DIY help: Hanging cabinets

Soldato
Joined
9 Nov 2003
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The Motor City
This Saturday I will be hanging new cabinets in one of my bedrooms. I'm wondering if any experienced persons here can give valuable time saving tips and tricks for this.

There are 4 cabinets, 12" h, 12" d, 27" w. They will be mounted on the wall approx 1/2" from the ceiling.

I know I have to locate wall studs to screw them in, and they will have to be nice and level. Once I locate the wall studs, how do I mark the inside of the cabinets with the appropriate location?

I was thinking about hanging a board on the wall temporarily on the lower side of the cabinets to stabilise them and keep them even while I hang them. Is this good practise?

Any tips appreciated. :)
 
I didn't get a chance to reply to your questions after I posted it, unfortunately. But thank you for the pointers!

I was able to locate the wall studs and marked them off (first driving a nail in to make sure the sensor wasn't lying to me). We then mounted a 1x3 board on the wall just under the cabinet location and made sure it was level.

To mark the cabinets, we measured the distance from the edge of the cabinet to the stud location and transferred that measurement to the back of the cabinet. We then drilled holes in the back so they could be found on the inside.

Next, we placed the cabinet in position (very easy to hold in place with the board underneath!) and loosely mounted it to the studs using 2-1/2" wood screws. In this position, we were able to adjust it for levelness and plumb, then tightenend the screws completely.

We continued this process for the remaining 3 cabinets, securing each pair together to keep the faces flush.

Things I learned:

1) When dealing with cabinets, take the doors off (common sense). They add weight and get in the way.

2) When dealing with smallish cabinets, use an extension on the screwdriver bit. On my little 12" cabinets, the power driver didn't fit too well inside the cabinet and made it much more difficult to drive in the screws. A 12" extension would have been perfect.
 
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