If you’ve decided to replace your old kitchen cabinets, you don’t necessarily need a professional to come and install the new ones for you. If you decide to do it yourself, you should have at least basic skills and the right tools to install them correctly.
The first thing to do before anything else, of course, is to remove the old cabinets. Be sure to remove them very carefully so there is no damage that you need to repair before you can install your new kitchen cabinets. The best thing to do is remove the doors first and remove all the drawers. And if the shelves are removable, be sure to remove those as well. Make sure you have someone else there to help you remove the cabinets from the wall. They should help support the cabinets while you remove the screws that the cabinets are attached to the walls with.
The first step in installing your new kitchen cabinets is to take a pencil and start three inches from the floor, draw a line making sure it is straight with your level. From the line you need to measure the wall up to 34 1/2 inches, draw a level line across the wall, this will be the top of the base for your cabinets.
Next, you’ll draw a line from the line you just made; this line should be 19 1/2 inches long and mark a level line for the bottom of the wall cabinet. Be sure to make light marks of the actual dimensions of the cabinets you are going to install.
The next step is to find the wall studs. Once you’ve found the studs, mark their location with a pencil. These marks should be about six inches below the line made for the bottom of the wall cabinet.
You should screw in a piece of temporary wood that is 1 by 3; this will be used for support purposes only and will be removed when no longer needed. Attach the temporary piece of wood to the line that represents the bottom of the cabinets, the screws should be attached to the studs.
Make sure you have someone to help you install the cabinets. The first cabinet you’ll want to install is going to be the corner cabinet. You will need to drill holes in the back of the cabinet and in the studs. You will now need to use screws that are long enough to screw the cabinet into the wall studs. You will use two screws to attach the cabinets. Take the level to see if the top of the cabinet is level; if not, you will need to adjust the screws.
You can now start installing the rest of the cabinets making sure each cabinet is clamped to its adjacent cabinet. With cabinets that have face frames, you need to drill 1/8 inch holes through the sides of the cabinet face, make sure you only screw. With cabinets that do not have frames, drill bolt holes and secure with bolts.
Once all of the kitchen cabinets are in place, install the end base or corner cabinet. If you need to level it more, you can use shims to raise the cabinets. If you must use a wedge, make sure it is level front to back and side to side and make sure the wedge is screwed into the wall studs.
Your final step is to screw the back of the cabinets to the wall up to the wall studs.
