Kitchen cabinet installation question

[Greg Sznajdruk]

You can buy Toe Kick at the BORG prefinished in 8 foot length. Depends on your cabinets they are white, black or woodgrain.

Try to span as many cabinets as you can with the toe kick.

[Mike Goetzke]

Rob - I've never installed kitchen cabinets, but, on one of the home improvement shows I saw a neat trick. They used it for upper cabinets but it should work for you too. At the height that you are going to apply your fasteners they cut the drywall out (to expose the studs) in a long horizontal strip the length of all the cabinets and attached a 1/2" x 4" board. This way they could apply fasteners anywhere and not have to worry about hitting a stud.

Mike

[Mike Gabbay]

Rob - since the cabinet is covering the drywall in the back, I'd cut out the dry wall and install a horizontal nailer between studs. Then you can put screws in on both sides of the cabinet to the wall.

A good framing carpenter will put nailers in the kitchen and bathrooms for this very reason. Since the cabinets cover up the dry wall you only need to patch and tape/mud it. Nothing fancy.

[Mike Goetzke]

Rob - since the cabinet is covering the drywall in the back, I'd cut out the dry wall and install a horizontal nailer between studs. Then you can put screws in on both sides of the cabinet to the wall.

A good framing carpenter will put nailers in the kitchen and bathrooms for this very reason. Since the cabinets cover up the dry wall you only need to patch and tape/mud it. Nothing fancy.

Isn't this what I just said???

[Rob Blaustein]

Mike and Mike, Yes, I know about that trick. To install the blocking between 2 studs we would have to take out a strip of drywall that extents to beyond the cabinet (all the way to the stud framing the door). In principle that's not too hard to do--we've been doing lots of drywall work in there already and can do it, but we're getting tired of it and it would be more work than some of the other suggestions at this point. But thanks for throwing it out there. Rob

[Rob Blaustein]

You can buy Toe Kick at the BORG prefinished in 8 foot length. Depends on your cabinets they are white, black or woodgrain.

Try to span as many cabinets as you can with the toe kick.

My wife thought that too. That may be a time saver. The cabs are white though with a bit of tint but the difference might not be noticeable down there. Any idea how much they cost? It would certainly save us the trouble of priming and painting more strips of ply.

[Greg Sznajdruk]

Installing a nailer is a good idea if it on an interior wall. If wall is exterior then dealing with the insulation and vapour barrier can be a royal pain. Espcially re-sealing the vapour barrier.

Greg

[Rob Blaustein]

Installing a nailer is a good idea if it on an interior wall. If wall is exterior then dealing with the insulation and vapour barrier can be a royal pain. Espcially re-sealing the vapour barrier.

Greg

One of the reasons I didn't want to mess with that option. It is an exterior wall and we had to repair drywall on another exterior wall and deal with exactly the issues you mentioned (in our case there is ridgid foam insulation and vapor barrier). It's doable, but a little more tedious than I'd like given all the other carpentry things I have to do in that kitchen (while juggling a 2 yr old and 6 month old...).

[David DeCristoforo]

"...I didn't want to mess with that option....It's doable, but a little more tedious..."

Rob, you could just apply the 1/2" "nailer" right over the drywall. The only thing that would be affected would be the "net depth" of the bases which would now be 24.5". All other things being equal, you probably would not notice the diff. May not work depending on the cabinet layout but might be worth a thought....

[Steve Clardy]

Well on the right lower side of the cabinet, you could drill at an angle into the cab side/leg and put in a 3" screw into the lower wall plate. [From within the area for the dishwasher]

This, along with the one attaching point you have on the back of the cabinet, will keep it in place.
After the counter top is installed, that cabinet isn't going anywhere.

[David DeCristoforo]

"After the counter top is installed, that cabinet isn't going anywhere."

There it is... At least not unless there is a really big storm. You don't live in tornado country do you. Because if you do that cabinet, being secured "only" by the countertop and one screw could get sucked right out of the house.....

[Rob Blaustein]

Well on the right lower side of the cabinet, you could drill at an angle into the cab side/leg and put in a 3" screw into the lower wall plate. [From within the area for the dishwasher]

This, along with the one attaching point you have on the back of the cabinet, will keep it in place.
After the counter top is installed, that cabinet isn't going anywhere.

Come to think of it, I might also be able to attach to that lower wall plate through the back of the cabinet from under the bottom shelf, by reaching through the kick space. I've used that wall plate (is that the sill plate?) for attaching bases, so why not here. Or just do what you suggest. I have the portable Kreg pocket hole gizmo (rocket?) that came with the kit and it has been handy for this sort of thing. I have some 2 1/2" Kreg pocket screws too.

No tornadoes, but the occasional wolf (and you know how they can huff, and puff, and...)

Thanks for all the replies!

[Steve Clardy]

Come to think of it, I might also be able to attach to that lower wall plate through the back of the cabinet from under the bottom shelf, by reaching through the kick space. I've used that wall plate (is that the sill plate?) for attaching bases, so why not here. Or just do what you suggest. I have the portable Kreg pocket hole gizmo (rocket?) that came with the kit and it has been handy for this sort of thing. I have some 2 1/2" Kreg pocket screws too.

No tornadoes, but the occasional wolf (and you know how they can huff, and puff, and...)

Thanks for all the replies!

Yes. Sill plate. I wuz brain dead at that moment.

I've done framing, but I'm not a framer. Takes me a while to remember those names.

[Paul Girouard]

lower wall plate through the back of the cabinet from under the bottom shelf, by reaching through the kick space. I've used that wall plate (is that the sill plate?)

That's closer to the "right" name , than sill plate.

The Sill plate is the one in contact with the concrete foundation , generally under the box sill or rim joist.

On a wall , whether that wall is on a wood sub floor OR a concrete slab , the "lower plate " is generally called the "bottom plate" , the most upper plate is called the "Top Plate" , the other plate at the top of the wall is the "Sub Plate" or "Sub-Top Plate".

I hope you've got those cabinet bases set , or your fired , we coulda framed half of a small house in the time it's taken to flesh this out

Plus "set" a large kitchen cabinet job! Maybe even built a end table or some such. Ain't the Internet grand !

[Rob Blaustein]

I hope you've got those cabinet bases set , or your fired , we coulda framed half of a small house in the time it's taken to flesh this out

Plus "set" a large kitchen cabinet job! Maybe even built a end table or some such. Ain't the Internet grand !

Funny that you mention that. Every time I have to do even a small thing, like build a simple plywood base and level it, it takes me a long time, and we joke that a real carpenter would have finished the job in the time it takes me to set everything up. We are pretty much learning carpentry as we go. And it doesn't help that the house we're fixing up is 2 hrs from where we live. With the price of gas these days, and all the trips back and forth, I could have hired someone local to do it all and saved money. But where's the fun in that...