close up of the last picture.

The biggest functional problem is the cabinets on either side of the DW. They absolutely have to be level for the counter top to sit properly, but it's not too difficult to shim one or the other to make them level even after the fact. (Don't forget to also check level front to back and across the fronts.)

The uppers are cosmetic problems. 3/16" is actually quite a lot to be off - your eye is going to pick it up every time until you "get used to it." Unfortunately, the fix is going to involve unscrewing one or more cabinets from the wall, moving them just a bit and re-screwing. If they are adjacent to others in the row, this could be a pain. Didn't your installer use a ledger board or something to line them up?

The last one where the door is level, but not the box, how much is it off? It may be possible to ignore the issue, depending.

As for: I want them perfectly level but in reality, I don't know if he can achieve that. We have DIY'd the installation of two kitchens in the last 5 years and gotten everything perfectly level in all dimensions, not to say it was a breeze, but we got it right. One kitchen was original in 1970, the other in 1964. Neither had perfectly straight walls and the older one has amazingly out-of-level floors. Did I mention we're in our 60s? If we can do this, your contractor and his not-in-their-60s crew certainly can. It's what you're paying him for.

When my cabinets were being installed 6 weeks ago, the installer used a level and made sure EVERYTHING was level, and shimmed where the walls/floor wasn't.

They need to be a lot more level than that, thats for sure. You need to find the high spot in your floor, and the low spot in your ceiling. The base cabinets should be shimmed to 34.5" above that high spot in the floor. Wall cabinets bottom alignment is 54" above that high spot. But you also have to know the low spot in the ceiling, because that controls the overall height of the uppers.

Should be close to perfect in all directions BUT should be checked with a quality 6 foot metal level, nothing less (that laser is less)

"The base cabinets should be shimmed to 34.5" above that high spot in the floor."

True that, but don't forget to add the thickness of any floor covering. You want your uncoupling membrane, thinset, and tile under, not in front of, your dishwasher.

N Sue:

Your cabinet installer is a hack and you can tell him I said so.

Place a straightedge under your level to make it a four footer or so, then place the straightedge with the level on top in an "X" fashion over the dishwasher opening, corner to corner. Do this all around too.

Sight down the cabinet fronts. Are they straight, or do they follow a crooked wall?

Let's have a picture of the screws he's using and their placement too, please. Walls and cabinets ganged together.

You can't just screw a cabinet to a wall and call it good. If the wall is bowed, you'll pull the cabinet out of square, known in the trade as "racking". You may never get the door to shut properly.

Finally, to answer your title question, "It depends." Eurostyle full overlay doors and drawer fronts leave no room for molding to cover shims at the countertop so you'll have to caulk to cover them. Even with perfectly set cabinets, some shimming may be required to compensate for varying thicknesses of stone.

I just cut an estone top for a cooktop today. This customer's eggs are all gonna slide to one end of the pan because the cabinets and tops are out by 3/16" or so. Nothing I could do, the splash and tile above are in. He can shim his cooktop in crooked but level though. That's why this is important.

He is here. He said For the base cabinet the only parts that need to level is the faceframe because the granite will need to be shimmed on the back. He said it is wrong to level on top in an "X" fashion over the dishwasher opening.

He also said that each cabinet doesn't need to be level but they have to level across multiple cabinets because the box itself (semi-custom) may not be level.

He won't adjust the wall cabinet to the left of the m/w because when he put the level on the left and right of the M/W, it levels. Eventhough the left cabinet is clearly crooked, he won't adjusted.

I can't argue any more. He said he has been doing this for 10 years... I am so tired. :(

It doesn't take any arguing, just a simple, "If you want to get paid the balance, do it right."

Considering the cost of a kitchen and the length of time it will be installed and how often you'll be looking at it, you should probably consider getting someone else in to fix what this hack has done. 10 years of sloppy work doesn't make him king. I know you don't want to argue any more or spend the money to fix what you've already paid for (you've already paid him, yes?). Still, fixing it is better than not. Just get someone else in. Do be sure to add your comment to this guy's Yelp review: After X installed our cabinets we had to hire someone else to come in and make them level as he refused to do so.

And what does this mean? ...because the granite will need to be shimmed on the back. So the cabs are also not level from back to front?Have you tried setting a marble inside your cabinets to see which way it rolls, 'cause I'm pretty sure there will be rolling going on. Good grief.

This man is a hack. You will not get a reputable counter top installer to put countertop on something so out of level.my granite installers had a stinflation that if the cabinets were not level there would be a return trip charge to come back and install the tips on level cabinets. They would not install on out of level cabinets. Period.

N Sue:

"He said For the base cabinet the only parts that need to level is the faceframe because the granite will need to be shimmed on the back."

Nonsense. Cabinets are built square. That means when the faceframe is plumb, front to back and side to side, the cabinet must be level. It's math. 2+2=4 in his world and in mine. A level placed over the dishwasher opening in an "X" fashion will confirm that the two cabinets not touching each other are on the same plane. Calibrated levels are incapable of lying although, like a best friend, they often tell you what you don't want to hear.

He is counting on wearing you out. This guy is not only a hack, he's a hack's hack. I've been setting cabinets for thirty years and have never heard such drivel.

Your fight with him may be painful and seem protracted, but it sure beats eggs sliding to the side of the pan every morning for years and years as a reminder of the fight you didn't fight.

Joseph Corlett, LLC,

Thank you. I value your opinion a lot. He is definitely a hack's hack. Now I just hope that the granite company will safe me by shimming the granite to level so eggs won't roll. I also hope that the granite overhang will cover uneven plane of the cabinet face.

Lesson learned -- you get what you pay for -- I only spent $5k for the cabinets and $2.5k for labors to rip out the old kitchen and install the new cabinets. I should have paid more to hire a more reputable installer. He has HIC, is on BBB, and has nice showroom, so I thought he'd be okay. I was so wrong...

I have already paid him. :(