How to Install a Kitchen Cupboard

Kitchen cupboards are essential to every kitchen. Installing kitchen cupboards correctly requires careful measurements and the appropriate tools. Keeping the cupboards level is key to a good installation.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Stud finder
• Hammer
• Step ladder
• Variable speed drill
• Phillips head screw tip
• 3-inch drywall screws (coarse threads)
• Carpenter's level
• Clear water hose or tubing
• Chalk box

1. Remove the doors from the kitchen cupboards for ease of installation. Locate the studs with the stud finder and lightly mark the walls where the cupboards will be installed. Next, set the upper cupboards on the floor in the order they are to be installed.

2. Measure up from the floor to the desired height of the bottom of the upper cupboards and make a mark. General height is 84 inches from the floor to the top of the upper cupboards, and cupboards are generally 30 inches tall, putting the mark at 54 inches.

3. Place the carpenter's level on the mark and draw a horizontal line. Install some 3-inch screws about halfway in on the line and into a stud. This will help hold the cupboard in place while it is leveled, plumbed and secured to the wall.

4. Instead of using a carpenter's level for the line on the wall, add water to the clear water hose or tubing until it is 2 or 3 inches from being full. Hold both ends of the hose up and place a cork in each end. Place one end of the hose on the mark on the wall and take the other end of the hose to the corner of the wall or the end of the cupboards. Remove the corks and let the water settle. Once the water line in one end is on the mark, make a mark at the waterline on the other end of the hose. Use a chalk box to pop a line from one mark to the next.

5. Place a kitchen cupboard on the screws in the wall from Step 3. Secure it to the wall with the 3-inch drywall screws. Install one screw and then check the cupboard with the carpenter's level to make certain it is both level and plumb. Hit every stud behind each of the cupboards. When you place cupboards adjacent to each other, drill a countersink hole into the frame to secure the frames.

6. Repeat this for the floor cupboards. When installing the cupboards on the floor, consider the plumbing for the sink and/or the electricity for food disposals and dishwashers. Place shims under the bottom of them to level them or behind them to make sure they are plumb.

Tips & Warnings

• If no stud finder is available, lightly tap on the wall with a hammer. Two things will occur when you strike the wall where a stud is: the hammer will not bounce and the sound will differ. Check each cupboard for level and plumb as you install them to keep the project looking professional. When joining the cupboards to each other make sure to apply enough pressure to hold the frames together while securing them.
• Do not assume the location of electrical wiring. Driving a screw into wiring could result in injury or death. Do not stand on the top rung of the step ladder. Always use a ladder that is appropriate for the job.

References

• Installing kitchen wall cabinets
• Installing base cabinets

Resources

• Designing or installing a kitchen