Install of cabinet pulls in scope of cabinet installation?

14 years ago

I ordered cabinets separately from contractor who is doing the install (as part of full kitchen remodel). The estimate excludes cabinet pulls or knobs. I understood that to mean the materials themselves. Contractor is now proposing change order for installing the pulls. Seems odd to me that installation of the pulls would be excluded from cabinet installation generally. Is that normal? Your experience/advice appreciated.

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Comments (8)

rjr220
14 years ago
I was surprised to find out that pulls and installation WERE included in my custom cabs (or rather, an allowance for pulls). Guess it just depends on the individual maker/GC? I ended up taking the allowance and getting pulls they didn't offer, but drilling/installation is part of the price.
michellemarie
14 years ago
The cabinet maker is the one who drills the holes for the hardware. Even though you may not have picked it out he should have asked you how you wanted it drilled.
I didn't have hardware picked out and was not purchasing it from my cabinet maker so my husband just did it.
Your installer is responsible for hanging the cabinets. If drilling the holes was not in your contract, ask him for a price.
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Hi, Jigs work, and if all the hardware is the same they can be an awesome time saver, just make sure you are positioning them properly and not running in "automatic" mode. I used 6 types of hardware, so making six jigs was not considered. I came up with a rule for positioning bar pulls, and shared it here years ago, but it's worth repeating. Make your pulls slightly higher than the centerline of the drawer if you want them to appear centered. You need then a bit higher to overcome the forced perspective that you will impose on them by the virtue of being more than 3ft tall. When you look down on a bar pull that's mathematically centered, it looks lower. 1/16 to 1/8" is about the fraction to raise them. I use the Festool 5mm Centrotec drill bit for knob screw holes. It is the best bit for the job, as there is very minimal tearout on the back side, and while it is a brad-point bit it does not grab aggressively into the wood. A brad-point is crucial, because you can place it on your mark within 0.005 every time (if not using a template ) After you have aligned your doors, mark for the hardware that are adjacent to each other, like pairs of doors. Use a small level to see that they are both the same measurement and the same height/level from the floor. Double check that you're not drilling into the hinge side of doors! Check every single time before you drill. Casey Here is a link that might be useful: Festool drill bit
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Fori
14 years ago
My cabinet installer/builder charged extra for drilling and/or installation of knobs and pulls, but it was clearly specified in the contract.
portland_renovation
14 years ago
installing the pulls and knobs wasn't included in either our cabinet build contract, or our installation contract. however, I was told that up-front. We will probably just drill and install ourselves. If you end up doing it yourselves, here's a tip I got from a friend whose father used to own a custom cabinet shop: make a template with the wholes pre-measured that you can slap on your drawer fronts. That way each of them turn out to be the same, and you don't have to measure each and everytime. Of course this doesn't work if your drawers are all different sizes!
dlr98004
14 years ago
Our cabinet maker also installs the cabinets and was clear on the order: cabinet pulls are not included but will be installed if provided when the installation occurs.
We installed our own pulls on our first set of cabinets (we made a template) and they turned out fine. It is a little nerve racking to make sure you get them exactly right. I think you can actually purchase templates for drilling. Also, do a test drill on a scrap of wood to BE SURE you have the right size drill bit! good luck!
eks6426
14 years ago
They were not included on my custom cabinet install. We did the long bar handles so we had 5 different sizes of handles to go on a variety of sizes of cabinets. It was very nerve racking but we got it done and it looks great.

One tip we got from the local Lowes was to get a line level to tape onto your drill. It helps you drill level into the cabinet so the handles will attach correctly. It was a great $2 investment.

I made a template for each size handle based on the center point of the drawer. So, for each drawer, I found the center point, measured down the 1 1/2" from the top that I planned on using, then put the template up. Worked great.

But I did learn that there is slight variation in how the drawers line up because of variation in the floor. I decided that it was important for the handles to look level rather than be exactly 1 1/2" down from the top of the drawer. So, I used a laser level to get that line across all the cabinets. Some of the handles are slightly different than the 1 1/2" from the top of the drawer because of doing it according to level, but it looks right now that it is done.

Good luck to you.
marcy96
14 years ago
I purchased my cabinets and cabinet pulls & knobs myself, and my contractor included the cabinet installation and the installation of the pulls & knobs in his estimate. In fact, I never questioned that he was going to install the knobs & pulls as part of the job. It seems odd to me that your GC wouldn't include that as part of the job, but I guess they are all different.
dianne47
14 years ago
This is a detail that should be discussed and specified in your contract. Our cabinetmaker included the install of the knobs and pulls as part of his quote, I'm going to buy them online.

Install of cabinet pulls in scope of cabinet installation?

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rjr220

michellemarie

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