Cabinet Installation

Installed by the team that designed it

Cabinets only work as well as they are installed. A cabinet set slightly out of level shows up later as a door that drifts open, a gap that tapers along a run or a countertop that will not sit flat. Our own crews install the cabinets we design and supply, working from the layout we drew for your room, and our fabricators then template the finished installation for countertops cut in our own shop.

What installation includes

Layout check

Before the first cabinet goes up, the crew checks the room against the drawing: wall lengths, window and door openings, appliance openings and where plumbing and wiring come through. They find the high point of the floor, mark a level line around the room for the base cabinets to follow, and locate the wall studs for fastening.

Leveling and fastening

Base cabinets are shimmed level and plumb, joined to each other and fastened to the wall framing. Wall cabinets are hung on their own level line and secured the same way. This step is what lets doors hang straight and countertops sit flat.

Scribing, fillers and panels

Walls are rarely straight, and corners are rarely square. Fillers close the gaps between cabinets and walls and give doors and drawers room to open past a wall, a window casing or an appliance. Where a filler, end panel or molding meets an uneven wall or ceiling, the crew scribes it, trimming it to follow the surface, so the joint closes cleanly instead of hiding behind caulk.

Doors, drawers and hardware

Hinges and drawer glides are adjusted until the gaps around doors and drawers are even and everything closes cleanly. Knobs and pulls are installed and lined up across the room. Toe kicks, moldings and decorative panels finish the job.

Inset and frameless cabinets

Some constructions leave less room for error. Inset doors sit inside the cabinet frame with an even gap on all four sides, so each cabinet has to be level and square before the doors can be adjusted. Yorktowne's Historic Series and Crystal Cabinet Works are two inset options we carry. Frameless cabinets have no face frame to cover small gaps between boxes, so the boxes have to line up tightly. Our crews plan for both from the layout check onward.

Cabinets from elsewhere and ready-to-assemble lines

Our installation work is built around the cabinets we design and supply. If you already bought cabinets somewhere else, ask us: send the brand, the layout and photos of the room, and we will tell you plainly what we can do.

Ready-to-assemble cabinets ship flat and have to be built square and tight before they go on the wall. If you are considering a ready-to-assemble line such as J&K Cabinetry, US Cabinet Depot or TimberPeak, ask us about assembly when we price the project, so your proposal shows exactly what is included.

After installation: countertops

Countertops are templated on the installed cabinets, not on the drawing, because the real cabinets and walls are what the stone has to fit. Have your sink, faucet and cooktop chosen by then, since the cutouts are measured from them. Our fabricators then cut the slab in our own shop and install it. See countertop fabrication for that step.

Getting your home ready

• Settle appliance sizes before the cabinets are ordered, and keep the spec sheets.
• Have any plumbing or electrical changes done before the cabinets go in.
• Clear the room and the path from the entry door to the work area.
• Decide who will be home for deliveries.
• Keep children and pets away from the work zone.

Next steps

Request a cabinet estimate or book a showroom visit in Tysons, Manassas or Front Royal. Still choosing cabinets? Start with kitchen cabinets or browse the cabinet lines we carry.