How To Install PERFECT KITCHEN CABINETS (DIY GUIDE)

hey gang it's paul with sledpack welcome back to the channel joe and i are back here at our main project and today we're going to start installing these cabinets let's get started alrighty gang setting cabinets is a lot easier than you think in fact we have almost everything you need set out on the table in front of me let me walk you through each one obviously i need a way to drive the screws i've got my impact driver with a t15 torx that matches my screws i'm going to show you that in a minute drill set up with a 3 16 inch drill bit that's to drill through the face frames to connect those together speaking of face frames jordan and i bought this bessie cabinet face frame clamp it's going to make sure that the face frames on adjacent cabinets line up perfectly it's a little detail but it matters big time in the end previous videos you've seen us use these antique clamps i love those but we want to try this one out and see how it works i think that's going to be fantastic and a lot easier obviously we need some shims i like the long ones but the store only had these short ones that's going to be fine and i got four little packs here's the screws we're gonna use grk cabinet screws we like the ones with the white head and these are number eight by two and a half inches long that two and a half inch length works great for us it's gonna allow us to connect the face frames together like we talked about just a minute ago but it's also going to allow us to connect these to the wall the back of the cabinet's half an inch thick the drywall is half an inch thick and the blocking we put up is an inch and a half thick those total to two and a half so there's no reason for us to use a longer screw obviously a couple of levels want to make sure everything's plumb and level and the last thing we got over here is our cross line laser now you don't need one you can do this with a level but if you don't have a cross line laser it's time to get one now this is a bosch gll100g now you don't need a fancy bosch you go online you can find a lot of good lasers for a little bit of money and if you're doing this only one time it's well worth the investment and we also have a chalk line because once we get the laser line set up where we want it we're going to pop a line on top of the laser line then we turn the laser off so it's not on my eyes all the time right all right you ready bud let's do it all right now our first step is we got to find out where the highest spot of our slab is we all know that your slab or your wooden subfloor is going to be crooked right it's not all going to be level is it doing this is it doing this or is it doing that we got to know so the laser has given us a perfect field to reference from and we're going to measure from that laser line to the slab to the subfloor and find our high spot and this can be a random dimension here it can be 24 inches it can be 48 it doesn't matter it's just a reference right now so let's find the high spot in this slab grab our tape measure i got a pencil too and put the tape measure on the slab and where are we at 34 and a half i'm just going to write that on the wall one last thing i got to remember and if there's something i don't want to forget on this project are these dimensions because they're critical so 34 and a half right there let's come to the middle of the wall see where we're at check it out 34 and a half pretty unusual all right what do we have over here 34 and a half all right let's go check that other side all right what do we have here 34 and three quarters so we're a little lower right here i'm gonna write that on the wall we'll go right under the window in the middle of the sink 34 and three quarter and one more right here by the peninsula 34-9 sure all right all right now that all our numbers are written on the wall which one is the high spot is it the smallest number 34 and a half or is it the largest number 34 9 16 well the high spot is the smaller of the numbers the lower number if you're having trouble wrapping your brain around that just hit the pause button get it figured out hit the play button now that we have our height established we're going to use the laser to establish a working level line on the wall that working level line is going to be what we reference when we install our base cabinets so they're perfectly level now check it out in the united states most space cabinets are going to be 34 and a half inches tall we're going to add an eighth to that and our working line is going to be 34 and 5 8. why did we add an eighth if it was at 34 and a half the height of the laser this is what's going to happen it's going to interfere with the laser beam and we're not going to be able to see the laser beam back here for instance i can even prove it to you right here look at that that laser beam is kissing the top of this cabinet all across the top plane of it and that's perfect in fact this cabinet is looking really nice without any shims so i think it's going to be pretty easy to install so now that we know that 34 and 5 8 is our working line all we got to do is come over here and make a mark on the wall at 34 and 5 8 and then adjust our laser beam to those marks then we're going to grab our chalk line connect the marks basically replace the laser line with chalk so we can save the battery and save our eyes let's snap a chalk line good [Music] all right now that we've got our perfectly level chalk line established on both walls we are ready to set cabinets now we can start over here by the microwave where it's high or we can start over here by the dishwasher where it's low it doesn't matter as long as the back of the cabinets are touching that line and we get them plumbing level this way we're going to show you step by step all of that you're going to be fine it doesn't matter where you start now while i'm on the subject of where i start we're going to take a little pause and i'm going to head off about half the comments right now a lot of guys are insistent that you must install the upper cabinets first i like to do the bottom ones for a couple of reasons number one i got the granite guys coming they're going to be making their templates heading back to the shop cutting sanding polishing all that granite they're not putting countertops on the upper ones we don't need those installed right now i need the lower ones in place the second reason for me is i've got a big upper cabinet over the fridge i have no idea where it goes left or right until i get this wall cabinet mounted which is going to line up with the end of this bottom cabinet sure you could measure all that three or four times and hope you're right but there's little room for error so the main argument for hanging the uppers first is so that you don't damage the bottom cabinets so just be safe careful and use proper protection why don't we start right here jordan this one's going to be easy i say we start with that get a easy w what do you think let's do it all right now i know this wall is just under 12 feet wide i'm gonna hook my tape over here on the right and i'm gonna make a mark oh at six feet i'm to hook it on the left make a mark at six feet now where's the middle of my wall it's exactly in between there i don't have to try to get 11 foot 9 and 5 16 and divide it in half right i just got to divide that in half so that's like three and a quarter so an inch and five eighths right boom that's the middle now that we have our center line we're going to put a 30 inch range in there right so what do i have to do 30 divided by 2 is 15 and i make a mark at 15 right that's the edge of my first cabinet you're already doomed check it out see the face frame right here it sticks out past the cabinet by a quarter of an inch if i line this up with my mark this is going to interfere with the range how would you like to be the one to tell your wife hey honey i got to cut the new face frame on our brand new cabinets because the range doesn't fit you got to account for that and we're actually going to count a little bit more i'm going to go 15 and 3 8 total and that's going to give me a little more wiggle room right here just in case that range is a little bigger because it got hot or the insulation expanded or whatever works for refrigerators too all right 15 and 3 8 right there erase that one so i don't reference it and then 15 3 8 this way and you can see what i'm doing i'm putting 15 and 3 8 on my center line i'm just using the pencil i don't even have to look using the end of the tape as a scribe like that that should be 30 and three quarters total width it is but remember half of that is made up of this quarter inch face frame on both sides so my actual opening out here is 30 and a quarter hope that makes sense guys you gotta account for the face frame all right we have our first set of cabinets on the mark we made to the left of the range and we're ready to go now one thing we're having to deal with on this kitchen remodel is this parquet floor which is going to remain if you remember back in the demo there was a wall here and i have to patch that we have some resources for this park we actually have some outside we can take some from another part of the house but we are going to have to patch that i'm not looking forward to it i didn't want a patch here and the cabinet is sitting on top of the floor so instead of removing the floor and having the cabinet sit on the slab like the rest of it i just cut this off and now it's sitting on top of the parched so it's going to be fine let's get these two fastened to the wall but first we need our fancy bessie face frame clamp and i need to get into this impossible to open packaging but i have the perfect tool our friends at klein sent me a klein pocket knife check it out aluminum housing stainless steel blade made in the usa baby and this thing is wicked sharp check it out [Applause] there we go all right gang here it is check it out even comes with felt pads that go on the jaws so we don't damage our finish and check out the edge here while it's clamped together it allows you to put the screw in and then remove the clamp this little lever flips down and that's an eighth inch bushing previously we said we're going to use a 3 16 inch drill bit well we changed our mines now we're going to go with an eighth and the idea is that you drill that hole flip this out of the way drive the screw to fasten your face frames together then remove your clamp pretty cool design huh yeah let's see how it works [Music] that's it nice all right our face frames are connected together and the white screws look great now we were so excited about using the face frame clamp i really want thinking ahead but these would be better on this side so they're hidden by the drawer but they're white and they'll be concealed even when the doors open but this one is ready to be attached to the wall we're on our corner mark right here we've already checked it for level and plumb we're good to go so we're going to put a screw right here to lock it into place how do i know what i'm going to put it into check it out way back in the framing stage we put blocking the middle row of that blocking the middle of that row of blocking is at 33 inches if this is 34 and a half a screw an inch and a half down will be right in the middle of that block i've got a two and a half inch screw ready to go in an impact driver let's get this one done and that's why you go to all the trouble of installing blocking all right our first cabinet is in it's time to do this one but as you can see i'm a little bit below our chalk line now i can't get under here in the middle to put a shim to raise this one up so we drove a screw right there i'm gonna use my s to wing pry bar pry it up to the line and we're gonna dry this screw nice all right the top is secure now in all honesty we got lucky on these we never have to set cabinets without shims but i'm sure they're going to make up for it on that side now because we have these drawers here there's a possibility that when you pull the drawers out it could pull the bottom of the cabinet out right now we got the parquet floor trapping our cabinets but you're usually not going to have that so we like to put a screw in the bottom now we didn't put blocking at the bottom but i know where the studs are how do i know check it out we have an adjustable depth box right there just like this because of this screw right here i know the studs on the left and 11 inches will put me about in the middle of that stud i'm just going to go down to the bottom and put a screw 11 inches from the right hand side of the box now we do the same thing in the bottom corner of this one now we know we have a stud pack right here right that's actually where our name came from a pack of studs that's holding up a beam so let's head down here and put a screw into that stud pack all right this one's done just rinse and repeat for the other side [Music] [Music] all right this right hand side is done and even though the time lapse made it look quick and easy this side was slow and hard remember we put this side in with hardly any shims this one we got shims all over it and that's just the nature of installing cabinets right we got our baseline here that's easy for us to reference but then you got to get it level this way and plumb this way and this way and level that way right and every time you move one of those it seems to change everything else and one key thing that jordan i like to do is to get on the edge here and sight right down here not just this one but the far cabinet as well making sure that the tops line up and the faces line up so that our stone all lines up and that's the detail you don't see in kitchens too much anymore i'm always looking at that and some of these things look like a river going down the wall now we showed you this one in time lapse but tomorrow we're going to show you step by step how we install this sink base we've got these four cutouts to make and we're not talking about one big window we're going to cut out of the back of the cabinet we're going to cut out four precise holes for the hot coal the drain and the electric it's going to look fantastic and it's going to set your project apart but we got a late start on the cabinets today because we were spray painting the cabinets in the back this morning but we're going to be right back here bright and early tomorrow and we're going to show you how we install this sink base we'll see you then all right guys it's the next day and we are ready to install our sink base there's one or two ways you could do it right you could cut a hole in the back of that cabinet big enough to accommodate all your utilities or we could cut four separate holes one for each and that's what we're gonna do we've already established this working line we're going to measure down from that to find the center line of these three pipes and then our box and then we've established a center line right here using the same method we did on the opposite wall we set up our laser beam and then as you can see we've already put a pencil line there so we can turn off the laser save the battery let's shut the laser off start measuring all right got the center line on the back of the cabinet center line on the wall let's start measuring i'm just going to start measuring with the cold we're going to the center of the pipe i am 10 and an eighth inches to the center of the pipe from the center line of my wall and come over here transfer it boom 12 and 5 16. we can be that precise right well i got you a bit that doesn't really allow for error 13 and 7 hook it on the cabinet look at that 13 and 7. 13 and a quarter 17 and a half yep [Music] all right all right we've got all our marks we've got our hole saws and that's the one jordan got me for the half inch copper you must have a lot of confidence in me bud i do all right let's go and yes i'm going to stop and finish it from the other side [Music] all right uh pick it up on the line got plenty of room just like that nice i got the sink base installed now let's keep rolling forward to the right of the sink is going to be the dishwasher and we have this little guy and i think there's a trash can that goes here but here's a cool trick for you to get this dimension always the same in the united states every dishwasher i've ever installed needs 24 inches yes there are some smaller dishwashers but i'm talking about a standard dishwasher in the american home 24 inches so here's the cool trick just cut two pieces of wood 24 inches long and we drilled a pocket hole in each end one screw on each end is all you need and we're going to use a pocket screw basically to put that right there and that's going to act as our spacer top and bottom and then we don't have to worry about that dimension it's set all we have to worry about is getting this plumb and level and this trick would also work for a 30 inch range a 36 inch range a trash compactor whatever appliance you need to put under a cabinet and it's a great help if you're working by yourself it's one less thing you have to worry about all right but let's get these two screwed our face frames and get this cabinet set and then we'll work on the peninsula behind me all right this little cabinet is done and these spacers help tremendously and here's how jordan and i do it obviously we got our line on the wall the chalk line we established the back of the cabinet on that line and we put shims in the back to help us support the cabinet on that line then we put shims in the front and we get it plumbed this way and level and we're checking it this way it's a big dance your house is going to be a little bit different right because your walls are not the same as our walls but the goal you want level front to back side to side and i even do it this way and this way last thing we always do sight down the face of your cabinets make sure this space frame is perfectly aligned with this face frame now that that's all done let's come over here and work on the peninsula what if you have an island or a peninsula and you don't have a wall to attach your cabinets to well you got to attach it to the floor in our case concrete floor let's show you how we do it we're using a 36 inch wide three drawer base as our peninsula and we have it where we want it where do we want it we want it so we don't have any crashes right we don't want this drawer when we pull it out to hit the knob or the handle on this door if this were a dishwasher and you open the door we don't want that door to hit the handle on this drawer that's what we're talking about and jordan i measured not once not twice not three times i think we actually measured four times and got these two distances where we wanted once we established that we put a framing square here and made sure the two units are square our next step is to attach this to our concrete slab if this were a wooden subfloor it'd be easy but this is going to be a little bit tougher how we're going to do that we're going to put a line on our floor right here in the front and the back we may even use blue tape because we have a finished floor here then we're going to remove the peninsula and mount a block on the slab half an inch in board of our mark why am i going half an inch inboard because this plywood is half an inch thick we're going to set this over the block and then fasten our cabinet to that block let's make the marks on the floor get started [Music] might as well just go to 16. that's an idea what it's going to look like but we have our floor to deal with instead of cutting this floor away we're just going to notch the block so it's sitting on the slab right here [Music] boom that's what we want how we're going to attach it to the slab i like to use these split nail anchors there's all kind of ways you can do that a ram set tap con use what makes you happy let's grab our rotor hammer and get these fastened to the floor [Music] [Music] cool there we go guys pretty slick huh and you'll notice we put a piece of tar paper between our blocking and the slab to prevent any wicking because we didn't have any pressure treated here and you're probably saying good job sled pack way to think ahead but let me ask you this how come we don't put tar paper under all these shims or how can we don't put tar paper under a pocket door that's sitting on a slab now attaching the peninsula to the blocks we're going to do it in two different ways on this side since this side of the cabinet's going to be obscured it's going to be hidden we're going to just go right through the side of the cabinet into the block but over here we don't want to see any fasteners over here because it looks super clean when the cabinet is sitting on this parquet floor no quarter round in other words correct no quarter no shoe no caulk nothing like that we would never do that we actually use these clips that came with the cabinet we got like 500 of them right we're going to put one there one there now we're going to fast them to the block set our cabinet then we're going to reach in under the toe kick right here and going to the side of the cabinet kind of a pain to reach in there with a drill but it's only four screws and it's going to look killer and clean on the outside all right let's put the peninsula back where it goes using our tape on the floor as a reference that was painless all right now for the back too going in get it yep yeah am i in [Music] the other three were so easy you got to come up you're pressing you're committing to too hard too early get in and then press right there you go there all right get it let me try from over here yeah maybe you can push yeah that would be hard it'll be so worth it [Applause] nice now you'll notice down here we intentionally cut the block a little short so we could get our shims in there and they wouldn't hit the block got to think ahead all the time dude this is ever like a hurricane i'm going to hide in this cabin cool man our base cabinets are in and this is starting to look like a real kitchen right we got our dishwasher opening all our cutouts in the back of the sink base our rock of gibraltar's peninsula right here and all of these other cabinets all the cabinets are plumb level and square six different ways so pick yourself up a line laser practice on your like button make sure it's plumb level and square six different ways smash it for me and jordan ask a question drop a comment most of all please subscribe and we will see you on our next video [Music]

Channel: Stud Pack

Views: 549,703

Keywords: studpack, stud pack, kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, how to install cabinets, base cabinets, lower cabinets, how to set cabinets, how to install lower cabinets, how to install base cabinets, how to install kitchen cabinets, plumb, level, square

Id: btR9CWYB1TM

Length: 24min 44sec (1484 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 21 2022