How to Shim Kitchen Cabinets
Shims are thin pieces of wood used to level cabinets, doors and other construction items that might otherwise vary due to elevation changes in the subfloor. Achieving a perfectly level row of cabinets is particularly important because the countertop cannot be installed properly on cabinets that are not level. By placing shims below the lower-sitting cabinets, you can achieve a level height for all cabinets regardless of variations in the subfloor. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Chalk line or laser level
- Hand level
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Instructions
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Clean the floor where the cabinets will rest. Remove all debris and scrape old glue and adhesives from the floor to achieve the most level floor possible.
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Place all the cabinets in their permanent installation location.
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Determine the cabinet that sits the highest along the back wall. It may only be one side of the cabinet that sits higher than the others.
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Mark the high point on the wall and remove that cabinet. Measure from the floor to the mark on the wall to determine the maximum height of the back of the cabinets.
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Place the cabinet back in the row and measure from the ground to the top of the front of every cabinet to ensure that no cabinet front sits higher than the maximum height mark for the back of the cabinets.
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Remove all the cabinets from the wall and create a level, horizontal line across the wall at the height mark. You can use a chalk line to create the line on the wall or a laser level to cast the image of a line on the wall.
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Place the first cabinet in the row in place and see if the back of the cabinet is parallel with the line on the wall. If not, place shims underneath the back of the cabinet until the cabinet rests perfectly along the line on the wall. Use one shim at a time until you achieve the correct height.
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Place a hand level on one side of the cabinet to check the cabinet from back to front. Use shims to lift the front of the cabinet until it is level with the back. Repeat this process for the other side. Make sure you tuck the shims under the edges of the cabinet so that they do not protrude, but do not worry about appearance as they will be hidden with decorative molding.
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Continue the same process for each cabinet until the entire row is level with the line on the wall and the front of the cabinets is level with the back.
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References
- Photo Credit Kitchen image by armanxo from Fotolia.com
