Installing New Kitchen Cabinets the Old Fashioned Way, by Ourselves

We did have some significant, experienced (very welcome!) help with our brother-in-law, Bob. Between he and Dom, they managed to get everything done over the course of 2 months of weekends.

If you don’t have considerable experience with house projects, installing cabinets certainly isn’t the one to start with. But if you know your way around levels and carpentry tools, you can save a boatload of money doing the work yourself. Keep reading for what we did.

This post just covers the actual cabinet installation. For everything before and after, including preparing the walls, installing electrical outlets and all the finishing touches in the kitchen, visit the Kitchen page. For instructions on how we demo’d the floor and the old cabinets, click here.

Once the cabinets were delivered, Home Depot advised inspecting each one as soon as possible so we could quickly report any issues. So, in the day or so after delivery we unpacked and inspected each cabinet for defects, and labeled each one so we would know where each cabinet was supposed to go.

We did have some issues with the glazing/finish on a few of the doors, which we reported to Home Depot and they replaced them. Luckily they were only doors so the installation could continue without them while we awaited replacements.

See pictures below!

Bob’s rule of thumb is to always start at the highest point with a cabinet install. The goal is to have level cabinets. It’s easier to shim under the cabinets on the lower spots to make them level with the first one rather than start on a low point and trim the bottoms while working ‘uphill.’

So there’s lots of measuring. They also made sure they knew where the studs were so the cabinets would stay on the wall!

SETBACK – Once they had done that, they realized that in order to vent the microwave to the outside wall, they needed to work in the space above the corner cabinet. Having those first cabinets installed was in the way so they had to take them down.

They then spent the weekend planning out and preparing to install the vent for the microwave. It took a lot of time but was the right thing to do.

Once the vent was in, the corner cabinets went back up and over the next several weekends they installed most of the upper and base cabinets.

See pictures below!

I was then able to move all the pantry items from my old pantry, which had been stored in the breakfast nook, to the new one.

I took the opportunity to completely re-organize the space. I planned and measured and ordered all the appropriate containers ahead of time. I even created my own pantry labels, and I’ve made them available for you to download for free! Click here to instantly download my custom hand-drawn pantry labels!

See the images below for both the outside and inside of this great new cabinet.

We decided to have someone else install the countertop. We had never done it before and, because we invested a significant amount of money in this item, we didn’t want to chance screwing it up. So we left it to the professionals.

While we were waiting for the base cabinets to be done we made a final decision on the kitchen sink. I had decided to go with a gorgeous copper sink and had ordered it to arrive in time for the countertop installers to take their measurements. Unfortunately the sink didn’t fit and we had to go with plan B – the standard stainless sink. It was a bit of a debacle and you can read all about it in this post – the Copper Kitchen Sink that Wasn’t.

So we were psyched about the countertop measuring appointment. Aside from the sink problem, that appointment happened as planned and they scheduled the installation appointment for approximately 2 weeks out.

Once the countertop and sink were in, we would have an almost fully functional kitchen, for the first time in a couple of months. Something to look forward to!

The countertop installation allowed us to move our kitchen supplies and tools that were stored in the back room into their appropriate spots in the kitchen cabinets.

It took a little trial and error to figure out exactly where everything should go. Overall, though, we had more space in the new kitchen than we had in the old so things became much better organized in the new kitchen.

It’s difficult to even count the features that I love about this new space, but I gave it a go. View our Tour My Kitchen page for all the details.

We realized after we installed the dishwasher that it had a dent in the top, something every one of us had missed when we unpacked it. No worries, we contacted Home Depot and they sent a technician out and replaced the damaged parts.

PLANNING FAIL – when we drew up the plans for the garage, we remember to swing the door to the left but we forgot to change the door swing for the cabinet above. Bummer but a good reminder to make sure you CHECK ALL YOUR DOOR SWINGS if you order your own cabinets!

Before we installed the cabinets, we had measured for and installed cement board in the areas where the backsplash tile would be installed so the wall was prep’d for this installation. The process for installing it was pretty much the same as installing a tile floor, which you can read about here.

Dom did a fabulous job with the installation. The backsplash looks awesome and it hasn’t fallen off the wall yet! See pictures below.

Great finishing touches!

We still have yet to install the cabinet skins and kickplates and the broom closet door (we’ll be getting to those soon).

For more information

• Read about our overall kitchen remodel here.
• Read about our floor and (old) cabinet demo here.
• Read about my copper kitchen sink that wasn’t here.
• Read about installing ceramic tile here.
• For our FREE guide, ’10 Secrets to Selecting Kitchen Cabinets you’ll Love’, click here.

How about you?

Do you have a favorite renovation? I’d love to hear about it. Please share in the comments below!