or microwave yet. Logistically no space for appliances in my condo at this point.




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[jeffmattero76]

The "scriber" tool you are looking for is a washer and a sharp pencil. The washer should be sized so that it just covers the widest gap. Put the pencil in the hole of the washer and run it down the length of the cabinet, keeping the washer tight to the wall. Done correctly, that will give you the perfect line to scribe to.

In my rentals, my kitchen guy simply uses an 1/8th inch rip of a 3/4" filler strip, and uses a 23 gauge pin nailer to nail that strip to the face of the cabinet, covering the gap.

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[CraigStu]

I doubt that the face overhangs the side by 5/16" so scribing and trimming could reduce that gap some but not eliminate it. In the cabinets I have removed over the years they were screwed together on the sides. I haven't taken apart any cabinets on top of cabinets but I would tend to think screwing yours together might be a good idea. Something to look out for though that I have run into is the mud and tape used at the wall/ceiling joint adds thickness to the wall. So, when I installed cabinets that went to the ceiling, all was well until the corner. Along the first wall all the cabinets were tilted out just a little at the top which I didn't notice until installing the corner cab. Assuming your top 18" cab goes to the ceiling it may be pushed out an 1/8" further than the cab below it.

 

[climb.on]

1. I’m installing wall cabinets on top of wall cabinets. So 18” above the counter I’m installing a 42” tall cabinet & on top of the 42” cabinet I’m installing an 18” cabinet. Do I screw the 42” cabinets vertically to the 18” cabinets?


2. My wall oven cabinet (pictured) is level on all three planes (side, front & top) but the wall isn’t plumb, creating a small gap b/w the left edge of the wall. Do I just live with that? Or do you caulk it? There is no room on that wall to install a filler to the left of the wall oven.

1. Yes screw them together. It will keep things form shifting in the future, even if they fit well now.

2. If the scribe strip is thick enough you can scribe it, but be aware the cabinet will shift the distance that you scribe and can mess with countertops and other cabinets if you don't anticipate that. Most often on a tall cabinet I would add a 1/4" x 3/4" trim strip over the top of the gap. Don't caulk that gap.

 

[yeldogt]

What's going on the side wall -- with the outlet? That's a tight corner?

The doors are now typically full width.

 

[Deej-79]

Go to a cabinet shop and get a grenade scribe strip and install that for your gap, there's no way your bottom face frame has 5/16 to sand off, I'd bet it's an 1/8"

And yes, screw your face frames together

 

[branimal]

I’ll look into a putting a trim strip in there.
And I’ll screw the cabinet frames together.


CraigStu - may cabinets go to about 6 1/2” below the ceiling. The rest will be filled with a matching panel and crown moulding.
Climb.on - why not caulk it?
YeldogT - that outlet will be replaced with a cover plate. That was the old cabinet wall. All the electricity got moved to the cabinet wall.

Thanks


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[dave_dj1]

Poor design layout by the kitchen person. One or more of the cabinets could have been resized to allow for a filler strip. What is going on the right hand end that you can't add a 1/2" filler, once scribed you will only be adding 3/16" left on.

 

[branimal]

Poor design layout by the kitchen person. One or more of the cabinets could have been resized to allow for a filler strip. What is going on the right hand end that you can't add a 1/2" filler, once scribed you will only be adding 3/16" left on.

A fridge is going on the right. Yeah you’re right.

Thanks



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[rlitman]

With face frame cabinets, I will clamp, pre-drill & countersink and screw the face frames together.

For stacking the carcasses, what I've had luck with is to install biscuits into the joint line. That keeps things locked in position nicely.

 

[branimal]

With face frame cabinets, I will clamp, pre-drill & countersink and screw the face frames together.

For stacking the carcasses, what I've had luck with is to install biscuits into the joint line. That keeps things locked in position nicely.

What are biscuits?



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[Toolfool]

What are biscuits?



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Uhoh, you need a new tool.

 

[Toolfool]

Hopefully you got a tall filler with your cabinet package. The cleanest look is extending the cabinet faceframe and scribing. I'd rip a 7/16" wide piece at a 20 degree bevel. Tack that to the edge of the cabinet faceframe with a brad nailer. Set the cabinet back into place. Mark your scribe. Pull cabinet out and remove material to the line with a belt sander (I usually use a block plane). Re-install cabinet.


And you only need to have the spec sheets for your oven and micro to make the cutout.

 

[rlitman]

What are biscuits?

Uhoh, you need a new tool.

LOL. The magic of GJ.

But seriously, you don't NEED to do anything. So long as the face frames are secured to each other, and the carcasses to the walls, the important details are covered.

This is not my drawing, but should give you an idea of a biscuit joint:

Biscuit joiners have a fence that allows the biscuit slot to be cut at a precise offset from the surface, and the biscuit itself is designed to swell as glue soaks in, causing a tight joint that helps align surfaces.

Since I have one, I use it. Even without clamping, or even glue, it keeps the upper cabinet from being able to slide off the lower during assembly.

Hopefully you got a tall filler with your cabinet package. The cleanest look is extending the cabinet faceframe and scribing. I'd rip a 7/16" wide piece at a 20 degree bevel. Tack that to the edge of the cabinet faceframe with a brad nailer. Set the cabinet back into place. Mark your scribe. Pull cabinet out and remove material to the line with a belt sander (I usually use a block plane). Re-install cabinet.


And you only need to have the spec sheets for your oven and micro to make the cutout.

The bevel is a smart touch here. You only need to touch the wall at the face, so removing more wood with the initial cut makes it sand or plane back much easier. It also avoids bumps in the wall, or inconsistencies in directions you didn't account for.