How to Install Kitchen Cabinets

If you’re installing a floating floor that goes in after the cabinets, raise them above the flooring so your appliances will fit under the countertops. For easy measuring, use a piece of flooring and underlayment as a guide to mark the height by setting them on the high spot.

For upper cabinets, mark all the studs inside the lines. You can get a more accurate visual representation if you mark the layout of your cabinets and appliances on the walls.

Begin with a corner hanging cabinet or the one on the far left if you don’t have a corner unit. Use the guidelines you created on the wall and your tape measure to mark the distance from the cabinet edge to the stud and transfer this to the cabinet. Remember to account for the cabinet's face frame.

Drill holes through the cabinet backs at the top, middle and bottom rails. Your top and bottom holes should be about 3/4 inch from the cabinet’s edge. Do this step for each unit.

Set the cabinet in place and drive the mounting screws into the wall. Don’t overtighten the screws. Tighten them just enough to hold the cabinet in place.

Make sure that the cabinet is level and plumb. Shim behind the cabinet if needed.

Set the second cabinet into position, and line up the faces so that they’re even at the bottom and across the front. Use clamps to hold the cabinets together and then drive screws into the back. Make sure these are also just tight enough to hold the cabinets in place for now. Use shims in the back to make it plumb if necessary.

Keep the faces even and use a drill with a countersink/taper twist drill bit to drill through the face frames and connect with the cabinet screws.

Continue the process until you reach the end of the row, continually checking that the faces and edges are even and level.

When you get to the end of the row, you may have a space between the hanging cabinet and the wall. Use cabinet fill strips to fill the gap. Measure the gap at the top and the bottom, and cut your filler strip to fit.

For uneven walls, clamp the filler strip to the outside of the cabinet face. Use a compass to draw a line that follows the contours of the wall. Cut the piece along the line at a 7- to 10-degree bevel to help fit it against the wall.

Once all the cabinets are connected, drive in the rear screws and remove the clamps. Remove the ledger board and touch up any wall damage.

If you’re installing crown moulding, attach it with finish nails. Hang the doors and make hinge adjustments for keeping the doors even.

For the second cabinet, drill pilot holes through the back and position the cabinet next to the first. Even the faces, shimming where necessary as shown, and clamp the cabinet faces together. Drive screws into the back, just tight enough to hold it in place.

Drill pilot holes with a countersink/taper bit through the face frames and connect the cabinets with #8 screws.

Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you reach the sink base.

When you get to the sink base, cut the holes for plumbing in the back and install the cabinet like the rest.

If you didn't raise your cabinets for floating floors, you’ll likely need to shim under the base near the wall. Use the shim of the adjacent cabinet as a guide. When you cut that shim, cut another and leave it in place.

When you reach the end of the row, don’t be alarmed if you have a space at the end. Set the last cabinet in place without connecting it, and measure the gap at the top and bottom. Mark and cut the filler strip.

For uneven walls, clamp the filler strip to the frame. Use a compass to scribe a line following the contours of the wall and cut at a 7- to 10-degree bevel. Check the width of the piece, mark and cut the cabinet side if you need to, or use a plane for minor adjustments. Clamp the filler piece flush to the cabinet, drill holes through the frame and attach the piece with screws.

Once all the cabinets are connected, tighten the rear screws and remove the clamps.

If you have spaces without frame to support the countertop, such as end walls and corner cabinets, attach 1-by-2s to the wall with screws.

Cut and attach the toe kicks with finish nails. If you’re installing a floating floor, complete your flooring installation before this step.

The screw furthest from the cabinet door, the in-out screw, adjusts the depth of the cabinet door, or the distance between the door and the face frame.

When there’s too much spacing between two cabinet doors, correct this by adjusting the side-to-side screws, turning clockwise or counterclockwise as needed to close the gap.