Typical Stuff In The Shop #8: Kitchen Install

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This is part 8 in a 16 part series: Typical Stuff In The Shop

I'm installing pre-manufactured cabinets.
If done quite a few of these, and this brand is the best line I have done so far.
It's a small kitchen. I'm not going to detail the install,  it's just the typical scribe, shim and level.
There is going to be crown at the top, and a bottom panel and molding going around the bottom of the wall cabinets.
I'll post some more pics when I'm finished.


Figuring out how to do something you have never done is what makes a good challenge.

17 Comments

So is the plywood on top just there temporarily?  I've never installed cabinets before.  

--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.

Quick and easy job, the best ones to get at times.

Main Street to the Mountains

Nathen, the plywood is the sub top for the stone to get glued to.

Figuring out how to do something you have never done is what makes a good challenge.

That’s how they do stone countertops there? Any scribing on the install?
Isn't that a typical method everywhere?  
I like to use a nice piece of ply rather than cheezy P.B.
Scribed the side of the refrigerator panel,  3 fillers, and the bottom of the Lazy Susan end panel.
Will probably be some scribing on the toe kicks to the floor.

Figuring out how to do something you have never done is what makes a good challenge.

When they retrofitted granite on our cabinets, they just laid it directly on the cabinet bodies.  

--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.

Same here Nathan they just place the stone on top of the cabinets.

Nathen,  I've seen that before.  Lots of variables when it comes to Kitchen cabinets.

Standard heights for kitchen cabinets is 36"
When I first started working at a production cabinet shop, the  cabinets were built 35 1/4" high, 
with a 3/4 counter top would come to 36"  Standard counter tops had an 1 1/2" front edge that hung down 3/4" over the face of the cabinets.  The drawer fronts were an 1" down from the top of the cabinets to allow for the front edge of the counter top.

Now days (at least all of the manufactured cabinets I have used) the cabinets are built 34 1/2" -34 5/8" high. (seen both)
The drawer fronts only hang down about 1/4" - 3/8" from the top.  Normally a 5/8" sub top and the the 3/4" stone will bring the full height to 36" and the built up edge will only over hang the cabinet by 1/8"
 
In the below picture you can see the drawer fronts only down 1/4"


Another reason for sub tops is when there is going to be an overhang to sit at.  
No stone person here would let their stone overhang 12" without support underneath.

Of course these are basic standards,  there's exceptions to, or reasons for,  everything.


Figuring out how to do something you have never done is what makes a good challenge.

Interesting point about cabinets and countertops. 

Main Street to the Mountains

Granite tops here are 1 1/4”. So they would epoxy on a front piece to the counter? Always good to learn different ways people work. I Always learn something new from your work Bently
There are a lot of different stones,  and a million different scenarios.
Most common, in my experience, is 3/4" (usually 13/16") with and edge glued to it.

Figuring out how to do something you have never done is what makes a good challenge.

on all the home shows ive seen they never use a plywood base, just lay it right on the cabinets. i like the ply base myself. thats the way i did my own.

working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.

Since using a subtop is all I have ever done, after reading the responses, I decided to see what I could find about it.
I think this is the most balanced explanation I read about it.
If anyone is interested, here is what I read:

Figuring out how to do something you have never done is what makes a good challenge.

On top of the thickness consideration, one difference is that my cabinets have at least 1-1/2" between the top of the cabinet and the drawer and door fronts.  If they had only 1/2" like above, as you said, I think that they would have to put a subtop on just so there was some clearance for the edge overhang.     

--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.

My cabinets are 34 3/4” and 1 1/2” sounds like the dimension from drawer to under the stone. Yea that all makes sense in that article. If you use 1 1/4” stone plywood isn’t necessary. 
I have also heard of some stone shops laminating layers of stone . Many ways to get it done
Corelz, since just about 1/2 the homes got destroyed by Ian, I see a lot of kitchens being done.  All stone is going on top of the cabinets.

I also see there are few good trim guys.  Painters fix everything.

Bently - you do real nice work!


Petey