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Renovation 4th Edition

Page 84

by Michael Litchfield


  Sink base

  27 in.

  A cornucopia

  21

  Dishwasher

  /2-in. scribe piece

  (wall not plumb)

  of CABInetS

  Single-door

  base cabinet

  Range

  36 in.

  custom-made cabinets are still the gold stan-

  11

  dard on most jobs, but better grades of factory-

  /2-in. scribe

  piece to fil gap

  15 in.

  made cabinets are increasingly well made and

  cost competitive. That is, you can order fine cab-

  inets by mail and expect to receive tight joinery,

  Drawer cabinet

  matched wood grain, and excellent finishes.

  cabinet parts from different sources are uni-

  Once you choose a layout that works well, use base cabinets to tie

  appliances and work areas together. On your floor plan, note room

  formly sized and virtually interchangeable, so

  irregularities that could affect layout and instal ation. Using light pencil

  you can mix and match thousands of cabinet

  lines, mark cabinet and appliance locations onto the walls.

  cases, doors, drawers, and hardware types.

  360 chapter 13

  by side because one likes it hot, the other cold. In Speaking of inside corners, allow enough room

  P R O T I P

  general, place the refrigerator toward the end of

  for cabinet doors to open freely.

  a cabinet run, so its big doors can swing free.

  Cabinet dimensions. Basically, there are three

  When cabinets arrive, inspect

  When the appliances are comfortably situated,

  types of stock cabinets: base cabinets, wall cabi-

  the packaging for signs of abuse

  fill in the spaces between with cabinets.

  nets, and specialty cabinets.

  or breakage—crushed corners or

  Try not to fit cabinets too tightly to room

   Base cabinets are typically 24 in. deep

  torn cardboard—before unwrap-

  dimensions. If you’re fitting cabinets into an

  and 341⁄

  ping them. Make sure the cabi-

  2 in. tall so that when a countertop is

  older house, it’s safer to undersize cabinet runs

  added, the total height will be 36 in. Base

  nets and hardware are the styles

  slightly—allow 11⁄2 in. of free space at the end of

  cabinet widths increase in 3-in. increments, as

  you ordered, and cross-check

  each bank of cabinets—so you have room to fine-

  your order against the shipping

  do wall cabinet widths. Single-door base cabinets

  tune the installation. You can cover gaps at walls

  invoice to be sure all parts are

  range from 12 in. to 24 in. wide; double-door

  or inside corners with scribed trim pieces.

  there. report damaged or miss-

  base cabinets run 27 in. to 48 in. wide. Drawer

  ing parts immediately.

  cabinet basics

  cabinets today are basically boxes of ply-

  wood, particleboard, or medium-density

  fiberboard (MdF) panels that are glued and

  screwed together. side panels, bottoms, and

  partitions are typically 5⁄8 in. thick; back pan-

  els are usually 1⁄4 in. thick. on custom and

  semicustom cabinets, you can request thicker

  stock, but it will cost more.

  cabinet faces are either frameless (the

  edges of the panels are the frame, although

  they may be veneered or edgebanded) or face

  frame (a four-sided wood frame covers the

  edges of each box).

  Frameless cabinets (also called european

  This frameless base cabinet will have a countertop or its substrate attached to the

  two plywood webs (stringers) running across its top. The two mounting rails on the

  style) have fewer elements and a simpler

  back of the cabinet will be screwed to studs, securing the unit.

  design, so they are easier to manufacture.

  (the cabinets shown in the installation pho-

  tos are frameless.) doors and drawers typically kickspaces

  scribe pieces

  lie flush on the case and overlay the panel

  the indentation at the bottom of a base cabi-

  cabinet assemblies also include small but

  edges. usually, there’s 1⁄8 in. between the

  net that provides room for your toes, so you

  important filler strips called scribe pieces or

  door and the drawer edges.

  can belly up to the cabinet while prepping

  scribe panels. these typically have a rabbeted

  Face-frame cabinets offer more visual vari-

  food or doing dishes, is called the kickspace.

  back so they can easily be ripped down to fill

  ety. you can expose more or less of the frame,

  Without a kickspace, you’d need to lean for-

  gaps between cabinets or between a cabinet

  vary the gaps between drawers and doors, use ward to work at the counter—a sure recipe

  and a wall. on a frameless cabinet, a separate

  different hinge types, and so on. in general,

  for backaches. custom-made cabinets sit on a scribe piece may be attached to a side panel,

  designers who want a more ornamental, less

  separate rough toekick (also called a plinth or

  near its face, whereas on face-frame cabinets,

  severe, more traditional look often specify

  subbase), which is often assembled on site,

  the frame stile (vertical piece) has a rabbeted

  face-frame cabinets.

  whereas most (but not all) factory-made base

  back edge (for scribing). in addition, many

  in addition to the elements above, cabi-

  cabinets arrive with toekicks built in. toekicks cabinet side panels extend slightly beyond the

  net cases have mounting rails (also suspen-

  are covered by a kickface, or finish toekick, a

  back panels so those side panels can be scribed

  sion rails) that you screw through to secure

  1⁄8-in. plywood strip with the same finish as

  to fit snugly to the wall, as shown in the left

  the cabinets to studs. base cabinets also

  the cabinets or a vinyl strip; the kickface is

  photo on p. 367. custom cabinetmakers often

  have stringers—plywood webs across the

  better installed after the finish floor.

  create a separate scribe panel to dress up the

  top—to make boxes more rigid, keep parti-

  end cabinet in a run and cover any gaps

  tions and sides in place, and provide some-

  along the wall.

  thing solid to screw the countertop to.

  kitchens and baths

  361

  cabinets vary from 15 in. to 24 in. wide. Tray

  units are generally 9 in. to 12 in. wide.

   Wall cabinets are 12 in. to 15 in. deep,

  with 12 in. being the most common depth.

  They vary from 12 in. to 33 in. high. Wall

  P R O T I P

  cabinet widths generally correspond to base

  cabinet widths so cabinet joints line up.

  to indicate the cabinet

  

  heights on the walls, use light

  Specialty cabinets include tray cabinets,

  pencil lines; don’t use cha
lklines

  base corner units, corner units with rotating

  because they are fuzzy and inex-

  shelves, tall refrigerator or utility cabinets,

  act, and their vivid color may

  and wall-oven cabinets. Specialty accessories

  bleed through the finish coats

  include spice racks, sliding cutting boards,

  of paint.

  and tilt-out bins. Specialty cabinet dimensions

  vary, not always in predictable increments.

  Base sink cabinets range from 36 in. wide (no

  drawers on either side) to 84 in., typically in

  6-in. increments.

  ordering cabinets

  After numerous refinements, your kitchen layout

  When installing cabinets, start from a high point in the

  floor—in this case, at the upper right corner of the photo.

  should be tight enough to take it to a home cen-

  As you work out from the high point, add shims as

  ter and get an estimate on the cabinets. Or you

  necessary to level the toekick (or the base of the cabinet)

  can go online, where numerous websites will

  in two directions.

  walk you through measuring and ordering. If

  you’ve never ordered cabinets before, it’s smart to

  hire a finish carpenter to help figure out exactly

  what you need.

  Stone countertop

  Before ordering cabinets, clean up floor plans

  zzzzzz cabinet-Mounting and edge details

  Mounting

  with laminated edge

  and elevations, and survey the kitchen one last

  rails

  time, noting window, door, and appliance loca-

  Setting material

  tions, electrical outlets, switches, and lights, and

  11/2 in.

  3

  plumbing stub-outs (protruding pipe ends before

  /4-in. plywood

  Wall-cabinet

  substrate

  hookup)—in short, every physical aspect of the

  layout line

  space. Carefully remeasure the room and note

  potential problems such as sloping floors, walls

  Stringer

  that are wavy or out of plumb, and corners that

  aren’t square or that have excessive joint com-

  pound that could interfere with installation. Most

  Temporary

  of these irregularities can be corrected by shim-

  support strip

  ming cabinets to level and scribing end panels to

  Cabinet

  cover irregular surfaces, but you need to know

  case

  about them beforehand.

  Base-cabinet

  layout line

  Instal ing Cabinets

  341/2 in.

  The key to a successful cabinet installation is

  leveling the base and wall cabinets and solidly

  Mounting

  securing them to wall studs and to the floor. As

  rails

  noted earlier, carefully measure and assess the

  kitchen walls, floor, and corners before you order

  the cabinets—and review those measurements

  Rough toekick

  (aka plinth and subbase)

  and conditions again after the cabinets arrive.

  The photo sequence that follows shows a custom

  Better-grade cabinets have mounting rails on the outside of back panels

  cabinet installation, but most of its advice is

  so the rails are not visible inside the cabinet case. The edge detail shown

  relevant to the IKEA cabinet installation on

  in the enlargment is typical. The countertop substrate—here, 3/4-in.

  pp. 368–371.

  plywood—screws to stringers at the top of the cabinet case. Screw the

  cabinet bottom to the rough toekick.

  362 chapter 13

  laying out cabinets

  nails into wall areas that will be covered by cabi-

  nets. Whatever works! Use a spirit level to plumb

  Using a long level atop a straightedge, locate the

  light pencil lines that indicate the stud centers.

  high point of the floor. It’s easier to set a base

  It’s desirable to screw into as many studs as you

  cabinet (or rough toekick) at the floor’s high

  can to secure wall cabinets, but screwing into

  point and shim up the other cabinets to that level only one stud is acceptable for base cabinets and

  than it is to cut down cabinet bases and toekicks. for narrow wall cabinets that don’t reach two studs.

  From the floor’s high point, measure up the

  height of a base cabinet (usually 341⁄2 in. high)

  installing base cabinets

  and mark the wall. Use a laser level to transfer

  Cabinet installers disagree about whether it’s eas-

  the base cabinet mark to other walls, creating a

  ier to install base or wall cabinets first. If you

  level line around the room, which I’ll call the base hang the wall units first, you won’t need to lean

  cabinet layout line.

  over the base cabinets as you work. If you install

  Marking off elements. Along the base cabinet

  the bases first, you can brace the bottom of the

  layout line, mark off fixed elements, such as the

  wall cabinets off the bases and thereby install the

  stove, range hood, and refrigerator. Often, a sink

  uppers single-handedly. There isn’t one right

  cabinet will center under a window. If upper cab-

  answer, but the photos on p. 375 make a case for

  inets are to frame a window evenly on both sides, hanging the wall cabinets after installing stone

  mark the edges of those cabinets. Once the large

  countertops. Above all, be patient. Setting cabi-

  elements are marked onto the walls, mark off the nets means endlessly checking and rechecking

  widths of the individual cabinets. For frameless

  for level, fussing with shims, and so on. So don’t

  Leveling cabinet bases and toekicks

  cabinets, measure from the outside of the side

  takes shims and several spirit levels,

  begrudge the time it takes. You can’t hurry love

  panels. The frames of face-frame cabinets extend

  as well as patience. After leveling

  or cabinets.

  slightly beyond the side panels, creating slight

  each unit in two directions, run a

  Setting rough toekicks. If your cabinets have

  third level diagonally to the adjacent

  gaps between the boxes. Much of the time, the

  separate toekicks, install them first, starting at

  toekick to make sure all are at the

  sides of wall and base cabinet units will line up

  same height.

  the highest point on the floor—as you did during

  vertically because they are the same width.

  layout. Make the toekicks as long as possible to

  Marking wall cabinets. Use the base cabinet

  minimize joints because joints tend to sag and

  P R O T I P

  layout line to establish the bottoms of wall cabi-

  separate under load. Level the toekicks side to

  nets, too. Because wall cabinets are normally

  side, front to back, and from section to section.

  to make

  placed 18 in. above the finish countertop, mea-

  rough toekicks, rip

  Shimming is an inexact science: As a rule of

  down 3⁄

  sure 191


  4-in. plywood, which is

  2 in. up from the base cabinet layout line

  thumb, shim under the corners and in the middle

  more durable and water-resistant

  to position the bottoms of the wall cabinets;

  of a span—roughly every 18 in. to 24 in. A 24-in.-

  than particleboard should there

  shoot a laser level through that mark and lightly

  deep base cabinet is typically supported by a

  be a leak. don’t use 2x4s because

  pencil a second level line around the room, which 20-in.-deep toekick.

  they are rarely straight enough to

  is the wall cabinet layout line. Over refrigerators

  If floors are seriously out of level—say, 1 in. in

  use as a subbase for cabinets.

  and stoves, the bottoms of the wall cabinets will

  8 ft.—construct several ell supports such as the

  besides, rough toekicks must be

  be higher. If you also are installing full-height

  one shown in the right photo on p. 364. Screw

  4 in. high, and a modern 2x4

  pantry or broom cabinets, make sure their tops

  one leg of each ell to the subfloor, level the top of

  placed on edge would be just

  align with the tops of the wall cabinets; if they

  31⁄

  the toekick, and then screw the side of the toe-

  2 in. high.

  don’t, raise or lower the wall cabinets until the

  kick to the upright leg of each ell. Ells aren’t hard

  tops line up. Next, mark off the width of the wall

  cabinets along the wall cabinet layout line.

  Indicating scribe locations. Layout marks

  should also include scribe locations, where you

  InStALL the toekick fIrSt

  must install a narrow scribe piece (filler strip) to

  cover a gap between cabinets and an appliance or

  if finish floors aren’t yet installed and you don’t want the cabinets dinged up by the

  a space between an end cabinet and an irregular

  flooring installers, then install only the toekick initially, shimming it level and screw-

  wall. Where cabinets meet at inside corners, 11⁄2-in.-

  ing it to the subfloor. This is especially recommended if you’ll be laying tile floors

  or 2-in.-wide scribes are often needed to offset

  because mortar and grout are messy. Then flooring installers can run the flooring snug

  drawers or doors slightly, so they have room to

  to the toekick, covering the shims. When the flooring is complete, simply place the

  pull past the cabinet knobs or appliance handles

  base cabinets atop the level toekick and screw them down. When constructing the

  sticking out from the adjacent bank of cabinets.

  toekick, increase its height by the thickness of the finish floor so the top of the toe-

 

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