INTERMISSION….PROJECTS PROVIDED BY DANNY

I want to share some tips and tricks that makes installing cabinets a little easier to do, especially when you may be lacking the help from a second person. What I do is use 2X4’s to help stabilize and hold the cabinets in place while leveling it out and drilling the screws in. I usually just cut two 2×4’s to the correct height (about 54 inches from the floor ) so I have a surface that will help me keep the cabinets up on the wall. This is an effective way to hang cabinets if you are trying to do this project by yourself.

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Before you set the cabinets up on the wall you will need to find where the studs are. I usually just use the knock method. Simply knock on the drywall and move left or right until you hear a change in the tone of the knock. The area where the stud is located will be a higher tone than the hollow parts of the wall. I then just use a small drill bit and screw into the wall to make sure I will be hitting a stud.

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After you find your studs put a small mark on the wall underneath the line where the bottom of the cabinet will sit. Make sure to have your level, drill and screws ready to go. Once you have the cabinet up on the 2×4’s you will still need to hold the front of the cabinet up, so your doing all of this with one hand.

Lift the cabinet up onto the two 2x4s that you placed against the wall. Tilt the cabinet back against the wall and grab your level while keeping pressure on the front of the cabinet to keep it against the wall. Open up one of the doors and place the level inside of the the cabinet. If the cabinet needs to be raised on one end to make it level, I like to use a wood shim. Once you have the cabinet level, grab your drill and put the screw on the bit. (A magnetic bit driver really helps in this scenario.)

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Once your first screw is in and you are sure you screwed into a stud, grab another screw and run another one in mid way up the cabinet. If you hit studs both times your cabinet will be secure enough to let go of it. Grab your ladder and run the third screw into the top portion of the cabinet.

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Another way to hang these cabinets by yourself is to build a four legged jig. I use this method if we are doing bigger install projects, but on these small kitchens I generally just use the 2 2×4’s.

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Continue this process with the next cabinet. Once the second cabinet is hung, you will want to tie in to the first cabinet with a screw to make sure they pull together nice and tight.

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