Ok i just bought my first house and have been asking many question on here. This is a great forum. I have been getting a lot of good responses to me questions. i am very handy and have been doing most of the remolding myself.
Anyway the kitchen was gutted when i bought the home. I have since ordered all new appliances and cabinets. some will be upset to hear i ordered the kraftmaids from HD. I have read a lot of mixed reviews on here about them but they we in my budget so that what i went with.
first question. i want to tile the kitchen floor. someone was telling me i should do this before the cabinet install. i just dont understand why you would want tile it cannot be seen.
second question. how hard is it to hang cabinets and where can i find good instruction on going about it?
Replies
If you are on a budget, don't tile under the countertops.
But the result may be a lower base; wobly cabinets, and a kitchen layout that can not be moved without great expense.
I say tile under the cabinets, but if you are a kraftmade Home Depot kinda guy, this advice will probably fall on deaf ears.
Buy or rent a laser level to scribe two lines along your walls, the height of the base cabinet and the lower edge of your uppers. If you are on a budget, you can make a water level. Shim the cabinets to that level. Use a 2x4 to help you support the uppers whilst you hang them, either as a free standing 2x4, called a dead man, or as a cleat which you temporarily screw into the wall to support them.
You can also get a book on finish work and or cabinet making which has some details on hanging cabinets. Good Luck.
Regards,
Boris
"Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934
Edited 5/18/2004 4:53 pm ET by BORISYELTSIN
I agree with Boris on tile. You can do either; it's a balance of cost vs. flexibility in the future.
A bit more on hanging cabinets. Hang the uppers first, because if you install the lowers first it will be hard to work over them. The idea is to make all the cabinets level. So on the base cabinets, you use a level (or transit) to find the high point in the floor along the wall. Measuring up from the high point establishes the height of all the cabinets. All your other cabinets except the one placed at the high point will require shims to bring them up to the same height. Even the one at the high point might require small shims under some corners to make it level and keep it from rocking. You don't have to install the cabinet at the high point first, you just use that place to establish your line around the room.
You don't need to spend the money on a laser level. People have been using 2' or 4' levels for decades with success. When using a level you do have to fuss over getting the bubble right on. Close enough is not good enough and you will get an error that multiplies around the room if you are not careful.
Here is what I might do, if the kitchen is bare yet with no cabs installed. Snap lines on the floor where the base cabs will go and cover the floor. Then change chalk color, and snap lines parallel to the first set, and right where the inside face of the finished toekick boards will go.
Then tile the floor, doing appropriate underlayment first, stopping everything at that second set of lines.
Now, when it is time to set base cabs, tack shim stock down to the subfloor, back where there is no tile or underlayment, to level the bottoms of the bases up to the tile level. Your toeboards will come down to and sit on the new tile.
Opinions will differ on how to install your cabs, but everyone will agree that the job will go well if you are able to establish level lines on the walls at the top of the base cabs and the bottom of the wall units.
I don't use spirit levels anymore for this. Too much error. Try this with a 4' or 6' level. Start at a corner in your room, and level around with your stick level, in sequence, and see if you match to your start when you finish. You won't.
If you can afford one, get one of the laser line levels like the Pacific Laser Systems PLS2 or the new David White equivalent, available at Lowe's. The PLS2 can be had, if you shop for it, for $250, but the Lowe's price for the David White is far less.
If your budget cannot stand the laser, buy yourself a 40' length of clear flexible vinyl tubing, with about a 3/8" ID, and fill it with water colored with food dye, then use it as a water level. Absolutely foolproof.
BTW, there is nothing wrong with Kraftmaid cabs, even if you are buying them at HD or Lowe's. Whoever sparked at you for that is wrong, and I would like to know what kind of cabs he is using that are so hot.
Bob:
I only once filled the water level with food dye. It spilled and ruined a client's carpet. Use water instead. You can see it fine.
Regards,
Boris
"Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934
use the screws they supply with the boxes.
or look for some piffin screws.
they are spherical..
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
>>or look for some piffin screws.
>>they are spherical..
Why did it take me so long, now I see piffin stole your screws.
As to hanging the cabinets, search the archives for a thread re hanging cabinets. It was suprisingly HUGE, everyone had an opinion. I think it was two months ago. Perhaps someone here with more computer savvy can post a link to that thread.
I see no point in tiling under cabinets. First of all it means working the rest of job on top of finish floor. As far as future changes, if you move the cabinets you are almost definately going to have to make changes to counters and appliance requirements--gas/electric. Buy some extra tile if you like.