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I’ve recently been offered a high end euro kitchen to install. My experience and tool inventory are considerable – although – have never installed euro (32mm) boxes. Any insight and or direction to info is appreciated.
Thanks
Buz
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... i've always found them to be easier to install than the frame cabinets..same old same old... level , shim, blocking....plan ahead
and the doors and drawers are all adjustable for final alignment
b but hey, whadda i no ?
*Thanks Mike, - I've heard they are less tolerant of plumb and square error - I guess that's where my real question lies.
*well , it's harder to rack a framed cabinet out of square.. but level and plumb is the same..shimming and scribing..and the way they bolt together flush is a plus.. you don't have the same problem as you do with framed cab's where the face is flush but the box is a quarter inch to half inch away from it's neighbor.... i found them to be easier.. and better results.. more useable space , and i like the durability of the melamine boxes...b but, to each his own....
*Have to disagree a little about the racking; depends entirely on the quality of the construction. A lot of frameless cabinets you cannot rack if you want to. As far as useable space; it's claimed 25% more with frameless.The new wave in framless installation is: plastic leg levellers for base cabinets. Just tap them into a socket with a mallet, place the cab, and turn the leveller until the whole thing is perfect. Then attach the kick plate with a little attachment that usually fits in a kerf in the back of the kick, and then clips on the leg. This is probably old news to you all, but I LOVE them. In uppers, the latest thing is to attach a metal hanging strip to the wall first; the cab is notched out for this strip at the back, the cab gets lifted onto the strip, and then the cab is levelled and made plumb with adjusters located in the upper back corners, pop in a couple of screws at the bottom. This makes installation a one person job. Incompatible with my current construction method, so I haven't used them yet, but the guys that do swear by them.And that's my two cents.
*well, i'd defer to adrian on cabinets anyday...say.. a lot of those techniques have been around for years in the Steel kitchen cabinet lines... nice to see them making into the euro's
*> plastic leg levellers for base cabinets. Just tap them into a socket with a mallet, place the cab, and turn the leveller until the whole thing is perfectWouldn't those work on any cabinets? Sounds a lot easier than shims.Rich Beckman
*So far - I am not afraid - :) My understanding (from the supplier) is that this particular line of euro's is a hybrid, in that it comes with the kick in place all ready, so the levelers are not a piece of the pie. I suppose it will be shim stock as status quo.An aside here - any of you ever run in to - level and plumb but not square and vice versa.
*Every day remodeling! Check everything about a thousand times, in every combination and you can usually find the twist.If ya can't...just make sure the sink drains , or the cabinet doors swing nice and plumb! Jeff
*two out of three ain't bad.. except when it comes to kitchen cabinets... then you hope they gave you some scribe extension...
*Rich, I use the adjustable legs on my face frame cabinets. They work great. You can also fasten a level cleat to the wall and just use the legs on the fronts. Chuck
*buz,Your cabinet boxes will have to be plumb and level or your door and drawer front reveals will be out.Those 3/32" reveals can be a real workout.Good Luck,Ed. Williams
*Buz: Good to see you back! The cabs I recently put in my home are frameless, in a shaker style. i.e. not forgiving at all of out of plumb. My cabinetmaker set all my reveals when they were built, so all I had to do was hang them with the doors on, and then shut the doors and shim the bottoms so the doors look right. Scribe and rehang. I took about two days to do mine, but I'm pretty slow, and a little picky :) Also, I sure do like the space you get compared to face frame.
*You said it....a lot of the places I work on are a couple hundred years old. Solid, but not level, plumb, or square.
*The levelers I use can be accessed from the top, you drill a hole through the floor-plate of the cabinet at the centre of each leg and use a #3 Phillips screw drive to spin the leveler up or down. A standard plastic hole plug finishes off the piece when It's level. This system is really designed for wall-units and such that have to be set-up after assembled and are only semi-permanent, but what the heck, you can level a cabinet in minutes.