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Kitchen Cabinets From "10 Things You Must Know" episode DTEN-105

Here are the 10 Things You Must Know about kitchen cabinets.

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Kitchen Cabinets Countdown

10. Don't take off the wall with your old cabinets. There's often more than just screws holding the kitchen cabinets to the wall. Take your time and find every screw and use a utility knife to take any caulk off the edges.

9. Order yourself an efficient install. Whether you should start installing your base cabinets before your wall cabinets is debatable. For first time installers, it's ideal to start with your wall cabinets and then move down to your base. Starting at the top will prevent anything getting in your way. Also, start at a corner. It will save you time and frustration.

8. Strip them down before you put them up. Usually your cabinets will come already installed with the drawers and doors attached. It might seem counterproductive to take them off, but it will make the cabinets lighter, easier to handle and more available to screw together. Just make sure that you mark every drawer and door to match the original cabinet it was attached to.

7. Use a cleat and save your back. Installing kitchen cabinets is usually a two-person project, but using a 1x3 or 1x2 piece of wood to support the weight of the cabinets helps you push the cabinet back. Even though it can fall forward, it's not slipping and sliding all over the wall.

6. Nail the studs, every time. Make sure you find your studs before you begin the installation. Using a nail is quite commonly the easiest way to do it, especially if it's behind the cabinets. You make a little hole in the wall behind the cabinets; remember you're using a small finished nail.

5. Plan your cabinets around your kitchen. Before you order your new cabinets, identify your existing appliances. Know where the plumbing, sink, gas, stove, electrical outlets, refrigerator and your microwave fit in. All these things become very important prior to the installation of the new cabinets.

4. Get on top of your microwave installation. Put the receptacle in a cabinet above the microwave so when you're fitting your microwave, you're not trying to plug it in. Make sure you have a contractor install an outlet in the cabinet above the microwave.

3. Start high and stay level. Start leveling from the highest point in the floor and use a benchmark. A benchmark is a horizontal line that travels around the perimeter of your kitchen. It could be at any given height, but it's basically a level line, which you can measure from and to for your base and wall cabinets.

2. Level without shims? Not a chance! You have to have shims if you want level cabinets. Shims are something you should make sure to purchase prior to installing. Shims are used to keep the cabinets in a straight line, especially if you have a bow in the wall. Shims go from zero thickness to about 3/8 of an inch.

1. Don't sweat the little gaps. All cabinets come with a scribe, or filler piece, for where the kitchen cabinets meet the wall. Most walls are not straight and this allows you to create a neat finish where any contours in the wall are taken up. Also, a scribe piece keeps the drawers and doors a little away from the wall, so all of the moving parts in the kitchen don't touch the wall.

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• Hinges, knobs and drawer slides should be of excellent quality. You want your kitchen hardware to be as durable as possible. With moving parts, they wear down with time. Having a better quality part will ensure a longer life.

• Complete your installation with laziness. A 'Lazy Susan' can add accessibility to those hard to reach items in your corner cabinets. A Lazy Susan is a turntable that you can install in a kitchen cabinet that rotates to allow easy access to everything in the cabinet.

• Beware of staples! Staples will pull apart. You want cabinets with thick panels that have been corner blocked and glued, or fastened with screws.

Next: Staining Wood Cabinets