DIY Kitchen Cabinets

Any time you're looking at a kitchen remodel, you're looking at big bucks. New cabinets alone will cost half of any remodeling budget which is going to run into as much as $20,000 to $50,000. Do you also realize that the largest percentage of the cost of any cabinet installation is labor? That's why many people who are thinking about remodeling their kitchens also consider DIY kitchen cabinets. With a few basic carpentry skills and tools, you can save yourself a pile of money or have enough left in your budget to upgrade to much nicer cabinetry.

The installation of kitchen cabinets probably isn't a job you can do in a weekend, because it takes time to do the job right. In addition, you're going to need at least one person to help you, because lifting the heavy cabinet boxes into place and holding them there while trying to screw them to the wall is a difficult, if not impossible, job without assistance. You could also probably use some helping removing the old cabinets from the walls. Don't just use a crowbar and jerk them down. Take your time so that you don't damage the walls. If you end up needing wall repairs, any money you've saved by doing the project yourself will be gone.

Start by measuring and drawing a straight line parallel to the floor or countertop. Use a stud finder to locate the studs so that you can screw 1” x 3”s onto the wall temporarily. The top of the board should run even with the line you drew. When you start cabinet installation, do any corner cabinets first. Drill pilot holes and then hang the cabinet by a couple of screws while you check the top of the cabinet to see if it's level. If it is, go ahead and add enough screws drilled into the studs so that you know the cabinets will hang securely. You will attach adjacent cabinets to the corner cabinet using clamps so that you can make sure everything is plumb. Once you have an entire block square and even, you can screw cabinets into each other and into the wall to make them secure.

Make sure the screws you use are long enough and that they are placed into the studs. After all, these cabinets are going to carry the weight of things like sets of dishes and shelves of canned goods, so they need to be able to carry a heavy load. Years ago I knew a gal whose husband was remodeling their kitchen. Unbeknownst to her, he nailed the cabinets to the walls instead of using screws and just nailed wherever he chose without looking for the studs. Needless to say, once she loaded these cabinets with her dishes, one of them fell off the wall smashing everything inside. DIY kitchen cabinets is one of those jobs that can be done on your own as long as you know what you're doing and do it right.

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Ofelia

Posted 97 days ago

You can paint laminate cabinets, no problem. Just make sure that you clean and scuff them up really good. (Scuffing is important so that the pain takes to an otherwise non-porous material.) See the page on this site for that too! Good luck!!

Jonell

Posted 99 days ago

I wouldn't use old hardware, but I guess you could. Just think of it this way though -- you're investing money (and time and energy!!!) in getting brand new cabinets. Then you put old hardware on. Hardware, even in good shape, has a limited lifespan. So it gets rusty way before the nice cabinets have lived their lives. I'd just pony up for new stuff all around.

Willian

Posted 100 days ago

Can I use the hardware from my old cabinets on my new ones? I'm actually scaling down from two walls full of ugly cheap cabinets to one wall of (HOPEFULLY!) well-made and handsome cabinets and one baker's rack. Soooo, I have plenty of hinges and knobs and handles that look perfectly good to me. Okay to use em?

Coy

Posted 100 days ago

A shim is just a spacer, something you slide in, like a wedge. I think in this example it'd be, say, if you have a slightly not-plumb wall or ceiling or something. In these parts (New England) it happens CONSTANTLY in older homes. Then you don't want your cabinet to lie exactly flush with the wall or whatever the tilted surface may be. Does that make sense?

Hipolito

Posted 100 days ago

I'm a fairly experienced DIY carpenter. I've made drawers before and a basic coffee table type thing. Nothing gorgeous but sturdy - what counts! Is it just as easy to make cabinet doors with frames? I definitely want to go that route, so I'll just buy the doors pre-made if it's a surer bet, to make sure they look really pro.

Charla

Posted 100 days ago

I agree that no-knobs is the way to go... IF you like that feel (and, of course, that look.) It's a pain though, in my humble opinion, to open cabinets that way ESPECIALLY if they're made by even a very good amateur. Say you have a cabinet door that's slightly heavy or large -- it's obnoxious to have to open it with your fingertips. Big quality-of-life points in easily opening one's kitchen cabinets.

Vaughn

Posted 100 days ago

The idea of finishing nails is that then there's less of the nail-head showing (or screw-head..is that a word?) and thereby you don't have so much surface covered with wood putty. Think about it -- do you want to see a gob of wood putty the size of a pencil eraser, or the size of a pin-head? Quite a difference aesthetically.

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