DIY Network

Modernized Kitchen: How to Install Cabinets With a Breakfast Bar Modernize your kitchen with new cabinets and a breakfast bar. From "Sweat Equity" episode DSEQ-112

Contractor Adam Berlin helps Daryl demolish the wall between the kitchen and dining room to open this area up and then frames a breakfast bar. When the cabinets arrive Daryl and Adam get right to work installing the pantry wall and Amy helps Daryl install the upper cabinets and bar cabinets.

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	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure D
	Figure E
	Figure F
	Figure G
	Figure H
	Figure I
	Figure J
	Figure K

Materials:

2" x 4" plywood
framing nailer
miter saw
tape measure
speed square
cabinets
level
screwdriver with drill bit and Phillips head or power drill
screws
shims
carpenter’s pencil
clamps

Cabinet Installation Tips:

• On base cabinets, installing your corner cabinet first is the best way to stay level through the rest of the installation.

• Hang your upper cabinets first so the lower ones won’t be in the way during installation.

• It’s a good idea to work in pairs with this project, as cabinets can be heavy.

• Use a ledger board to help hang the upper cabinets and keep them straight.

• Mark your studs before you get started.

Safety Alert:

• Always wear safety glasses when working with power tools.

How to Install Cabinets:

• Previously Adam helped Daryl frame out a breakfast bar, first measuring the length and height of the desired bar (figure A). Daryl measures, then cuts 2"x 4"s with a miter saw.

• Then, just like framing a wall, Adam and Daryl lay the long boards on top and bottom and space the shorter boards 16 inches apart from each other from the center of the 16 inch mark (figure B).

• Daryl and Adam lift the bar into place and plumb and level it (figure C), and nail the frame into the sub-floor with a framing nailer (figure D).

• When the kitchen and the breakfast bar are dry walled, Adam and Daryl install the pantry wall cabinets (figure E) checking for level and plumb, securing them together and then securing them to the studs.

• Next they get to work installing the upper sink cabinets. Adam starts by marking a level line where the bottom of the cabinet will sit (figure F), and screws a ledger board into the wall along this line (figure G). The ledger board will help brace the cabinet during install.

• Amy and Daryl lift the upper cabinet into place (figure H) and secure the cabinet into the studs.

• After the upper cabinets are secure and out of the way, Adam and Daryl lift the lower corner cabinet into place (figure I), checking for plumb and level and shimming. Then Daryl screws the corner cabinet into the studs of the wall and the breakfast bar.

• Adam and Daryl lift the next cabinet into place and Amy checks for plumb and level, using the corner cabinet as a guide (figure J). When the faces of the cabinets are flush to each other, she clamps them together.

• Daryl predrills three pilot holes inside the door of both cabinets then he sinks a screw into each hole to secure the cabinets to each other.

• When all the cabinets are in Daryl and Margaret re-attach the doors and add stylish door/drawer pulls with a template (figure K). The cabinets and the hardware give the kitchen a clean-and-custom finish.

GUESTS :

Adam Berlin
General Contractor
Maverick Home Remodeling Inc.
Website: www.RenewTheHome.com

Kathy Fischer
Home Clearance Center
Website: www.buynewkitchen.com