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for those who have installed their own cabinets..

16 years ago

My husband is talking about installing our kitchen cabinets himself with some guidance from a friend..just wondering how difficult it is for someone that has never done this kind of work before..he has built a deck onto the house and built a porch with guidance from friends and a lot of reading..do i encourage him to go for it or try to talk him out of it?

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Comments (9)

lorrainebecker
16 years ago
Installing the cabinets was a snap compared to other carpentry work we've done on our house.
bklyn2pok
16 years ago
It wasn't hard to do at all, just me and hubby.
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for those who have installed their own cabinets
Q
Comments (11)
I just did it myself last summer (for the first time). I would definitely do the wall cabs first. If you have an inside corner, you probably want to start there too. I did what raenjapan said and used ledger boards. I didn't use 2x4's for them, but finish quality spruce 1x2's available from Lowes. Much straighter. The most important thing is to THINK ! If you have a complex design, you need to be three steps ahead to figure out how to fit pieces together. particularly where there will be a tall cabinet, you need align the adjoining wall and base cabinet very well. Mark where the studs are. Have strong help for lifting cabinets into place. (He just had surgery?) If your walls aren't perfectly flat, consider assembling adjoining cabinets together before placing them. Dry fit cabinets. I have a normal sized cordless drill that would have been a real pain to use in confined spaces. I got a Bosch angle driver. At first I thought is was expensive, but after I was done, I thought it was the best $150 I ever spent. I used GRK cabinet screws which use a Torx bit. The bit never jumped like when you use a Phillips. There really are a LOT of details to keep track of for a first timer. I attached a URL for one article, but I couldn't find the one from This Old HOuse that helped me. If you have cable, the DIY network has a show call Kitchen Renovations which will give you a look at how cabinets are installed in different situations. Plan on it taking 3 times as long as you think it should. Here is a link that might be useful: Installation article
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who installed their own mosaic tile
Q
Comments (6)
The hard part is the wall prep to get it flat enough to gracefully accept tile. If you have "bulges" from where the seams of the drywall meet or patches that were done, then your tile won't lay flat and straight. Take a 4' level and place it against the area you want to tile and identify the high and low spots from side to side and up and down. Then address those issues first. The second obstacle to doing a mosaic backsplash can be the tile itself. Many of the lower quality mosaics do not have good consistant spacing and if you aren't very careful, can look wonky. That can affect the join areas between the sheets, making the installation look like 12" squares with too much space between them. Now, some of that is to be expected with handmade tile or something like a hand cut stained glass tile. But, you have to work to adjust the margins in order to be able to give it the best look. If you can solve those two issues, the installation itself is relatively hassle free for a backsplash. I find it fun, but I'm weird that way. Get a back brace from a local hardware store, as it is hard on the back. Mastic will make it easier as it's grippier, but not all mastic is for use with glass tile. Some require a high latex admixed white traditional thinset. Read the tile makers installation instructions and understand them fully before beginning the project. And don't begin your tiling career with a backsplash! Find a smaller project to practice on first, like doing a tile topped table for a patio. Get used to using the trowel to spread the thinset evenly and embedding the tiles. Do a practice piece that you could smash with a hammer if you hate how it comes out. You may love the work, or you may find you hate it and are unsuited to the fussiness of the project. It's better to find out on a small disposable project than 1/4 the through a big focal point in a kitchen.
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OT - For those who have had wood floors installed/refinished
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Comments (6)
I would buy a scratch stick and fill it in myself. Because wood fillers stay forever tacky dirt will quickly collect over it. So I would take a paint brush and dip it into polyurethane and cover over it carefully. My floor is 50+ years old with nails holding it in place instead of the tongue & groove. Often the wood putty pops off a nail head and I just recover it again with new putty. I think this guy was lazy and didn't tell you the truth about the scratch but he should have filled it in with a stick or putty before he polyurethaned over it.
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Question for those who have Painted Conestoga Cabinets?
Q
Comments (24)
Defy the laws of physics? Wow, you really all that from my comments? I agree I wrongfully used the generic term 'Enamel' to describe 'a hard surfaced paint' (not in its chemical properties) as a layperson can generally identify with this term. Chipping/cracking, etc. In fact, even traditional oil based paint companies have adopted the term (go to Lowes and see the 'enamel' terminology on oil based and latex paints - they are not really enamels either, now are they?) simply to insinuate 'hardness'. I should have said 'Enamel-like' and I appreciate you calling me on it. I certainly need to be better about being clear on these forums and will try to bone up on the chemical properties of different finishes so I do not mislead anyone. You have obvious experience and I apologize if my comments offended you as those of a 'sales guy'. I will say, it is somewhat circular logic to expect someone who has years of experience working, selling and servicing a company and its product to weigh in with criticism. If I were critical of them or their product, I would not sell it and therefore could not comment with any certainty at all. I have personally had a terrific experience and I have seen their product resist cracking when many other cabinet companies I sold exhibited it to a MUCH higher degree. Call 'hype'. Call it whatever you want. Its my experience and logically, I can only offer opinion based on my experience. The fact that I have dropped every other line of cabinets we sell and have focused on only Conestoga in the past several years should speak to what I have found to be true. It is a great finish and seemed to hide or minimize the cracking so prevalent on painted doors. I therefore can spend far more time working with my customers versus replacing faulty product or doing the 'two step' to avoid their wrath when their doors crack and chip, but they 'singed a waiver'. Yes, its a really good product and I enjoy standing behind it because it is easy to do so. If you have found a process that is guaranteed not to crack, bully for you. That is truly awesome. That company should take the market by storm. For the rest of us who are clearly inferior in our understanding of the basics of wood, finish technology and the marketplace, I can only offer that I personally think Conestoga is a great alternative. Have a terrific Sunday, all!
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Flowerchild
16 years ago
Same here. My DH and I did all except the pantry cabs ourselves. Had to get a stronger family member to help with those. We screwed in some small strips along the wall to help support the cabs while we were screwing them in. It was easier to perfectly align the strip first then hang the cabs on that. That way your aren't moving the heavy cabinets around trying to get them straight. It is actually done often in Europe, they take the cabinets with them when they move.

Go for it!!! Save $$$$ for something extra.
bob_cville
16 years ago
One thing that made installing the base cabinets much easier for me was that the instead of having fixed bases attached to the cabinets that then would have to have been shimmed to the correct height, my cabinets have adjustable legs mounted on the corners of the cabinets. All you need to do is set the cabinet in place and turn the cabinet legs one-by-one until the cabinet is perfectly level front-to-back and side-to-side level with the adjacent cabinet.
raehelen
16 years ago
Best and easiest $2500 we saved! Many places charge even more for installation. I've heard some on this forum have paid AS much if not MORE for installation as they did for their cabinets!

DH built a box to help support the uppers, (guess he didn't want to put holes in the drywall- we're taking our time with backsplash, so it's all painted and purty). He screwed cabs into wall and then bolted each of them together. Make sure your level is working well- he splurged and bought himself a fancy new one. Have lots of shims of different sizes- and make sure your cabinets are totally square before you install them.
debo_2006
16 years ago
DH did it all by himself except he had a little help installed the uppers. This was his first experience installing cabs and he said he would never do it again, but knowing him, he probably would, especially with all the $$ saved by DIY. Our walls are not square so it was a challenge but he finished the job and everything looks great. Just make sure the cabinets are as level/square as possible and shim, shim, shim. That's the major issue because it may show when the counters get put on.

Good luck.
PattyK
Original Author
16 years ago
thank you all for the responses..I will show him all of them and let him decide and stick by whatever decision he makes...we do have quite a few people that will help him if he runs into a problem but they really do not want to do the whole job..
bklyn2pok
16 years ago
Make sure you mark your studs clearly...makes installation that much easier.
peteinsonj
16 years ago
Some cabinets, like Ikea & other "Euro" brands, have a rail you screw to the wall, then you hang the uppers on the rail and put a few screws into the studs. REALLY easy!

Also -- Euro base cabinets, in general, have legs that can be adjusted -- makes that process much easier than using shims in all different directions.

In general, the base ones are more challenging -- especially if you're getting stone counters -- since they have to be perfectly level in all directions! If they are off even a bit -- the stone will crack.

/p

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