Frameless Installation Tips
A few basic tips on installing frameless cabinets. August 29, 2006
Question
I have found several good guides for installing face frame cabinets but I haven't found a good step-by-step guide for installing frameless - can someone please elaborate on their installation methods for frameless cabinets?
Forum Responses
(Cabinetmaking Forum)
From contributor A:
First, level up any cabinet going up against a side wall, and scribe it. If it's wall to wall, measure first to see how much needs to be taken from each side, or if just a little bit off one scribe will do, or none necessary. We usually screw a run of cabinets together before trying to shim them and permanently mount them. Level them all at the same time - it seems to be easier.
From contributor B:
The first thing you need to do is buy a laser if you do any quantity of installations. It will pay for itself in a very short amount of time. Being able to find the high spot in the floor in any given room to establish your reference line in minimal time will save you countless hours and frustration. We always start in the corner and work from there with sink center lines and the like taken in to account like any other installation. Other things you will need are fasteners of different lengths other than you may normally carry on your truck, depending on case construction of 5/8" or 3/4" for screwing boxes together, etc. The post above makes a good point about fastening multiple boxes together and then leveling. It is much faster if it allows. You will have to pay more attention as you screw your cabinets up to the wall so as not to rack or twist them up against the wall. Having one side level and one not - regardless of how level you are across the cabinet in width - will lead to the front of the cabinet being out of square and the doors not aligning. If we have multiple boxes of base or uppers we like to lay them on their sides without the doors or drawers in them and stack them up and screw them together. That way you are not fighting to get them in alignment. You can line up their front edge and tops and get everything screwed together and then set them back down and fasten to the wall as one unit.
From contributor C:
Look at a book called "Making Kitchen Cabinets" by Paul Levine. It's a Taunton publication and has all kinds of good information for building and installing frameless.
