Kitchen Renovations 101: Assembling Your Custom Built Kitchen Cabinets
By Cheri WatkinsRefacingCabinet.com Columnist
Assemble the Kitchen Cabinet Frame
On a large, dirt and dust free surface, lay down the right side of the cabinet. Dry fit the base, top, and shelves into this side, also called the "right shelf standard." If you forgot to label these pieces as instructed in Part 2, look for dado joints--grooves that run the length of the board and accept another piece--on the inside of your right shelf standard.
Repeat this dry fitting with the left side of the cabinet. Again, attach the base, top, and shelves. Look for a snug fit between wood and dado joint.
When you have a snug fit, place a thin bead of glue into each dado joint, and place the shelf into the joint. Finally, drive finish nails straight through the shelf standard into the side of each shelf.
Attach the Back of the Kitchen Cabinet
First, check the cabinet for square. Lay it flat on its front side, measuring the distance from the top right corner to the lower left corner. Repeat with a diagonal measurement from top left to lower right. If the two measurements match, the cabinet is square. If not, adjust the wood until they are equal. This may require touching up your finish later.
Finally, attach the back piece of wood, by situating it into the rabbet joints on the bottom piece and two side shelves. Again, use finish nails to attach the back.
Next
In the final part of our Kitchen Renovations 101 How to Build Your Own Kitchen Cabinets series, Refacingcabinet.com discusses the ins and out of Installing Your Custom Built Kitchen Cabinets.
To see the full list of articles in this series visit our How to Build Your Own Kitchen Cabinets series page.
About The Author
Cheri Renee began her professional writing career at Greenspun Media Group's Showbiz Weekly magazine (now LVM). Several years later, she discovered an interest in interior design and home improvement, while on assignment for GMG's H&D magazine. Cheri has consulted as an English language arts editor for McGraw-Hill Education, and a biomedical research copyeditor for faculty at UNLV, and Sunrise Children's Heart Center. She holds a B.A. in Creative Writing from Augusta State University and an M.S.T. in Adolescent English Education from Fordham University.
