Do I need a carpenter or a handyman to install three upper cabinets?

5 years ago

Can anyone make any recommendations for assembling and installing cabinets? We're doing a very minor remodel, including installing three new upper cabinets. I don't think it will take more than a few hours to install three upper cabinets, but I'm trying to get a sense of how much that will cost and whether a handyman can do the work, rather than someone who's a full-blown carpenter. Keep in mind, I am very handy and could potentially do some of the work myself (for example, I can definitely take down the existing cabinets before the pro shows up). Any thoughts or tips?

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Jennifer K

5 years ago

I just installed a run of Ikea uppers in my sewing room. It was time-consuming but straightforward. When I do my laundry-room it will go much more quickly. Other systems may be less DIY friendly.

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Comments (8)

User
5 years ago
How many levels, clamps, and shims do you own?
rantontoo
5 years ago
What kind of assembling? It is my understanding that most rta cabs are meant to be diy. Can you handle the assembly also?

You will have to ask the handyman you are considering whether hanging cabs is in his/her skill set. There is skill involved with that unless you are ok with a hack job. My handyman hung cabs in my whole kitchen, and he is meticulous.
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If there's an Ikea in your area, a local handyman could build you very nice cabs using their stuff, it would have top notch hardware and install easily. You DON'T need to be a carpenter to put Ikea cabs together. If you have an electric screwdriver or drill, you can build a box in half an hour, and build 3 drawers to go inside in 15 minutes. But if you just aren't up for that, you could ask the Ikea if there are any local tradesman that do this regularly. HD and others carry pre-made boxes [not ready to asseble, like Ikea] that aren't hard to install, though from what I've seen they are nearly as expensive as the Ikea ones, but not as well made. For a laundry room, I don't personally think granite is worthwhile. you could either use Ikea, or a pre-laminated piece cut to size from HD or other company. Bear in mind that HD and Lowes can have some decent stuff, but a locally owned store likely carries a slightly higher grade of merchandise-- the big stores are more 'lowest common denominator'. I think your budget is do-able, but you will have to pay some attention, too: seems like the numbers can get crazy fast if you have to have any plumbing or ductwork moved.
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Keep working on him. I am more convinced than ever that that is the direction I am heading. I even got a price on new windows yesterday. I may put a few uppers on the range wall but I have not made up my mind. My DH was all about having more and more storage with no real plan for what we would put in there. When I actually looked around, I realized that most of the stuff in the upper cabinets on the sink wall were going to be living somewhere else in the new kitchen. I think the little things I have done that have improved our house have helped my DH trust me a little more. We took down the wall between the kitchen and family room after much complaining from him about "taking down a perfectly good wall". Now, we cannot imagine our house without it. I bought a 36'' Liebherr and DH said "Have I told you how much I love the fridge?". I told him no just to hear him say it again. He sees how much bigger the kitchen is without the giant monster fridge. Just keep throwing some great looking inspiration pictures his way. My DH has come a long way. Best of luck.
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@jellytoast and others who point out that basically I’m not qualified to act as my own GC and am not saving money by trying to do so: There’s truth to that. Ultimately I’m responsible for not verifying the install was plumb and square, and you have a valid point. I knew the installation itself was critical, and I knew the cabinets need to be square. I totally dropped the ball on verifying that they were. On the other hand, as Sammy pointed out, some GC’s are no better than what I wound up with. This could have ended up a non-issue, or the same way – or even worse. In any event we’re dependent on (1) our own knowledge + information from the GC or (2) our own knowledge + information from the installers/tradesmen. When we bought the house 2 years ago we hired a GC to install hardwood floors (in ½ the house) and to handle what was going to be a much larger kitchen remodel (bump into the garage and tear down another wall instead of keeping the same footprint). It was a really bad experience. First, we paid a premium for sub-par hardwood floor install/finish. Had I learned more on my own about HW floor install and finishes rather than relying on information from the GC and his sub we would have done the floors differently. It was a disappointing and costly mistake. I learned there are risks with a GC as well as without a GC, and that hiring a GC doesn’t guarantee desired results. We did get a bid from another GC to handle the scaled-down kitchen redo this year. Ultimately we weighed the risks vs costs in either scenario (GC vs no GC) and decided to GC ourselves. This isn’t the right decision for everyone, but I still believe it was the right decision for us despite the situation we’re dealing with. The KD came out yesterday along with one of the original installers and an install project manager. The project manager recommended tearing out the counter that has ½” shim, and install the cabinets correctly. Also tear out the crown moulding where it’s bad/ugly and re-do. All doors that have cosmetic imperfections will be replaced. At this point we are satisfied with the proposed solution, although it’s certainly not over. I can’t say how much I appreciate all your comments and help! Thank you!!
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suzanne_sl
5 years ago
The tricky part on uppers, well, there's more than one tricky part. The first is that they are positioned up over your head! You have to figure out how you're going to get them to hold still long enough to screw them to the wall. A ledger board is common, but there are other solutions.

As a rule your wall isn't straight and flat. If someone just puts them up against the wall and screws* them in they can "rack" them. Essentially this means they can twist the joints because they made the squared up cabinet conform to a not-square wall. You'd think people whose job it is to put up cabinets would know how to avoid this, but we see it here regularly. This is where Sophie's shims come in. [Our 1st kitchen had a major wall bow because the crown on one stud was bowed towards the kitchen while the rest were bowed to the next room.]

Those 3 cabinets have to be absolutely flat across the fronts of the whole run. At the same time they have to be level from left to right and top to bottom, so in 3 dimensions as well as with each other. Enter Sophie's levels. There are all sorts of good videos online about how-to.

DH and I decided that no one cared as much as we did how well this was done, so we did it ourselves, twice now. We are not fast, but we're perfectionists. if you do look for someone else to do it for you, I'd pay the extra to hire the guy with the training. That could be a college or union trained carpenter, but it could be someone else. You'd have to evaluate the person's expertise and commitment to doing an excellent job. The guy who'll do it for $50 in under an hour? Keep on walking.

*If your installer shows up with nails or dry wall screws for installation, show him the door!
wdccruise
5 years ago
If your wall is flat and contains wood studs* it's pretty easy to install Ikea wall cabinets. You start by attaching a horizontal rail -- which is the width of all three cabinets -- to the studs. You then assemble and hang each cabinet on the rail. The rail assures that all cabinets are the same height and are flush with one another. Because the cabinets hang on the rail, one person can install them if he can lift them. The most time-consuming part? Assembling the cabinets.

*If the studs are metal, wood blocking will have to be added for the rail.
Lyndee Lee
5 years ago
If you are handy and have the tools, installing cabinets is not particularly difficult. You will need some way to hold the cabinets in place while you are working which is probably a ledger board and a helper. If there are already cabinets in place, you will be able to mark the studs when you remove them.

While price can be an indicator of quality, an expensive installer is probably not necessary if you are replacing some existing cabinets and not trying to install around a corner or on multiple walls. Training does not prove competence and many very competent people have no formal training, just common sense and lots of experience.
ci_lantro
5 years ago
If you're 'very handy' you should be able to assemble the cabinets yourself.

If the three cabinets are going to be hung next to one another, you can attach the cabinets to each other before hanging. And use a French cleat to hang them. Or a Z-Bar hanging system. Easier to shim the cleat or z-bar to plumb as you install it vs. shimming cabinets individually.

https://sawdustgirl.com/how-to-hang-a-cabinet-using-a-french-cleat/

Warning: if you use the cleat or Z-Bar, there will be a gap behind the cabinets the thickness of the hanging system. If the ends of the cabinets are exposed, then the gap will be visible so have a plan on how to deal with that.
dan1888
5 years ago
Watch some vids.

Do I need a carpenter or a handyman to install three upper cabinets?

Jennifer K

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