How to install kitchen cabinets

Now, let's see how to install kitchen cabinets so they look good and hold strong to the walls. We’ll want to get all the measurements drawn out on the walls so we know exactly where to hang the cabinets. They are really heavy and the time for measuring for accuracy is before you’re lifting them in place.

It helps to have the screw holes already drilled before hanging the cabinets. Just drill a pilot hole all the way through that’s about half the diameter of the screw so it goes in evenly while you’re trying to hold the cabinet in place.

One very important thing that needs to be done before the sheetrock goes on is extra bracing for the kitchen cabinets. You can just add an extra layer of 2x6’s crossways on the walls between the studs where the cabinets will be.

This is overkill if professional cabinetmakers are doing the installing because they are good at finding the studs. I overbuilt my kitchen walls and my cabinet installer was grateful and quick. The cabinets are very secure.

Let’s mark the walls where the wall cabinets will hang and where the base cabinets will be secured. You will also need to mark where the studs are.

It makes the job easier if you mark a level line where the top of the wall cabinet will be. From there you can mark where the bottom of the wall cabinet will be.

If you’re short on help, you can put a 1X4 where the bottom of the wall cabinet will be and it will help support the weight of the cabinet until you get it completely fastened down.

Let’s hang the first box as a starting point and everything else can butt up against it. We’ll let it rest against the board we’ve put up while we screw it in place.

The first wall cabinet is resting on the board or sometimes called a ledger to help hold it until all the screws are put in. It’s very important to get a good hold. The size of screws to use depends on the wall stud or joist it’s going into. Most cabinet installers use 3 or 4-inch screws.

The base cabinets are the same. It’s much easier to put the cabinets in without the counter top on.

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